Buck Showalter stepped out yesterday and said that he thinks his guys are ready to take the next step and play in October. You may say, “…wait a minute, it’s October, every team is saying that…” The Tampa Bay people aren’t saying that. The Kansas City people are not saying that.

A lot of managers don’t like to be tied to comments like this. If the Rangers go 72-90 these comments will come back and bite Buck. But, Buck thinks this team is ready. I’m not sure if this team is ready to win the division but I do not think he’s going too far out on a limb to suggest that they could earn a Wildcard berth.

I think that the A’s are headed straight towards the Division Championship in the West. I think that the A’s may be the best team in the entire league. That leaves the Rangers competing for the Wildcard.

Let’s look at the Central: I don’t know if the White Sox are going to repeat. The Indians are looking really good.

In the East: Toronto made some dramatic acquisitions in the off season. I believe that they’ve improved more than any other team in baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox are not too shabby either when compared to the Rangers.

The Rangers are going to have to be better than a lot of good teams in order to play in October.

I still have my doubts about the end of their starting rotation. The Rangers are going to be depending on some very questionable pitchers to come thru and be consistent at the end of the rotation. The bullpen must become more consistent. And one more thing about pitching: the Rangers have a lot of pitchers that are coming here from the National League. History suggests that NL pitchers sometimes have a hard time adjusting to the American League.

Offensively, Ian Kinsler hit .270 in the minors. I don’t know if that translates in the majors. Kevin Mench has been a question mark. Mench has got to start hitting with runners in scoring position. The collective outfield is a question mark for me. And I question the depth on this team.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not criticizing this team. I’m not saying that Buck is wrong. I’m not saying that they don’t have any shot at the post season.

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