There are 88 games left on the regular season schedule.
If the Rangers, owners of the second-best record in Major League Baseball and one game short of catching the Yankees, play .500 ball the rest of the way, they will finish 89-73.
The club is on a 98- or 99-win pace, and even playing mediocre baseball from here on out shouldn't bounce Texas out of contention.
Having the wherewithal to add a key piece or two over the next five weeks, and getting it done without crossing the line into crazy, would move the needle forward even more in what has been one of the most electrifying Rangers seasons ever.
There's going to be one general manager watching Tommy Hunter face off against Roy Oswalt tonight in Arlington, envisioning the opposing starter wearing his club's uniform in the second half. And I'm not sure there won't be two GM's doing exactly that.
I'll be a guest on Dale Hansen's Sports Special tonight (Channel 8, 10:30 p.m.). But I won't blame you for not flipping over if Texas-Houston is still going on, as the Rangers try to move a little closer to a 100-victory pace with a win over a pitcher who would probably like to make about two dozen starts in this ballpark over the next year and a half.
Dallas attorney Jamey Newberg has been commenting on Rangers from the big club down through the entire farm system since 1998.
Scott Lucas was born in Arlington, Texas, to Richard and Becky Lucas. He lived mostly in Arlington before moving to Austin, where he graduated from The University of Texas. Scott works for Austin Valuation Consultants, Ltd., and has published several boring articles about real estate appraisal and environmental contamination. He makes a swell margarita and refuses to run longer than ten kilometres.
Eleanor grew up watching the AAA Mudhens in Toledo, Ohio. A loyal Ranger fan since 1979, she works "behind the scenes" at the Newberg Report.
