We are 4 games up on Texas as of today with about 5 weeks of baseball left. I am a little worried about us making the playoffs. (How we will fare in the playoffs is another concern but I won't talk about that for now).  We need to win the division to make the playoffs but we face a pretty rough schedule in September.

Relatively speaking, we have a much tougher schedule left compared to Texas. Basically, we play all the same teams in the AL West plus Angels will play Boston, Yankees, KC, CWS while Texas will play Baltimore, Cleveland, Toronto, and Tampa Bay. Angels and Texas will play 7 more times before the end of the season. So far this year, Texas has had our numbers.

It may be too early, but I am hitting the panic button:

1. Pitching sucks: Both our starters and bull pen have been very inconsistent all year long and it scares me. Jered has stepped it up this year but he's still not quite the "Ace" of a playoff caliber team. I think Lackey may have peaked out last year. Our best reliver has been Oliver but he's a situational pitcher and doesn't pitch very much. Bulger and Jepsen have been great since all-start break. I hope they can keep it up.

2. No more Bell / SOS experiments: My pateience is running thin for that feel good Disney stuff. Please send them back to the minors. I just don't think they have the "Stuff" to scare anybody in the MLB. Guys like Jepsen, Bulger, and Arredondo, statistically speaking, may have been as bad as Bell / SOS at times this season but at least they have the "Stuff" to scare some batters.

3. I love our offense this year: let's hope they can keep it up for the rest of the year and don't go in a slump.

4. Kaz: Trading for Kaz was a desperate move, but a good one. It definitely helps this year's playoff run. Long term, it's questionable with more upside considering we didn't really give up any prospects. If Bell, SOS, Rodriguez, and Wood are our best prospects, I really don't feel bad giving up these no name prospects for proven youngster like Kaz. Overall, his contact is the deal breaker. If Kaz resembles anything like his career numbers, we got a good deal. If Kaz resembles this year's numbers, then we are stuck with another GMJ for 3 years.