Passing the Rangers Will Be Difficult, But Still Possible

Here's a quick look at what the Angels have to do to pass the Rangers.  I'm not trying to be "Debbie Downer", but catching the Rangers is not going to be as easy as some Angel fans think.  The Rangers are currently 52-38 with 72 games remaining.  If Texas continues to play at the same rate (.578) for the remainder of the season, they are on a pace to finish with 93 wins (the third highest win total in their franchise history).

After last night's win over Seattle, the Angels stand at 49-44 (.527).  The Halos have 69 games yet to play and must make up the 4.5 games they are behind the Rangers.  Below are the rates the Angels must play in order to finish the season as AL West champs.

After the break is a short breakdown of how many games the Angels must win in order to win their fourth consecutive division title.

If the Rangers continue to play at their current winning percentage, the Angels must go 45-24 (.652) in their remaining games to finish the season at 94-68.  To put that .652 winning percentage in perspective, the Angels won 100 games in 2008.  That was a .617 winning percentage.

If the Rangers play .500 from here out:

If the Angels continue playing at their same rate, the Rangers will have to lose 40 of their remaining 72 games, something that's not likely to happen:

Catching the Rangers is not impossible, yet it is going to be very difficult, especially if the Angels continue to play at their current level.