Jan Hubbard has a blog entry regarding the 5th starter situation, that is pretty sharply critical of the way the Rangers have handled things. The key quote:
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Loe, of course, will have no choice but to accept. But he can also feel like he was not treated fairly and these are the types of things that players notice, and remember.
It won't be the end of the world for Loe. If he keeps pitching well, he will be rewarded. But the whole race for No. 5 has been kind of a farce. The Rangers should have just given the job to Wright two weeks ago.
That's a good point, and something I hadn't thought of before now.
Wright hasn't been good his last couple of outings. Loe has continued to be outstanding.
So if that wasn't going to change anything, why didn't the Rangers just saw Wright was going to be the 5th starter a while back...when, for example, they said Jerry Hairston Jr. and Sammy Sosa were going to make the team?
I sometimes think that the organization is over-thinking things...they are putting the guy who isn't as good in the rotation, so they can keep both him and Loe, and have Loe available if someone in the rotation stumbles.
But the guy who is the most likely to get yanked from the rotation is Wright. Which makes keeping him in the first place so you have Loe as a security blanket kind of silly.
I understand the thought process...but it just seems like they are making things to complicated.
Make Loe the #5 starter, give Wright the option of walking or going to Oklahoma, and move on.