The point isn't whether the team is .500 or not... the points is how much a single player can impact a team. A pitcher impacts a team every time he takes the mound. He has far greater influence over the outcome of a game than anyone on the field. A .350 hitter will still require others behind him to push him around the bases. Even so, how many runs can a single batter create in a game? How many is needed when the pitching is so bad?

Although I don't agree with your total selection of "aces" (David Wells??) I think that on a lousy team a pitching ace will win more games for the team than a batting ace.

Look at Steve Carlton. On a 1972 Phillies team that hit only .236 and managed to win only 59 games in the year, Steve won 27 games with a 1.97 ERA! Almost half of the team's victories directly accountable to him. THAT is the difference a single pitcher can make. THAT is the point I am making.

Remove A-Rod from Texas.... and place Pedro Martinez on the team. Do you think that Texas would:

a) have a worse record than they do now
b) have a better record than they do now
c) have no change.

I think most people with choose b).