Bye, Bye Yankees

When this post-season started, the American League teams seemed to break out into 2 categories: AL East and others. It’s no secret I am biased towards the AL East, so it appeared that the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees were the 2 teams to beat. The Texas Rangers were a close 3rd, but had struggled down the stretch and I questioned their starting rotation. Boy was I wrong… The Texas Rangers’ pitching staff (with the exception of 1 relief inning) dominated the powerful Yankees lineup en route to their franchise’s 1st appearance in the World Series. Looking at the San Francisco Giants as their possible opponent, they may very well be en route to their 1st ever World Series title.

When breaking down the Rangers, they have speed and power spread throughout their lineup and have one of the best rotations in baseball. Josh Hamilton has come back from a bruised rib cage in early September to not only hit well, but to crush the cover off the ball in the ALCS. His 4 home runs and .350 batting average got him the ALCS MVP and more importantly has him streaking at just the right time. Along with Hamilton, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz and Vladimir Guerrero all have home run power while Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler and Julio Bourbon (when he plays) can provide a spark on the basepaths in a close contest. They have a nice balance with guys like former Red Sox prospect David Murphy coming off the bench or starting in the outfield and the tandem of Bengie Molina and Matt Treanor behind the plate.

In terms of pitching, it doesn’t get any better that headliner Cliff Lee, who is 3-0 this post-season with just 2 earned runs in 24 innings to accompany 34 strikeouts. Behind Lee, the Rangers have C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter, who are all 12+ win guys this season and all had eras under 3.75. Lewis threw the game of his life in game 6 against the Yankees, going 8 innings and allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits and 7 K’s. Each pitcher has the ability to shut down a top tier lineup and go deep into a game, allowing Ron Washington the ability to use his bullpen only when absolutely needed. To shut the door in the 9th, young closer Neftali Feliz can dominate with the best of them, throwing 99 and even 100 mph at times. The Rangers are vulnerable in the middle innings if the starter gets run from the game early as we saw in 1 horrendous inning in game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees, causing them to lose a game they had in hand.

Overall the Rangers are an incredibly solid club with momentum pushing them onto the biggest stage in baseball. I miss-judged this team thinking that they were limping into the playoffs because now they are peaking at the perfect time. I have always had the utmost respect for Ron Washington and have no doubt he pushed all the right buttons to get this team to this point in the season. If the Rangers pitching staff can go toe-to-toe with their NL opponent, they have a tremendous advantage in offense. Although the Rangers may not draw the same attention the Yankees would in the World Series, they have an impressive and rabid fan base that has been waiting years for this chance. Optimism is high in Texas with the sky as the limit over the next several years, but I’m pretty sure the organization isn’t looking that far into the future just yet.