I apologize to my faithful readers (all 3 of you), I was locked out of my account and couldn't seem to remember my password. But now I'm back. And just in time, it seems...
Well, the rematch of the 2009 World Series I predicted and anticipated will no longer be coming to fruition, at least this year...the Texas Rangers, THE TEXAS RANGERS, have managed to overcome the New York Yankees, THE NEW YORK YANKEES, and will advance to their first Show in their 50-year franchise history.
This is not just good. This is completely, entirely, incredibly unexpected. When you think about the Rangers, the main things that come to mind are: former president George W. Bush owning them for a while, Nolan Ryan (his pitching career and his ownership), and Alex Rodriguez's monumental snubbing of them to join the New York crew in '03 (as a final kick in the teeth, they have to honor the rest of what his contract would be, so he not only gets his lucrative salary in the Bronx, he also gets a few million every season from the team he gave the middle finger to). History has shown them as a stepping stone the few times they've reached October: they were the only franchise before this season that had never won a single series in the postseason. The only times they made it, 1996, 1998, and 1999, they were swept by the Yankees in the ALDS on their way to winning the World Series all 3 of those years. It would have been difficult for anyone to truly suggest that they, with all this history and statistical improbablities against them, would move on to the Fall Classic in 2010.
After the last out last night (ironically, an Alex Rodriguez strikeout), my father asked me 3 reasons why I thought the Rangers had this miraculous run. I told him this: the batting, the pitching, and the managing. It's hard to just put it into 3 things. Every player in the lineup came alive all season and these playoffs: Ian Kinsler has a .286 average with 9 homers to this point, a far cry of what he's capable but good considering his time on the DL this season; Vladimir Guerrero has managed to defy his age and hit .300 with 29 blasts; Nelson Cruz had 17 stolen bases while hitting .318; and, of course, the big man Josh Hamilton deserves the AL MVP for bouncing back after his battle for sobriety for a .359/32/100 RBI season, not to mention 4 homers (most of which were multiple-run shots) just in this LCS. A further testament to how intimidating his sheer presence is: the Yankees pitchers intentionally walked him all 3 times he got up to the plate last night, afraid of what could happen if he had a good pitch to swing at. Tell me THAT'S not a sign of his abilities. We all know about the Texas pitching: C. J. Wilson pitched the only Rangers losses, but had a WHIP of 1.20; Lewis and Hunter both pitched well; we'd all be stupid if we didn't understand the effect that Cliff Lee had on this series. He only pitched Game 3 (had the Yanks managed to push the series to 7, they'd have to face him again), but that one game was apropos of what Lee does to New York players. He pitched 8 of 9 innings, had only 2 hits, no earned runs, and 13 strikeouts against what is supposedly the best offense in baseball. He's 7-0 in 8 games in the past 2 postseasons, with an ERA of 1.26. 3 of those wins were against the Bronx boys. He's been dubbed "The Yankee Killer", and they just can't seem to hit off him. Is it any wonder why the Yankee brass is already chomping at the bit for the Rangers to win, simply so they can start contract negotiations with Lee?
On that note, let's take a look at what this offseason will (or, at least, SHOULD) hold for the Yankees. It's clear to everyone that the starting rotation (really, their pitching overall) is the area with the biggest problems: after CC Sabathia (who didn't pitch terribly well in this series, going 1-0 in 2 games with a 5.63 ERA and only 10 strikeouts), there is no feeling of security. Phil Hughes has the potential to be good, but he's too young. On the flip side, Andy Pettitte is too old (and his contract is up). The Yankees bullpen is where good games go to die, and Mo is 40 years old and coming off his worst season in his career. How do they stop the hemorrhaging? Well, getting Cliff Lee is a start; no matter what happens in the World Series, you can bet all the money your team saved on not buying Roy Oswalt earlier this season that the Yanks will throw everything they have into the Lee pot. You know the old saying: If you can't beat 'em, make 'em play for you (I don't know if this is applicable anywhere outside of New York, Boston, Anaheim or Philadelphia). And as I pontificated on a few months ago, ESPN's Buster Olney reported last night that they will at least be talking to the Kansas City Royals about possibly picking up Zack Greinke, also coming off a disappointing season (10-14 with a 4.17 ERA, although his 1.25 WHIP and 181 strikeouts show that it has more to do with a lack of run support from his team), but if he landed in New York, you can't tell me that a rotation of Sabathia/Lee/Greinke couldn't take on Halladay/Oswalt (UGH)/Hamels on equal footing.
And, as has been looming all season, the Yankees have a difficult decision: what to do with Derek Jeter. As you may have heard, Jeet's coming off his worst season: .270/10/67, a far cry from even last season. He's injured more often, he strikes out more often, and he's 36. If anything, the Yanks should just resign him as a DH/backup shortstop, and either trade for a better player (Troy Tulowitzki, maybe?) or call someone up from the farm system. There's little Jeter hasn't done in New York: he's been able to play for his favorite team since 1995, he's only 74 hits away from 3,000 and only 66 homers away from 300, he's got 5 World Series wins, and has passed names like Ruth, Gehrig and Mantle on the all-time Yankees lists. 1 or 2 seasons as a DH and he could most likely hit those remaining milestones. It's sad to see such a seasoned, respected veteran probably reduced to something like this, but as I stated long ago, it's time for Jeter to just bow out and we can all start missing him.
I know this post took a sharp Yankees turn (I can't help it), so I'll finish by making one final prediction: the Giants will win the NLCS today, and the Rangers will beat the Giants in 6 games to win their first World Series title in franchise history.
No comments:
Post a Comment