Results tagged ‘ Boston Red Sox ’
Texas Rangers Caliente y Frio: Week 5
Here’s a wrap-up of the week that was in Texas Rangers baseball. All stats listed are just for the previous week of play.
Rangers Record: 4-2
Overall: 20-11 (1st Place AL West) (+2.5)
Jalapeno Caliente (Offense):
Mitch Moreland .450/.542/.650 1 HR 2 RBI
Ian Kinsler .407/.429/.630 3 2B 1 HR 5 RBI
Raspa Frio (Offense):
A.J. Pierzynski .118/.167/.118 7 K in 17 AB
Jalapeno Caliente (Pitching):
Derek Holland 1-0 0.00 ERA 9 Strikeouts in 8 IP
Raspa Frio (Pitching):
Nick Tepesch 0-1, 6.75 ERA in 6.2 IP
Believe it or not, if Yu Darvish was on the list based on ERA alone, he’d be in the Frio column. Instead at best he gets an honorable mention in the Caliente column for accruing 23 more strikeouts in just 13 innings of work.
The Rangers started the week at home in a continuing funk at the plate, Tuesday’s 10 runs notwithstanding, and dropped their first series of the year when the White Sox took two of three. Pessimism reigned entering Friday night’s play. Of all the teams the Rangers had played thus far, only Friday’s opponent, the Boston Red Sox, was over .500 entering play. So, the skeptics said, here’s where the Rangers get exposed as pretenders and not contenders. All Texas did was sweep the Red Sox in convincing fashion. Derek Holland was dominant in Friday night’s shutout win, Alexi Ogando didn’t look dominant but was more than good enough in limiting Boston’s high-flying offense to a single run. Finally, on Sunday, Yu Darvish gave up two home runs early, putting the Rangers in a 3-0 hole, but shut down Boston the rest of the way, allowing Texas to tie in the 7th and walk off with the win and the sweep in the 9th.
This week, it’s back on the road with three different teams on the schedule. Today it’s a make-up game with the Chicago Cubs, facing former Ranger Scott Feldman. Tuesday through Thursday, another interleague matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers. The week closes out with three games at Minute Maid Park against the lowly Astros. Despite all seven games being on the road, considering the competition, anything worse than a 5-2 record this week would be a disappointment.
Those Damned Southpaws!
The Texas Rangers were not as good as their initial 16-8 record seemed to indicate. Conversely, the Texas Rangers are not nearly as bad as they’ve shown in their last five games, four of which were losses.
What we do know, however, is that right now, today, May 3rd, 2013, the Texas Rangers are not very good against left-handed pitching.
Regular readers of this page know this is not something new that has cropped up with the Rangers this season. This has actually been a long-term problem over the past three or four years, particularly if the lefthanded starter is either A) a finesse pitcher; B) a rookie they’ve never faced before; or C) both.
In losing their first series of the season to the Chicago White Sox, after opening the year with five series wins and three series ties, Texas has now dropped four out of their last five contests. They’ve also faced left-handed starters in four of their last six games and will face two lefties in three games when they face the Red Sox this weekend.
Out of those four left-handed starters, Texas had some success against the Twins Scott Diamond, going 12-27 with five doubles and a home run, but still managed to score only three runs off him. Since then (and including relief pitchers), the Rangers are a meager .224 against southpaws in their last 98 at bats against them with 8 walks and 23 strikeouts over 27 innings. In last night’s series finale against the Chisox, Adrian Beltre had a 2nd inning home run against emergency southpaw starter Hector Santiago, but managed only one other hit in 5.1 innings against him.
If there’s any silver lining, it could come tonight against the Red Sox. Boston is sending Felix Doubront to the mound. Yeah, he’s another southpaw, but Texas has scorched him to a career .388 batting average and 1.040 OPS, explaining Doubront’s career 10.32 ERA against the Rangers. If I were managing against the Rangers and they struggle again tonight against Doubront, I’d just continue to throw lefthanders against them until they can show any kind of success against them.
The David Ortiz Rumor
The first free agent rumor salvo has been fired.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox tweeted the Texas Rangers have “serious interest” in maybe soon to be free agent David Ortiz, most recently of the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz, according to Rosenthal, would fill the power void of the most-likely departing Josh Hamilton.
Color me skeptical. And color me uninterested.
David Ortiz, Future Ranger? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
While it’s true Ortiz’ hitting coach the past six years is now the Rangers’ hitting coach, I don’t think that would be enough to pry him away from a team he loves and a city he loves. And even if he was truly interested in leaving Boston, I do not want him in Texas.
Sure, he’s a left-handed bat which translates well at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. But Ortiz has also spent considerable time on the disabled list the past two seasons and, at age 37, isn’t likely to find optimal health on a regular basis again. Additionally, as I pointed out a couple of months ago, I’ve changed my thinking on the designated hitter as it applies to contending American League teams and I don’t want the Rangers’ DH as one of the main power positions in the offensive line-up.
Should the Rangers get back to the Fall Classic, having one of your premier power hitters as the DH would pretty much ensure you must put them on the field at the NL ballpark. Ortiz has only played a handful of games in the field over the past two seasons and would be a huge defensive liability. Instead, I prefer a DH that is no better than the fifth most productive hitter on your team. That way, having him on the bench on the road in the World Series wouldn’t significantly affect your offensive line-up.
This Rangers-Ortiz rumor is probably just a plant to help Ortiz’ bargaining power with the Red Sox. I see Ortiz signing to finish his career in Boston.
Now if you want to talk about a free agent slugger, how about talking Adam LaRoche, who just turned down his mutual option with the Nationals. He’s got power and he could play the field.
Related articles
- MLB Rumors: Rangers Interested in David Ortiz as Replacement for Josh Hamilton (bleacherreport.com)
Preparing For A Future Without Josh-ing
Nothing becomes official, of course, until after the World Series concludes. I know the score, though.
The day after a new World Series Champion is crowned, free agency begins. Everyone knows Josh Hamilton will become a free agent. Rangers GM Jon Daniels has already announced Texas will “allow” Josh to shop for the best deal instead of Texas trying to make him a preemptive offer to stay in Arlington.
Josh’s agent has further allowed that after Hamilton has done his shopping, they’ll give the Rangers a chance to top the best offer.
But come on. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out. The odds are 99% in favor of Josh Hamilton wearing someone else’s uniform in the 2013 season.
Like CJ Wilson before him, it’s a pretty sure bet the Rangers brain trust already knows the top dollar and contract length they’re willing to give him. More than likely the scenario will be this: The annual dollars won’t be the issue, the length of the contract will be.
Josh Hamilton: Outta here? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Texas would love to have Hamilton back, but I doubt they’re willing to offer him more than four years, unless the fifth year and beyond are for lower dollars with heavy performance incentives. Texas could very well be willing to pay Josh $90 to $100 million over the next four years. But someone else is going to offer five or six years at $110-$125 million. Guess which one he’ll take.
Nope, the Rangers are already preparing for life without Josh. They started the other day by hiring Dave Magadan away from the Red Sox as the new hitting coach. Magadan is very much a Ron Washington philosophy type: do what the game asks you to do. Magadan’s Red Sox teams were known to be patient and took a lot of pitches, something the Rangers stopped doing in 2012, especially Josh Hamilton. He also has a reputation for getting the best out of young batters coming up. This lends credence to the possibility of Jurickson Profar and/or Mike Olt being on the roster for Opening Day 2013 and pretty much a certainty that Leonys Martin will be on that roster too.
While he wasn’t the only one for whom this was said, Hamilton has never been one to worry too much about instruction. He doesn’t watch much video, he loves swinging at the first pitch. He likes being the guy with the big bat, so much that he’d rather swing for the fences all the time than settle for a solid single even when the game situation calls for the base hit.
This isn’t to hate on Josh because he’s been the spotlight guy that’s led Texas to two World Series appearances. He’s put up MVP numbers in the past and still may in the future. If and when he goes, I won’t tear up or throw away my Josh Hamilton jerseys. Whoever signs Josh, though, know this: When his decline starts (and who knows, it may have started this year), I don’t think it will be pretty. Josh has succeeded because of his pure athleticism. He plays the game all out, which is good. On the other hand, because he trusts his athleticism, he’s also slow to make adjustments. When the inevitable decline comes, it could be a much steeper drop than most players have. But that likely will be someone else’s problem, not the Rangers.
Six Feet Under
A couple of days ago, I tweeted that it WILL get harder but I like seeing my team at the top of the hole looking down while my main competition is looking up from 4 1/2 feet in the hole.
Now the hole is six feet deep. Again, I have no expectation it will always be this way, but it sure is sweet.
The Angels are proving to have a significantly shallower bullpen than the Rangers. So far, even the starting pitching for Texas has been superior to the vaunted Angels staff. Texas starters have yet to lose a game (8-0 at this point) and the Rangers lead the majors in run differential, although the 15 run beatdown of the Red Sox Tuesday has a lot to do with that.
You could make the case the Rangers have feasted on the White Sox, Mariners and Twins. While that is part of the story, the other part is the Angels are losing to the Twins, the A’s and the Royals. Beat the teams you should, break even against the rest is the recipe for a pennant. The Angels aren’t beating the teams they should and the Rangers are.
What’s scary to think about- this Rangers team hasn’t even hit its stride offensively, but it’s starting to come around. Just days ago, Mike Napoli was hitting .118. In just three games, he’s hit four home runs and a double and upped his average into the .270′s. Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus have yet to get going. The Rangers running attack has actually been pretty dismal thus far. Ian Kinsler has been caught stealing two of three times, plus he got picked off first last night. Craig Gentry is 0-1 stealing. The Rangers as a team have only four steals in 12 games, and two of those belong to Yorvit Torrealba and Adrian Beltre.
Without a doubt, the starting pitching won’t continue to be this good. Oh, they’ll be good, but they’re throwing quality starts out there at a level I don’t think can be sustained over the long haul. But the offense still has room for growth.
Texas is now 5-0 on the road. The only better start by a Rangers team in road games was 23 years ago, when they started 6-0. They have a chance to match that record tonight when they visit the Tigers in Detroit with Yu Darvish getting the ball for the opener.
Texas has a 4-game rematch of the ALCS with the Tigers this weekend. The Angels play the A’s at home tonight, followed by three games at home against the Orioles. If Texas ends this week with a larger lead than they have now, the Angels could be in a heap of trouble, even if it is only April.
Rangers 18, Red Sox 3
Josh Hamilton. Michael Young. Nelson Cruz. Adrian Beltre. Mike Napoli, twice.
All went yard in the Rangers rout of the Red Sox as they improve to 4-0 on the road in 2012. Seems like an appropriate time to rerun this oldie but goodie:
Colby Lewis went another 7 strong innings, giving up two in the first and none the rest of the way, striking out 9 with zero walks.
This team excites me.
Off-Season News 11/3/11
Just a few tidbits to pass along:
BELTRE WINS TWICE!
Adrian Beltre has garnered two post-season honors. Beltre received his third career Gold Glove for his work at third base for the Rangers in 2011. Beltre made only 11 errors at the hot corner this year and resembles a human vacuum cleaner over there. Beltre also was given the Silver Slugger Award, signifying the best offensive performance by an AL third sacker.
While congrats to Adrian are certainly in order, it’s kind of strange to think this is probably the only post-season honor coming the Rangers way this year. In 2010, Texas had the AL MVP (Josh Hamilton), the AL Rookie of the Year (Neftali Feliz) and the Designated Hitter of the Year (Vlad Guerrero). Because Texas had such a powerful team not dominated by any one player save for Mike Napoli, who didn’t play often enough to qualify for an honor, they’ll just have to be content with Beltre’s two awards. Unless Ron Washington pulls off an upset and wins Manager of the Year.
MADDUX ON THE OUTS?
Nobody wants to get rid of Mike Maddux as the Texas Pitching Coach, but there’s a possibility it could happen. Most people are looking to advance in their career, and Maddux would love to manage someday. The Rangers have given permission to the Red Sox and the Cubs to talk to Maddux about their open managerial positions. Maddux currently has laryngitis, but says he will talk to the clubs once he gets his voice back. I don’t see Maddux as the frontrunner for the Cubs job. I’ve had it in the back of my brain ever since rumors of Theo Epstein’s moving to Chicago became public that he plans on bringing Terry Francona with him to the Windy City. I could be wrong, but it makes a lot of sense. I do think Maddux has a good shot at the Red Sox job. It would make sense for a team like Boston, who is already in a contending position, to try to spirit away someone from their closest competitors. The Rangers success means more teams will be going after their personnel. Mike, I don’t want to see you leave, but if you get a managerial offer, I understand you’d be a fool not to take it.
OTHER GOINGS
The Rangers made their first off-season roster moves Wednesday. Darren O’Day was placed on waivers and claimed by the Baltimore Orioles, who are beginning to look like Texas rangers Lite with O’Day joining Chris Davis, Tommy Hunter and Clay Rapada. I think Koji Uehara ends up going back to Baltimore too. Texas also decided to cut ties with Andres Blanco, Esteban german and Eric Hurley, who made quite a comeback in AAA Round Rock this year after missing almost three years of baseball. Also released was Omar Beltre, a minor league pitcher who was caught up in the phony marriage scandal that also had Alexi Ogando in its clutches a number of years ago. Beltre missed all of 2011 due to medical reasons and could still sign a minor league deal with the Rangers.
STILL TO COME
After taking a few days to get myself over the heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals, I surprised myself by having quite a few post ideas floating around in my brain. Coming soon, a defense of Ron Washington in Games 6 & 7 of the World Series and thoughts about the Free Agents of 2011: Who might the Rangers target, who might they lose. The Washington post (Ooo, very punny: Washington Post!) will be up in the next couple of hours. Be on the lookout. Oh, and there’s a new poll over on the right hand side of the page. Make sure you vote!
Denied. Again. Cardinals 6, Rangers 2
Anger. Disappointment. Frustration.
I admit it. Mere minutes after watching my beloved Rangers drop Game 7 of the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, I can’t help but feel negative thoughts about this great group of 25 young men who came within an eyelash of being World Champions themselves. Anger at watching the offense once again fall victim to a finesse pitcher who looked very hittable in every one of the six plus innings he pitched. Disappointment in a pitching staff who looked more like they were trying to keep from losing than actually confidently going for a win. Frustration in knowing in my heart that my team was the better team but once again fell short of the prize they had worked all year for.
I’ve cited one Ron Washington before and I’ll cite him again. Wash always says it’s not about who has the best team but who plays the best baseball. In the case of this World Series, maybe that’s not even correct. The Cardinals didn’t play the best baseball, they played better baseball. Neither team played their best, really.
I hated seeing Chris Carpenter throw an assortment of junk and baffling the Rangers hitters, while at the same time thinking he probably deserves to be the Series MVP.
It’s hard watching a team celebrate their well-earned victory while knowing that, with the exception of the first baseman, I don’t know if they have any position players I’d rather have than their current Rangers counterpart (I really love Yadier Molina, though. Just wouldn’t swap him for Napoli considering the year he had this year.). I felt the same way about the Giants last year. Offensively, the Rangers have been the superior team going into the Series two years in a row. Two years in a row, the opposition’s offense found more ways to do the job, while their pitching staff figured out how to slow the Rangers down. Incredibly frustrating.
Nobody wants to believe this. I don’t want to believe it, but it’s time for American League folks to realize the National League has superior pitching. The Giants had it last year. The Cardinals had it this year. It sometimes seems baffling, because I see pitchers like Kyle Lohse and Edwin Jackson, who’ve been hit around when they were in the American League, resurrect their careers in the National League. In fact, four of the Cardinals pitchers were pitching in the American League earlier this season. One of them, Arthur Rhodes, pitched for the Rangers and did so poorly they had to release him. Naturally, he pitched well in the Series against Texas.
I had to watch a Game 6 in which both teams made really unnecessary and ugly errors, but it was the ones my team made that came at the most critical juncture of the game. I could live with the errors if they were honest ones. The ones Texas made late in the game came out of bad decisions, something I’ve rarely seen this team do: Elvis Andrus not throwing to second for a force-out, only to see Matt Holliday beat his throw to first; Michael Young thinking for a split second about throwing to second, then bobbling the ball and not even getting the out at first; Nelson Cruz apparently misjudging either how far away the wall was or where the ball was, resulting in David Freese’s game-tying triple in the 9th inning. I saw our starting pitchers, so good in the regular season, struggle night in and night out, with one glaring exception in Derek Holland. In Game 7, I could sense the fear in Matt Harrison’s eyes.
For two games, I got incredibly tired of the Cardinals scoring runs while hearing Joe Buck and Tim McCarver say “without a ball leaving the infield.” A World Series record number of walks. Not to mention the hit batters. Not pretty at all.
I’ve just heard David Freese announced as the MVP. Just as deserving as Carpenter, I suppose, but my goodness, that boy needs to work on his defense.
The good news for Texas is most of this team will be back in 2012. CJ Wilson may or may not be back, but he’s about the only critical piece. I just read today that pitching coach Mike Maddux may be considered for the Red Sox managing job. I hope that doesn’t happen. He’s been the best pitching coach in the history of the franchise.
One year ago, it was good to be there. Losing to the Giants in 5 games wasn’t fun, but for fans like me who’d never experienced it before, we were proud of our boys. This year, there were real expectations, and they almost came to fruition. One strike away. Twice. Like every other fan, and like every Rangers player, I’ll get over it soon enough. When late February comes around, I’ll have that same sense of optimism when the boys head to Surprise, Arizona for Spring Training. I also fully expect the Texas Rangers to be right back in the World Series hunt and maybe this time, they’ll get that final strike to put it away.
At this moment in time, though, this hurts. This hurts a lot. As much as it pains me to do so, in all sincerity I say congratulations St. Louis Cardinals. You deserved it. You really did.
The Stan Musial Award
Last but not least in the BBA Post-Season Awards is the Stan Musial Award for Player of the Year.
Last month, while returning to the Rio Grande Valley from Arlington, where I saw my beloved Rangers top the Mariners in the next to last home game of the season, I tuned as usual into MLB Radio on XM. At the time, they were having a grand debate: Did Justin Verlander deserve to be in the discussion for AL MVP? I don’t remember who the two hosts of the program were, but one was adamant that Verlander, as a pitcher, should not be considered. He was a pitcher, he only starts every fifth game and there’s no way someone who starts every fifth day should be considered right alongside everyday players.
Here’s the kicker, though. This same co-host was asked several questions concerning the upcoming playoffs. Every time he was asked a question about the Tigers chances in the playoffs, he would answer by talking about the Tigers advantage because of Justin Verlander and, conversely, how the Tigers wouldn’t have a chance without Verlander. So apparently, he was saying if he starts every fifth game, he should not be considered for MVP, but it all changes when he’s in a situation to pitch every fourth game. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Seriously, what is the big deal about this? As far as I’m concerned, if a pitcher has a season in which he has so outperformed every other pitcher in the league, why shouldn’t he be considered for an MVP Award? It only happens once every decade or so, maybe even less than that. In all my time of following major league baseball, the only AL pitchers I can think of that would have to be part of the discussion for any one year would have included Denny McLain for his 30 win season of 1968, maybe Ron Guidry for the year he went 25-3 for the Yankees and Verlander this year. That’s three pitchers in 43 years. You’re going to get bent out of shape over something that happens so seldom? In the National League, I would probably have considered Bob Gibson the year he had a 1.12 ERA. Despite being on a last place team, Steve Carlton’s 27 win season for the Phillies has to be one of the singularly best accomplishments of all time. He literally won almost half of his team’s games. But he shouldn’t be considered because he wasn’t an everyday player? Hogwash!
I’m not voting Verlander as #1 on my BBA ballot, but he does have a place there. I don’t care if he only played in 20% of his team’s games. His production in those games and the final result are what earns him the right to be considered.
Herewith is my official ballot for the Stan Musial Award:
1) Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees: Yes, he only hit .262, but on a team of stars, it was his increased production in 2011 (41 HR, 119 RBI) that helped pace the Yankees to the best record in the American League.
2) Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: If I based the award on post-season play in addition to the regular season, Cabrera would probably be #1. We’re just looking at regular season play, though, so despite another MVP-caliber campaign (.344 BA, 30 HR’s, 105 RBI), Cabrera finishes second once again.
3) Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox: It didn’t take long for Gonzalez to become one of the most feared hitters in the AL (.328 BA, 27 HR, 117 RBI). If not for the Bosox collapse at the end of the season, A-Gon might have rated a little higher as well.
4) Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays: Bautista had another great year, leading the league in home runs and adding an over .300 batting average with a ton of walks thrown in for good measure. In my mind, what kept Bautista from finishing higher was his RBI total (103 RBI with 43 HR). They looked kind of low for someone with as many home runs as Bautista had.
5) Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers: Yes, he deserves to be here. Easily the best pitcher in the AL in 2011, leading the league in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts.
6) Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox: A perfect combination of power and speed, Ellsbury was an incredible threat in the Red Sox line-up, hitting .321 with 32 HR’s, 105 RBI and 39 steals.
7) Michael Young, Texas Rangers: Young had personal bests in batting average (.338) and RBI’s (106), while seeing time as DH and playing all four infield positions. Don’t scoff at his low power numbers. You won’t find very many players in either league over the last ten years to get over 100 RBI’s with less than 15 home runs. Young has now done it twice, this time with only 11 long balls. He also topped 200 hits for the sixth time.
8) Robinson Cano, New York Yankees: He could’ve been a Texas Ranger, but Texas took Alfonso Soriano instead in the A-Rod deal, only because they believed Ian Kinsler was going to be a pretty good player. They were right about Kinsler, but boy, can you imagine a Rangers line-up with Cano (.302 BA, 28 HR, 118 RBI)? Scary, right?
9) Asdrubel Cabrera, Cleveland Indians: .273 with 25 HR’s and 92 RBI. From a shortstop. Cabrera was a big reason the Indians stayed in the AL Central race up to mid-September. He played pretty good defense too.
10) Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers: After a monster September, Beltre ended 2011 at .296 with 32 HR’s and 105 RBI while playing stellar defense at third base. Beltre might have been given strong consideration for MVP had he not missed almost a month with a hamstring injury.
There’s the top ten. Interestingly enough, you’ll find no mention of Josh Hamilton, last year’s MVP. He still was right around .300, he still was right around 100 RBI. Yet even Rangers fans would probably list him no better than third for team MVP. Just goes to show how potent that Rangers line-up is.
A New Record
True in two ways: The Rangers set a new team record for most wins in a season with their 96th in the 2011 finale. Also true is effective today, that record is 0-0 and all that counts now is getting to 11 wins before anyone else.
I’ve been wrong this season. A lot. Early in the year, I thought Houston would surprise a lot of people this year. Well, they surprised me with how truly awful they were. Most recently, I told my son, 18-Year-Ranger-Fan, that it was doubtful the R’s would set a single season win record, as it would require winning out on the road against the Angels. Wrong again (happily). Lastly, for over a week, my mindset has been on a first round match-up with the Yankees and, if not the Yankees, then the Red Sox. Guess again, genius. Instead we get a rematch with the Tampa Bay Rays, with the only difference being this time, the Rangers have home field advantage. Of course, last year the road team won every game of the series so that might not be a good thing.
What the Rangers have done in September offensively has been nothing short of incredible. Get ready for this eye-popper: In the month of September, the Rangers AS A TEAM has hit .320, with 49 home runs in 25 games for an OPS of .916. I believe it was reported in the game telecast that it has been the single best offensive month by a major league team since 1946.
And it hasn’t been just power. Only the Orioles and the Rays had more stolen bases in September than Texas as well. On the other side of the coin, Texas also led the AL in pitching in September with a 3.22 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and 219 strikeouts in 221 innings. Only the Tigers had a better September record than the Rangers and that was only because they played one more game (20-6 vs. 19-6 for Texas).
Plain and simple, this team is on a roll. The Rangers ended the regular season with three players hitting 30 HR’s or more: Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler and, with 4 HR’s in the last two games, Mike Napoli, who had a career year in 2011. Nelson Cruz came within two feet last night of being the 4th 30-HR batter in the Rangers line-up. Beltre and Michael Young both eclipsed the century mark in RBI’s, with Josh Hamilton in the 90′s and Cruz at 89. In the pitching department, all 5 Rangers starters ended the year with at least 13 wins. I haven’t checked, but I’d wager the Rangers had more starts from their starting five than any team in baseball. They were remarkably sturdy in 2011.
All that goes out the window starting tomorrow when the ALDS begins at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington at 4:07 PM CDT. Texas was 5-4 vs. the Rays in 2011, with three of the wins by shutout. CJ Wilson, who was 2-0 against Tampa this season, gets the ball in Game 1. The Rays haven’t determined who will face him, but it won’t be David Price, who pitched the finale last night against the Yankees. I’m willing to bet it’ll be James Shields, who has half of his team’s wins against the Rangers this year.
Ideally, the Rays and Red Sox would have had a one game playoff today, thus giving Texas an advantage with a better-rested bullpen. That was not to be. Still, I like the Rangers’ chances in this first round.
Day off today. Showtime tomorrow. Bring it on.
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