On the eve of the greatest World Series since 1986, when the Mets prevailed over the Red Sox in seven games, with heroes named Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, Bobby Ojeda and Ray Knight, Sid Hernandez and Mookie Wilson, Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry, I gleefully look forward to witnessing another Series for the Ages, one featuring great pitching, great hitting, great home parks and even better home crowds. And perhaps magic too.
This grand event comes on the tail-end of a week of Yankee whining, coming off a Series featuring failed Yanks pitching and even more dismal Yankee hitting. You couldn’t write home about Yankee fielding either as Arod and Jeter played deep and then couldn’t make the throws. A Yankee-hater loves hearing Yanks fans whine.
But, even better than that, the Yankee future looks ridiculous. While other serious teams (like Boston) seek to shed their older players while they still have value and well before their inevitable decline, the Yanks will pursue the long and painful path. Keeping all these old guys while limiting their playing time and plugging in utility players, mixing and matching with lesser players to ensure a decade or so of future futility. Oh baby! Bring on the Don Mattingly years.
They’ll re-sign Derek Jeter, of course, justifying it with nothing but non-baseball reasons, i.e. he’s a legacy player, he’s the captain, he’s the franchise, yada yada. And Mariano Rivera, at 41 years of age and already showing signs of decline in 2010, will also be eagerly courted. Having already re-signed Arod and Posada, that pretty much ensures they’ll be an old tired club for not just next year but well beyond.
So, at the same time as I can look forward to this Series, and be happily oblivious to the outcome, as both teams were my favorites in their respective leagues, I get the security of knowing the Yanks will be worse, maybe much worse, and the Mets will get better. (As this is written, the Mets are pursuing at least two of the finest General Managers in the game today).
Why do I like the Rangers so much? How about Nolan Ryan making a mockery of the Yanks obsession with pitch counts? How about keeping their manager on board despite his problem with drugs? How about their working with Josh Hamilton, the MVP in the American League to everyone outside the New York area, to help him beat an even more pronounced drug problem?
How about the way they developed their youth, evidenced by the successes of Michael Young and Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus? How about their mid-season moves, out-Yankee-ing the Yanks for Cliff Lee and acquiring one of the best post-season catchers ever in Bengie Molina?
Okay, that’s enough rhapsodizing on the Rangers for, in the Giants, they’ll be facing another team that will be the most dangerous team the Rangers have faced this post-season. In fact, it was the Giants that let Molina go, only to replace him with arguably the best rookie in the National League, a young fella named Buster Posey.
If any team has better pitching than the Rangers, it would have to be the Giants. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and young Bumgarner are, one thru four, arguably better than Lee, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter. They have a great closer in Brian Wilson and a great setup guy in Javier Lopez. They match up well with the Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Lopez beats anybody the Rangers throw out there, in either Oliver or O’Day, Holland or Ogando.
I have a feeling the Rangers will be missing that setup guy. If baseball champions are characterized by pitching alone, then the Giants have a distinct advantage. Even giving the Rangers the Cliff Lee starts, Games 1 and 5, they’ll be in trouble against Cain and Sanchez and possibly Bumgarner too.
For what it’s worth, I think Lee will win Game 1 in San Fran. Then the Giants will tie the Series in Game 2 behind Cain. Then the Giants will take the lead in Texas in Game 3 with Sanchez pitted against ALCS hero Colby Lewis. There will then be a furor over whether Cliff Lee can go in Game Four. He won’t. Bumgarner and Hunter will duel evenly in Game 4 but the Giants relief pitching will give them Game 4, making it 3-1 Giants and with the Series headed back to that city by the bay.
But Lee will pitch in Game 6, probably again matched against Lincecum. The Rangers, now with Lee and with their backs to the wall, will take Game 6, thus creating a Game 7 scenario of Matt Cain for the Giants going head-to-head with C.J. Wilson. This matchup will favor the Giants again and, I’d have to think, unless the Rangers can pull off some more playoff magic, he Giants could very well win this 2010 World series.
The magic could come from Hamilton or Cruz, Kinsler or Andrus. The Giants have their own list of potential heroes but do they really match up? Posey and Huff, Uribe and Torres? I don’t think so. It’ll be pitching that wins the Series for these Giants, and if not, they won’t win it at all.
It’ll be up to Matt Cain and Brian Wilson. If they can’t keep the Rangers under 3 runs in that deciding game, the Series will go to those magic Rangers. If Cain can hold those Rangers bats down for 7 more innings (he’ll have already won Game 2 to get to this point), he’ll wind up being the Series MVP. If not, then the MVP will go to one of those other guys in red, and my money would be on the wunderkind, Josh Hamilton.
I could live with either result, I’m sure, but all things considered, I’d have to side with the Rangers of Ryan and Hamilton, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler.
Besides, the Cowboys are dead. Texas needs a real America’s team…..
Showing posts with label Michael Young. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Young. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Looking Forward to Rangers-Giants
What could be better?
The Yanks are losing and should be losing even worse. The Phillies are in bad shape, in fact the same shape the Yankees were in about 24 hours ago, and that is down 3-1, and facing complete annihilation. Of course, if the Phillies can win tonight, and, like the Yankees win their Game 5, they’ll at least be headed home to that bandbox in Philadelphia.
The Yankees will be in Texas with a whole huge bunch or gaggle of wild-eyed Texans, facing a tough pitcher nobody outside of Texas has ever heard of, one Colby Lewis, who did pretty well in that Game 2 against them. On the mound for the Yanks is Phil Hughes, who is a pretty fair pitcher himself, but who got beat by these Rangers pretty easily.
But for the Yankees, they have one big thing going for them, the fear of elimination. The Texans should be playing a little looser, whether that works well for them or not. In the Yanks minds will be a healthy fear of losing.
The Rangers have nothing to really worry about as they’ll have Cliff Lee going in a final game if it’s needed. Every Yankee will feel that pressure of losing, thus finishing 2010. They will have been the wildcard in 2010, They’ll have been the winner of their ALDS with the Twins, 3-0. They will have been the ALCS losers in 6 games to the Texas Rangers. That will be their legacy.
The Rangers will be in this circus atmosphere, but could still feel the emptiness of year after year in Texas, all those years when they had hitting but no pitching, These are relatively young guys with a history together, guys like Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz. It’s a tight bunch and they can all play ball. They like playing ball. They’re hungry for the World Series.
The Yankees just won the World Series. Would it be so bad to lose in Game 6 and avoid facing that horror of a pitcher, Cliff Lee, in Game 7? They’ll be missing their star slugger and fielder extraordinaire, Mark Teixeira. They’ll still have Robinson Cano, though, and between him and Arod and Granderson and Berkman, they have sluggers for sure. There’s almost nobody in that lineup that can’t inspire a little respect.
But these Yankees haven’t distinguished themselves in the field. Arod at third has been looking a little suspect to me, playing deep and not handling the soft grounders. Jeter could be quicker and, although Cano will still sparkle at second base, Berkman will have a hard time looking good at first with a bruised back that he got while falling backward and looking rather clumsy in the process. The catcher can’t throw people out. The right fielder plays hard but won’t get to some balls.
The Rangers have scary guys from 1 through 7 but tail off somewhat in 8 and 9 with our old friend, Frenchie Francoeur batting 8th and Bengie Molina batting ninth. But Molina killed the Yanks just the other night and Francoeur will be, you know, Francoeur, who, if I may say, has done quite all right with himself. Landing with a World Series team after spending a year or two with the Mets has got to feel good.
I like the Rangers Young, Andrus and Kinsler better than Arod, Jeter and Cano. When I think about it, it’s really Arod I have the problem with. But Jeter doesn’t inspire awe, especially when he makes that ridiculous jumping cross the body throw with nothing on it, or made only after a little stutter step while jumping?
The Rangers have a fast guy leading off in Andrus, a real veteran in Young to move him along, and in Josh Hamilton, the best hitter in the league batting 3rd. Hamilton only hurts you when his bat touches the ball, and he batted .359 on the season. Then you have this crazy old slugger batting cleanup, Vlad Guerrero, who’ll swing at anything and come up smelling like roses. Then Nelson Cruz, who just hits homers and doubles with alarming regularity. Ian Kinsler can yank them out of the park too. It’s a real killer 1 thru 6 lineup for sure, an All-Star lineup.
The Yanks are lack-luster at the top of the lineup. They have no speed game. They score big when their heavy hitters connect. That’s all. They have no other game.
From a purely baseball perspective, the Rangers are the better team and should win this series if they play their game. Will they play their game? I like their chances.
But the Giants have been my team all year too in the National League. That is, when all my attention wasn’t focused on the Mets. I even got to attend a game out there in San Fran, and watched Matt Cain putting away the Oakland A’s. My fantasy guys, Pablo Sandoval (the Panda) and peppery Andres Torres were good that day as was that first baseman of theirs, Aubrey Huff.
But their pitching staff is awesome and has been pretty awesome for this entire post-season. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner are as good as it gets. And that closer of theirs is pretty lights-out.
The Phillies after Halladay and Hamels don’t really match up to my mind, Oswalt and Blanton are good but not great. Oswalt proved last night that he can be had, even if his appearance was in a relief role, a role he never should have assumed in the first place.
But the Giants have momentum now, even if they have to face Phillies ace Halladay in tonight’s Game 5. Young and old, in guys such as Buster Posey and Juan Uribe, making all the plays and getting all the big hits, the Giants are very dangerous. And they already debunked the magic of Halladay in Game 1.
Anyway, I’m ecstatic, looking forward to a Giants-Rangers World Series. Isn’t everybody?
The Yanks are losing and should be losing even worse. The Phillies are in bad shape, in fact the same shape the Yankees were in about 24 hours ago, and that is down 3-1, and facing complete annihilation. Of course, if the Phillies can win tonight, and, like the Yankees win their Game 5, they’ll at least be headed home to that bandbox in Philadelphia.
The Yankees will be in Texas with a whole huge bunch or gaggle of wild-eyed Texans, facing a tough pitcher nobody outside of Texas has ever heard of, one Colby Lewis, who did pretty well in that Game 2 against them. On the mound for the Yanks is Phil Hughes, who is a pretty fair pitcher himself, but who got beat by these Rangers pretty easily.
But for the Yankees, they have one big thing going for them, the fear of elimination. The Texans should be playing a little looser, whether that works well for them or not. In the Yanks minds will be a healthy fear of losing.
The Rangers have nothing to really worry about as they’ll have Cliff Lee going in a final game if it’s needed. Every Yankee will feel that pressure of losing, thus finishing 2010. They will have been the wildcard in 2010, They’ll have been the winner of their ALDS with the Twins, 3-0. They will have been the ALCS losers in 6 games to the Texas Rangers. That will be their legacy.
The Rangers will be in this circus atmosphere, but could still feel the emptiness of year after year in Texas, all those years when they had hitting but no pitching, These are relatively young guys with a history together, guys like Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz. It’s a tight bunch and they can all play ball. They like playing ball. They’re hungry for the World Series.
The Yankees just won the World Series. Would it be so bad to lose in Game 6 and avoid facing that horror of a pitcher, Cliff Lee, in Game 7? They’ll be missing their star slugger and fielder extraordinaire, Mark Teixeira. They’ll still have Robinson Cano, though, and between him and Arod and Granderson and Berkman, they have sluggers for sure. There’s almost nobody in that lineup that can’t inspire a little respect.
But these Yankees haven’t distinguished themselves in the field. Arod at third has been looking a little suspect to me, playing deep and not handling the soft grounders. Jeter could be quicker and, although Cano will still sparkle at second base, Berkman will have a hard time looking good at first with a bruised back that he got while falling backward and looking rather clumsy in the process. The catcher can’t throw people out. The right fielder plays hard but won’t get to some balls.
The Rangers have scary guys from 1 through 7 but tail off somewhat in 8 and 9 with our old friend, Frenchie Francoeur batting 8th and Bengie Molina batting ninth. But Molina killed the Yanks just the other night and Francoeur will be, you know, Francoeur, who, if I may say, has done quite all right with himself. Landing with a World Series team after spending a year or two with the Mets has got to feel good.
I like the Rangers Young, Andrus and Kinsler better than Arod, Jeter and Cano. When I think about it, it’s really Arod I have the problem with. But Jeter doesn’t inspire awe, especially when he makes that ridiculous jumping cross the body throw with nothing on it, or made only after a little stutter step while jumping?
The Rangers have a fast guy leading off in Andrus, a real veteran in Young to move him along, and in Josh Hamilton, the best hitter in the league batting 3rd. Hamilton only hurts you when his bat touches the ball, and he batted .359 on the season. Then you have this crazy old slugger batting cleanup, Vlad Guerrero, who’ll swing at anything and come up smelling like roses. Then Nelson Cruz, who just hits homers and doubles with alarming regularity. Ian Kinsler can yank them out of the park too. It’s a real killer 1 thru 6 lineup for sure, an All-Star lineup.
The Yanks are lack-luster at the top of the lineup. They have no speed game. They score big when their heavy hitters connect. That’s all. They have no other game.
From a purely baseball perspective, the Rangers are the better team and should win this series if they play their game. Will they play their game? I like their chances.
But the Giants have been my team all year too in the National League. That is, when all my attention wasn’t focused on the Mets. I even got to attend a game out there in San Fran, and watched Matt Cain putting away the Oakland A’s. My fantasy guys, Pablo Sandoval (the Panda) and peppery Andres Torres were good that day as was that first baseman of theirs, Aubrey Huff.
But their pitching staff is awesome and has been pretty awesome for this entire post-season. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner are as good as it gets. And that closer of theirs is pretty lights-out.
The Phillies after Halladay and Hamels don’t really match up to my mind, Oswalt and Blanton are good but not great. Oswalt proved last night that he can be had, even if his appearance was in a relief role, a role he never should have assumed in the first place.
But the Giants have momentum now, even if they have to face Phillies ace Halladay in tonight’s Game 5. Young and old, in guys such as Buster Posey and Juan Uribe, making all the plays and getting all the big hits, the Giants are very dangerous. And they already debunked the magic of Halladay in Game 1.
Anyway, I’m ecstatic, looking forward to a Giants-Rangers World Series. Isn’t everybody?
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