Game 3, everyone witnessed one of the most overpowering pitchers in baseball dissect the Bronx Bombers. Yankees walked in front of the machine gun of Clifton Phifer Lee. 13 k's, 0 ER, 2 hits was all busted up by 1 walked, just kidding folks. By the way did you see the reaction from the Yankees Fans when Tex drew that walk? You would of swore he hit a grand slam. That how lights out Cliff Lee was. Rangers come through and just embarrass the Yanks on their own field. It looked like a total 5,000 fans saw the end of the game (that's being kind). Rangers end the game 8-0 and make it a 2-1 lead in the series.
Now don't go buying your World Series tickets just yet, well I guess you can because they do refund them. I'm just saying tonight that if the Yankees win tonight, the series is tied right back up and we have to win 2 out of 3. I know we are still new to this playoff thing but game 5 will have C.C. at home (which of course he pitches better at). I'm really not trying to be a negative Nelly (no pun intended) I just believe we need to be aware that these 7 game series are very long and anything could happen.
The good thing about this is we don't play the game and the Rangers do. The Rangers are very confident they can play with anyone and0 they are still attacking. Staying aggressive and just being relentless against their opponents. Rangers in game 4 we have Tommy Hunter vs A.J. Burnett. Burnett hasn't pitched in 17 days and has pretty much blown but of course he is a guy with the big contract. There is no middle ground with A.J., he will either sucks or be masterful. Tommy is just Tommy, he has the same stuff he has had all year long. I truly believe out of any game I believe this one is so far up in the air. Anything really could happen. Rangers could come out of this with a win if they come out early with runs. I still feel that the Yankees hitters are like a sleeping monster and the possibility of big scoring is possible. Especially that small Yankee Stadium, I see the possibility of some home runs tonight. Enjoy the game and Go Rangers!!
I imagine a lot of life-long Ranger fans are feeling similar to how I'm feeling today; and that is, we don't know WHAT we are feeling. For our entire lives, we have seen this team be so bad for so long. Yes, the 3 division titles were nice, but when you get completely ran off the field by the Yankees all 3 years, it takes a little bit of the luster away.
No longer are we feeling those feelings of despair. No longer are we the laughing stock of baseball. No longer will we have to suffer as the only franchise to never win a playoff series. Yes, it is the first round of a three round tournament, and yes there are still 2 rounds to go before we are champions, I am fully aware of this. However, if you are a life-long, die hard, bleeding heart Ranger fan, you do not care today. Today is a day of celebration. Today you sit back and try to come to the full realization that this thing is going to the ALCS!!!
I'm still in shock.
This will take a few days to sink in for me. I sit here writing this, trying to illustrate what I'm truly feeling and I'm having a difficult time. I think about the times when a washed up Andres Galarraga was our first baseman. When John Koronka was our best pitcher. When the future of our team was Laynce Nix. I think about the times where the Rangers were 37 games out of first place and I'm sitting in the cheap seats hoping Todd Van freakin Popple can hold on to our 12-10 lead in the 8th inning. For all of you die hards, you know what I'm talking about. There are even some fans out there who have been crazy enough to follow this team for decades! I can't even begin to imagine how they feel. wow.
Sometime after this season is over, we will all have to talk about the greatness of Jon Daniels and what he has done to turn this thing around. Without that guy, we're still stuck in the dead years of 2000-2008. Mr. Daniels's kudos will come, but that is for another day.
During the top of the 9th last night, I was thinking "ok, 2 run lead, Cliff is dealing but has thrown a lot of pitches. Do we go to Neftali? Do we go to CJ? Do we wait until he gets in trouble? Will we see the typical north Texas sports team meltdown?" And before I could even start to answer these questions in my baseball-brain, something incredible happened.
crack! swung on, hit high and deep to left field, THAT BALL IS WAY WAY BACK, THAT BALL IS HISTORY!
History indeed.
In one single moment, with one swing of Ian Kinsler's bat, it was imminent. There would be no meltdown, there would be no 9th inning drama. It was over. done. We were going to win, and I couldn't breathe.
If you're reading this, and you've stuck with this team over the years, you know what I'm talking about. What are we feeling? Hard to illustrate. But we feel it. And it's awesome.
If you're a new fan, welcome aboard. It's not always this easy, trust me, so enjoy it.
Watching Cliff Lee perform his magic last night was special. We all watched in pure amazement as that guy made major league hitters look like tee-ballers. This, plus Vlad's crazy score, plus Nelly's potential disastrous decision to steal third that turned into a miracle run, made me finally realize what was going on. This season is TRULY magical. We are going to the World Series, I am fully convinced. This is our year.
To quote a caller from Diamond Talk last night, "look out New York because a freight train is coming your way and it's got a big T on the front!"
I send these headlines in after every Rangers game and they never use them. Today I'm feeling something I've never felt before. The Rangers in the ALDS have won 2 games. They have won 2 games handily. C.J. Wilson gives the Rangers a great performance. 6 1/3, 2 hits, 7 k's and 2 bb. Rangers bats didn't cool down from game 1 with 6 runs on 9 hits (5 ER). Kinsler of course hits another one of his famous moonshot SOLO home runs. Michael Young hits a 3-run home run after a controversial check swing call (I will get more into that in a sec). Rangers were just so over powering and the Rays didn't have a chance regardless of the check swing.
The Rays make you scratch your head. The Rays led the league with 96 wins and you wonder how they even won 6. The Rays capitalized on walks and errors and the Rangers just aren't giving them anything to work with. Rays have a horrible team batting average (.247) and the Rangers just don't walk a lot of batters. C.J. who is known to walk a few only managed to walk 2 guys and strike 7 out. If the Rangers continue to keep up this pitching and offense they will be unstoppable throughout this postseason.
Now onto the Michael Young check swing. Everyone has been pretty torn on if Young swung or not. I'm about 90% sure he swung but its one of those things where its all up in the air. There is no real rule about check swings, its all about interpretation. So should judgment calls like that really be replayed? There was no video evidence that the ball didn't hit Carlos Pena on the bat or his hand. Everyone is going to pull this BS that the Rangers got some breaks and flew by Rays. That will royally piss me off if they diminish what the Rangers are doing. The Rangers deserve this. I hear fans on twitter on how horrible the calls were that they were cheated. Rays fans need jump off a cliff. The Rays have been in existence for little over 10 years, try almost 40 years of abysmal baseball in Arlington. Rangers never get any breaks and think its about damn time. I'm tired of the Yanks getting balls pulled out of the stand, its time for Rangers to finally get what they deserve.
Rangers in game 3 start Colby Lewis (12-13) vs. Tampa Bay Rays Matt Garza (15-10). Matt Garza who has had a great season which include the Rays franchise first no-hitter. Colby Lewis who's record doesn't reflect the season he had. 196 k's and run support couldn't of been worse. This should be the tighter of the two games. Lewis was a little shaky at the end of the season but he should be able to turn it on for the playoffs. It is highly possible that the Rays could come out with a win but in hostile house that Johnny Oates built, it could be difficult. I'm still hoping for a spot start by Feldman (I have tickets for Sunday). Just messing I really want to see this over so we can look forward to the next team. Do the Claw but please don't play that song. Go RANGERS!
Check this little gem out. This should be making a come back on the hot 100. GO RANGERS!
Was that an awesome headline or what? It just popped into my head. Everyone must forgive me but I have been out of town for the past few days I've actually been on the road driving back home all day. I woke up this morning and made sure my updates were activated and I wouldn't miss one run. As driving down the road I would hear a "ding! ding!" and then if you were in there you would hear, "F#@$ yeah! Don't F@$# with the Rangers!! F#$% the Rays!!" I was so pumped up during this game and I couldn't even see the damn thing. After the game I turned on 1310 the ticket to hear what all happened (by the way my fiance did record the game for me so I can watch it when i get back tomorrow). Rangers win game 1, 5-1 which is just absolutely incredible. But of course as a Rangers fan you have to tap the breaks and realize what team you have. The last playoff win was in 1996 against the Yankees game 1 6-2. Rangers of course lost the series and the Yankees went on to win the series.
The Rangers back in 96' ran into a buzz saw when facing the Yankees who would later win the World Series. The 96 team compared to this current team is just different. Not really better not really worse but just different. 96' team didn't have an over powering pitcher like Cliff Lee. They had John Burkett, a young Darren Oliver, Bobby Witt and Ken Hill. The current Rangers top three pitchers have ERA's under 4.00 and Tommy Hunter hasn't loss at home (7-0). The Rangers also have depth and I know it sounds funny but we really do. Having two first basemen, one for lefties and one for righties. Francoeur had a great game and now he will take a seat and Borbon or Murphy will face a right handed pitcher for game 2. Matt Treanor will take over for Molina.
Game 1 everyone was firing on all cylinders. Cliff Lee was electric after his little hiccup in the first two innings. Lee pitches to batters and either he gets out or gets hits. Putting the ball in play reduces pitch count and stuff like today just happens. Hitting was just incredible, they made Price look like he was a minor leaguer. Cruz of course hitting a moon shot back to Texas. I really see Cruz being a silent hero in these playoffs. When ever we need a clutch hit, he seems to come through. Price did settle down later in the game but it was way too late. Rangers have to go out with that intensity, playing loose and having fun. I was telling everyone that if the Rangers just go into this series, "We're just glad to be here!", then we are effing toast. The Rangers need to go out and know deep down that they are better than everyone out there.
Game 2 they have James Sheilds pitching for the Rays and the Rangers send C.J. Wilson on the mound. I really believe this should be a good game. All pitchers give their all in the playoffs so don't automatically write off Sheilds 13-15 record. He has more strikeouts and a lower ERA at home but all in all he just hasn't been that impressive lately. I really believe the Rays threw all their eggs in one basket and hoped to win game 1 with Price and then take a shot with Sheilds. Garza is suppose to pitch game 3 which will of course be trying. Lets just take one game at a time. I think tomorrow should be interesting as Texas goes for history, winning a franchise high 2 games in the playoffs (its a little sad). Go Rangers and the Rays sucks!
For me, and a lot of fans, we are experiencing a sports first. For the first time in my cognizant sports life, I get to look ahead to a Rangers playoff run. Yes, the Rangers were in the playoffs in the 90's, but I was so young I barely remember even watching those games. There have been Stars, Mavs, Cowboys, and Sooner championship games and playoff runs in the past 10 years and they have been great, but what I have always really wanted was a legitimate shot at a Rangers World Series.
So how will we get there?
First thing is first: We have to go through Tampa. Before the AL East was decided, there were various reasons why I preferred the Yankees in the first round over the Rays. These are the same reasons that give me much trepidation about this series.
Baseball consists of endless statistics, therefore I won't bog the blog down with a ton of stats that are interesting but dry. Instead I will talk about what concerns me most about this series and you will have to trust that it is all backed up by statistics.
First of all, the Rays have scary pitching. David Price is possibly a Cy Young winner this year and has dominating stuff. Behind him are guys who also have incredible skill and can dominate an entire game any given day. For the Rangers to have success, they will have to be patient. If the Ranger hitters get ahead of themselves and start chasing pitches out of the zone, the Rays pitchers will have a field day with strikeouts. However, if the Rangers can demonstrate patience, the Rays' pitchers have a tendency to get out of control and get hit around.
The Rays can flat out fly around the bases. Crawford, Bartlett, Zobrist, and Upton can take over the series if they are consistently getting on base. Not only do can they fly, but our pitcher/catcher tandems have struggled hard core at holding runners and throwing out runners. If these guys are able to get on base numerous times, the Rangers are in trouble.
The Rays hit for power. Upton, Crawford, Pena, Longoria....these guys are scary. The good thing is, Crawford and Pena are lefties and will have a hard time against Cliff and CJ.
So, the Rangers have no chance right? Not so fast my friend.....here is what they need to happen:
Cliff Lee needs to dominate. Our future all-star first baseman was traded for this very scenario. If Cliff leaves the ball over the plate and gets roughed up like we're playing Baltimore, it's going to be a short series. If Cliff can 'did what Cliff do' for two games this series, the Rangers are in it.
The Rangers must hit. There have been times this season where the offense disappears and we wonder if we'll ever score more than 2 runs again. The talent is there, but they must show up and play to their capabilities. The good thing is, David Murphy pending, is we will have our full line up healthy and playing together for pretty much the first time this season. Wash said he thinks there were 8 games all season where he's had everyone in the lineup at the same time. Also going the Rangers way is David Price is the only left handed starting pitcher in the rotation. The Rangers hit righties much better than lefties.
These things the Rangers must do to win are possibly predicated on the 3rd key: mentality. The Rangers have 3 starters in their entire lineup who have pitched in the post season before - Cliff, Vladdy, and Molina. Meanwhile, the Rays had pretty much their entire team in the World Series two years ago. Folks, this matters. Everything is different in the playoffs, and the team that holds the trophy at the end is the team that wins the mental game each year. The Rangers must stay within themselves and stay in control of the game. All through the season, this team has been loose, relaxed, and having fun. Will this continue? Or will the playoff pressure tense everyone up and cause mistakes. The answer to that question will most likely determine the series.
I'm fired up, I'm hopeful, I'm excited. This is a new sports venture for me and I'm going to soak up very second of it. Prediction? My sports-brain says Rays in 4. However, these playoff runs don't come around very often so I'm going to be unusually optimistic and say Rangers in 5.
