Who is in the World Series again?!
At the very beginning of the season, the writers here at Sports Collision all made predictions. The stipulation was to pick two teams not named the New York Yankees or the Philadelphia Phillies, the two teams from the 2009 World Series. Mike chose the Mariners over the Cardinals. I chose the Braves over the Rays. Caleb chose the Cardinals over the Rangers. At the mid season report, I said Mike was bold by picking the Mariners as they were already out of the race. The Cards on the other hand were in the thick of things, but ultimately lost the race to the Reds. The Braves and the Rays both made the playoffs but failed to advance. Whose left? The Texas Rangers who Caleb picked to be swept by the Cards. Was our beloved founder onto something when he picked the Texas Rangers or was it just pure luck? The Rangers did finish strong last year and built on it this year. They made a trade to acquire Cliff Lee shortly after the All-Star break. Lee didn’t exactly have a great regular season with the Rangers, but so far in the playoffs, Lee has looked like the best pitcher to ever live the game and it has helped the Rangers immensely. Caleb also mentioned Vladimir Guerrero having a rebound season and helping the offense ignite and the outcome couldn’t have been more right.
The Texas Rangers managed to win the first playoff series, home playoff game, and make an appearance in the fall classic. It has been a great story for this once bankrupt team now owned by hall of famer 300 game winner, Nolan Ryan. They squeezed out a difficult series win against the Rays and then outplayed and outcoached the defending champions, New York Yankees. It almost appears that this team has been here before and have had many dominant years in the past. It almost seems like a given to choose the Rangers to win the World Series after their performances.
But it just isn’t that simple…their opposing foe are the San Francisco Giants who are led by the Freak and two time Cy young award winner in Tim Lincecum. The Giants offense isn’t scary or by any means threatening, but they know how to grind out some tough wins and that’s how they won the division, beat the Braves, and the phillies. This is there first world series since 1958 when they were still the New York Giants. The biggest threat I think the Giants will give the Rangers is their pitching. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are the two top dogs for the Giants. Jonathan Sanchez is a solid number three and they have a pretty good bullpen with Brian Wilson and company. It could be another grind out series for the Giants if their pitching dictates the series. The phillies offense was pretty potent and the giants limited their production.
After Lee, can the rangers pitching staff pitch effectively against an even bigger cinderella team than they are?
Do I buy into the Rangers offense and their stud and unproven pitching staff OR do I go with a better pitching team and not such powerhouse offense?
It’s a real tough choice…but I think the Rangers will win as long as Lee and Wilson duplicate what they did in the ALCS against the Yankees. However, I would not be surprise if the Giants make this a long series and grind out the victory.
