This doesn't usually happen to baseball fans.
Reaching the World Series is an accomplishment typically reserved for large-market, $200+ million payroll teams, particularly in 2011.
Boston spent an insane amount of money over the offseason on Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, then proceeded to score 875 runs in the regular season, most in MLB. The Yankees were the Yankees and won 97 games in the regular season to lead the American League. Philadelphia won 102 games behind one of the best starting rotations (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, Vance Worley) of the modern era.
Best part about all this? All three of the aforementioned teams will be sitting on their couches when the World Series starts on Wednesday.
Instead, the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers will make their second straight World Series appearance, when they open Game 1 at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in St. Louis.
The Rangers plowed through the Rays (3-1) and the Tigers (4-2) in the ALDS and ALCS, respectively, and appear to be playing their best baseball of the season. The offense is mashing in the postseason and Nelson Cruz, hitting from the No. 7 spot in the lineup, made history by smashing six home runs in the ALCS alone.
I couldn't be a prouder or happier Rangers fan. Of course, I wore a different Rangers shirt every day this week in preparation. Once a team mocked for not being able to pitch in the launching pad of Arlington, the Rangers have squashed those ridiculous theories and made consecutive trips to the World Series.
It feels particularly rewarding since I've been following the team's minor league system so closely since 2007, when general manager Jon Daniels completely reshaped the image of the organization. I still think the Mark Teixeira deal (in July 2007, when Texas sent Teixeira to Atlanta for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and Beau Jones) will be viewed as the gold standard in trading away a disgruntled big name in order to stock the farm system with young talent and high ceilings.
Daniels has made numerous subsequent moves, including trading Frank Francisco for Mike Napoli, signing Adrian Beltre last offseason and acquiring Mike Adams at the trade deadline for Double-A starters Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin.
There's something about the 2011 Rangers, even without all-world ace Cliff Lee, that makes me very confident in their ability to win the whole thing. Perhaps it's the fact that most of the players remember how last season's loss to San Francisco felt. Maybe it's the flammable nature of the offense, led by Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus at the top, and followed by potent mashers Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Adrian Belre, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz. Or maybe it's just because the team has an infectious personality. Players smile regularly, their happy-go-lucky attitudes resembling more of a little league team than the oftentimes serious demeanor of big-league players.
That starts with the manager. Here's a little dance called the Ron Washington. Looks like this:
I'm ready for Game 1. Driving straight home from work to get ready.
C.J. Wilson will oppose Chris Carpenter in St. Louis, which will play host to the first two games before Arlington gets the next three. I'll admit, I never had a problem with the All-Star game determining home field in the World Series, but it just seems off that the Cardinals, a wild card team that won 90 games in the regular season, are awarded home field over the Rangers, who won the AL West with 96 victories. Oh well. I'm over it.
The Rangers and Cardinals don't have much history of playing each other in recent memory, but there's a little bit of pre-game motivation out there for Texas. St. Louis outfielder Lance Berkman, who was a free agent before signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals last offseason, openly ripped the Rangers in January after he turned down a reported opportunity to play in Texas. He said, in short, that Texas caught lightning in a bottle in its World Series run in 2010, that signing Adrian Beltre to a $96 million deal in the offseason was a reach, and that the team was average without Cliff Lee. Nice call, Lance.
Berkman played it off during interviews on Wednesday, as did Rangers players, but I find it hard to believe that the Rangers' chalkboard isn't filled with Berkman quotes the day of the game.
The thought of this Texas team possibly completing the unthinkable is somewhat overwhelming at the moment. I have no idea what I'd do, think or how many celebratory beverages would be broken out that night. I'm not even close to that point. There's a heck of a St. Louis team awaiting, a team that was 10.5 games out of the wild card hunt with one month remaining. Tony La Russa is a first-ballot Hall of Fame manager. Ditto for Albert Pujols as a first baseman.
The Rangers have once again been a joy to follow this season. I'm holding out hope they take it one step farther this season, into the previously unfathomable land of championship utopia.
Let's get this thing started. Rangers in 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment