Considering the Rangers have never previously won a playoff series in their history, it’s an exciting time for Rangers fans looking to grab a few MLB playoff tickets. Yankees fans, of course, are a bit more used to their team getting this far and certainly won’t be happy with a season that ends a step away from the World Series. Here’s a snapshot of the series.
Pitching:
The Yankees don’t have the completely dominant staff you might expect from baseball’s highest paid roster. While C.C. Sabathia gives them a dominant workhorse at the front-end of their rotation, other question marks litter the starting staff. Pitching behind Sabathia will be youngster Phil Hughes, who faded severely down the stretch in his first full season as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. This is completely normal for a pitcher throwing more innings than his arm is used to, but it also has to pose some concern for the Yanks Sigiheri eskender Blog as well. Concern also was supposed to go to Andy Pettitte, but apparently he’s impervious in the postseason even if he’s coming off of injury. Though Pettitte isn’t going to blow anyone away, his consistency is remarkable and he remains one of the better pitchers in the history of the postseason. The Yanks don’t want to have to start A.J. Burnett or Javier Vasquez and likely won’t unless it’s really necessary.
But while the Yanks have Pettitte lurking as their third starter in the ALCS, the Rangers don’t have their rotation quite as set after having some difficulty with the Rays. Cliff Lee is capable of dominating any lineup, as he showed against the powerful Rays in the division series, but C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis have no postseason experience at all. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they had to use Lee to pitch in game five to get them to the ALCS, so he won’t be pitching until game three and could potentially be inheriting a 2-0 deficit.
Bullpen wise, of course, the Yankees have the definitive advantage due to Mariano Rivera. Though you never know what you’re going to get out of Joba Chamberlain, Rivera is such a rock in the ninth inning that it may not even matter. Neftali Feliz, on the other hand, also lacks postseason experience but comes off of a very solid season, one in which his solid closing was one of the main reasons that the Rangers were able to keep such a substantial lead in the A.L. West for the second half of the season.
Hitting:
With Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira in the heart of the lineup, the Yanks do have a considerable advantage in terms of overall pop – an advantage that only increases when you consider the talents of Robinson Cano. Also not to be overlooked is Nick Swisher, a player who opposing fans may not be too worried about but should be. After a very underrated 2010 season, Swisher just feels like one of those unexpected Yankees that will come in and deliver a big hit or two to help push them into the World Series. Unlike the regular season, the playoffs aren’t about statistics and raw data; it’s about who can get the big hit with two outs in the eighth inning. Swisher just feels like that guy and there’s always Derek Jeter for clutch situations as well.
For the Rangers, it could almost completely depend on whether or not Josh Hamilton can get his stroke back. After missing significant time at the end of regular season with a rib injury, Hamilton really struggled in the division series against the Rays, though he was picked up by Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler, who both belted three home runs and hit at least .400. If Cruz and Kinsler can remain productive and the Rangers can get Hamilton going, they can hit with any team in the entire league and they also have a big bat in Vlad Guerrero in their lineup as well. After a Hall-of-Fame career, Bad Vlad would love to get a big hit to push the Rangers into the next round and give him his first crack at winning a World Series.
Prediction: Yankees in seven.