Texas topped Tampa Bay 5 games to 4 during the regular season, indicating just how evenly-matched these two clubs are (Yeatts/ Getty)
For so many years, poor pitching kept the Rangers from the postseason. For so many years, potent offenses would fall just shy as unbalanced Texas teams were forced to watch from the sidelines as their three division rivals represented the AL West.
Before last season’s AL pennant and trip to the World Series, the Rangers hadn’t made a playoff appearance in more than a decade.
Now the club is in consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1998-1999. And knowing what it feels like to fall just shy of a title will be providing plenty of motivation for this year’s version to finish what the 2010 team started.
It’s worth noting that 2011 was the best regular season in franchise history.
A brief statistical rundown of how these Rangers finished relative to rest of the American League:
Record: 96-66 (AL West champs, 2nd-best record in the AL)
Hits- 1,599 (2nd)
Runs- 855 (3rd)
HR- 210 (2nd)
AVG- .283 (1st)
OBP- .340 (3rd)
OPS- .799 (2nd)
ERA- 3.79 (5th)
WHIP- 1.24 (2nd)
K:BB- 2.56 (2nd)
The numbers paint a fairly clear picture of how well the team fared in nearly all aspects of the game. Led by Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler, the lineup is packed with power hitters. Five starters finished with 25 or more home runs. While the Rangers lack players with elite on-base skills, the slugging numbers are excellent, and there’s talent across the board among position players.
During the season, the weakest spots were in center (where Endy Chavez was forced to step up and take over following Julio Borbon’s poor start to the season), and at first base (where Mitch Moreland and David Murphy have shared time with Mike Napoli). The centerfield situation has evolved to include Hamilton, Craig Gentry, and uber-prospect Leonys Martin with David Murphy shifting to left. If the Rangers continue with that set-up then the outfield shouldn’t be much of an issue. And at first, Napoli and Moreland are more than holding their own.
On the whole, the team is defensively sound and presents a lineup that is dangerous from top to bottom.
WIlson will look to get the Rangers off to a winning start in the 2011 playoffs (Martinez/ Getty)
In terms of pitching, the club no longer has the luxury of starting Cliff Lee. But the rotation has proven itself more than capable of matching up well against other American League powers. The Rangers had winning records against both Boston and Tampa, though they did struggle a bit in a couple of series against Detroit and New York.
Ace C.J. Wilson (2.94 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) will get the ball in Game One on Friday where he will reportedly face Tampa’s Jeff Niemann (4.06 ERA, 1.24 WHIP). Tampa will officially announce its starter on Thursday. Wilson beat Niemann head to head back on September 1st in a 7-2 final.
Wilson took advantage of a favorable schedule in his 2011 starts, but he also excelled against the Rays. In three starts, Wilson tallied 21.2 innings, allowing a combined five earned runs on 10 hits while walking 8 and striking out 24. The Rangers went 2-1 in those games.
He will be followed in some order by Derek Holland (3.95, 1.35), Colby Lewis (4.40, 1.21), and Matt Harrison (3.39, 1.28). The expected four-man rotation will receive relief support from starter Alexi Ogando, who finished his rookie year with an impressive 3.51 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
The rest of the pen includes some of the best arms in baseball: Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, and Neftali Feliz to name a few.
Texas has very few weak points, and the series against Tampa should be hard-fought.
With Hamilton, Kinsler, Napoli, Nelson Cruz, Adrian Beltre, and Michael Young, Texas has some legitimate talent and veteran experience. As long as the back of the shortened rotation can hold itself together, the AL West champs have an excellent chance of moving on to the ALCS. It all begins on Friday in Arlington.
**UPDATE, 8:45PM- In an interesting and risky move, the Rays have officially announced that Matt Moore, not Niemann, will start on Friday. The rookie flamethrower had a 2.89 ERA and 15:3 K:BB ratio through his first 9.1 career innings.**
