The Texas Rangers added two huge pieces to the bullpen at the trade deadline, but does that make them world series favorites? I’d like to say absolutely- but hold the phone. I love what the Rangers can do offensively- I think the back end of their bullpen now with Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, and Neftali Feliz is on the verge of being lights out. The question I have for the Rangers is…do they have enough starting pitching?
Derek Holland has been really good lately, CJ Wilson has been pretty good himself. Colby Lewis, and Alexi Ogando the all star are around still- but is Alexi hitting his wall? To go through the Red Sox and the Yankees, I can’t say they have enough pitching. I like the Rangers matched up against the Yanks, but I don’t think I can give the nod to Texas over Boston. Let’s say I’m wrong and Texas gets to the world series, waiting for them will likely be the Philadelphia Phillies. I believe that the Phillies have enough offense to get it done. I don’t even need to talk about the rotation they have out there, and that’s what makes me take Philadelphia over Texas in a heads up best of 7 contest. Starting pitching carries you through October more often than hitting- both teams can hit…but do the Phillies have a bigger gun in their holster?
For Texas to win the World Series this year (and it very is a realistic chance), I believe Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Adrian Beltre need to flat out RAKE in the postseason. Do able? Absolutely. Likely? We’ll soon find out. With the team they have now- they’re definitely primed at getting to the postseason and defending their American League crown.
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For the Rangers to have a realistic chance of GETTING TO the World Series–let alone winning it–three players would not only have to CONSISTENTLY play up to their innate abilities, they would have to STAY OFF THE DL. Those three players, in my opinion, are Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. Of the three, only ONE of them consistently lives up to his potential–Josh Hamilton. But like the other two players I mentioned, every year you can COUNT on Josh spending a significant amount of time on the disabled list. Without those three players hitting for high averages with ducks on the pond and playing everyday, the Rangers’ offense is spotty. Their aggregate run scoring totals may well be impressive, but that can be attributed to the fact that they tend to score runs in bunches–at times BIG bunches–and then falling asleep until something wakes them up again. That’s especially true when they play against the big boys on the road: the Yankees, the Red and White Sox,and the Angels, most notably. It remains to be seen how much Beltre’s hamstring affects his play going full bore for the rest of the year. Adrian never has been injury prone. But hamstrings can be finicky, so we’ll see. As I look at the Rangers’ lineup, only Michael Young and Elvis Andrus play up to their potential and largely avoid spending time on the injury list. Other hitters (like Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Endy Chavez) have ability and usually avoid injuries, but for whatever set of reasons, Ron Washington evidently doesn’t believe in any of them enough to play them FULL TIME against all pitchers.
So with all of that said–plus the fact that the performance of their starting pitchers against good teams on the road leaves a little to be desired, I find it hard to put my faith in the Rangers as a legitimate World Series Champion–improved bullpen notwithstanding…
Clifford Burton
Santa Monica
Clifford,
I agree with what you said. However, the key for any team to win is to stay healthy. You can make the argument for Boston, New York, Chicago, etc. that if your best players get hurt? It more times than not kills the season.
I believe that the Rangers offense is good enough to get it done- if they execute. They have enough fire power to contend in a 5-7 game series with any team in baseball. I like the back end of the bullpen, but I question the starting pitching more so than any other part of that organization. I just don’t know if guys like Derek Hollad, and Alexi Ogando are going to get it done in the postseason as they’re logging more innings than they’ve ever done before. In my opinion, CJ Wilson isn’t an ace like Cliff Lee was for them last year- so I have a hard time saying “their the favorite.”
That doesn’t mean they can’t win though.
Thanks for the comment. We’re looking for a Texas Rangers lead blogger, or anyone that wants to write on the Rangers. I liked your analysis- let me know if you’re interested!