No, we have the "misfit" Giants and the Ginger Ale spraying Rangers, and the Series is Wide open folks.
Nearly all the great minds in the MLB media were wrong, including myself. I didn't even think that either team would finish atop their division.
Both teams are very intriguing, but after watching the Rangers play and seeing the resilience of their organization, it doesn't do to shortchange them again. Despite what many baseball pundits are saying about the Giants, the Rangers are the team that never should have made it.
They began the season bankrupt, and under different ownership. Their number one pitcher was Scott Feldman, and the rotation, and pieces of the lineup looked very shaky.
Then before the season even began manager Ron Washington came under fire for repeated substance abuse problems, but the team stood by Washington. Not only the players, but team president Nolan Ryan. This seemed to set the tone for their season
They were full of question marks, first closer Frank Francisco is very ineffective in the early going. Should be a stumbling block, but no rookie phenom Neftali Feliz(2,000 Braves fans just cringed) took the rains and was a shutdown closer the rest of the season.
The anchor of their outfield should probably never even achieved Major League stardom, former number one overall pick Josh Hamilton, after years of being mired down in substance abuse came back to the game with a vengance and a few short seasons later he is putting up MVP caliber numbers.
Nelson Cruz after being a hot prospect, falling out of favor and being traded twice, finally nabbed a starting job at age 28 and has made everyone pay attention when he steps up to the plate.
Pitcher Colby Lewis that just clinched the fist World Series berth for the Texas franchise was in Japan last year, working hard trying to get back into the American game.
C.J. Wilson was trying to recover from being a mediocre closer to become a starting pitcher.
Michael Young last year made his second position change for the sake of the franchise moving to third base, to clear room for Elvis Anrus(again sorry Braves fans) and with both players have preformed well making the Rangers left side of the infield one of the most formidable in the American league.
They never should have made it...but they did.
Then they got Cliff Lee, Lee wasn't amazing for them down the stretch, but in the playoffs he took off and became the unstoppable superbeast at the front of the rotation they envisioned.
They have embodied reliance, and more recently class.
After star outfielder Josh Hamilton sat out of the celebration of the team clinching a playoff berth, and much ado was made about it. They came up with a better idea.
After the deciding games for advancement to the next two rounds of the playoffs, they used ginger ale. In doing so they made a situation that could have been very uncomfortable for their star player into an even more joyous occasion.
I am impressed, and that is not a common occurrence. So thank you Rangers for setting a good example, being resilient, confidant, and pretty classy. Also thank you for providing the best baseball specific celebratory gesture in recent memory: The Claw.
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