Texas is putting on a show

Watching the Texas Rangers put a whopping on the New York Yankees in the past 2 games has been quite impressive. I personally thought it was going to be the Yankees bats which would ultimately win this series but they have been relatively none existent except for R.Cano who is batting over .400. From top to bottom the Rangers have a solid line up which is anchored by their 3-4-5 hitters. Hamilton is swinging the bat like he was prior to his injury at the end of the season. Guerrero is crushing everything he sees (and he swings at every pitch he sees). Finally Nelson Cruz is having a year to remember batting .333 in the post season. Oh and I almost forgot…. The Rangers have Cliff Lee and company who have been lights out for any line. If the Rangers can stay as hot as they are right now, I just can’t see they getting beat in any four game series.

MLB Interviews

Are Josh Hamilton and Cliff Lee interviewing for their new teams? With both of them crushing the Yankees and the Rays in the AL East, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees make a go at the two superstars. Just think of the pitching rotation: CC, Lee, Burnett, and Hughes. Also this is what the line up could look like: Jeter, Crawford, Hamilton, Teixeira, A-Rod, Cano, Swisher, Berkman, Cervelli (I am assuming the Yankees sign Carl Crawford from the Tampa Bay Rays). That line up would scare any pitcher regardless of how many wins they had the year before. Although I don’t know if the Yankees are going to shell out $20 million plus for Hamilton and Lee (and around $15 million for Crawford) but it would make for the most impressive batting lineup in baseball history!

MLB Playoffs prediction

Texas vs New York
New York Yankees in 6
The Yankees bats are going to end the Rangers season. If the Rangers could have beaten the Tampa Bay Rays in 4, they would have had a chance with Lee pitching twice in the series.

San Francisco vs. Philadelphia
Philadelphia in 6
Phills pitching and batting is going to be just too strong for the Giants. The season series was tied up at 3 wins apiece.

As much as I don’t want to see it, I think it is going to be a rematch of last year’s World Series between the Phillies and the Yankees.

Cliff Lee

What else can anyone say about the amazing performance Cliff Lee put on tonight? He made the best team in baseball look absolutely clueless. The movement on everyone of his pitches just left the batters standing in the box frozen. Look at the numbers:

CG, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 120 pitches and 89 Strikes.

The 2 key stats for me are the 0 walks and the 89 pitches for strikes. Lee did not give a single free pass the entire game, which didn’t allow the Rays to attempt to steal base and play the “small ball” they are known for. He threw 89 strikes. Almost 75% of his pitches were strikes. He mowed down the Rays like the rest of us cutting our lawns on the weekend. Cliff Lee was marvelous tonight, and if you missed it, you missed something special. All I can say is….. Cliff Lee is getting paid before the start of next season!