Giants, Rangers in improbable clash
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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THE Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants, a pair of 30-1 longshots, begin their unexpected World Series showdown today with the winner ending half a century of frustration.
The pitching-rich Giants, with a rag-tag offense featuring other teams' castoffs dubbed "The Dirty Dozen" by manager Bruce Bochy, are aiming at their first Fall Classic crown since leaving New York for California in 1958.
An emerging Rangers club, well-rounded with speed, power and a pitching staff headed by import Cliff Lee, are attending the Big Dance for the first time in 50 years as a franchise, dating back to their 1961 birth as the Washington Senators.
The best-of-seven series opens in San Francisco with a golden pitching match-up between Giants ace Tim "The Freak" Lincecum and Lee, who carries a 7-0 career postseason mark into the clash.
The rail-thin, long-haired Lincecum, 16-10 this season, was 1-1 in the Giants' six-game triumph over the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies after throwing a two-hit, 14-strikeout gem against Atlanta in the first round.
Lee scuffled to a 4-6 mark and complained of a sore back after coming to Texas in a mid-season trade with the Seattle Mariners, but has been sensational again in the playoffs.
The lefty dominated last year's World Series-winning New York Yankees with eight innings of two-hit pitching and 13 strikeouts in the AL Championship Series after winning the opening and closing Division Series games against Tampa Bay with a combined ERA of 1.13 and 21 strikeouts without a walk.
The rest of the rotation should favour the Giants, who led the NL in earned run average, 3.36 compared to 3.93 for Texas, who ranked third in the American League where more runs are scored due to use of a designated hitter for the pitcher.
Texas boasts a stronger lineup, with MVP candidate Josh Hamilton, blossoming in his comeback from drug and alcohol abuse, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz a formidable trio following table-setters Elvis Andrus and Michael Young.
The Rangers, rescued from bankruptcy in mid-season by new ownership including Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, led the AL with a .276 batting average and were fourth in runs scored.
After years as a power-hitting team that waited for the big blast to score runs, manager Ron Washington encouraged players to use their speed on the basepaths and the Rangers swiped 123 bases to give them another dimension on offense.
San Francisco has stitched together a lineup with an uncanny ability to score just enough to support the pitching.
Pull-hitter Juan Uribe, who splits time between shortstop and third base, hit a rare opposite field, eighth-inning home run in the clinching 3-2 win over the Phillies.
Journeyman Cody Ross, who hit two homers off Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay in the Game 1 victory and was named MVP of the NLCS, was picked up on waivers in August from Florida.
Ross, playing for his fifth Major League team, grew up in New Mexico aspiring to follow in his father's footsteps as a rodeo clown, the brave souls who race in to distract a bull so a fallen rider can get to safety.
"My dad was in the rodeo. I used to dress up like him," Ross told reporters. "I was drawn to them so much because those guys had no fear."
The fearless Giants and Rangers now have the Major League Baseball stage to themselves with the title on the line.
The pitching-rich Giants, with a rag-tag offense featuring other teams' castoffs dubbed "The Dirty Dozen" by manager Bruce Bochy, are aiming at their first Fall Classic crown since leaving New York for California in 1958.
An emerging Rangers club, well-rounded with speed, power and a pitching staff headed by import Cliff Lee, are attending the Big Dance for the first time in 50 years as a franchise, dating back to their 1961 birth as the Washington Senators.
The best-of-seven series opens in San Francisco with a golden pitching match-up between Giants ace Tim "The Freak" Lincecum and Lee, who carries a 7-0 career postseason mark into the clash.
The rail-thin, long-haired Lincecum, 16-10 this season, was 1-1 in the Giants' six-game triumph over the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies after throwing a two-hit, 14-strikeout gem against Atlanta in the first round.
Lee scuffled to a 4-6 mark and complained of a sore back after coming to Texas in a mid-season trade with the Seattle Mariners, but has been sensational again in the playoffs.
The lefty dominated last year's World Series-winning New York Yankees with eight innings of two-hit pitching and 13 strikeouts in the AL Championship Series after winning the opening and closing Division Series games against Tampa Bay with a combined ERA of 1.13 and 21 strikeouts without a walk.
The rest of the rotation should favour the Giants, who led the NL in earned run average, 3.36 compared to 3.93 for Texas, who ranked third in the American League where more runs are scored due to use of a designated hitter for the pitcher.
Texas boasts a stronger lineup, with MVP candidate Josh Hamilton, blossoming in his comeback from drug and alcohol abuse, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz a formidable trio following table-setters Elvis Andrus and Michael Young.
The Rangers, rescued from bankruptcy in mid-season by new ownership including Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, led the AL with a .276 batting average and were fourth in runs scored.
After years as a power-hitting team that waited for the big blast to score runs, manager Ron Washington encouraged players to use their speed on the basepaths and the Rangers swiped 123 bases to give them another dimension on offense.
San Francisco has stitched together a lineup with an uncanny ability to score just enough to support the pitching.
Pull-hitter Juan Uribe, who splits time between shortstop and third base, hit a rare opposite field, eighth-inning home run in the clinching 3-2 win over the Phillies.
Journeyman Cody Ross, who hit two homers off Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay in the Game 1 victory and was named MVP of the NLCS, was picked up on waivers in August from Florida.
Ross, playing for his fifth Major League team, grew up in New Mexico aspiring to follow in his father's footsteps as a rodeo clown, the brave souls who race in to distract a bull so a fallen rider can get to safety.
"My dad was in the rodeo. I used to dress up like him," Ross told reporters. "I was drawn to them so much because those guys had no fear."
The fearless Giants and Rangers now have the Major League Baseball stage to themselves with the title on the line.
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