Seven wins down, four to go. That's the mindset of the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants, who have defied expectations to reach the 2010 World Series.
Neither team was supposed to come this far. The Rangers weren't supposed to outslug the New York Yankees. The Giants weren't supposed to outpitch the Philadelphia Phillies. But they did.
On consecutive nights, the Rangers and Giants, both underdogs, dispatched their respective defending league champions, who had their one−time MVP cleanup hitters at the plate. On Friday, Texas closer Neftali Feliz caught Alex Rodriguez looking at a slider, sealing a 6−1 win and the first pennant in the franchise's history. On Saturday, San Francisco's ninth−inning man Brian Wilson slipped a backdoor slider past Ryan Howard, ending a 3−2 nailbiter that brought the Giants back to the World Series for the first time since 2002.
Those two Game 6 victories ensured that this year's Fall Classic would have a fresh flavor. For the first time since 2006, there will be no East Coast teams involved. For the first time since 2002, a city will hang its first championship banner.
The Washington Senators relocated to Arlington, Texas in 1971. The New York Giants moved to San Francisco, Calif. in 1958. Every season since, their fans have rooted and rooted, only to watch their teams come up short in the end. Within the next eight days, one of those fan bases will have its patience rewarded; the other will need to wait at least another year.
The Rangers come into the World Series as the favorites, but the Giants — armed with the National League's first home−field advantage since 2001 — are not far behind.
Texas' primary advantage is on offense, where manager Ron Washington will field a diverse starting lineup that has power and speed, patience and aggressiveness, youth and experience. Bruce Bochy's lineup is more one−dimensional, relying on long−balls that sometimes do not come.
The Rangers' heart−of−the−order features likely American League MVP Josh Hamilton, accomplished slugger Vladimir Guerrero and a rising star in Nelson Cruz — a slugging triumvirate that combined for 83 home runs during the regular season. The Giants will counter with NL Rookie of the Year−hopeful Buster Posey in the cleanup spot, sandwiched between two resurgent veterans in Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell. That trio accounted for 62 homers.
The Giants' only true stolen−base threat is leadoff man Andres Torres, who succeeded on 26 of his 33 regular season attempts, but is just 1−for−4 so far in the playoffs. The Rangers, on the other hand, have several speedsters, led by middle infielders Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler. The Rangers ranked seventh in the majors with 123 steals during the regular season.
But the Giants can make up for their mediocre offense with an excellent pitching staff that led the league with a 3.36 team ERA and that has been as good as advertised in the playoffs. Staff ace Tim Lincecum appears to have found a groove after struggling with his command during the regular season, and his fellow homegrown rotation−mates — Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner — have, for the most part, been solid.
San Francisco also features one of the best bullpens in baseball, led by the eccentric Wilson and complemented by the effective setup duo of side−armers, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez. Romo held right−handed hitters to a .185 average during the regular season, while Lopez squashed lefties to the tune of a .162 mark, enabling Bochy to neutralize opponents' platoon advantages in the late innings.
Texas, though, doesn't trail by much, either in the rotation or the bullpen.
Cliff Lee, a candidate for AL Cy Young honors thanks to his record−setting 185−to−18 strikeout−to−walk ratio this season, is the best pitcher on either team and is undefeated in the postseason. C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis also have the stuff to dominate on any given night. And the Rangers' closer Feliz, who converted 40 of his 43 save chances this year, is one of the best young relievers in the game.
When it comes to fielding, the teams are about equal. The Giants ranked fourth in the majors in defensive efficiency, the rate at which balls in play are converted into outs, while the Rangers came in sixth. But those high marks mask glaring weaknesses in the outfield, where Bochy starts the lumbering Burrell in leftfield, and Washington — at least in the games played in San Francisco — may have to live with Guerrero's balky knees in right. The Rangers have the superior middle infield with Kinsler at second and Andrus at short, but the Giants have the edge in centerfield, where the fleet−footed Torres can cover more ground than Hamilton.
Overall, the Rangers will put more talent on the field than the Giants. That gap will be closed slightly by the Giants' success at AT&T Park, where they went 49−32 this season, and the Rangers' lowly 39−42 record on the road.
But as is the case with any short series, what matters isn't which team is better, it's which team plays better. The Rangers and Giants, both used to shedding the underdog label, know that better than anyone else.
The 2010 World Series won't feature the familiar faces of Philadelphia, New York or Boston. Instead, it will give the game's brightest new stars a chance to showcase their skills on the biggest stage and put their franchise on top of the baseball world for the first time.
From the claws and antlers of the Rangers, to the Zeus−like beards of the Giants, this year's Fall Classic promises plenty of excitement and loads of fun.
