Major League Baseball: Master Lee tames the New York Yankees game 3 (Part 1)
The New York Yankees are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. That’s an understood fact, but, when the American League Championship hits high gear, reputation doesn’t play a major part in deciding the series. Having the best players in the league
is not something the Yanks have gotten to play in their favour, this season. The side has an expensive squad and all hitters and pitchers, combined; there is no doubt the team harbours the league’s most expensive roster.
The Texas Rangers, on the other hand, are different to say the least. Most of their talent is home groomed or cheaply acquired from competing teams or ball clubs in the Triple A leagues. When one accumulates the salaries of hitters like Ian Kinsler, Vladimir
Guerrero, Nelson Cruz and Most Valuable Player nominee, Josh Hamilton, there isn’t much to see or talk of, given their aggregate value that falls below the Derek Jeter’s and Nick Swisher’s pay roll.
For Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, that fact represents a past anomaly as they were once part of the Rangers’ roster and partnered up with Michael Young on the strike zone. Nevertheless, with the conditions of both teams put on the table, there is great
affirmation in the struggle the Texans make in winning their games. But, to call the West division leaders cost effective may be unfair. The reason is that Cliff Lee is part of their squad. If Ron Washington has been proud of anything, it’s been the teamwork;
players have donated their will and patience to.
The Rangers were instrumental in dispelling the Tampa Bay Rays influence on them during the initial playoff series. To say the least, Texas was considered an inconsistent competitor when the two sides went head to head in the series. They took the wins lead
in the first two games but progressed further after the 5th game. The performance from the main players was lacking but when the championship began, the form was back up as all squad members were bursting forward in morale.
The New York Yankees faced easy competition from the Minnesota Twins to progress forward and when they went to the championship, they did that in just 3 games. The fact that the two ball clubs were on the far side of the preview cast made things unpredictable.
The Texans never won a playoff series but defeating the Rays meant they accomplished something they had not ever done so before. However, meeting the Yankees for the championship was historically significant. The west champions never made it past the first
stage in the post season, but the main reason was that the Yanks always beat them in their series.
For Ron Washington, it was important to make the players feeling right for the fixture. The first game against Joe Girardi’s men was played in the side’s home ground, the Rangers Ballpark. Going in with a good lead in the first 7 innings, the side lost the
match after Alex Rodriguez led a comeback in the 6th inning. The second game showcased a different result and it was a fixture the Rangers took home for an equalizer, as David Murphy led an attack that laid the New York side to waste, scoring twice
and batting runs in twice as well. His home run was instrumental in smashing the Yankees hopes in front of a home crowd of 50,362 supporters.
The two sides were scheduled to face off in the Yankees stadium in front of a grand New York crazed fan base. Many analysts called the game in favour of the Yanks due to the pressure imposed by the fans but knowing the Rangers who were on top of their form
and used to the away crowd, there was no way to see where the game would go.
However, one thing was to be taken into notice though: ‘Master Lee was going to pitch for Texas on Monday’
Tags: