Texas Rangers do not rule-out Roy Oswalt for 2012 – MLB Update
The Texas Rangers failed to improve on their last year’s performance this season, losing in the World Series for the second year running. However, the opponents were different and the series score-line was somewhat respectable.
After managing to split the first two games at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, the Rangers were annihilated in Game 3 of the World Series by the St. Louis Cardinals, losing 7-16 to the National League Wild Card entrants. This game exposed the pitching
weakness of the Rangers, but a positive result in Game 4 and 5 saw Texas come in touching distance of winning the Fall Classic, but Tony La Russa and his men had other plans in mind.
The Cardinals made a historic comeback to qualify for the postseason and then overcame the NL East champions Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series to inch closer to winning the pennant. It took them six games to wipe-out the Milwaukee Brewers in
the NL Championship Series and thus become only the tenth team in the history of Major League Baseball to qualify for the World Series.
Facing a do-or-die situation in Game 6, the Cardinals won impressively in the 11th inning, helped by MVP David Freese’s walk-off homer. Freese was named as Most Valuable Player for both NLCS and World Series.
The Rangers failed to live up to expectations in Game 7 and lost largely due to pitching errors. Matt Harrison failed to impress upfront and C.J. Wilson’s error on his very first pitch in relief saw the Cardinals extend their advantage over the American
League champions. Even though manager Ron Washington did not blame any particular player for the loss, but signalled the need to strengthen the bull-pen before 2012.
In this regard, team President Nolan Ryan stated that the free agent market will be competitive and keeping Wilson onboard depends on the response he gets from other teams. Ryan added that the team will go all-out to strengthen the ballclub as a whole and
that pitching will not be the only area of concern.
Ryan did not rule out the possibility of signing Philadelphia Phillies’ Roy Oswalt, but showed concern over his health and asserted that the final decision will be taken by the management.
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