ARLINGTON, Texas — With the New York Yankees out of the way, Cliff Lee gets to pitch in an even bigger game for the American League champion Texas Rangers.
The ace left-hander didn’t have to beat the defending champions again to put Texas in its first World Series, so the Rangers’ prized midseason acquisition is set to start Game 1 on the biggest stage Wednesday night.
Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) is no stranger to the World Series. He won Games 1 and 5 for Philadelphia over New York last fall before the Phillies traded him to Seattle the same day they acquired Roy Halladay.
But the Rangers are newcomers, making the Fall Classic for the first time in the franchise’s 50th season despite plenty of unexpected pitching changes along the way.
“We all started having a certain feeling at some point in time. They just kept fighting back and fighting back, and we started believing in them,” Rangers President and part-owner Nolan Ryan said. “They were determined to getit done.”
While Lee was pitching for another AL West team at the start of the season, Scott Feldman and Rich Harden, the big addition from last winter, topped the Texas rotation. Frank Francisco was expected to be the closer.
While none of that trio is pitching this fall, the team that used to never have enough pitching is going to the World Series.
The Rangers clinched their first AL pennant with a 6-1 victory over the Yankees in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Friday night before a frenzied crowd of 51,404 at Rangers Ballpark - in the shadow of Cowboys Stadium, where the attention is usually focused in the fall.
Colby Lewis dominated over eight innings, winning for the second time in the series, before Neftali Feliz closed it out.
“This group of guys, I can’t say enough. It’s a great feeling,” said Lee, who was ready to pitch Game 7 if needed, after a 13-strikeout performance against the Yankees in Game 3. “With this group of guys, if we keep playing the way we have, things are going to work out.”
The Rangers dismissed the 27-time champion Yankees much the same way New York had knocked them out of the playoffs their previous three appearances in the second half of the 1990s.
There was little drama. Texas outscoring the Yankees 38-19, and all four victories were by at least five runs.
“My team never once thought that game was in hand, especially when you play a team like the New York Yankees,” fourth-year Manager Ron Washington said. “We knew we had to get 27 [outs]. We knew we had to keep putting the pressure on. We knew we had to keep playing baseball, and they certainly did that.”
The Rangers had never won a postseason series or even a home playoff game before this season. They took longer than any other club to get to the World Series for the first time. Montreal/ Washington (42 seasons) and Seattle (34) haven’t yet made it.
This was only the 17th winning record in 39 seasons since moving to Texas after the franchise started as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961.
The Rangers already ledthe AL West by 5 1/2 games when they acquired Lee on July 9. They took over first place for good June 8, a day after a loss to Lee and the Mariners.
“We were doing all of the things good teams do to win,” said Hamilton, the ALCS MVP. “Playing small ball, power, playing defense, pitching well, all of these things. And we saw how it could work if we did all of those things and how good we could be.”
“At that point, I think we started really believing in ourselves and believing that we were better than everybody else.”
Hamilton hit four home runs in the ALCS and was intentionally walked five times, three in the clinching game.
“Well, he’s a difference maker, and I always talk to Josh about presence,” Washington said. “His presence in our lineup makes everyone else better. ... Josh didn’t get a chance to swing the bat; Vlad did; Cruz did, and we put some runs on the board.”
Right after Hamilton was given a free pass in the fifth inning Friday night, Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run single. Nelson Cruz followed with ahome run for a 5-1 lead.
Guerrero signed with Texas for a guaranteed $6.5 million last winter after the Los Angeles Angels showed little interest in retaining the former AL MVP. He’s now going to the World Series for the first time in his 15 major league seasons.
Lewis was another addition last winter, returning to his original team after pitching the past two seasons in Japan. C.J. Wilson made the transition from the bullpen to the rotation and won 15 games.
But the top starters were supposed to be Feldman, who after winning 17 games in 2009 got a new three-year contract worth nearly $14million, and Harden, the free agent addition expected to be the No. 1 starter.
Feldman started opening day, but was 5-10 as a starter and moved back to the bullpen before being left off the postseason roster.
Harden was a bust, bothered by injuries and control problems. The right-hander went 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA and was designated for assignment right after the season to give him his unconditional release.
Sports, Pages 29 on 10/24/2010