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After 162 regular season games and two rounds of playoffs, there are only two teams left standing: the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers.

With these two unlikely league champions set to square off in the 2010 World Series on Wednesday night, there are certainly plenty of disappointed fans in New York and Philadelphia.

While many casual baseball fans and network executives at Fox were hoping for a 2009 World Series rematch of the Yankees–Phillies, as a series featuring the Rangers and Giants may not be good for Bud Selig and Fox’s ratings; it will, however, ultimately be good for baseball.

It’s good for Rangers fans who have been waiting for this moment since the team’s inception as the Washington Senators in 1961; it’s good for San Francisco Giants fans that have been waiting for a World Series title since they were still playing baseball at the Polo Grounds in New York back in 1954.

It’s good for a fan of any small market team that isn’t supposed to make it this far, with juggernauts like the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies standing in their way.

This year’s World Series will give the casual fan the opportunity to become familiar with players not named Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez or Ryan Howard. Instead, the names Cody Ross, Nelson Cruz, Colby Lewis and Matt Cain will become recognizable. Also, guys like Josh Hamilton and Tim Lincecum will finally get the national media attention they deserve.

It’s not as though there won’t be plenty of intriguing story lines in this year’s World Series: Cliff Lee versus Tim Lincecum in Game 1 has the potential to be one of the best World Series pitching duels in recent memory, feel-good stories like the triumph of Josh Hamilton over substance abuse and the emergence of Cody Ross as an unlikely playoff hero are sure to garner the attention of sports fans everywhere. The list goes on.

In the MLB, there is no salary cap and there is anything but a level playing field in terms of payroll. When the New York Yankees annually spend 250 percent of the $84 million median payroll of the entire league, things are anything but fair.

In addition to the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies all spend nearly twice as much as the league median. It’s no surprise that three of these four teams are perennial championship contenders.

Enter the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers.

The Giants did have a $97 million payroll, good enough for 10th in the league, but considering $18 million of that is tied up in Barry Zito, who didn’t even make the playoff roster, that’s $79 million on the team that beat the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the postseason, which happens to be $5 million lower than the league median.

The Rangers’ story is even more intriguing. At the beginning of the 2010 season, the Rangers’ organization was bankrupt and actually owned by Major League Baseball. Their opening day payroll of $55 million ranked 27th in MLB, ahead of only the Pirates, Padres and Athletics.

Luckily for small market teams, this season further proves that no amount of money is guaranteed to buy a championship. The Yankees can go out and spend money like they own the mint, yet couldn’t get past a team that spent only 27 percent as much money.

It’s good for baseball to see some parity in a sport that is often criticized for being dominated by big market teams. Regardless of who ultimately prevails, a fanbase will be rewarded with a long overdue championship.

This year’s championship will either go out to lifelong Giants fans and former players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal or to Rangers faithful and players including Nolan Ryan and Jim Sundberg.

Hardcore baseball fans love an underdog. It’s what keeps so many people pulling against the New York Yankees year in and year out.

This year’s World Series features two of them.

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It almost seemed that it was over before it started. The Texas Rangers‘ homecoming to an Arlington stadium full of their rowdy fans and a Colby Lewis gem finally put an end to the Yankees‘ hopes of defending their World Series title.

Unlike Game 5 back in New York, the Yankees didn’t have their ace CC Sabathia on the mound. Instead, they were relying on a young and relatively inexperience Phil Hughes who had already taken the Game 2 loss when he gave up seven earned runs in only four innings of work.

Even with Cliff Lee awaiting the game 7 start on Saturday night, the Texas Rangers had no intentions of letting it get that far if they could help it. They refused to be intimidated by the rich history of the New York Yankees franchise that includes 27 World Series titles. All that postseason experience and $200 million payroll of the Yankees—all but irrelevant according to the Rangers’ Michael Young.

The Yankees tried their best to sound as though they weren’t concerned.

Alex Rodriguez was quoted as saying, “It’s great. Any time you’re playing for your life, these [games] are life or death, literally.”

Regardless of how you feel about his choice of words, he certainly didn’t sound too worried.

Derek Jeter also refused to panic. “You try to win one game, that’s all you can do. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves, just like I’m sure they have confidence in their team.”

Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, their confidence and refusal to panic was not nearly enough to defeat an inspired Texas Rangers team looking for their first World Series berth.

Too bad for the New York Yankees that experience and confidence don’t always equate to victories.

Colby Lewis pitched an incredible game where he went eight full innings and gave up only one earned run when Alex Rodriguez scored on a questionable wild pitch that appeared to hit Nick Swisher in the foot.

In the end, that run proved to mean very little.

The Rangers’ offense kept up their impressive output by scoring six runs, including a four run fifth inning that blew the game wide open. In a game where the powerful Yankee offense could only muster three hits, there was little chance for a Yankee comeback.

This young and inspired Rangers team made the Yankees look old and weary. Alex Rodriguez once again fell back to his old ways and ended the series batting an unimpressive .158.

It was only fitting that he would be retired for the final out in the ninth inning to end the Yankees’ season.

From Game 1 up until that final out that resulted in a 6-1 Texas victory, the 2010 Texas Rangers played an incredibly inspired brand of baseball. They looked like anything but a team chasing their first American League pennant.

Although it took the Rangers six games to put away the Yankees, the series was dominated throughout by this scrappy Texas team. With the exception of one inning in Game 1 and the Yankees’ Game 5 victory, Texas made the Yankees’ high priced team look like a far cry from the defending World Series champions.

In a season that began in turmoil, a scandal involving manager Ron Washington and bankruptcy, the Texas Rangers are going to the World Series for the first time since their inception as the Washington Senators in 1961.

Good luck to the winner of the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants. They’re certainly going to need it.

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After watching San Francisco Giants’ third baseman Pablo Sandoval backpedal in a futile attempt to get his foot on the third base bag in game 5 of the NLCS before eventually falling backward, one can’t help but chuckle.

It’s not that Sandoval is alone in his seemingly lack of athleticism. Baseball players certainly have an amazing ability to either hit or pitch a baseball, but when it comes to agility and general athleticism, there are a few of them who appear to come up short. Retired players like John Kruk, Cecil Fielder, and David Wells immediately come to mind.

Only in baseball could an athlete be borderline obese yet still be able to be a productive everyday player.

Here’s a look at the ten current Major League Baseball players who appear to be the most out of shape.

Note: This list is in no way implying that these aren’t great players. It’s only a lighthearted look at the physiques of some of baseball’s premier players.

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After the 10-3 shelling that the New York Yankees took at the hands of the Texas Rangers in the “House that George Built,” one can’t help but begin to worry. What began in game one with the exception of an offensive outburst in one inning has only steadily gotten worse through the first four games.

Is this really what a payroll in excess of $200 million looks like?

It’s not like the Yankees are losing close games. They have let a Texas Ranger team with almost no postseason experience outside of Cliff Lee make them look like amateurs.

Rewind only six months ago and the New York Yankees were coming off of their record 27th World Series title and looked primed to defend it. At the same time, the Texas Rangers were dealing with bankruptcy issues and a manager who was involved in a scandal involving his cocaine use.

My how things have changed throughout the course of the season. To the Rangers’ credit, they didn’t let the off-field issue distract them and even went out and picked up super-ace Cliff Lee just as the Yankees were primed to add him to their roster.

But even with all the success that Texas had throughout the regular season and against the Tampa Bay Rays in the divisional series, how many people were really expecting these Rangers to compete with the Bronx Bombers?

Through the first four games, not only have they competed, but they’ve dominated. After losing game one 6-5 in Arlington, the Rangers have outscored the Yankees 25-5. The powerful Yankees offense has been pedestrian. Outside of Andy Pettitte, their high priced pitching staff has looked average.

With the exception of Robinson Cano’s incredible .467 average, no other Yankee has an average higher than .286. In fact, the entire team is hitting a paltry .198.

Compare that with the Rangers’ lineup that has managed to hit .307 as a team. Six of the Rangers’ nine offensive starters are hitting over .300 for the series. Of those nine, only Ian Kinsler is batting lower than .286.

New York has not only been beaten on the scoreboard. They’ve also looked old and tired. They don’t seem to have the fire of the 2009 team that brought home that 27th World Series championship. In the eighth inning with the bases loaded when a pitch appeared to hit Nick Swisher‘s foot, Joe Girardi didn’t even make an argument.

Even before the eighth inning, many of the seats began to empty after the Texas took a 7-3 lead in the seventh. By the time the Rangers put up their final three runs in the top of the ninth inning, the stands began to look like an early season afternoon Tampa Bay-Kansas City game at Tropicana field. It certainly didn’t look like Game 4 of the American League Championship series.

With C.C. Sabathia heading to the mound in this afternoon’s game five in the Bronx, it’s make or break time for the Yankees. There is no tomorrow. Pitching on short rest, he gives New York by far their best chance to pickup a win and take the series back to Texas.

If New York is going to pick up a game five win today, they will have to do it without Mark Teixeira, who left Tuesday night’s game with a strained hamstring and is finished for the remainder of the season. Of course, Tex hadn’t been doing much anyway on offense after going 0-14 with three walks through the first four games.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, it may be too little too late. Even it they were to reel off two consecutive victories, Cliff Lee is set to start game seven in Arlington; not exactly a matchup with good odds.

However, baseball is a funny game. Things can change quicker than a C.C. Sabathia fastball. Just like last week when nearly everyone was counting the Rangers out, the court of public opinion is now certifying the Yankees all but dead. We all know how that has turned out so far.

There are some things one should always do in their life—love your wife, never bet the house, and don’t ever count out the New York Yankees. If Sabathia comes out tonight and pitches like he’s capable of, and the Yankee bats finally come out of hibernation, the momentum could quickly turn back into the Yankee’s favor.

With all of that experience in the New York dugout compared to that of the Rangers, a change in momentum might be the only chance the Yankees have left.

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It was only a couple weeks ago when many experts had the New York Yankees as a lock to make it to the World Series and defend their title. Unfortunately, for the Yankee faithful, no one told the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers have certainly not been intimidated by the Yankees bloated payroll and 27 World Series titles. They haven’t been phased by their previous nine losses in ten postseason games to the Yankees before this season. The 2010 Texas Rangers are not your daddy’s Texas Rangers.

Cliff Lee and the Texas Rangers handed the Yankees their worst home loss in postseason history, and for the boys in pinstripes, that includes an incredible amount of games. Even with Andy Pettitte, the most prolific winner in postseason history, the Yankees couldn’t overcome the dominance of Lee.

After tonight’s victory, Cliff Lee became the most successful pitcher in postseason history in terms of earned run average. With an ERA of 1.26 and a 7-0 career postseason record, Lee has placed himself among the all-time greats in history.

After managing only two hits in nine innings and striking out an incredible 15 times, the Yankees are certainly lagging in confidence. In a game as fickle as baseball, mental composure can be nearly as important as physical ability. After three games, New York is certainly lacking in confidence.

With the exception of one strong inning in game one where the Yankees put up five runs in the eighth inning, the Rangers’ pitching staff has held the powerful New York lineup in check. After scoring six runs in their come from behind victory in game one, the Yankees have only scored two runs in games two and three. In fact, with the exception of that eighth inning of game one, the Yankees have managed only three runs in 26 innings.

Sure, the Yankees are only down 2-1 going into game four in New York, but how confident can they be with a struggling A.J. Burnett scheduled to be going to the mound against a formidable Texas lineup and the Yankees’ stagnant offense?

The Yankees’ best chance would lie with a shakeup in the scheduled rotation. Although C.C. Sabathia was less than stellar in his game one outing, he gives New York their best chance of victory. Also, that would leave him open for the possibility of a game seven start on short rest.

Game four will ultimately prove to be the most important game of the season for the 2010 New York Yankees. With a win, they can even the series at two games apiece. With a loss, the Rangers go up 3-1 forcing a minimum of seven games and the possible return of Cliff Lee.

When discussing the New York Yankees, it’s never too late to count them out. But if there’s any season where the odds are significantly against them, this is it.

It’s time for the Yankees to channel the spirit of George Steinbrenner. The Yankees have to go out and turn the momentum in a game four victory, or their season is all but finished.

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Nearly 50 years of baseball. The last 39 of those years in Arlington. One of only three teams to have never been to the World Series. The Texas Rangers were not exactly a team with a rich tradition. However, when B.J. Upton popped out to left center to end the ninth inning, Texas fans finally had reason to celebrate.

If someone had said back in April that the Texas Rangers would be playing the New York Yankees for the American League pennant and a potential World Series berth, many would have laughed in their face. From Ron Washington‘s admission of cocaine use to the bankruptcy problems that have plagued the front office, the Rangers didn’t look like a team bound for October baseball.

Luckily for the boys in red, white, and blue, things don’t always turn out like predicted.

Nolan Ryan and Ron Washington managed to find a way to put the distractions aside and lead the team to a 90 win season. From the resurgence of Vladimir Guerrero to stealing former Mariner Cliff Lee away from the Yankees right before the trade deadline, the front office made all of the right moves to give this team a chance to win. Even without potential MVP Josh Hamilton down the stretch, destiny had a plan for these Rangers.

When the Rangers clinched the West division title for the first time since 1999 in late September, long-time Ranger Michael Young finally got his first taste of the postseason. It only took a little over 1,500 games. As great as it felt to finally have the chance to play baseball deep into October, this team wasn’t simply willing to settle with a playoff berth; this team wanted playoff victories.

After the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League East, the Rangers knew that victory wasn’t going to be easy. They would be going on the road to face the team with the league’s best record at 96-66. Most experts weren’t giving them much of a chance to make it past the divisional series.

Cliff Lee and company had other plans.

After Lee dominated the Tampa Bay Rays during game one on the road, the fans in Arlington had reason to hope. Then there was C.J. Wilson’s two-hit gem in game two. The boys from Arlington were headed home with a 2-0 series lead and a chance to get that coveted series victory that had eluded them since their inception as the Washington Senators in 1961.

Unfortunately, after shutting down the Rays lineup in the first two games, things began to unravel in Texas. The Rangers’ bullpen gave up five runs in the final two innings of game three and went on to lose 6-3. Things didn’t go any better in game four as the Rays jumped ahead by five runs and went on to win 5-2 and even the series at two games apiece. 

With the momentum clearly on the Rays side going into game five in St. Petersburg, many teams would have let the pressure get to them. Not these Texas Rangers. Not with Cliff Lee on the mound for game five.

Lee continued the postseason brilliance he has been known for his entire career. After a complete game where he only allowed one run and struck out 11, the Texas Rangers are moving on to the ALCS to face the New York Yankees.

Don’t count this team out. Ranger fans haven’t forgotten the first round eliminations at the hands of the Yankees in 1996, 1998, and 1999. With Cliff Lee, C.J. Wilson, and Colby Lewis anchoring the rotation, and Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Vlad Guerrero providing the offense, competing with the bloated payroll of the evil empire won’t be a problem.

When the Yankees come to Arlington on Friday night, don’t expect the Rangers to back down. These Rangers are out for blood.

After nearly a half century wait, these Texas Rangers are different. Not only do they want to win, but they expect to win. It’s time to bring a pennant home. It’s time to give the loyal Ranger fans what they’ve been waiting for since 1961. Bring on the Yankees!

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After the Alex Gonzalez throwing error to extend the seventh inning and ultimately give the San Francisco Giants the lead, it felt like the beginning of the end. From that moment until the bottom of the ninth when Melky Cabrera hit the ball to third off of Brian Wilson for a groundout, the only thing I could think about was Bobby Cox. The coach. The man. The legend.

For the first time in my life as a Braves fan, I find myself more concerned with Bobby Cox than the Braves’ loss. He’s been with the Braves for nearly my entire life. From his first stint as Braves manager, then back to Atlanta as general manager after a pit stop in Toronto, to his return to the dugout as manager once again, Bobby Cox has been the staple of the Atlanta Braves.

First it was Ron Gant, Terry Pendleton, and David Justice. Then it was the incredible big three of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. In 2005 it was the “Baby Braves” that took Atlanta to the postseason. And finally, in 2010, it was a patchwork lineup supported with a great pitching staff. It didn’t matter so much what you gave Bobby Cox to work with; he always did the most with what he had.

Nearly the whole 2010 season, the deck seemed to be stacked against the Braves. It seemed that fate was against them. Injuries decimated the Braves throughout the year.

However, the Braves always found a way to keep going. When Martin Prado, who was then leading the NL in batting average, went down due to an injury, Omar Infante came in and produced. From utility infielder to unlikely all-star; from unlikely all-star to an anchor in the Braves lineup and third in the league in batting average.

Next it was Chipper Jones going down with a torn ACL. Martin Prado moved over to third and picked up where he left off earlier in the year. Then it was Prado going down again, this time for the year, in late September. The fatal blow finally came in the playoffs with Billy Wagner’s season ending oblique injury. Of course you would never hear Cox use these things to make any type of an excuse. The man simply has too much class.

For a man whose career in baseball spanned an astounding 51 years, he accomplished just about everything one could hope. He ends his career at number four all-time in career victories with 2,404.

He holds the vaunted ejections record with over 150. He led Atlanta to a truly incredible 14 consecutive division titles, five NL pennants, and of course that one World Series victory in 1995. But the legend of Bobby Cox extend far beyond mere numbers.

Cox always had a way with his players. One would he hard pressed to find one of his former players with anything negative to say about the man. Tune in to any of Bobby’s press conferences and one would hear overwhelming praise for his players, even if they really didn’t perform all that well.

Cox was never one to take credit for anything. That honor was reserved for his players. Cox was the type of manager who made his players better. According to J.C. Bradbury in his 2008 book The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed, there exists what Sports Illustrated‘s Thomas Lake has termed the “Cox Effect.” When pitchers play for Bobby Cox, there ERA’s tend to be quarter point lower on average.

Bobby was notorious for giving his players nicknames. Gilly for Marcus Giles, Smoltzie for John Smoltz, Lemmer for Mark Lemke, Jase for Jason Heyward, and Teepee for Terry Pendleton. Bobby would always show up early for batting practice, and when the game began, he would be at the top of the dugout steps shouting encouragements. This was a manager who truly cared about his players.

In fact, he cares so much that he’s been known to send some of his former players money if they were ever in need. Also, many of his ejections came only because of his efforts to keep his players from getting ejected. When one of his players would argue with an umpire, Bobby would often step in and take over the argument while his player had time to cool down. Cox defines the term “player’s manager.”

According to Chipper Jones, Cox uses his ejections in an effort to turn the momentum and motivate his players. If anyone would know the method to the madness, it would be Jones, who has spent his entire 18-year career playing for Cox.

When Brian Wilson retired Melky Cabrera for the third out of the ninth inning, no one was in a hurry to leave Turner Field. Instead, the fans stood up and chanted “Bobby.” Never after such a heartbreaking end to a season can I remember the fans showing so much class. Bobby Cox obliged and came out for the final curtain call of his illustrious career. With a tip of the cap, Cox disappeared back into the clubhouse for the last time.

It’s the end of an era in Atlanta. Sure baseball will continue to be played come February, but things will be a whole lot different. Goodbye Bobby Cox and thank you for a great career. You are truly one of a kind.

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