Kuzul

Baseball is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world.   

Before the season starts, predictions are made of who will do this and who will do that.  But, the truth is, that there are so many different things that can and will happen.  Every season, the unexpected happens.

Whether it be in the form of a young player having a monster year.  A mediocre player who suddenly becomes a star.  A veteran having one last kick at the can, or a perennial all-star having an off year.

Either way, these things are hard to predict.  But, I have created a list of players  of whom I believe will fall under one of the four categories mentioned above during the 2011 MLB Regular Season.

Begin Slideshow

Texas Ranger outfielder Nelson Cruz has not stopped his torrid hitting, and with not much hoopla, he set a new postseason record in Game 3 Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants.

Cruz’s double in the second inning was his 12th extra-base hit of this postseason.

The Dominican Republic-born outfielder broke the mark of 11 extra-base hits, accomplished seven times, most recently the last one was by the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez in 2009.

Cruz double also tied the doubles postseason record held by three other players, the most recent of whom was Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth in 2008.

Cruz among Latinos is expected, if he continues his present offense, to be selected as World Series MVP, if Texas wins the series.

For those history buffs, these are the Latino leaders in single postseason statistics:

Batting Average
Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado, 2009, .588

Hits
Albert Pujols, St. Louis, 2004, 24

Doubles
Nelson Cruz, Texas, 2010, 7
Mike Lowell, Boston, 2007, 7

Triples
Mariano Duncan, Philadelphia, 1993, 3

Home Runs
Carlos Beltran, Houston, 2004, 8

Runs Batted In
David Ortiz, Boston, 2004, 19
Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland, 1997, 19

Runs Scored
Carlos Beltran, Houston, 2004, 21

Slugging Percentage
Juan Gonzalez, Texas, 1996, 1.375

On-Base Percentage
Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2008, .660

Total Bases
Carlos Beltran, Houston, 2004, 47

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Dubbed the Year of the Pitcher, the 2010 MLB season has been full of milestones reached by the men on the mound. 

Whether it has been Roy Halladay’s bouts with perfection or Cliff Lee’s masterful postseason performances, Major League Baseball is all about the pitcher (at least for this year). 

Look no further than the 2010 World Series to confirm the old adage “pitching wins championships.” With both teams’ ERA under 3.00 heading into the Fall Classic, the Giants and Rangers will need to rely on their power pitching to establish dominance in the series. 

While the Giants offer more depth in their rotation, especially with 21-year old Madison Bumgarner pitching admirably out of the four spot, the Rangers have relied on the heroics of Cliff Lee and the far less-heralded Colby Lewis to keep opposing offenses at bay (they have a 2.76 ERA this postseason, good for first in the AL). 

San Francisco’s troubles lie at the plate, where they have struggled to score runs consistently all season long. As a team, the Giants have hit only .231 in 10 playoff games, and despite a torrid postseason from Cody Ross (4 HRs, 8 RBIs in that span), they still cannot be relied upon for constant run production. 

On the other hand, the Rangers are ranked first in every relevant offensive statistic this postseason and their ability to capitalize with runners in scoring position has set them apart from the rest of the competition in the playoffs thus far. 

Standouts such as C.J Wilson, Ian Kinsler and Aubrey Huff had to be left off the list because of the plethora of impact players. 

Begin Slideshow

Using our MLB simulation engine we “played” the Texas Rangers versus San Francisco Giants 2010 World Series Best-of-Seven series 1001 times.

In the table below you will find each teams’ chances of advancing to the World Series and how often they win in 4, 5, 6 or 7 games. As you can see, the most likely scenario is the Rangers beating the Giants in six games 19-percent of the time.

Below the Rangers and Giants’ team previews are game-by-game summaries and related box scores of our simulation’s predicted results.

San Francisco Giants Preview – Ryan Fowler

No matter the sport, rooting for the little guy is amplified come playoff time.

It’s why the Cinderella stories during March Madness are so compelling and why, in more cases than not, unbiased fans pull for David over Goliath when it comes time to chose sides.

Rudy Ruetigger does not become a Hollywood classic if said defensive end stands 6-foot-6-inches and tips the scales at 260 pounds.

As if writing their own script this October, it’s ironic that, of all teams, the San Francisco Giants would play the role of the little guy in the 2010 World Series. Not to mention, one of the smallest guys on the team, Cody Ross (5-10, 194 lbs), would earn NLCS MVP honors against Philadelphia.

Philadelphia pitchers cringed when Ross, who we featured in our NLCS preview piece, would step to the plate. The right fielder, who hit .286 with a homer and three ribbies in the NLDS, straight up mashed his way to the MVP. He batted .350, cranked three homers (two in Game 1 vs Halladay) and drove in five runs. He slugged .950 versus the Phillies “Big 3,” oh, and Joe Blanton. Ross is to the Giants fan base what Thomas the Tank Engine is to toddlers.

In this year of the pitcher, we must turn our attention to the Giants rotation, a nucleus of precision with an occasional dash of friction. (see: Sanchez Game 6 vs PHI). San Francisco’s 1-2-3-4 punch of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and closer Brian Wilson all owned ERAs lower than 3.44 in the regular season. The Giants team ERA of 3.36 was the lowest in Major League Baseball since 2003 (Dodgers, 3.16). This remarkable stat includes Barry Zito‘s underachieving—when compared to his teammates—season at 9-14 and an ERA of 4.15. That stat line must be one of the reasons why Bruce Bochey removed Zito from the post-season roster and added Madison Bumgarner. All Bummy did, at 21-years-old, was become the youngest player in franchise history to record a playoff win.

No question, the Giants will rely heavily on their starting rotation to get them deep into games as they try to avoid crooked numbers from appearing on the scoreboard. Let’s face it, although Cody Ross is trying to match Reggie Jackson at-bat for at-bat, to think it can continue at the same rate is a bit naive. San Fran’s batting average was 15th in the big leagues during the regular season at .257 and it’s no surprise it’s dropped in the post-season to .231. However, the Rangers, and their .276 regular season team batting average, have somehow managed to ratchet up the offense this October, hitting .281 in the post-season with 17 home runs.

The Giants have hit six long balls in these playoffs. Four have come off the bat of the little guy Cody Ross.

Not bad for a guy five-foot-nothin, a hundred-and-nothin.

Texas Rangers Preview – Joel Beall

The battle cry of, “Nobody believed in us!” has become belittled in our sporting society, undoubtedly because every championship team states this mantra at some juncture in their title run. While most accept this motto as truth, the reality is many championship teams are projected for glory before the onset of the season. However, this sentiment can not be said for the Rangers, as few genuinely suspected Texas would find themselves four games away from the franchise’s first World Series title (well, except for the WhatIfSports MLB simulation engine, which correctly predicted the Rangers in six.)

And with good reason. The Rangers finished 43-42 the last three months of the season despite acquiring the services of starting pitcher Cliff Lee. Josh Hamilton, the team’s offensive catalyst, had succumbed to injuries in September, leading many to speculate on the slugger’s status for the postseason. Power hitter Vlad Guerrero appeared to tire during the second half of the season, as his average, home run, and RBI totals dipped considerably after June. Even Lee, the most coveted ace in the American League, had lost his aura of invincibility as the Texan posted a pedestrian 4.68 ERA in August and September. So one could understand why many pundits of America’s pastime predicted the Rays over the Rangers in the American League Divisional Series.

A three-games-to-two series triumph over Tampa should have quieted the critics, yet the Rangers performance was anything but convincing. Cliff Lee had regained his lights-out form, going 16 innings surrendering just two runs, and Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler belted three bombs for Texas. But the Rangers had blown a 2-0 series lead at home. Hamilton had not looked sharp at the plate, and the bullpen had been battered in back-to-back games. Surely this Texas team would meet its demise against the $207 million, 95-win Yankees.

Unfortunately, no one delivered this message to the Rangers clubhouse, as Texas took care of business in six games to send the franchise to its first World Series appearance in its 50-year existence. Hamilton awoke from his ALDS slumber, as the slugger hit .350 with four homers on his way to garnering series MVP honors. Lee continued his postseason pitching brilliance in Game 3, throwing eight innings of two-hit ball. Yet the real hero of the Rangers starting staff was Colby Lewis, who earned the W in Game 2 and pitched a masterpiece in the series-clinching Game 6. For the ALCS, Lewis yielded three runs in 13.2 innings of work, with 13 strikeouts to just nine hits.

Has Texas finally turned the Doubting Thomases into Arlington apostles? Not quite, as the San Fran starting rotation of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner is fearsome enough to make the most ardent believer question their faith. But with Lee, Hamilton, Kinsler, Cruz and company, the Rangers have a fighting chance against the Giants.

And that’s something every Texas fan can believe in.

When asked what he thought about heading to the World Series, Giants closer Brian Wilson said “it sounds epic” after clinching the NL pennant.

The Rangers Big 3 torch San Fran pitching

His first appearance in a World Series was anything but.

Although not a save situation and the game tied, Wilson came on in the 9th to try and give his team a shot in the bottom half of the inning.

After he got Michael Young to fly out to left, Josh Hamilton, also appearing in his first World Series, stepped to the plate.

And Hamilton’s success story continued to add more chapters on this night. The Rangers big bopper slammed a solo homer to right field to give Texas the lead for good.

Neftali Feliz closed the game for the Rangers in the 9th and just like that Texas broke serve in this best of seven series and won 6-5.

Freddy Sanchez, Buster Posey and Juan Uribe all homered for the Giants in the loss.

Through the first two rounds of the 2010 MLB playoffs, Matt Cain has yet to surrender an earned run.

He kept this streak intact in Game 2 with a complete game, four hit shutout where Giants’ fans saw him whiff eight Rangers hitters.

The story wasn’t so sweet for C.J. Wilson who got punished in 6 2/3 innings of work. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits and walked four.

San Francisco put this game away in the 7th inning with three runs on four hits.

The World Series, tied at a game apiece, heads to Texas for three straight.

It may be the year of the pitcher, but the two starters in Game 3 took most of the night off.

ERAs are predicted to soar in World Series

Texas erupted for eleven runs on eleven hits and abused San Francisco starter Jonathan Sanchez for seven earned runs before he departed after four innings of work.

Michael Young, Vlad Guerrero and Josh Hamilton all took the Giants pitching staff deep in the game.

Colby Lewis was far from spectacular, but with the offense on full tilt, he didn’t have to be to win his third straight start.

Texas wins 11-4 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Sometimes all it takes is one hit to change the complexion of a MLB playoff game.

Juan Uribe, for the second time, provided that hit for his team.

With two on in the 7th inning, the nominated designated hitter for American League home games took Tommy Hunter deep and just like that the Giants led 3-1.

Mitch Moreland would provide a brief rally in the bottom half of the inning with a solo shot of his own, but the comeback ended there.

Brian Wilson bounced back to save Game 4 after his Game 1 let-down.

The ping-pong match between these two continues with a Giants 3-2 win in Game 4.

Two pitchers. Two complete games. One winner. That was the Texas Rangers.

A Giant, not a Ranger, has best chance at HR

Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee provided the entertainment for nine innings, while three Rangers home runs proved to be enough offense on this night.

Lincecum got touched up by Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Nelson Cruz in three consecutive innings to hand Texas a 4-nothing lead.

Lee only allowed the three Giants to reach base all night. The three-hit, no walk-out shutout was exactly what the Rangers were hoping for when they traded for him this past summer.

Now Lee and the Rangers are one win away from a World Series title.

Aubrey Huff had a chance to be the hero, but ended up the zero.

The Giants slugger had a chance to tie the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, but struck out swinging.

Pop some ginger ale Texas, your Rangers just won the 2010 World Series.

The very foundation of what brought the San Francisco Giants to the World Series let them down in Game 6.

The Rangers pounded out 17 hits against Cain, Romo and Lopez to clinch their first World Series in franchise history. The hit parade forced nine runs to cross the plate for Texas. Elvis Andrus was named Player of the Game with his 4-5 performance in the lead off spot with two ribbies and a run scored.

The Giants rallied to within one run in the bottom of the 7th inning with a five-run outburst to close the gap, but the Rangers answered with two more runs in the 8th and one in the 9th for insurance.

The 2010 World Series belongs to the Texas Rangers.

Create your own World Series Dream Team from WhatIfSports.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Tim Lincecum: the Most Important Player in The World Series

For the Giants, that is certainly true. But of all the 50 players that will be participating in the 2010 World Series—which begins Wednesday at 7:57 p.m. in the San Francisco’s AT&T Park—”The Freak” is still the most important.

Here are 10 of the reasons why:

Begin Slideshow

This is a position that the Texas Rangers are all too familiar with. It’s a position they’ve been in through their first two postseason series, and they’ll play the role one more time.

What is that role, you ask? It’s being the underdog.

When the Rangers made it to the postseason, no one expected them to get past the Tampa Bay Rays let alone be the American League Champions. They weren’t supposed to beat the Rays, and they sure weren’t given a snowball’s chance in hell against the defending champion New York Yankees.

Once the Rangers had knocked off the Rays in the American League Divisional Series, the New York media started its onslaught of entitlement. A few of which actually put the Yankees in the World Series before they had even met the Rangers in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

After the Yankees came back and won Game 1 after trailing most of the night, most of the fans here in Texas thought every bit of momentum from that game was gone, and the series could be over all too soon.

While some might have counted them out after the first night, the Rangers weren’t counting themselves out, and they proved it over the next five games. Finally putting them down for good in Game 6, Texas sent the defending champions home for the ninth time in 10 years.

Much to the chagrin of the media that didn’t expect a thing from the Rangers or the ones that expected them to lay down and let the Yankees walk all over them, it was the Yankees that watched another team celebrate.

Now, after playing the underdog for two straight series, they’ll be in the position one more time, but this time it comes in the World Series against the National League Champion San Francisco Giants.

The team from the Bay Area finished off a 4-2 series win over another heavily favored team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

They have young pitchers in Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain. Three guys who can shut down just about any team they face.

Most will talk about how the Giants shut down the Phillies offense, but even they pale in comparison to either the Yankees or the Rangers. So far this postseason, the Phillies had a team batting average of .215, a 45 point drop from their .260 combined batting average during the regular season.

But, say what you want about the Phillies, the Giants offense wasn’t much better, dropping 26 points from the regular season (.257) to the postseason (.231).

On the flip side of the coin, the Texas Rangers picked up right where they left off from the regular season. They led all of baseball in team batting average (.276), only dropping three points during the postseason (.273).

When Vladimir Guerrero wasn’t hitting, they got big hits from Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Bengie Molina and Nelson Cruz. But, whey needed Guerrero the most, he came through in Game 6 with a clutch two-run double before Cruz put the game away for good.

They have guys who can come up big at any given time. They have a lineup that has speed up front with Elvis Andrus, power in the middle with Guerrero, Hamilton and Cruz, and role players who can pick up the slack with Ian Kinsler, Molina and David Murphy.

The one thing that you can count on being thrown out are “historic stats” between the two teams like ESPN’s Buster Olney has already done this morning. It’s inevitable that people will find some way to make their team look like the favorite in the days leading up to Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night.

But, no matter how many stats we want to throw out and no matter who has or hasn’t done well in the past against this pitcher, we saw how history worked out for the Yankees in the ALCS. They had owned the Rangers in the past, but the past doesn’t always translate to the present.

Where this game will be won is on the hill. The Rangers were ninth in baseball in team ERA (3.93) during the regular season and have been nothing short of dominant in the postseason, putting up a combined 2.40 ERA.

The Rangers are expected to have Cliff Lee in Game 1 followed by C.J. Wilson in Game 2 and either Colby Lewis or Tommy Hunter in Game 3 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

For the Giants, they are most likely to go with Tim Lincecum in Game 1, Jonathan Sanchez in Game 2 and Matt Cain in Game 3.

Let’s get to the heart of what this World Series is really all about. CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel spelled this out in a brilliant manner and far better than I ever could. This is a World Series between two mid-majors, if you forgive the college football pun.

The Yankees are out as are the Phillie,s and the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to quit with two months left in the season.

The media isn’t salivating over the pinstripes; they don’t get to talk about their crush on Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter for at least another three months and change. They can’t stand that. Who is going to watch a World Series between two teams who actually earned, not bought, their way onto the biggest stage in baseball?

This guy.

It’s a series that will feature some of the best pitching baseball has to offer. It will also feature a guy you can’t help but love (Josh Hamilton), a guy with a beard that continues to get darker by the day (Brian Wilson), a guy who will get a World Series ring no matter who wins (Bengie Molina), and arguably one of the worst, or best depending on how you look at it, haircuts you’ll ever see (Tim Lincecum).

These are two good teams with a bunch of guys who you won’t hate nearly as much as those who hate the Yankees.

There is no Alex Rodriguez type arrogance, there are no Nick Swisher type barrages of ‘f’ bombs to explain their feelings about facing Cliff Lee, and there will be no home made signs that say “Can’t we just sign both Lee and Hamilton,” caught by the TBS cameras while in New York.

The Rangers and Giants don’t have the best players money can buy. These two teams have the kind of talent that makes a World Series worth watching.

The glass slipper could be the most overrated symbol in all of sports. But, we love to root for the underdog don’t we? Well, at least most of us do.

For both cities, this is as big as it gets because neither city has much to root for when it comes to football. The Giants and Rangers are saving the NFL fans who are suffering by having to watch two lackluster football teams. The Cowboys and 49ers are a combined 2-9 so far this season. Yeah, it’s not been a good year for them.

Whether you think the networks will hate this World Series, you can bet that both AT&T Park and the Ballpark in Arlington will be sold out for every game that takes place at each respective stadium. These fans are chomping at the bit for Game 1, and they are ready for a World Series Championship to be brought home to their town.

For the Texas Rangers, this will be the defining moment for their franchise. They have been through an ownership change, they’ve been through slumps, the ineffectiveness of Scott Feldman and Rich Harden and jubilation when they acquired Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners.

This is a solid group of guys. Every single one has come up with a big hit during this postseason, every single one has done what the team required of them to get this far.

They’ve knocked off the best the American League had to offer. Now, they are just four wins away from their first ever World Series title.

The team’s mantra, “It’s Time,” has held true all season long. They have one more hurdle to clear and they’ve come too far to lose now.

The Texas Rangers, and their fans, believe it’s their time. They’re ready to celebrate in Arlington, a celebration that, for the first time, won’t have anything to do with the Dallas Cowboys.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Wow, in a style befitting their tortuous nature, Brian Wilson pitches the San Francisco Giants into the World Series!

After getting Ross Gload to ground out to open the inning, Wilson allows a 3-2 walk to Jimmy Rollins. He gets Placido Polanco to ground into a fielder’s choice, as Juan Uribe makes a solid throw on the run to get Rollins at second.

Then it got rough.

Chase Utley squeaked out a walk to put the tying run on second.

Then Wilson, facing Phillies clean-up man Ryan Howard, got him looking on a nasty 3-2 curveball to end the game, end the Phils’ season and send the Giants to the World Series.

Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge comes in to pitch the top of the ninth. The veteran righty K’s Nate Schierholtz to lead things off, then allows a bunt single to Andres Torres and another single to left to Freddy Sanchez.

Lidge then gives a free pass to Buster Posey, forcing Giants closer Brian Wilson to come to the plate.

It looked like the Giants were considering pinch-hitting Pablo Sandoval, but it seems to be just a ruse.

Wilson pops out of the dugout, looking about as comfortable as a prostitute in church, and proceeds to ground out to Ryan Howard at first to end the inning.

We’re headed to the bottom of the ninth, with three outs separating the Giants from their first World Series berth in eight years.

And you’ll never guess who just strolled into Game 6 for the visiting San Francisco Giants: two-time Cy Young Award-winning starter Tim Lincecum, who started and went seven strong innings in a Game 5 loss on Thursday.

Lincecum strikes out Jayson Werth to begin the inning, but then allows consecutive singles to right to Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez.

Manager Bruce Bochy comes to get Lincecum, opting instead for the more late-game-seasoned Brian Wilson. Not sure what the thinking was initially in bringing in Lincecum.

And Wilson comes through… though a bit frighteningly.

Carlos Ruiz lines to Aubrey Huff at first, who tosses to second to double off Victorino! Wow, what a letdown for the Phillies and their passionate fans.

We’re headed to the ninth.

After a quiet bottom of the seventh from the Phillies against Giants reliever Javier Lopez, the Giants struck back in the top of the eighth.

Still facing reliever Ryan Madson, Juan Uribe—starting at third base in place of Pablo Sandoval and who had been hit by a pitch in his last at-bat—took the tall righty deep to right and into the first row of seats, giving San Francisco a 3-2 lead and shocking the home crowd into silence.

Madson comes back to whiff Edgar Renteria to end the frame.

The Phillies could now be down to six outs on their season.