Post by dbackhon on Jul 16, 2019 9:25:49 GMT -5
New York Yankees vs Texas Rangers
How they got here:
The New York Yankees won the Wild Card from the Oakland A's then faced a very strong Chicago White Sox team that many would have considered favorites to win their second World Series title in a long and grueling 7 game series proving that they have the mental fortitude to go through a difficult series and come out ahead.
The Texas Rangers won the AL West and for the third time in history dispatched of the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, however unlike the 7-game slogfests in 2018 and 2020 the Rangers were able to dispatch the AL East champs in just five games though in true Rays-Rangers fashion all one of those five games were determined by a single run (and the one that was not was won by a score of 4-2).
A fun fact, both of these clubs had identical records in the regular season.
NYY Bats vs Texas Pitching
The Texas rotation is led by all-star and Cy Young candidate Marcus Stroman (17-8, 3.69 ERA) who is coming off of his most successful season in the PBA having racked up 7.3 WAR on the year despite a .328 BABIP against on the season. Following Stroman in the rotation are a couple of wildcards, going into late September as the Rangers were pushing to avoid being eclipsed by the surging A's in the final days of the season Rick Porcello (13-6, 3.38 ERA) who led the AL in ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 on the year tore his flexor tendon in his elbow ruling him out for post season play. The back end of Texas' rotation is not quite as solid as if would have been if Porcello were able to suit up this October. Danny Salazar has had an up and down season finds himself in the #2 spot in Texas 3-man rotation is currently in a bit of a rough patch in his past three starts (all against Tampa Bay). In the third spot in the rotation is Adonis Medina, a former Rule V groundballer that notched his first positive WAR season at the major league level this year. The Rangers have elected not to use Cole Hamels in the post season.
NY counters with an offense built around the Home Run ball. The Bronx Bombers really lived up to their name hitting an AL leading 296 home runs on the season and boasting a lineup where every 7 of the starting 9 hit over 25 HR on the year and 5 hit over 30. At least when it comes to pop and explosive offense there is not a spot in the Yankee lineup where the Rangers pitchers will be able to sit pretty. That being said the Yankees only had the 6th best offense in terms of runs scored in the AL due in large part to a low team batting average of .253 good for 11th in the AL. If the texas pitchers especially extreme groundballer Medina can find a way to keep the ball inside the park, especially in the tinderbox called "The Ballpark at Arlington" the Texas pitchers should have some success in this season despite their lack of depth. Especially since both of the Yankees' 40+ HR players (Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier) are righties with notable platoon splits matching up against a trio of Texas righty starters.
Texas Bats vs NYY Pitching
This series is a battle of explosive offenses Texas is 2nd in the AL in Home Runs to the Yankees having hit 281 big flies on the year they are led in the power department by AL home run leader Giancarlo Stanton who in addition to hitting 54 homers this year (a career high) is no stranger to big moments having won the World Series MVP with the Cleveland Indians last season. In many ways the Texas offense is a lot like the Yankees offense just a little bit worse. They are in the middle of the pack in terms of runs scored (7th to NYY's 6th) depend on the long ball (2nd to NYY's 1st) and are beleaguered by low batting averages and OBP (8th to NYY's 11th in Average; 6th to NYY's 7th in OBP). Given that the games are going to take place in a small stadium in Texas and in Yankee Stadium with its famous short porch there will be a lot of emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground, not giving up long balls.
The Yankee Rotation is giving up around 1.6 HR/9, which is at a higher rate than Texas and has a lot of question marks. Cessa, Hahn, and Severino are all decent to good pitchers that you would be more than happy to have in a rotation but there isn't a name among them that you would start against Stroman and feel like you have the upper hand pitching wise. Severino has been up-and-down in the playoffs for his whole career and has often imploded in big spots, firebrand rookie Friecier Perez has been great in his limited innings with the big club including a truly amazing and career defining start in Game 7 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox but has less than 25 major league innings under his belt and has been lucky in those innings as batters have a BABIP of .217 against him. Granted the Yankees lead the AL in defensive efficiency, but that BABIP is liable to self-correct and average at around .270 (where the other Yankee starters are) and to have them correct now could spell disaster for NYY.
Conclusion
On paper the Yankees and the Rangers look like very similar teams, both have offenses built on the long ball but struggle getting on base, and both have pitching staffs filled with right handers and question marks. Ultimately I believe that the series will be extremely close, but Texas has both a true ace in Marcus Stroman and the more lefty bats to take advantage of the short porch in the Bronx.
Rangers in 7
How they got here:
The New York Yankees won the Wild Card from the Oakland A's then faced a very strong Chicago White Sox team that many would have considered favorites to win their second World Series title in a long and grueling 7 game series proving that they have the mental fortitude to go through a difficult series and come out ahead.
The Texas Rangers won the AL West and for the third time in history dispatched of the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, however unlike the 7-game slogfests in 2018 and 2020 the Rangers were able to dispatch the AL East champs in just five games though in true Rays-Rangers fashion all one of those five games were determined by a single run (and the one that was not was won by a score of 4-2).
A fun fact, both of these clubs had identical records in the regular season.
NYY Bats vs Texas Pitching
The Texas rotation is led by all-star and Cy Young candidate Marcus Stroman (17-8, 3.69 ERA) who is coming off of his most successful season in the PBA having racked up 7.3 WAR on the year despite a .328 BABIP against on the season. Following Stroman in the rotation are a couple of wildcards, going into late September as the Rangers were pushing to avoid being eclipsed by the surging A's in the final days of the season Rick Porcello (13-6, 3.38 ERA) who led the AL in ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 on the year tore his flexor tendon in his elbow ruling him out for post season play. The back end of Texas' rotation is not quite as solid as if would have been if Porcello were able to suit up this October. Danny Salazar has had an up and down season finds himself in the #2 spot in Texas 3-man rotation is currently in a bit of a rough patch in his past three starts (all against Tampa Bay). In the third spot in the rotation is Adonis Medina, a former Rule V groundballer that notched his first positive WAR season at the major league level this year. The Rangers have elected not to use Cole Hamels in the post season.
NY counters with an offense built around the Home Run ball. The Bronx Bombers really lived up to their name hitting an AL leading 296 home runs on the season and boasting a lineup where every 7 of the starting 9 hit over 25 HR on the year and 5 hit over 30. At least when it comes to pop and explosive offense there is not a spot in the Yankee lineup where the Rangers pitchers will be able to sit pretty. That being said the Yankees only had the 6th best offense in terms of runs scored in the AL due in large part to a low team batting average of .253 good for 11th in the AL. If the texas pitchers especially extreme groundballer Medina can find a way to keep the ball inside the park, especially in the tinderbox called "The Ballpark at Arlington" the Texas pitchers should have some success in this season despite their lack of depth. Especially since both of the Yankees' 40+ HR players (Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier) are righties with notable platoon splits matching up against a trio of Texas righty starters.
Texas Bats vs NYY Pitching
This series is a battle of explosive offenses Texas is 2nd in the AL in Home Runs to the Yankees having hit 281 big flies on the year they are led in the power department by AL home run leader Giancarlo Stanton who in addition to hitting 54 homers this year (a career high) is no stranger to big moments having won the World Series MVP with the Cleveland Indians last season. In many ways the Texas offense is a lot like the Yankees offense just a little bit worse. They are in the middle of the pack in terms of runs scored (7th to NYY's 6th) depend on the long ball (2nd to NYY's 1st) and are beleaguered by low batting averages and OBP (8th to NYY's 11th in Average; 6th to NYY's 7th in OBP). Given that the games are going to take place in a small stadium in Texas and in Yankee Stadium with its famous short porch there will be a lot of emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground, not giving up long balls.
The Yankee Rotation is giving up around 1.6 HR/9, which is at a higher rate than Texas and has a lot of question marks. Cessa, Hahn, and Severino are all decent to good pitchers that you would be more than happy to have in a rotation but there isn't a name among them that you would start against Stroman and feel like you have the upper hand pitching wise. Severino has been up-and-down in the playoffs for his whole career and has often imploded in big spots, firebrand rookie Friecier Perez has been great in his limited innings with the big club including a truly amazing and career defining start in Game 7 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox but has less than 25 major league innings under his belt and has been lucky in those innings as batters have a BABIP of .217 against him. Granted the Yankees lead the AL in defensive efficiency, but that BABIP is liable to self-correct and average at around .270 (where the other Yankee starters are) and to have them correct now could spell disaster for NYY.
Conclusion
On paper the Yankees and the Rangers look like very similar teams, both have offenses built on the long ball but struggle getting on base, and both have pitching staffs filled with right handers and question marks. Ultimately I believe that the series will be extremely close, but Texas has both a true ace in Marcus Stroman and the more lefty bats to take advantage of the short porch in the Bronx.
Rangers in 7