The Rangers and Yankees will start the biggest series in local baseball history today.
How did the Rangers get here? Why do I believe that we will see the Rangers in the post season more and more?
First, check out a great farm system. (Cowlishaw: Baseball America ranks Texas Rangers' farm system No. 2)
Some of those prospects are already here, like CJ Wilson, Tommy Hunter, Derek Holland, Mitch Moreland, Chris Davis, Pedro Borbon, and Justin Smoak who was traded to Seattle to get Cliff Lee.
There are more in AA.....wait until 2011!
Second, the Rangers made two amazing trades in July 2007.
They got David Murphy from Boston for Greg Gagne. It was the classical "trade deadline" trade and the Rangers got the best of this one.
Murphy has been the best 4th outfielder in baseball and would be starting for most teams in the majors. (He hit .291 this year! He has become of the most popular players around here....he hustles all of the time and always comes up with a dramatic hit or catch! (Where would the Rangers be without David Murphy? )
The other huge July 2007 "trading deadline trade" was sending Mark Texeira to Atlanta.
The Rangers got Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz, an All Star shortstop and one of the best closers in 2010. And they are both 22 years old!
They also got Matt Harrison, a young lefthander with lots of promise. (The fourth player was Jarrod Saltalamacchia who was traded to Boston this summer).
Third, lots of smart veteran pick ups like Vlad Guerrero, Darren Oliver and Benji Molina. And the Cliff Lee deal made possible because they could move a young player like Smoak because of a deep farm system!
Fourth, let's not forget Michael Young's leadership and picking up Josh Hamilton. The Rangers gave Hamilton that "second chance" to become the player that everyone predicted years ago.
Fifth, Ron Washington has a great working relationship with the players. The team rallied around "Wash" in the spring when the drug test was revealed.
Last, but not least, Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels and a front office that stuck to "the plan". (It does not hurt to have Nolan Ryan tell young pitchers that they need to throw strikes!)
We saw that the plan was working in 2009 when Texas won 89 games. It did come together in 2010.
Here is the good news: This is a Rangers' team with a great future and new ownership that will pay to make it happen!
It will be fun to follow the Rangers around here!
