World Series 2010: 5 Things You Need To Know
The Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants will be competing in the 2010 World Series which commences on Wednesday night. OK, let me rephrase that: The San Francisco Giants will do battle with the Texas Rangers in the 2010 World Series which gets underway on Wednesday in San Francisco. Even reworded it has the same meaning and shock value too.
Crazy to think this but these two underdog teams, each from the West, will be representing their respective leagues in the World Series. This is one of the most surprising pairings in quite some time, yet still should be a great series.
Here are five things you ought to know and why you should tune into Fox for this one. Don't worry my fellow Philadelphians—Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are not among these reasons.
5. Expect a Pitchers' Duel
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Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee will face off in Game 1, presenting what should be another fabulous pitchers duel in these playoffs. This will be the marquee matchup and ultimately the major reason that this series will even draw viewers. Let's face it, the rest of the world was banking on a rematch from last year's Series.
This matchup, which could occur three times, is something that the baseball world needs to see. The offenses might as well not even come prepared on these nights as pitching will steal the show. This first game will be important and play a major role in the make-up of the rest of the series. Whichever team is able to dictate the tempo of this series early will benefit for it in the long run.
4. Texas Can Flat Out Hit
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The Texas Rangers are deadly at the plate and are one of the most underrated teams in recent memory. No one expected them to make it here nor even wanted them for that matter. The Yankees were the better, obvious draw. But these Rangers had other plans.
They got here for many reasons but perhaps the biggest is their ability to slug. They beat the Yankees at their own game and just tore them apart in the ALCS. Texas went in a heavy underdog and came out dominating the Yankees. Its offense was never slowed down in this series and tended to draw first blood often. Up and down the lineup they have high-quality hitters and now will look to exploit a very good pitching staff.
This is a team that appears to be on a mission right now. They're starting to see their dreams turning into a reality with each victory. Texas is just four wins away from a World Series title.
3. San Francisco Can Take Over a Series With Pitching
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Hard to admit but the San Francisco Giants' pitching staff took the Philadelphia Phillies' offense and made them irrelevant in the NLCS. This much was painfully obvious throughout. It was commonly known that the Giants' announcers often referred to this season as "torture" at times. Well, torture does not translate to the World Series by any means, so a lot has changed as of late.
It's fair to say that the Giants' "torture" seemingly turned into the Phillies' frustration throughout the series. The Phillies could not handle the Giants, nor hit them, and this was quite frustrating for them. Credit much of this to great performances by San Francisco's pitchers, most notably its bullpen.
If this continues, the Giants may be hosting a parade out west in a few weeks.
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2. Clutch Hitting Will Be Needed
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With more clutch hitting in this series, someone will emerge victorious. The Giants got it from Buster Posey throughout and Juan Uribe on Saturday night as well as a few others. The Rangers' entire lineup has delivered for them in these playoffs and has been consistent.
The clutch hits will need to keep coming in the World Series. Though pitching will again take center stage, the hitters could be the difference at some point and expect to play an even bigger role in this round.
1. San Francisco May Continue To "Torture"
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As mentioned before, the San Francisco Giants' torture was turned into the Philadelphia Phillies' frustration in the NLCS. This was obvious from the jump in that series, yet no Phillie fan would admit it until Game 6 was over. Some still won't admit it, but I will because it was true.
If this occurs again the Giants might just take the World Series from under the Texas Rangers. It should be an interesting series and if the Giants are able to frustrate the potent Texas lineup, it could be the difference in this series. At the same time, hitting itself will ultimately be the difference and quite possibly the bullpen. The Giants' bullpen has been dominant thus far, particularly Brian Wilson. While Texas' bullpen has been OK at best. This means even more so that Texas will need to hit its way through the World Series.
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