2024 Texas Rangers

For all the talk of the Dodgers not having starting pitching they are in the midst of a record 33-scoreless inning-pitched streak that is still ongoing and they are now hitting the ball the way you would expect that lineup to hit. LA takes game one and will go with a second bullpen game this postseason today. This series is a long way from over as the Mets have their pitching now lined up with their top three starters in the next three games. Yankees-Guardians gets underway today too as the ALCS gets going.

My only problem with a subway series is that New York fans are already insufferable about how only they truly know baseball and are true fans, a subway series just takes that sense of entitlement to 11 and that is something the rest of baseball fandom wouldn't mind avoiding.
 
FWHORN said:
My only problem with a subway series is that New York fans are already insufferable about how only they truly know baseball and are true fans, a subway series just takes that sense of entitlement to 11 and that is something the rest of baseball fandom wouldn't mind avoiding.
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Self-importance is what makes it great. For ten days the entire area lives and dies with every pitch. However, they fail to recognize that no one else cares about it since the odds are that the Yankees will win that series.
 
Yesterday was a good one for New York baseball fans as the Yankees took game one of the ALCS in what I think will be a five game series at best, and the Mets did to a Dodger bullpen game what should be done when a team doesn't have enough starters and blew it up early. The Dodgers have actual starters for games three and four but so do the Mets so this should be a very interesting series that I think could go full 7.
 
FWHORN said:
Yesterday was a good one for New York baseball fans as the Yankees took game one of the ALCS in what I think will be a five game series at best, and the Mets did to a Dodger bullpen game what should be done when a team doesn't have enough starters and blew it up early. The Dodgers have actual starters for games three and four but so do the Mets so this should be a very interesting series that I think could go full 7.
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FWHORN, you're probably correct, much as I hate it. I would love to see the Indians beat the Yankees, but that's grasping at straws. I think the Dodgers will win the NL, but it could go six or seven - too much offensive firepower for the Dodgers.
 
There's one AL team who can beat the Yankees in the post season. They are based on the Lone Star State, but they are not the Rangers...
 
guy4321 said:
There's one AL team who can beat the Yankees in the post season. They are based on the Lone Star State, but they are not the Rangers...
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Sadly, you may be right but as inconsistent as the Astros were this year I am not sure if even they could beat the Yankees this year absent some trashcan shenanigans. The Dodgers have a lineup to beat the Yankees but their starting pitching is so suspect that its hard to see them winning a seven game series. The Mets have been living on house money for three weeks and maybe their miracle run continues but they will have the same issues in the World Series with very questionable pitching.
 
Even with the blowouts, the NL series has been interesting. Dodger pitching is as expected, but the Mets' pitching hasn't lived up to expectations. Perhaps they were a better fit for a five-game series than a seven-game series.

Ohtani's HR last night was a monster moonshot.

It is hard to see Cleveland winning that series.
 
The Guardians scored a couple of miracles in the bottom of the ninth and bottom of the tenth last night to steal a win and at least keep the ALCS from being a sweep, but one win does not make that series competitive. Now, if they can follow up today with a win, then it gets interesting.

The Dodgers have a monster lineup and a really good bullpen, their Achilles heel is their starting pitching but the Mets just haven't been able to take advantage of that and the Dodgers' offense is hitting on all cylinders. I thought this was a seven-game series but the Dodgers go with Flaherty today and the Mets have a bullpen game so it could be over today. If the Mets win today then the Dodgers have a bullpen game in game six so we could be looking at a seven-game thriller.
 
The Yankees win games four and five in Cleveland and take the ALCS in five. The Mets did win game five at home but the Dodgers in a true bullpen game in game six get the offense they need to win the game and take the NLCS. The TV folks get their dream matchup of Yankees/Dodgers in the World Series. That matchup is the most common matchup in the history of the World Series, of course dating back to the Brooklyn Dodgers days.

My original pick was Houston and the Dodgers in the World Series with the Astros winning it all. I will stick with the AL and take the Yankees in six but I will be cheering for the Dodgers.
 
FWHORN said:
My original pick was Houston and the Dodgers in the World Series with the Astros winning it all. I will stick with the AL and take the Yankees in six but I will be cheering for the Dodgers.
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FWHORN, I think I'll make the opposite pick - Dodgers in 7. I've had enough of the Yankees.
 
I would like for the Dodgers to win, but I don't think they have enough pitching to win it all.

Did anyone catch the article about Kershaw a possibility for the Rangers in 2025? I hope that was just some writer trying to fill a column. I like Kershaw, but the Rangers do not need to sign another injured pitcher. (Hopefully they learned their lesson in 2024.)
 
I am excited to see the two best teams in baseball this year, record wise, play in the World Series. the fact that the likely MVP's for both leagues will face off in Ohtani and Judge, the stacked lineups both teams have, and the historical nature of Yankees/Dodgers makes it interesting too.

The craziness last year of a six-seed playing a five-seed was fun because it was Texas making the run but if the Rangers aren't involved I tend to want to see the best teams face each other at the end.

ViperHorn said:
Did anyone catch the article about Kershaw a possibility for the Rangers in 2025? I hope that was just some writer trying to fill a column. I like Kershaw, but the Rangers do not need to sign another injured pitcher. (Hopefully they learned their lesson in 2024.)
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Just filler. I have seen some LA based articles saying Kershaw wants to try and pitch one more year for the Dodgers and would give a steep home town discount. There is no scenario where I see him as a Ranger outside a 1-2 million dollar deal with lots of added performance-based incentives like Lorenzen did with Texas this year.
 
FWHORN said:
Just filler. I have seen some LA based articles saying Kershaw wants to try and pitch one more year for the Dodgers and would give a steep home town discount. There is no scenario where I see him as a Ranger outside a 1-2 million dollar deal with lots of added performance-based incentives like Lorenzen did with Texas this year.
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He is done. Due to the tax situation, he needs to leave California and rest. His buddy Stafford will be the next ex-Highland Park star to retire. Together, they can buy Highland Park Villiage and push the lease prices even higher.
 
Here is the LA Daily News Article I was referencing above about Kershaw staying a Dodger next year. I had forgotten that he has a player option for next season.

www.dailynews.com

Clayton Kershaw on his 2025 plans: ‘I’m going to be a Dodger’

Kershaw said on Monday that he planned to pitch again in 2025 but was not clear if he would test free agency. Whether he would be available for a full season remains to be seen, he said Tuesday.
www.dailynews.com www.dailynews.com
 
Dodgers take game one of the World Series on a tenth-inning walk-off grand slam. I was at my daughter's volleyball tournament and only got home in time to see the bottom of the 7th inning and on but those three and a half innings were drama packed and if that is what we are in store for this will be a series for the ages. Of course last year game one was an 11th-inning walk-off classic and after that, no team ever surrendered a lead in the next four games so game one being a classic is no guarantee of a classic series. Of course last year I had no interest in a "classic" just in any outcome that had the Rangers winning their first title. Yamamoto goes tonight against Rodon which should be a great pitching matchup and both lineups are stacked so I do expect several more great games.
 
The Dodgers get an outstanding start from Yamamoto and then hang on by the skin of their teeth as a fly out with the bases loaded by the Yankees in the ninth ends the game and the Dodgers win 4 to 2. Ohtani injured his shoulder in the seventh-inning and that will be a big story going forward. Even without Ohtani, the Dodger lineup is stout, but just his presence alone changes the way games are managed and pitchers are used. Dodgers take a 2-0 lead to New York for game three Monday.
 
FWHORN said:
The Dodgers get an outstanding start from Yamamoto and then hang on by the skin of their teeth as a fly out with the bases loaded by the Yankees in the ninth ends the game and the Dodgers win 4 to 2. Ohtani injured his shoulder in the seventh-inning and that will be a big story going forward. Even without Ohtani, the Dodger lineup is stout, but just his presence alone changes the way games are managed and pitchers are used. Dodgers take a 2-0 lead to New York for game three Monday.
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The Yankees are going to have to win all three at The Stadium. That is a tall order.
 
ViperHorn said:
The Yankees are going to have to win all three at The Stadium. That is a tall order.
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I'm guessing the Yankees will win two games in the Bronx, the Dodgers will win one. That would send the Series back to LA, with the Dodgers up 3-2. The Yankees would have to win both Game 6 and Game 7 in LA - and that's a really tall order. I stand by my ealier prediction - Dodgers in seven.
 
HornHuskerDad said:
I'm guessing the Yankees will win two games in the Bronx, the Dodgers will win one. That would send the Series back to LA, with the Dodgers up 3-2. The Yankees would have to win both Game 6 and Game 7 in LA - and that's a really tall order. I stand by my ealier prediction - Dodgers in seven.
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Agree HHD, if the Yankees have to win two at Dodger Stadium, the odds for them to win the Series drop to 1 in 10 at best. It all depends on how the managers manage the pitching.
 
The Yankees have the pitching advantage in games three and four, so don't be shocked if this thing is tied 2-2 come Wednesday morning. LA's win last night was huge because of the Yankees' pitching advantage in the next two games.
 
Well, so much for the Yankees pitching advantage in game three. Walker Buehler gets five scoreless for the Dodgers and their bullpen is again dominant as LA wins another low scoring game 4 to 2 with both Yankee runs coming in the bottom of the ninth. Freddy Freeman has three home runs in three games, and the Dodgers have shown all the pre-World Series thought processes were wrong as their starting pitching has been dominant and they’ve been able to win without their lineup needing to put up 7, 8, 9 runs. The Dodgers have a bullpen game today, which ordinarily would be a huge advantage for the Yankees, but after these first three games, who knows. Dodgers go for the sweep tonight.
 
The game was over in the first inning. Give Buehler a lead and he is tough. 3-0 is going to be tough to overcome.
 
At this point, I'm okay with the Dodgers winning in 4. That way we can say the Yankees haven't won a World Series game since 2009.
 
The amazing thing about the Dodgers is they have essentially an entire starting rotation on the injured list. If and likely when they win this World Series, they will come back next year with a lineup that is one of if not the stoutest in baseball. They already have and will have next year a bullpen that is one of if not the best in baseball. Then add on the return of all those starters (Ohtani and Glasnow in particular) as pitchers come back from injuries who are currently on the IL and they will have a rotation that could be one of if not the best in baseball. It all adds up to a scary prospect for the entire league next year and for a few years after that as we could very well have a Big Blue Machine in LA for the next couple of years.
 
ViperHorn said:
3-0 is going to be tough to overcome.
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I was listening to 105.3 on the way back home this morning. They went into detail on Series history. If I understood their numbers correctly, no team that was down 3-0 has even forced a Game Six. Sounds like this Series will end in NY with a Dodgers trophy. Interesting factoid from 105.3 - in the last eight WS games (Dodgers-Yankees this year and Rangers-D'Backs last year), the team that scored first in a game has won all eight games. Yanks better score first tonight if they want to have any chance!
 
FWHORN said:
The amazing thing about the Dodgers is they have essentially an entire starting rotation on the injured list. If and likely when they win this World Series, they will come back next year with a lineup that is one of if not the stoutest in baseball. They already have and will have next year a bullpen that is one of if not the best in baseball. Then add on the return of all those starters (Ohtani and Glasnow in particular) as pitchers come back from injuries who are currently on the IL and they will have a rotation that could be one of if not the best in baseball. It all adds up to a scary prospect for the entire league next year and for a few years after that as we could very well have a Big Blue Machine in LA for the next couple of years.
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Right now the 2025 Dodgers look unbeatable in 2025. However, LA generally seems to have three-way above-average pitchers and one clunker. If, and a big if, the Rangers get their hurt pitchers back and sign Eovaldi and Yates, I would put them close to the Dodgers in '25.

LA needs offense more than pitching, so why risk Ohtani and losing the best bat in baseball, just to say he can? Put him in the outfield and leave him in the one spot. He will not like it but arm and shoulder injuries this season are probably signs his body is starting to break down. Also, don't count on Kershaw anymore.
 
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