According to this report from Sky Sports:
Alan Irvine admits Edson Buddle is ‘no mug’ after Sheffield Wednesday showed an interest in the LA Galaxy striker.
Buddle has been tipped to move to British football in the January transfer window and recently underwent a trial at Birmingham City.
SPL champions Rangers have also been linked with a bid, [...]
Major League Soccer (MLS) Rumors – For the time between the games
Poor Dale Weise—today was definitely not his finest day. First the Rangers center has a goal disallowed because the refs felt he redirected the puck using a distinct kicking motion. Unintentional or not, it happens. At least he can cool himself off with a refreshing swig of Gatorade, right? What could go wrong with that? Just about everything, because the top comes off mid-squeeze and Weise gets showered with a mess of Gatorade bukkake, and the top ends up in [...]
The Last Angry Fan
Cliff Lee and the Texas Rangers dropped the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the American League Division Series last night, setting up an enticing matchup with the defending World Series champions.
The Rangers and Yankees respective run prevention units profile similarly. Each features a dominant ace, capable depth rounding out their rotations, and good bullpens where all roads lead to their shut-down Closers. Defensively, both teams are good, too. The Yankees probably have the outfield advantage with Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner patrolling, while the Rangers enjoy the infield edge thanks to their stud middle infield of Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler.
Offensively, it’s an entirely different story. They’re both very good with the bats – the Yanks led the AL in runs and the Rangers were fourth – but they go about their work at the plate in different styles. Lineup anchors for Texas like Mike Young, Josh Hamilton and Kinsler all see fewer pitchers per plate appearance than the league average. And of course, one of the great all-time free swingers in baseball history is Vladimir Guerrero. He’s in the mix too, although he has struggled over the second half of the season. Only the Baltimore Orioles saw fewer pitchers per plate appearance than the AL West champions.
On the other hand, New York saw the most pitchers per plate appearances in the American League other than Boston or Tampa Bay. It’s really only Robinson Cano that will hack away for the Bombers, and it’s not like his approach needs tweaking. He makes it work to the tune of MVP candidacy. Even more troubling for Rangers pitching, not only can the Yanks get ahead in the count, but they hit better than any other team in baseball once there.
This contrast in hitting styles is where the ALCS will hinge. Right off the bat, the Yanks will have a chance to leverage their patience. C.J. Wilson had a nice year, but his traditional numbers outpace his peripherals. The biggest blemish on Wilson’s performance record is his high walk rate, 4.10 per 9 innings. He also throws his first pitch for a strike and induces swinging strikes on pitches outside the zone at a below average rate. Grooving the first one and forcing otherwise patient batters to chase bad balls are two tools the high-walk pitcher can turn to, but Wilson seems to have neither. The Yankees will be a test for him.
As you might imagine, Wilson struggled in three starts against New York this season, pitching just 14.1 innings and walking 5.65 guys per 9 innings. But Wilson’s smart (follow @str8edgeracer on twitter), and he doubtless knows his weakness and his opponent’s strength. In Tampa Bay for Game 2 of the ALDS, he limited his walk total to just two while facing a team even more patient than the Yankees. He’s a good pitcher with great make-up. I’m not counting him out by a long shot.
While Wilson could be a problem for Texas, Lee is the prototype to combat a patient offense. He walks nobody, and pounds the zone with pitches that move every which way. He goes in Game 3 for the Rangers at Yankee Stadium.
For the Yankees, their pitchers will have some latitude to expand the zone thanks to the Rangers’ approach. This is a risky game, however, because the Rangers righty-stacked lineup will crush mistakes from lefties. Vlad, Nelson Cruz, Kinsler and Young all murder southpaws, and if C.C. Sabathia or Andy Pettitte decide they want to get Texas to chase and they don’t bite, the Rangers’ righties should see some nice pitches to hit.
The pitcher-batter match-ups in this series should be terrific, a study in Game Theory from start to finish. I give the edge to the Yankees because of their superior approach at the plate. But it’s close, and if Sabathia and Pettitte are off even the slightest bit, it’s not hard to envision a scenario in which the Yankees head home to face Cliff Lee down 2-0. Watch individual pitches, match-ups, strategies and yes, umpiring within each plate appearance. It promises to be fascinating, and it’s where this series will be won.
It took 50 years and two locations, but the Texas Rangers are finally going to the World Series. After losing to the Yankees in the franchise’s last three (and only) playoff appearances, the Rangers finished the job tonight with a 6-1 win over the Yankees to clinch the American League pennant. Outfielder Josh Hamilton took home series MVP honors.
Colby Lewis was sensational for the Rangers, allowing just one run over eight innings. Vladimir Guerrero provided the bulk of the offensive firepower, driving in three runs, closer Neftali Feliz recorded the final three outs in short order, and the crowd (and team) went wild.
Video of the final out (a strikeout of Alex Rodriguez, which people will undoubtedly enjoy) above. While we enjoy a good mound pileup as much as anyone (perhaps even more so), we’re sort of purists in that we believe a full-on celebratory pile is best saved for the World Series. Still, congrats to the Rangers on their accomplishment – they’ll face either the Phillies or Giants to win it all.
We heard some “Yankees suck!” chants in the crowd during and even after the game. During the game is one thing, but your team has just clinched the first World Series appearance in its history…and you’re still focusing on hating the Yankees? Really?
On a much better note – Hamilton receiving his ALCS MVP award was a powerful moment. He’s been through a lot to get where he is now, and he clearly, genuinely appreciates how far he’s come from how far he fell. Also, he wanted to focus on his teammates over himself. Good stuff.
And so now, the Rangers will face either the Phillies or Giants. Both tough teams with aces (and, in the Phillies’ case, potentially three aces if Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels are all pitching to their potential), but the Rangers have Cliff Lee, who’s pitching almost like three aces in one at this point anyway.
One final note: Craig Sager was absolutely, comically drenched with champagne in the Rangers’ clubhouse. If we can get a photo/video of that, we will be getting that up posthaste. UPDATE: Here, via Twitter’s Marvin Dinozo, is a gif of an already-soaked (but apparently not soaked enough) Sager getting sprayed even further.
And that concludes our final out video/mini-live-blog of the aftermath. Check back in tomorrow night, when we might be doing the same thing for the NLCS.
That was a tough 4-3 loss to the Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington, but if you think the Twins were embarrassed, check out what happened to this member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights P…
The Blotter
Everyone loves an entertaining aerial pregame show. We love them even more when they go comically—but not horribly—awry.
That was the case at last night’s Texas Rangers game when the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute squad dropped in on the AL West leaders in Arlington.
At least most of them did. One Knight, however, got his ’chute snagged on a flagpole in center field (video below), requiring some assistance from the stadium’s crew to finally reach the ground (and as you can see in this picture, the Dr. Pepper sign he was temporarily attached to is quite a distance from terra firma.)
But one minor gaffe wasn’t going to dampen the mood of the night. I’m not talking about the game, which the Rangers ended up winning 4-3 over the Twins. I mean the ecstatic moods of both the parachutists and Fox Sports Southwest’s.
FSSW’s reporter began with an overly enthusiastic intro of, “All the Golden Knights landed safely…except one got caught on the flagpole.” Seems to us that maybe the guy dangling from a pole 12 stories up warrants inclusion in your lead.
Mike Elliot, the Golden Knight’s commander, kept the good vibes coming, praising the marooned jumper, John, for having done, “a great job” while praising his squadron for their ability to “pride ourselves on safety, and we take every precaution that’s out there to make sure we do safe demonstrations.”
Well, except for failing to get into the stadium and thinking jumping out of a plane involves any semblance of “safety”, he’s right on both counts. But at least he’s got a leg up (and un-fractured leg, at that) on Texas’ other death-defying daredevil this season.
Watch video of the incident below: