World Series Wrap-up and Off-season Checklist

This week I will give a small recap on the World Series and then a trip report on the Aggie victory over OU this week. I will also give my checklist for the Rangers this offseason.

World Series Recap:

The World Series was disappointing to lose, but the season was so great it doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would. The Rangers just got flat-out outplayed. The Giants pitched better, hit better, and fielded better than the Rangers, and, really, it’s almost impossible to win a World Series when you score 1 run or less in three games. The starting pitching for the Rangers was okay, obviously Cliff Lee got lit up in Game 1 and Tommy Hunter struggled in Game 4, but in the other three games it was great, so that was one good area. It was a great year, and I really enjoyed it, and am looking forward to three more playoff wins on top of this year’s number next year.

Rangers Offseason Checklist:

Below are the players that I would most like to have, in order, at our positions of need for this offseason, along with their 2010 season stats.

Ace:
1. Cliff Lee – 12-9, 3.18 ERA, 185 K
2. Zach Grienke (in trade) - 10-14, 4.17 ERA, 181 K
3. Rich Harden – just kidding

#4 Starter (might not sign someone here, but it would be nice):
1. Jon Garland – 14-12, 3.47 ERA, 136 K
2. Hiroki Kuroda – 11-13, 3.39 ERA, 159 K
3. Erik Bedard – DNP (injury)
4. Justin Duchscherer – 2-1, 2.89 ERA, 18 K
5. Jorge De La Rosa – 8-7, 4.22 ERA, 113 K
6. Brandon Webb – DNP (injury)
7. Jake Westbrook – 10-11, 4.22 ERA, 128 K

Bullpen:
1. Joaquin Benoit – 1.34 ERA, 1 SV
2. Scott Downs – 2.64 ERA, 0 SV
3. Grant Balfour – 2.28 ERA, 0 SV
4. Matt Guerrier – 3.17 ERA, 1 SV
5. JJ Putz – 2.83 ERA, 3 SV
6. Arthur Rhodes – 2.29 ERA, 0 SV
7. Frank Francisco – 3.76 ERA, 2 SV
8. Jason Frasor – 3.68 ERA, 4 SV
9. Jesse Crain – 3.04 ERA, 1 SV
10. JC Romero – 3.68 ERA, 3 SV
11. Ron Mahay – 3.44 ERA, 0 SV
12. Kyle Farnsworth – 3.34 ERA, 0 SV

Catcher (as if Bengie retires):
1. John Buck - .281 AVG, 20 HR, 66 RBI
2. Miguel Olivo - .269 AVG, 14 HR, 58 RBI
3. Yorvit Torrealba - .271 AVG, 7 HR, 37 RBI
4. Ramon Hernandez - .297 AVG, 7 HR, 48 RBI
5. Rod Barajas - .240 AVG, 17 HR, 47 RBI

DH:
1. Adam LaRoche - .261 AVG, 25 HR, 100 RBI
2. Aubrey Huff - .290 AVG, 26 HR, 86 RBI
3. Vladimir Guerrero - .300 AVG, 29 HR, 115 RBI
4. Jim Thome - .283 AVG, 25 HR, 59 RBI
5. Ty Wigginton - .248 AVG, 22 HR, 76 RBI
6. Russell Branyan - .237 AVG, 25 HR, 57 RBI
7. Carlos Pena - .196 AVG, 28 HR, 84 RBI
8. Lyle Overbay - .243 AVG, 20 HR, 67 RBI

Trip Report:

WHOOP! This weekend my dad, my uncle, and I drove down to College Station to see the Aggies play the Sooners at Kyle Field. It was a blast. We got there late Friday night and checked in to our hotel, a Hampton Inn, and almost immediately went to sleep. On Saturday morning, we got up and hung around the hotel for a while, watching Louisville, my second team, beat Syracuse 28-20. Fear the Bird. We then went to eat lunch at Double Dave’s Pizzaworks, which was great. They used to have some locations in Dallas, but they all closed down, making visiting one a treat. They have very good pizza, but their pepperoni rolls are the highlight, and are the best ones I’ve ever had. We then drove over to the movie theatre and saw Mega Mind, which was good. After that, it was time to walk over to the game.

The game started off great, with a bad snap going over the Oklahoma QB’s head for a safety on the very first play of the game. Then, on the Aggies’ drive following the kickoff, they marched down the field and scored a touchdown to go up 9-0. After a late first half field goal, and a kickoff return for a touchdown to start off the second half to give the Aggies a 19-0 lead, the Sooners scored 17 unanswered points and cut the lead to 19-17. But in the 4th quarter, the Aggies once again dominated. They had a great drive that ended with an incredible Cyrus Gray 23 yard TD run, with about 4 broken tackles in the play. At this point the Aggies were up 26-17, but then on A&M’s next possession, they scored another touchdown on a 64-yard TD pass to Ryan Swope, and that finished the deal, as Texas A&M crushed the #8 ranked Oklahoma Sooners by a final score of 33-19. That was a very, very fun game, and it was my first Aggies football game ever. I think I picked a good game to go to.

Come back next week for my 2010 Season Awards.