ALCS Preview

Back in September, after the Rangers had clinched but did not know who they'd be playing in the first round between the Rays and the Yankees, a lot of people asked me who I'd rather see in the ALDS.  I said I wanted the Rays.

It's not because I thought the Rays were a push over team.  I just felt we had a better shot of beating them in the first round with them holding the home field advantage.  I thought, if we could just get past the Rays, and if the Yankees beat the Twins, then since the Yankees are the Wild Card team this year, we get home field against them in the ALCS.

That's the way this has turned out.  Having home field against New York does not make them any less of a threat, but it sure beats playing four of a potential seven in the Bronx.

The Rangers split eight games with the Yankees in 2010, playing better against them as the season went along.  They were swept in three games in their only trip to New York in April.  They split a short two game set in August, then swept a three game series the second week of September.

I don't know how much those games reveal what might occur here in mid-October, but one thing has been made clear this year:  The Rangers are not intimidated by the Yankees.  It's been a long time since I've been able to honestly say that.

I'm not excited about playing against the Yankees.  I only halfway watch the regular season games we play against them because I get irritated seeing them seemingly magicly win games at times.  In this series, our pitchers' strike zone will squeeze down a little tighter, and the corners of the plate will expand just a tad against our hitters.  Close calls will not go our way.  The Yankees will take advantage of any defensive mistakes we will make.  This is just how things go for them.

The media will focus on them, and favor them.  However, despite the fact there are Yankee fans all over the country, there are more Yankee haters all over the country.  Much like Rangers fans, there are people who have two favorite teams:  their home team and whoever is playing against the Yankees.  Especially those who have been burned by New York in the recent past.  So the Rangers will have support from people in Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Atlanta, San Diego, Phoenix, Miami and even Tampa, whose fans chanted "Beat New York" as the Rangers celebrated beating the Rays on their field on Tuesday night.  So maybe the mojo factor will work on our side.

If I'm honest about this series, and I evaluate it from my head and not my heart, I'll say the Yankees win out in six games.  That doesn't mean I want that to happen.  I'm just trying to prepare myself to seeing the team I love being sent home again by the team I hate with a purple passion.  I'm trying to lessen the potential disappointment, because I know if we do happen to win, I won't have to make any extra efforts to boost my excitement level.

It should be an interesting series.  How about we try to win a home game this time, guys?