Discussion: Texas or Tampa Bay

By On October 11, 2010 · 10 Comments · In Uncategorized

With the Rays and Rangers headed for a sure to be thrilling Game 5 in their ALDS series, I wanted to get a vibe for who our readers are rooting for in that series. Both teams would provide a strong matchup for the Yankees, but each has different stengths and weaknesses that could create unique issues for the Yankees. As I see it, these are some very rudimentary reasons that we might want/not want to face each team (Once the opponent is known, Stephen will dig a lot deeper into that team in his multi-part preview).:

Texas: Texas has struggled a bit against lefties this season, and as Steve showed us this morning, it would be feasible for the Yankees to throw lefties in 5 of 7 starts in the series. On the other hand, they do have some righty hitters, particularly Nelson Cruz, who can carry them if their key lefties have been neutralized. The Texas bullpen has looked a bit shaky in recent days, and the Yankees have not found Neftali Feliz impossible to hit. As for the Texas rotation, Cliff Lee and CJ Wilson provide a daunting lefthanded duo, and make me think that TB might be the easier matchup. Finally, from a novelty point of view, it might be fun to see the Yankees play a young team from another division rather than a club that the Yanks played 18 times during the regular season.

TB: Tampa has fairly even platoon splits, but with Evan Longoria a bit banged up, they might be susceptible to lefthanded pitching as well. The back of their bullpen does not scare me, but the front end of Soriano and Benoit are as good as it gets among remaining playoff teams. The TB rotation has some question marks, and with David Price not slated to go until Game 3, the Yankees would likely have a chance to get a quick start in the series against James Shields and Matt Garza (who they usually hit fairly well). Finally, the rivalry with Tampa really took a step forward this season, and an epic ALCS would be a great continuation of a fun regular season race.

I lean very slightly towards prefering Tampa, mostly because of the respective rotations and because I have felt all season that these two clubs were destined for an unforgettable 7 game ALCS. Larry at Yankeeist has already chimed in on the issue, prefering to see Texas win Game 5.

Which team would you prefer to see?

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10 Responses to Discussion: Texas or Tampa Bay

  1. HyShai says:
    October 11, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    The back of their bullpen does not scare me, but the front end of Soriano and Benoit are as good as it gets among remaining playoff teams.
    As we have seen from the Yanks this past week you don’t need much more than a couple of lockdown relievers. These TB relievers are scary.

    Reply
  2. Alex says:
    October 11, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    It’s a tough call. I’d probably want Tampa in due to their rotation troubles.

    Reply
  3. bornwithpinstripes says:
    October 11, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    Tampa is my vote…..reason #1 cliff lee twice, also lee had hinted if they win it all he would sign with texas, if they play us thats at least two more games in his arm and probably a relief appearance, if they beat us two maybe three WS starts..arod likes to hit in tampa ,like a home game for us, we may have 10,000 fans there, in texas we would three guys with no teeth rooting…shields has been terrible,price had a bad start under pressure, davis is solid..also lee and wilson another very tough lefty, thats four times lefties, i rather have our full compliment of south swinging guys in there getting great swings..to me that may be the biggest edge…those two guys in the end of their pen are great ,but they throw from the right side… and again cliff lee twice..

    Reply
  4. Steve S. says:
    October 11, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    I want Tampa. I think Price is out of gas (well over career innings highs) and Lee almost makes the series one where the Yanks have to win 4 of the remaining 5 games. It’s tough to give any pitcher that much credit, but he showed us last year how tough he can be on the Yanks. Texas’ lineup and bullpen are also much tougher than Tampa’s in a short series. Both teams would be difficult, but I just think there’s less margin for error with Texas.

    Reply
  5. T.O. Chris H says:
    October 11, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    It’s tough because if Tampa comes back from down 2-0 they are going to really have some swagger behind them and feeling that confident about yourself can make you almost unbeatable if you have the talent to back it up and they do.

    Texas almost seems like they have everything it takes to beat us with the 2 tough lefties and the mix of power and speed on the base paths I think they are a tougher series but as Tampa has shown I don’t know how mentally strong they are when it comes to finishing off their opponent. Tampa has been to the world series lets not forget for Texas winning their first playoff series may feel like winning the whole thing and if they do that they are ripe for the picking.

    I say Texas but we could lose or win either way and it’s going to be tough!

    Reply
  6. Carcillo says:
    October 11, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    because I have felt all season that these two clubs were destined for an unforgettable 7 game ALCS. .

    You and me alike, though I feel Texas would be a better draw, ultimately.

    Reply

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