The Rangers start the ALDS Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays. There is a bit od history between these two clubs going back to the ALDS in 2015. The Blue Jays won 3 straight to take the series after the Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead. It was painful to watch.
Then of course Rougned Odor took exception to a hard slide into second by Jose Bautista and told him about it with a nice right hook to the jaw. That was the last time theae two teams faced eachother.
The Rangers are the better team in my opinion. Theu should win the series, but I believe a few things need to happen for the Rangers to guarentee victory.
1. Keep their emotions in check. Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and company are a high strung bunch, and they play with their emotions on their sleeves. The Rangers need to keep their emotions in check to win. They cannot stoop down to the Blue Jays level or let that take them out of their game. They need to be all business. This series is just one step towards their ultimate goal of winning it all, and Toronto would love nothing more than to have the Rangers so riled up that they make mistakes, or worse yet, get a player suspended for reacting the wrong way. Play smart, and play Rangers baseball.
2. Get and hold leads. The Rangers lead the majors in come from behind wins. They can’t depend on doing that night in and night out on the post season. I want to see Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish pitch with few mistakes, and I want to see this team get a lead and hold it. Come from behind wins are exciting, but so are blowout wins. I’ll tske the ladder thank you very much.
3. Don’t let the time of day effect theu way they play. The MLB has no respect for the Rangers. This should not be a surprise for anyone. If the MLB have their way, the Rangers would play all their post season games in New York or Boston. Or, better yet, they would be replaced in the post season by New York. We all know they get no respect, and the best way to throw it back in the face of the MLB would be to sweep Toronto out of the post season. Remind them there is a reason theu have the best record in the AL. Who cares when they play, as long as they win.
4. Celebrate in Toronto. The best slp in the face to one of the worst fan bases in baseball would be to win on their turf (literally). Don’t let it get to a game 5. In fact, don’t let it get to a game 4. Whoop the mess out of the Blue Jays! Take it too them on their field, and make the fans watch. The Rangers need to make a statement to the world. They are not flukes. Don’t let Toronto make it interesting.
The Rangers need to be laser focused this week, and I think they will be. I can’t wait for the ALDS to start !
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