Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Texas Rangers will be a good test for Yankees


After failing to put away the Boston Red Sox despite another solid effort from Phil Hughes, the New York Yankees face a potential playoff opponent in the Texas Rangers. It will be a good test for the Bronx Bombers.

Of course, the Yankees will have to go with their B lineup, with Mark Teixeira home with his wife who just gave birth to their third child (Congrats, Tex!) and Robinson Cano now battling the cold going around the Yankees clubhouse that Hughes has fought through two starts. And they will have to survive Lance Berkman playing first base and AJ Burnett starting the first game.

The Rangers are five games behind the Yankees for the best record in baseball, but they are up eight games in their division. Their centerfielder Josh Hamilton is leading the American League in batting average at .355 while Vladimir Guerrero (thought he was done, LA!) is #3 in the league in ribbies. And their trade for Cliff Lee was sheer brilliance, stealing him right from under the Yankees’ noses, solidifying their division title and giving them a potent weapon for the playoffs, especially the first round best-of-five division series. Talk about a tough opponent.

No longer the doormat of the American League West, the Rangers pose quite a test for the Yanks. Let's see if the Bombers can rise to the challenge.


Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.

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