Jim Reeves' "Postcards from the Ledge" yesterday was unusually Rangers-heavy, considering the time of year.
And I feel bad for jumping on something Reeves said in that column, because he made a lot of good points...
Fans care about the Rangers winning, not whether the team is profitable? Yep.
Getting rid of Hart won't help Hicks if he doesn't spend the money to improve the team? Yep.
Every team in the playoffs spent more money on payroll than the Rangers? Yep.
ARod should be the MVP, not David Ortiz? Yep.
But then, we have this groaner...
Let's see, the Astros successfully dropped four sacrifice bunts in their Game 1 victory over the Braves while the Rangers, who shattered the major league record for fewest sacrifice bunts in a season with only 9, set a club record for home runs.
Can we draw any conclusions from the fact that one team is still playing ball in October and the other is watching on TV?
The Astros bunt a lot because they are a bad offensive team. They were 24th in the majors in runs scored, and only 10 runs separated them from Pittsburgh, who was 28th in the majors in runs scored. This, despite being in a very hitter-friendly park.
If there are any conclusions that can be drawn from the fact that the Astros are still playing, it has nothing to do with bunting or homers. Rather, it is that a team that is outstanding in one area -- either pitching or hitting -- can overcome being poor in the other area, and still make the playoffs.
The Astros aren't in the playoffs because they bunt so much...they are in the playoffs because they are the best pitching team in baseball. Much like the two best hitting teams in baseball (Boston and the Yankees) made the playoffs despite sub-par pitching.
The Rangers are out of the playoffs because their offense was good, but not great, and their pitching was sub-par. If the Rangers had had Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Roy Oswalt all season, they would have won 100 games, and no one would be talking about how the Rangers hit too many homers and don't bunt enough to succeed.