Year after year, pre-season, regular season and then post-season, the same thing was said: When are the Texas Rangers gonna get some pitching?
It seemed simple. Break out the checkbook, find the best pitcher on the market and simple go get him.
But Rangers fans got a lesson in general management. You simple can't go get someone. It's never simple. Often, it's hard and requires more patience than most are willing to give. See: Chan Ho Park, Vicente Padilla, Kevin Millwood, Ryan Drese, Edinson Volquez, Joaquin Benoit, et al.
Suddenly, it's 2011 and the Rangers have pitching. A lot of it. And it's good. And it's also pretty young.
The Rangers were masterful this weekend sweeping the four-game set against Cleveland in Cleveland.
The story? Pitching, of course. Dave Bush was fine Thursday night. However, the next three days we saw throwing and catching like we've never seen before in North Texas. It was sick and borderline unfair.
| IP | H | R | HRs | BBs | Ks | P# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexi Ogando | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 100 |
| Derek Holland | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 112 |
| C.J. Wilson | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 104 |
| Totals | 24.2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 316 |
That, friends, is dominance. Now, I can't speak to the Cleveland offense. They are in first place. And you play the teams on your schedule. The Rangers can't help that Cleveland is in a slump and I don't know if it would have much difference.
Holland and Wilson were particularly salty. Ogando's proven that, for the time being, that he's one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball.
Moreso, the weekend allowed the Rangers' bullpen to rest. In the three games, the bullpen logged 2.1 innings, one of which was an eight-pitch effort from Neftali Feliz.
It was really good times. The Rangers are eight games over .500 and 5-0 in June.
