Series Thread: World Series 2023 Thread Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks October 27 - November 4

[WastinSomeTime]

That was pretty obvious since Monty pitched Monday.

 

[DT LUNA]

Pitching hand

Any indication how serious?

 

[scotsman1948]

Any indication how serious?

He says it’s not serious and he has pitched with a bandaid. Some blood but he is convinced it will not stop him pitching in WS game

 

[DT LUNA]

He says it’s not serious and he has pitched with a bandaid. Some blood but he is convinced it will not stop him pitching in WS game

Thanks

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

Scherzer threw a bullpen session Wednesday, which would suggest that he will throw another Friday in anticipation of a start Monday in Game 3. He is dealing with a small cut on his right thumb, between the thumbnail and knuckle, that he said was caused by the seams of a ball before his Game 3 start in the ALCS.

He said the time off as he recovered from a shoulder strain softened skin that is normally calloused and made him more susceptible to a blister or a cut.

“The pain I can pitch through,” Scherzer said.

 

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Wilson also said Garver has been given the all-clear for the WS.

 

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[DT LUNA]

Bright future coming!

 

[saddles]

A lot of folks said Dunning, but to me, he is not unsung. That could be because he has certainly been appreciated and given his props on this board.

I went with Ezequiel Duran because he has been all but forgotten over the last 6 weeks, but he contributed in a big way earlier this year. He finished with a .768 OPS even with his late season slump, and in his first full year in the big leagues.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

A lot of folks said Dunning, but to me, he is not unsung. That could be because he has certainly been appreciated and given his props on this board.

I went with Ezequiel Duran because he has been all but forgotten over the last 6 weeks, but he contributed in a big way earlier this year. He finished with a .768 OPS even with his late season slump, and in his first full year in the big leagues.

Good answer

 

[saddles]

I found this analysis on a Facebook Arlington Stadium Mempries page I follow. The guy is very through.

"My personal World Series breakdown for myself and some of my buddies. Hope you enjoy."

1B - Lowe vs Christian Walker - Walker had a better season offensively as well as defensively. 2x Gold glover, struggled last series while Lowe picked it back up in the LCS. Even.

2B - Semien vs Katel Marte - Semien killed him in the season but Marte was their top batter against the Phils. Semien is also better defensively. Rangers

3B - Jung vs Emmanuel Rivera - Big edge offensively and defensively Rangers.

SS - Seager vs Geraldo Perdomo - Bigger edge Rangers.

C - Heim vs Gabriel Moreno - Moreno is avg at the plate but is one of the few catchers to best Heim defensively. He caught 39% of base stealers v 29%. Heim was vastly superior at the plate during the season and the LCS. Slight edge Rangers.

DH - Garver vs Evan Longoria - Garver gives the Rangers the edge here. Longoria has the moxy to have a moment but he's well past his prime now. And Bochy knows how to handle him.

OF - Adolis, Carter, Leody vs Lourdes Gurriel, Corbin Caroll, Tommy Pham - The Rangers boast three above avg defensive outfielders while the DBacks are 13 runs saved vs. the league average. Pham and Gurriel are solid at the plate and while Carroll had a nice season as a 22 year old, he had a .489 ops vs the Phils. Adolis is living on another planet right now, in a good el Bombi kind of way. Leody is solid, Carter is beginning his potentially epic career. The Rangers get another edge here.

Bench - Grossman, Jankowski, Josh Smith vs Alek Thomas, Pavin Smith - Pavin Smith had a negative WAR and Thomas is 23 and their Jankowski, speed and D. Grossman is the best of this entire bunch however he surprisingly also had a negative WAR but he did it with an OPS+ of 100 vs 75 for Thomas. Swiss-army-Smith is nice in emergencies. Rangers once again have the edge.

SP - Eovaldi, Montgomery, Scherzer vs Zach Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt - AZ starters were 1-3 in 4 starts with an era over 5.00 against the Phils. Gallen had the best season for any starter in this World Series but they have a combined 4 starts in the postseason. Pfaadt is an untested rookie who has only started contributing very late this season. Scherzer is slightly above average for his career in the playoffs with a losing 7-8 record. Eovaldi is Nasty Nate. He has his own playoff nickname. He's a legend, if you believe guys like Big Papi and Jeter. Monty is following in his footsteps and has maybe even outpitched his teammate this postseason. Significant edge Rangers.

RP - Sborz, Chapman, Gray, Dunning, Heaney, Perez vs Thompson, Castro, Ginkel, Mantiply - Off the top the DBacks have the edge but all the arms the Rangers have been able to dump into their bullpen because of their starter depth makes this more difficult to determine. Dunning and Gray are probably the best two talents in the bullpen this series but Ginkel was 9-1 during the season with a 2.48 era and he's gotten better in these playoffs with 9 IP and zero earned runs. Champman is a world class mound stalker, a big swinging donkey when you need it most. Without him the Rangers would be insecure in their bullpen, even if the results would likely be similar. Despite the added arms, I'll give a very very very slight edge to the DBacks. The Rangers midseason bullpen impacts this rating here for sure.

Closer - Leclerc vs Sewald - Leclerc had a better regular season, Sewald was great against the Phils. Because of his major inconsistency the DBacks get the edge.

Defense - The Dbacks as a team had a .990 FP%, made 56 errors, and saved 43 runs vs the league avg. Caught stealing was 28% with 4 passed balls. The Rangers fielded at .990%, made 57 errors, and saved 35 runs vs the league avg. 25% caught stealing and 9 passed balls. These are the two most fundamentally sound defensive teams in baseball. When people are wondering why and how these two teams are in the finals, don't overlook this. I was surprised at how good the Dbacks were and they have earned an Even with the Rangers because of it.

Experience - At the plate the Rangers boast an NLCS and WS MVP in Seager while Semien has had significant playoff at bats and had significant playoff success. Garver and Grossman could also be considered seasoned playoff vets. Even Lowe had decent playoff exposure as a 24 year old Ray. For the DBacks Longoria is thier most experience playoff vet and he has half the plate appearances as Seager and has made about half the impact per appearance as well. Pham is very similar in experience and results as Semien. And Christian Walker, Marte, and Gurriel have about as much experience as Garver and Grossman. The story here in this series at this time begins and ends with Corey Seager, he owns a .837 lifetime playoff ops and that jumps to .924 in the world series over 58 plate appearances.

On the mound it's a very similar story. Scherzer, Eovaldi, and Aroldis have significant postseason innings pitched with good success and 3 World Series titles as a group. Nasty Nate is growing his playoff legend. Monty, Heaney, Gray, and Martin Perez all have some playoff experience. Aroldis in 47+ innings has a 2.27 era, and would you believe it that he's been better than that this playoffs. Monty is 3-0 with a sub 2.00 era these playoffs as well. Add in bench guys like Will Smith with his 20 postseason innings including a shutout 4 innings in the World Series, oh yeah he owns two World Series rings, and Ian Kennedy with his 12 playoff innings and the Rangers have lots of experience in the stable. That's not even mentioning that the Rangers have the worlds most talented arm, when healthy, stranded on the sidelines this postseason in deGrom. Before this season the DBacks had reliever Ryan Thompson with 9 postseason IP, Paul Sewald with 3, and Miguel Castro with 2. The grizzled veteran of their staff, Merrill Kelly, is pitching in his first postseason. That's it. And their best pitcher during the regular season, Gallen, is 2-2 with a 5.24 era this postseason. Their best pitcher this postseason has been 24 year old rookie, Brandon Pfaadt, who was 3-9 with a 5.72 era in 19 games during the regular season. He doesn't have a decision in 4 games started with a 2.70 era. Experience is astronomically in the favor of the Rangers.



Coach - Dusty Baker is a HOF manger. I guess. But he's barely half of what Bruce Douglas Bochy is during the postseason. Bochy is an aw shucks playoff alchemist. He has three world series rings and has never lost a playoff game 7. In 26 managerial seasons he's won more games than the Rangers' 90 this year only 4 times. He's 10th all-time. He's 5th all-time in the playoffs and with 4 more he'll pass Dusty Baker by one for sole possession of 4th place. Torey Lovullo has a losing career record and this is his first postseason in 7 seasons. I could've just as easily have said "Torey Lovullo? Never heard of her." Another massive edge for the Rangers.

Misc. Notes
"[It's] a really good, balanced ball club, a gritty club," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "They play the game right. They like action. They run the bases well. They're a team that has really come on strong, the starting pitching, the bullpen. That's why they're here. They beat some really good ball clubs to get here. We saw them and they took three of four, so we know we're playing a really good ball club."

"Defense can impact the team as much as any facet of the game. Same with their club. They play great defense over there. You’re seeing two teams that do a great job of catching the ball," Bochy said. "It’s going to make a difference. You give yourself the best chance to win the game."

The Rangers had an AL-high 191 run differential. Arizona had a minus-5 run differential, 15th in the league.

On paper the Rangers win this 4-0 with 3 shutouts. In the real world we know it will be a fight. I want to say Rangers in 5 but I think it will be a Game 6 win at home for the good guys.

Go win it for Holtzy, Eric, Chuck, TG, John Blake, Zonk, Sunny, Johnny, Nolan, Wash, Hambone, Colby, Elvis, Beltre, Mike, Kins, Hough, Hondo, Toby, Buddy, Scooter, LP, Rusty, The Thrill, Juando, Raffy, Buzz, Pudge, Kenny, Pete, Inky, Oddibe, Julio, Ruben, Sister Frances and more. And all of our loved ones that we shared Arlington Stadium with who are not here to enjoy this ride. My dad.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[Senator_fan]

From what I remember in the old days only the top ranked umps worked the WS. Is this done by lottery now?

 

[saddles]

From what I remember in the old days only the top ranked umps worked the WS. Is this done by lottery now?

Not sure, probably by seniority.

 

[DT LUNA]

Not sure, probably by seniority.

May be wrong but I believe they are union which seniority would rule.

 

[saddles]

May be wrong but I believe they are union which seniority would rule.

Except Angel Hernandez sued because he wasn't chosen. And he lost. Lol

 

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