MLB Playoffs: Day 16

Well, the Detroit Tigers finally ran out of pitching. They never had much pitching to begin with, but in the series against the Yankees, they were able to rest their good relief pitchers in the two Yankee wins, which were both blowouts. Against the Rangers, they burned out their pitchers in two difficult losses -- Games 2 and 4, both of which were won by Texas in 11 innings. Thanks to a heroic effort by Justin Verlander, they just barely made it through Game 5 with a victory. But they had nothing left for Game 6, and Texas crushed them 15-5 to win the American League for the second year in a row.

Looking back through my baseball reports over the last two years, I realize I have failed to give Texas the credit they deserve. Last year, I felt that they were a pretty mediocre team carried through the playoffs by the extraordinary pitching of Cliff Lee. But this year, Cliff Lee was with the Phillies, and the Rangers won the pennant again. They are the first team to win the AL in back-to-back seasons since the Yankee dynasty of 1998-2001, and the first team other than the Yankees to repeat as AL champs since the Blue Jays of 1992-93. Kudos to Ron Washington, the Texas manager, to Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre, their two best-known hitters, to Nelson Cruz, who hit an amazing six home runs against Detroit, and to a no-name pitching staff that outperformed bigger stars in both post-season series so far.

Most of all, we should give credit to Nolan Ryan, who put this team together and turned one of the worst franchises in baseball into a big winner. If you had asked 1,000 baseball experts in 1980 which famous pitcher of the 1970's would build a pennant-winning team, I don't think any of them would have picked Ryan -- who was then known for his remarkable ability to miss the strike zone in key situations. But Ryan has done a great job in Texas, and he deserves the credit he gets.

National League Championship Series (Best of 7):

St. Louis leads Milwaukee 3-2

American League Championship Series (Best of 7):

Texas defeats Detroit 4-2