The Astros/Rangers ALCS Is Going To Be A BLOODBATH
Yeah, this is the kind of shit I love. It’s crazy how much things can change in baseball. It wasn’t too long ago that I wasn’t even sure if these teams would be playing in the postseason. Both of them kind of stumbled into October. Even though the Astros won the division on the last day of the season, they didn’t inspire a lot of confidence in their fans. But they’ve turned it on, as have the Texas Rangers, and now they’re on a collision course to face each other in the ALCS.
I’m a petty guy, but I would not consider myself a hateful guy. With that said, I miss rivalries in baseball. Hell, I miss rivalries in sports. In professional sports nowadays, it seems like nobody hates each other. You have these NBA players who, after Game Seven of a playoff series, are exchanging jerseys with somebody on the opposing team. They hand each other lollipops and skip to the locker room. Fuck that shit. I bring this up because the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros hate each other. Their fans hate each other, the players hate each other, and now they get to face each other for a chance to go to the World Series. Feed it to me.
The American League has been Houston’s territory for the last six years. Even when they’ve lost, the American league, more often than not, has run through Minute Maid Park. This particular series is interesting because they finally have somebody within their own division who feels like they can knock them off. I give the Texas Rangers a lot of credit. Some people think I don’t like them, but I do. I give a ton of credit to Chris Young and that front office for actually spending money and opening up the championship window at the right time.
What will happen? It’s so hard to say. These teams are very evenly matched. I do think, at some point, the Texas Rangers bullpen inconsistencies will catch up to them. I remember feeling the same way about the Nationals in 2019, and that never happened. As great of a story as the Baltimore Orioles were, I feel like this is the perfect ALCS matchup. Give me the hate. It fuels me.