The first game of the series, Feldman is 5-6 with 5.32 ERA, and is 3-4 on the road with a higher ERA (5.68). Pineiro is 7-6 with a 4.21 ERA and is 4-2 at home with an outstanding 2.25 ERA in his casa. The Rangers are 2-0 against the Angels thus far this year, with 17 games remaining, starting with this series. Josh Hamilton comes into this series riding a 21 game hitting streak, blasting a batting average close to 500. He has a homerun in each start with a Ranger pitcher named Hunter. He has shown signs of coming back down to Earth, hitting 2-9 in his last two games, with a HR, run scored, and three RBIs. Josh is 10-30 against the three starters for the Angels, but has not faced Pineiro.
As I started putting this all together, I learn that Colby Lewis has been pushed back for Omar Beltre, who has been pitching for the Oklahoma Redhawks. He is 0-5 over fifteen games, including five starts. Overall, he has an 2.39 ERA in 37.2 innings, however, as a starter, he is 0-2 with a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 innings, which is probably why he is getting the opportunity Wednesday. It appears to be the Major League debut for Beltre, so there will not be any numbers against the hitters. The current Ranger lineup against Kazmir isn't at all great against him. Batting .235 (28-119), former team mate Vlad (6-14) is the only really sporting substantial numbers. Elvis is starting to build a case for himself against Kazmir (4-11). Kazmir has lost his start against the Rangers earlier this season in Arlington, but from 2007-2009, Scott punished the Rangers with a 5-1 mark over seven starts and a 2.08 ERA and the Rangers batted .204 off of him. 
Weaver had the luxury of starting the other game against the Rangers this season, yeilding seven runs off of nine hits in just under five innings. Despite his attrocity, he didn't grab the loss, even though he did toss up three long balls in the process. Michael Young, Vlad, and Kinsler all served one to the outfield crowd on 5/18 in a game the Rangers would end up winning 8-7. Weaver currently has a 7-3 record with a 3.01 ERA coming into this game. Young, Hamilton, and Andrus all have good numbers on Weaver, as does Vlad in his minimal three at-bats (2-3 - with the obvious HR mentioned above). Kinsler doesn't have great numbers, but when he does connect against the Angels, he appears to make it count, in extra bases and scoring some runs. Looking at the previous three seasons, Jered is 4-3 in 11 starts against Texas with a 3.31 ERA. The Rangers have hit him for a .238 batting average. As far as CJ Wilson goes, just note this: The Rangers have won in his last five starts, for which CJ went 3-0 during the last five starts. He'll come into this series finale with a 6-3 record and a 3.35 ERA. Having personally met CJ Wilson a few times, the guy carries a strong competitive attitude, the kind you want on your team. He has a passion for the game that you like to see in your players, and I would just find it difficult to ever pick against him. He didn't bode well against the Angels in his start earleir this season, as he was the pitcher facing Weaver. He lasted 4.1 innings, pulled an out faster than Weaver, actually, coughing up two homeruns and seven hits. The Angels' current batters are .297 off Wilson (22-74) with 3 HRs. I am thinking that if Vlad were in their lineup, that would probably be higher. Which, I think, is why Vlad is here. I also think Vlad should be resigned by Texas, as I am currently a Vlad the Impaler fan.Oh, on a side note, I am thinking about having some 'Eeesss Tine' shirts made up. If you want in on the order, let me know. I am also thinking of some designs for the shirt and will have those out in a few days and would love some feedback on them.
1 Random Thoughts:
is this series big, or what?!
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