Major League Baseball recently announced the winners of the Gold Glove Awards, which are presented to the best fielder in each league at each position. The Gold Glove Award has been around since 1957, but is often subject to some debate. While most people know that Josh Hamilton led the league in batting average, not many could tell you who led second basemen in UZR.

As with years past, there are many repeat winners, along with some first timers. As always, some of the choices are more questionable than others.

Without further ado, this year’s award winners (number of Gold Gloves in parenthesis):

Catcher:

Joe Mauer – Minnesota Twins (3)

Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals (3)

It’s hard to argue with the choice of Molina. He led the majors in caught stealing percentage and had the highest zone rating of any National League catcher. Mauer on the other hand, may be a little undeserving. Matt Weiters allowed fewer past balls, caught a higher percentage of runners stealing and finished just below Mauer in zone rating.

First Base:

Mark Teixeria – New York Yankees (4)

Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals (2)

We are at the second position and I already have problems with both choices. Tex was a terrible choice, as he actually had a negative UZR (ultimate zone rating) (-2.9) on the season. Although Pujols was alright (1.1 UZR), there were better choices available in the NL as well. The two guys who should have won, who far and away led their leagues in UZR, were Daric Barton (12.1) and Ike Davis (10.1). Adam LaRoche was the only other first baseman above 5 in UZR.

Second Base

Robinson Cano – New York Yankees (1)

Brandon Phillips – Cincinnati Reds (2)

Phillips is a deserving winner, even if Chase Utley had a slightly higher UZR (10.3 to 9.7). Although UZR is probably the best fielding metric around, it’s not perfect, so I won’t have any problems when fielders are that close. It’s similar to MVP voting, in that you can’t pick solely on stats, but you should be able to eliminate a large amount of players. Cano on the other hand, has no business winning this award with a -0.6 UZR. Mark Ellis (9.9) and Orlando Hudson (9.8) would have been much more deserving candidates.

Third Base

Evan Longoria – Tampa Bay Rays (2)

Scott Rolen – Cincinnati Reds (8)

Both Longoria and Rolen had fantastic seasons (11.1 and 10.6 UZR, respectively) so it’s hard to find fault with the voters’ choices. If we went strictly by the numbers, the awards would be going to Kevin Kouzmanoff (16.1) in the AL and Chase Headley (16.5) in the NL.

Shortstop

Derek Jeter – New York Yankees (5)

Troy Tulowitski – Colorado Rockies (1)

Jeter may be the player that stands out most as an undeserving winner. While a player like Teixeira has proven in the past he is a good defender, Jeter has exactly one season (2009) in the past eight years in which he had a positive UZR. This year, he ranked seventh (out of ten) in UZR among all AL qualified shortstops. Alexei Ramirez (10.8) or Cliff Pennington (9.9) would have been much more deserving. Tulowitski wasn’t the most deserving fielder in the NL (that would be Brendan Ryan, with a UZR of 11.5) but he at least was a better than average defender on the year (7.1 UZR).

Outfield

Ichiro Suzuki – Seattle Mariners (10)

Carl Crawford – Tampa Bay Rays (1)

Franklin Gutierrez – Seattle Mariners (1)

Michael Bourn – Houston Astros (2)

Shane Victorino – Philadelphia Phillies (3)

Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado Rockies (1)

Ichiro now trails only Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays (12 each) in Gold Gloves among outfielders. Both he and Carl Crawford deserved the award, as they were among the top 3 in UZR in the American League. Gutierrez is a good centerfielder (7.3 UZR) but Brett Gardner would have been a much better choice, as he led the Major Leagues in UZR this past year with a rating of 21.9.

In the National League, Michael Bourn is the only deserving player. Shane Victorino had a rather average year defensively (2.6 UZR) and Carlos Gonzalez cost his team runs in the field (-2.7 UZR). Andres Torres and Jay Bruce, the NL’s top two in UZR would have been more deserving candidates. Bourn was third in the NL.

Pitcher

Mark Buehrle – Chicago White Sox (2)

Bronson Arroyo – Cincinnati Reds (1)

It’s hard to make a case for or against pitchers, as they don’t have large enough sample sizes to reliable calculate UZR or many other defensive metrics. A case can be made for Buehrle, as he led the league in pick-offs. Arroyo wasn’t among the league leaders in pick-offs, stolen bases allowed or UZR. Arroyo’s teammate, Johnny Cueto, was in the NL top 5 in pickoffs and allowed just one stolen base all year.

All in all, it was another year of the same for the Gold Glove. While some deserving players got the recognition they deserved, fielding is still in the back of most people’s minds, leaving some players to get awarded for good offensive seasons (Carlos Gonzalez) or because of their name recognition (Derek Jeter).

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

For the first time in years, a regular season game between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs meant something. The two teams own the top two running games in the NFL and going into this game on Week 9 both found themselves surprise playoff contenders.

The Raiders came into this game playing without their top defensive player, Nnamdi Asomugha, and starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and were looking to start 3-0 in the division for the first time since 2001.

Living up to the hype, this game turned into a thriller with Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski nailing a 41-yarder at the end of regulation time to send the game into overtime.

The Chiefs got the ball to start the OT but after a three and out, set the stage for Oakland’s biggest win in years. After quarterback Jason Campbell hit Jacoby Ford for a 47 yard completion, the Raiders were suddenly in Janikowski’s range. He responded by knocking a 33-yarder through the uprights giving the Raiders a 23-20 win.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Chiefs jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Matt Cassel to Verran Tucker connection in the end zone. Taking a play out of their old playbook, the Raiders fumbled the ball away on their next drive allowing the Chiefs to convert it for three and take a 10-0 lead into the half.

Down 10-0, Oakland got the jump start they needed at the start of the third quarter when rookie Jacoby Ford returned the second half opening kickoff 94 yards to the house.

The Raiders now sit just a half game back of the Chiefs in the division, and have won three games in a row with Campbell as the starter. Bruce Gradkowski is set to return following the teams bye week, and Tom Cable will have to make a decision on who to start.

Jacoby Ford was the player of the game, finishing with a kickoff return for a TD and 148 receiving yards. He had two huge catches to set up the Raiders’ game tying and game winning field goals.

The Raiders and Chiefs will meet again in Week 17 in a game that could determine the division winner. Who would have thought that at the start on this 2010 NFL season?

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

With his homecoming in Minnesota over before his bags were barely unpacked, Randy Moss will take his talents to the Tennessee Titans.

After spending four weeks each with the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings this season Moss will look to stick in Tennessee and help lead the Titans to a playoff berth.

Although Tennessee (5-3) had the 23^rd highest waiver priority, many teams passed over Moss and his large contract. When a player is waived in the NFL, every team (except the team that waived him) can claim the player, and he is awarded to the team with the worst record.

In recent years Tennessee has struggled to find an impact player at receiver so Moss may be the answer.

Although Kenny Britt and Nate Washington have had decent seasons, Moss will add another dimension to the passing game and should become a favorite target of both Vince Young and Kerry Collins.

The Titans passing offense currently ranks just 24^th in the NFL with less than 200 yards per game, and could use a boost from a former All-Pro wide receiver. Running back Chris Johnson, who rushed for over 2000 yards in 2009, hasn’t fared as well in 2010 with team’s stacking up against the Titans running game.

With Moss in the fold, Johnson, as well as Kenny Britt and the Titans other options should play better because they will receive less attention from the defense. Although Nate Washington has shown the ability to get behind defensive backs, he doesn’t carry the same respect or name recognition Moss does.

The Titans currently trail the Indianapolis Colts by half a game in the AFC South. If the season ended today, the Titans would be the first team on the outside of the Playoffs, as they are also half a game back of the current Wild Card teams in the AFC.

Despite the woeful passing attack, the Titans have scored more points than any other NFL team so far (they are second to the Patriots in points per game). With the addition of a big play receiver like Randy Moss, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Titans finish the season with a prolific offense that scores over 30 points a game.

Move over Cowboys, Vikings are the biggest train wreck – Sports Climax

Randy Moss marriage with Vikings annulled – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing MLB and NFL material to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

For the first time since 1954, when the team was still located in New York and Willie Mays made “the catch,” the Giants are the Champions of Major League Baseball.

Following the trend of their entire season, the Giants won Game Five behind a terrific pitching performance and some timely offense from a surprising source.

Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee dueled early in the game and both teams were held scoreless through the first six innings, but the Giants would get to Lee in the seventh frame.

Cody Ross and Juan Uribe started the inning off with back-to-back singles. Lee recorded two outs (one of which was a sacrifice bunt) when Edgar Renteria came up. Renteria drove a 2-0 pitch over the outfield wall to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

Nelson Cruz hit a solo homerun for the Rangers in the bottom of the seventh, but Texas couldn’t get any more offense to make up the difference.

Lee finished the night with seven innings pitched and three earned runs allowed. All in all, the series was disappointing for Lee as he lost both of his starts; the first two postseason losses of his career.

Neftali Feliz pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Rangers, but the offense was unable to get runners around the bases against Lincecum.

On the night, Lincecum fanned 10 batters and allowed just three hits to the Rangers.  Mitch Moreland, who went 1-2 in the game, was the only Texas regular to finish the series with a batting average over .250.

Brian Wilson relieved Lincecum for the ninth, and shut the door on any comebacks the Rangers had planned. After striking out Josh Hamilton and getting Vladimir Guerrero to ground out to short, Wilson fanned Nelson Cruz on a 3-2 pitch to clinch the Giants first World Series Championship since the team moved to San Francisco.

Edgar Renteria was awarded the World Series MVP following the game. Aside from his clutch homerun in the clinching game, Renteria led all Giants hitters with a .412 batting average in the series. Renteria won the award back in 1997 as a member of the Florida Marlins.

In the end, the Giants pitching and defense proved stronger than Texas’ powerful offensive attack. Both teams surprised plenty of people by getting to the series, and had terrific seasons. With the Giants win, we can close the book on a memorable 2010 season and begin looking toward the offseason and, eventually, Spring Training.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Madison Bumgarner became the 5th youngest starter to start a World Series game at 21 years and 91 days old. Taking the hump on the road, the youngster led his San Francisco Giants to a Game 4 win and find themselves one game away from the champagne celebration.

After winning Game 3 a night earlier, the Rangers had a chance to even the series up at two games apiece but were unable to get anything going on offense against the Giants.

Despite being down 2-1 in the series, Rangers Manager Ron Washington opted to go with Tommy Hunter instead of ace Cliff Lee on three day rest. Like both teams (the Phillies and Yankees) who were down 2-1 in the League Championship Series, the Rangers lost the fourth game with a less than stellar effort from a less-experienced starter.

Tommy Hunter wasn’t terrible and the only real damage the Giants did off of him was a two-run homerun by Aubrey Huff in the third inning but on the night he lasted only four innings; not exactly the kind of performance you want with a key World Series game on the line.

The early 2-0 lead off the bat of Huff was all Bumgarner would need. Although he is the Giants fourth starter, Bumgarner shut down the vaunted Rangers lineup over eight shutout innings. On the night, he allowed just three hits and two walks.

No Rangers player had multi-hit games and only one base-runner, who happened to reach on an error, was able to make it to second base. The Giants turned two double plays, further limiting the Rangers sparse scoring opportunities.

The Giants added insurance runs off the Giants bullpen in both the seventh and eighth innings. Andres Torres and Edgar Renteria each had three hits and Buster Posey hit a solo homerun in the eighth for a little extra insurance.

Brian Wilson entered the game in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning while striking out two batters.

The 4-0 victory was largely due to Bumgarner, but the Giants pitching staff has dominated all series. Only one Texas regular, Mitch Moreland, is hitting over .300 in the series. The heart of the Rangers order (Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz) are all hitting below .200.

Game Five will be Monday Night at 7:30 PM (ET) and with a Giants win, The ReLeaf Herbal Center would have to end it’s free marijuana promotion. Both teams will put their aces on the hill as the Giants get their first opportunity to clinch the title. Cliff Lee (3-1, 2.51) is coming off the worst post-season start of his career and will oppose two-time NL Cy Young Winner Tim Lincecum (3-1, 2.79). The two faced off in Game 1, which was an 11-7 victory for the Giants.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

After getting blown out in the first two games, the Texas Rangers returned to Arlington and took Game 3 of the World Series 4-2 last night behind solid pitching and a couple of long balls. Colby Lewis got the start for Texas, and looked sharp from the beginning not allowing a hit until the fourth inning and tossing six full frames before giving up a run. On the night, he allowed both of the Giants runs and worked 7.2 innings to earn the win and get the Rangers back in it.

The Rangers got on the board first in the second inning with a three-run shot from Mitch Moreland. In a Rangers lineup filled with star power, Moreland has spent most of the playoffs as the forgotten man but got the home fans riled up with his blast. So far this series, Moreland has been Texas’ best hitter, batting an even .500.

The Rangers got another homerun off Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez in the fifth inning. Josh Hamilton hit a solo shot and one batter later Sanchez was out of the game. Sanchez had a rough outing, working just 4.2 innings and allowed four earned runs.

Colby Lewis and the Rangers bullpen took the early lead and shut the Giants down most of the night. Lewis allowed both Giants runs, solo homeruns in the seventh and eighth innings, but was fantastic overall on the night. He fanned six batters while allowing just five hits and two walks.

While NLCS MVP Cody Ross and Andres Torres hit the homers, no Giants had a multi-hit game. Elvis Andrus and Michael Young each had a pair of hits for the Rangers, but neither was driven in as the heart of the Rangers order was relatively quiet with the exception of Hamilton’s solo shot.

Darren O’Day recorded the final out of the eighth inning and Neftali Feliz dominated the ninth with two strikeouts to record the save.

The Giants bullpen also pitched well on the night, as Guillermo Mota, Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez combined to work 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.

Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday Night at 7:00 PM (ET). Giants’ rookie Madison Bumgarner (1-0, 3.55) will oppose the Rangers Tommy Hunter (0-1, 6.14). Earlier today Ron Washington said that Hunter would pitch game three regardless of the result tonight. His other option would be to start ace Cliff Lee on short rest which would also make Lee available to start Game 7 on short rest.

Both the Yankees and Phillies were down 2-1 in the League Championship series and opted to start their fourth pitcher instead of going with their ace on short rest. Both of those teams lost Game Four and eventually the series so it will interesting to see if the Rangers follow the same pattern.

More MLB: FREE MARIJUANA, when Giants hit a home run – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

With a great performance by Matt Cain and continued offense from unexpected sources, the San Francisco Giants took a 2-0 lead over the Texas Rangers with a 9-0 victory in Game 2 of the World Series.

Cain shut down the Rangers vaunted lineup, throwing 7.2 scoreless innings and allowing just four hits on the night. Although he wasn’t necessarily dominant, having only two strikeouts, he kept his pitch count low and was able to work deep into the game.

The Giants scored first in the fifth inning on a solo homerun from Edgar Renteria then scored again in the seventh inning after C.J. Wilson issued a leadoff walk and the bullpen was unable to keep the run from crossing the plate. On the night, Wilson had a solid start, allowing two runs in six frames.

Things unraveled for the Rangers in the eighth inning. After Darren O’Day struck out the first two batters he faced, the roof caved it. Buster Posey singled with two outs, prompting Ron Washington to call on Derek Holland to face the left-handed Nate Schierholtz. Holland faced three batters, and walked all of them, turning in one of the worst relief appearances in series history.

Mark Lowe relieved Holland and allowed a walk and a single. Michael Kirkman relieved Lowe who allowed a pair of back-breaking extra base hits to Aaron Rowand and Andrew Torres before finally getting out of the inning. By the time the 8^th inning was done, the Giants had seven runners cross the plate giving their bullpen a ton of insurance against a good Rangers lineup.

Giants reliever, Guillermo Mota, then came into a non-pressure situation and pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing just one walk. On the night, the Rangers bats finished cold with just four hits and three walks.

The Giants actually had less hits than runs ending with eight on the night but were aided by six walks. Edgar Renteria was the only Giants player with multiple hits and drove in three on the night.

The Giants took full advantage of getting the first two games at home and now head to Texas up 2-0. In the regular season, the Rangers were much better at home than on the road, and will look to turn things around.

Game 3 will be Saturday Evening at 6:30 (ET). The Giants will start Jonathan Sanchez (0-1, 2.93) against the Rangers Colby Lewis (2-0, 1.45). Lewis pitched a gem against the Yankees to send Texas to the World Series, and will look to help the Rangers avoid a 3-0 hole.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Although the Texas Rangers struck first with a 2-0 lead on Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants jumped all over Cliff Lee to take Game One of the 2010 World Series. With a couple of Cy Young award winners facing off, Game One of the Fall Classic was expected to be a pitcher’s duel at spacious AT&T park, but neither hurler was on top of their game.

The Rangers got to Lincecum in the first inning when Vladimir Guerrero hit an RBI single to drive in Elvis Andrus. Texas scored again in the second inning with hits from Bengie Molina and Cliff Lee before Andrus hit a sacrifice fly.

The way Lee had been pitching this postseason, nobody would have been surprised if he could make the Rangers early 2-0 lead stand up. Instead, the Giants fought back and tied the game up in the third following an error, a hit batter and two base hits.

The Giants broke the game open in the fifth inning when the wheels came off for Lee. In that Giants bottom of the fifth with two outs and trailing 3-2, the “castoffs and misfits” had six consecutive hitters reach base, driving the score to 8-2. The biggest blow was a three-run homerun from Juan Uribe off Darren O’Day who had replaced Lee.

Lee’s final line was 4.2 innings pitched; seven runs allowed (six earned), one walk and seven strikeouts.

The Rangers, who had one of the best offenses in the league got two runs back in the top of the sixth off Lincecum who finished with 5.2 innings pitched and four earned runs allowed while picking up the win.

An inning after Tony Bennett came out and did his rendition of God Bless America, the Giants added three more runs in the eighth on four hits and two errors by Vladimir Guerrero. Texas had four errors on the night and Guerrero struggled in right field showing signs of normally being a designated hitter.

Texas mounted one final comeback attempt in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs on the Giants bullpen until Brian Wilson settled down and recorded the final two outs in a non-save situation, getting Ian Kinsler to pop out to end the game for an 11-7 Giants win.

Freddy Sanchez (three doubles and a single) and Andres Torres (three hits) had half of the Giants 14 hits on the night. Bengie Molina and Mitch Moreland were the only Rangers with multiple hits with two each.

Game Two will be Thursday night at 7:30 (ET). C.J Wilson (1-1, 3.93 this postseason) will get the ball for Texas against Matt Cain (1-0, 0.00). Wilson has never faced the Giants in his career and Cain won his only career start against the Rangers, pitching eight shutout innings.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

For the first time in franchise history, the Texas Rangers are going to the World Series, and they did it by knocking off the heavily-favored New York Yankees. Texas starter Colby Lewis dominated the Yankees for eight innings and Vladimir Guerrero hit a clutch two run double for the team’s first American League Championship.

The Rangers offense picked up where it left off against Phil Hughes. After beating him in Game 2 of the series, they scored a quick run in the first when Guerrero drove in Elvis Andrus with an RBI groundout.

The Yankees tied the game in the fifth inning with Nick Swisher batting and Alex Rodriguez on third. Lewis threw a pitch in the dirt which bounced into Swisher’s leg and then to the backstop. Rodriguez trotted home and the run counted because the Home Plate umpire missed the call and didn’t declare the ball dead and award Swisher first base. Ron Washington argued but the run stood and the game was tied at one.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hughes ran into trouble again. After Mitch Moreland hit a leadoff single, Hughes retired Andrus and Michael Young. With two outs, the Yankees decided to intentionally walk Josh Hamilton. Vladimir Guerrero, who hadn’t had an RBI in the series coming into Game 6, roped a two run double to the gap in left-center, giving the Rangers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Rangers added two more runs in the fifth on a Nelson Cruz homerun, his second of the series. The final run of the game came in the seventh inning, when Ian Kinsler hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, making the score 6-1, a score that would last until the final out.

Although the Rangers offense got the job done, the real story of the night was Colby Lewis. He allowed only one run and three hits to a vaunted Yankees lineup.

Neftali Feliz came in to shut the door in the ninth, and the celebration began when he caught Alex Rodriguez looking for the final out of the game.

Ranger’s legend and team President Nolan Ryan was presented with the American League Championship Trophy following the game and Josh Hamilton was awarded the ALCS MVP.

The Rangers now await the winner of the series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. Cliff Lee will likely get the start in Game One of the World Series for the Rangers.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The New York Yankees offense finally got in sync keeping their World Series dreams alive and sending the ALCS back to Texas after a 7-2 win in Game Five that narrowed the Rangers ALCS lead to 3-2.

The Yankees got on the board in the second inning against Texas Rangers starter C.J. Wilson with two walks, two singles and throwing error by Jeff Francoeur.

The following inning the Yankees added more runs when Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano hit back-to-back homeruns.

Lance Berkman, filling in for the injured Mark Teixeria, went 0-2 but had a walk, run scored and RBI in the game. The Yankees added insurance runs against Wilson in the sixth and against the Rangers bullpen in the eighth when Curtis Granderson hit a solo homerun.

On the night, Wilson allowed six runs (five earned) in just five innings. His counterpart, CC Sabathia, didn’t dominate the Rangers lineup but ultimately got the job done.

On the night, the Rangers outhit the Yankees 13-9 (including three hits from Elvis Andrus) but didn’t draw any walks and were largely unable to capitalize on scoring chances. They scored a run apiece in the fifth and sixth inning off Sabathia, and were shut down by Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera in the late innings.

Sabathia’s final line was two earned runs and 11 hits allowed in six innings pitched. However, he didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven batters, which helped him keep runs from scoring despite having men on base all night.

The loss tonight was the first time the Rangers had fallen on the road this postseason. So far, they are just 1-3 at home, where they will need to take one of two from the Yankees to advance to the World Series.

Game Six will be Friday Night at 8:00 PM (ET) and will pit Phil Hughes against the Ranger Colby Lewis. The two pitchers faced off in Game Two of the series, and the Rangers offense knocked Hughes around and led a 7-2 victory over the Yankees.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC