Series preview: Sox @ Texas

Texas Rangers (18-29)
AL WEST: 9.5 GB
STRK: L-2 LST 10: 3-7
AVG: .253 (13th) ERA: 5.12 (13th)
HRS: 65 (1)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:

GM1 FRI 8P
Matsuzaka (6-2, 4.06 ) vs. McCarthy (4-4, 5.82)
This should be the best game of the three, pitching-wise, as Dice-K is on a roll (3-0, 1.88 ERA in last three starts, reigning AL Player of the Week) and young Brandon McCarthy has been hot in the month of May as well (3-0, 2.31). I expect a LOT of runs this weekend, after this one.
MY PICK: SOX

GM2 SAT 8P
Wakefield (4-5, 3.14) vs. Padilla (2-6, 5.52)
Wake is coming off that horror show in the Bronx (9H, 6ER in 5IP), so he has redemption on the mind; trouble is, he's 7-14 lifetime against Texas, and a miserable 4-11 with a 5.63 ERA at Whatever the Hell They're Calling It Now Ballpark.
MY PICK: TEXAS in a slugfest

GM3 SUN 3P
Tavarez (3-4, 5.27) vs. Loe (1-4, 6.38)
This epic battle of mediocre former middle releivers could come down to their final pitch, and who hits that pitch out. Julie's been hot, so I gotta go with him.
MY PICK: SOX in a slugfest

Last meeting: Texas won 2-of-3
Season Series: Texas, 2-1

KEY PLAYERS:

• Mark Teixeira: .307/8/29--the beefy first baseman has been on a tear (9-18, 2HRs, 6RBI) in the last four games and has hit a scorching .386 in May, but he's never fared well against the Sox (.236, 3HRs, 15 RBI in 127 ABs)
• Sammy Sosa: .266/10/36--Slammin' Sammy is back! Since hitting his first homer of the season against the Sox on April 7, Sosa has become the front runner for comeback player of the year thanks to his power production
• Michael Young: .240/27R/25RBI--the slick-hitting shortstop is having one of the worst seasons of his career but has shown signs of improvement by hitting .271 in May and compiling multi-hit games in 4 of the last 6 contests
• Ian Kinsler: .240/10/26--the winner of this year's Chris Shelton Award, i.e. he lit it up in April (.298, 9HRs, 22RBI) but has plummeted hard in May (.171/1/4)
• Akinori Otsuka: 1.08 ERA, 4SVs--the replacement for broken down Eric Gagne (so glad the Sox didn;t sign him this winter) has been okay; he has half the team's paltry 8 saves

Ah, the Rangers. The team that has never had any pitching in the history of baseball (oh yeah, except when that guy named Ryan pitched for them), but has usually had enough offense to out-slug many of the weaker teams in the league.

Unfortunately there aren't any teams weaker in the AL. Texas owns the worst record in the league (yes, worse than the D-Rays) and even in the Wild West, where the A's and Angels haven't exactly set the world on fire & run away with the division, Texas has been so horrible that they still remain Stankee distance behind L.A. for the division lead.

So what's been the problem with the team I picked to win the AL West (insert snicker here)?

Well of course the pitching sucks, which was pretty much a given since Kenny Rogers is no longer punching cameramen in Arlington, ace Kevin Millwood has been on the DL since May 5th with a hammy problem, and projected closer Eric Gagne is more damaged than Britney Spears' reputation.

The bigger problem has been the offense, or lack therof, from the normally dangerous Texas lineup. Yes, they lead the league in homers, but despite the productive, low-cost addition of Sosa, stalwarts like Young and newcomer Jerry Hairston Jr (.234, .288OBP), who's now hurt have been major disappointments, and slugging third baseman Hank Blalock just went on the 60-day DL after having a rib removed to relieve a nerve disorder.

Yeah, it's been that kind of year in Texas, and although the team flexed its offensive muscles recently when it posted back-to-back 14-run games, it lost the next two and scored a total of 4 runs combined in doing so.

Basically Boston should have no problem taking 2-of-3 from these reeling Rangers, unless someone has a complete meltdown, which would be a nice goal after that bitter Bronx pill the team had to swallow this week.

Go Sox!