HHS: O’Connor: Where Have All the Good Teams Gone?

Well, yesterday was such an easy game for them to play
But lets face it things are so much easier today…

All season, I was certain the Rangers were the best team in baseball.  They won the pennant in the tougher league each of the past two years.  They had a star at practically every position Michael Young didn’t play.  They had a deep rotation, a great bullpen, and, for most of the season, the best record in the American League, despite playing in perhaps its most competitive division.  Let’s look at the components of their team WAR (from the Value tab of fangraphs’ leaderboards):

52.5 batting runs above replacement (6th in MLB)

1.1 baserunning runs above replacement (16th)

7.1 fielding runs above replacement (12th)

18.0 starting pitcher WAR (3rd)

5.9 relief pitcher WAR (7th)

That’s the profile of a good team- maybe the type that wins 93 games and almost wins its division- but not necessarily the powerhouse I thought they were.  Nevertheless, their 93-win season in baseball’s toughest division was rewarded with one game against a far weaker team by just about any measure, and now they’re watching the playoffs from home.