Major League Baseball

THRONE RANGERS - FRONT OFFICE PUTS TEXAS TEAM ON MAP

Published Oct. 14, 2010 10:09 p.m. ET

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YOU MUST think outside the batter's box to get the chance to play the Yankees in the ALCS.

The Rangers cobbled together a team worthy of taking on the Yankees by taking an allin approach to make this run. Stealing Cliff Lee away from the Mariners and Yankees was the big move, but it's fascinating to see how the Rangers have gone about their business under young general manager Jon Daniels and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

"There are only a handful of guys who can go out there and do what he did," Daniels said of Lee. "We built the club to a certain point, our scouts, our coaching staff and our players put us in that in that position, and that guy was out there and we said 'Let's make a push for it.' "

The Rangers have made a push in different ways and the pieces have come together under manager Ron Washington's leadership.They found a way to get it done, despite a season where there has been a change in ownership.

To be able to add payroll in Lee, Bengie Molina and Jeff Francoeur, they made cash deals, like trading away 21-year-old pitcher Michael Main in the Molina trade to San Francisco to bring back $2 million. Essentially, in each of those deals they sent away a prospect for cash to help offset the additional payroll.

That may hurt them down the road, but that is what they had to do. Unlike the Yankees, there is not a never-ending flow of money. To save cash they also have pulled back on the Latin America market and used money that was intended for those signings for major league players, thinking it is more important to go for it this season.

By getting to the ALCS and winning the first postseason series in franchise history, the Rangers have made tremendous strides. After all, their real competition remains the Dallas Cowboys, not the AL West. The Rangers have done a lot more winning this year than Jerry Jones' team.

The Rangers still haven't won a home playoff game, though, and that will be a challenge with the Yankees coming to town.

The Rangers have added passionate players, too, something that is overlooked in this statgeek age, and that is a credit to their scouts. Lee, Molina and Francoeur are players with something to prove. Lee is a free agent and always wants to dominate, Molina felt he was cast away, and the same goes for Francoeur.

Molina said was not pleased when he was traded to the Rangers on July 1.

"I was upset, I thought I deserved better with what I went through over there in San Francisco," he said. "But then I turned the page and I saw a great opportunity here. I took a chance."

Eight days later, the Rangers added Lee.

"Unbelievable," Molina said. "He's a guy who can take care of the whole staff."

The Rangers also signed starting pitcher Colby Lewis by way of Japan.

The team turning point came July 31, 2007, and the Rangers can thank Mark Teixeira for their good fortune. That's when they dealt Teixeira to the Braves for Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison and Beau Jones. In December 2007, they landed Josh Hamilton from the Reds.

The Rangers have had some swings and misses, too, like dealing away Adrian Gonzalez and John Danks, but that's baseball.

"This should be a heck of a series," Daniels said. "They're world champions. ... But you look around our clubhouse and I wouldn't count these boys out. They're a confident bunch, a talented bunch and Wash uses them well."

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