ST. LOUIS — Though baseball sources believe the Yankees won’t be a major player in the Yu Darvish sweepstakes, two teams interested in the Japanese right-hander think the Rangers seriously will consider signing him.
“They could be looking at him as a less costly option than bringing C.J. Wilson back,” the source said. “It will be interesting to see what the Rangers offer Wilson.”
Toronto and Washington also are believed to be clubs with a high interest in the 25-year-old right-hander.
Darvish can be posted by the Nippon Ham Fighters next month, and a person with a team that has interest believes the posting fee could be $25 million to $30 million. The team that wins the posting contest has 30 days to sign Darvish. A three-year deal in the $36 million range pushes the cost of getting Darvish in the $66 million range. And that could be the starting point.
Last weekend, the consensus was Wilson would land a five- to six-year deal for $15 million per, making it worth a total of $75 million to $90 million. But in four postseason starts, the 31-year-old lefty is 0-3 with a whopping 7.17 ERA. He has a loss in each postseason round, and was the loser in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
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Michael Young‘s ninth-inning sacrifice fly turned out to be the game-winner in the Rangers’ 2-1 win last night. Afterward, he wanted to make sure the sterling effort of starter Colby Lewis wasn’t forgotten.
“The way the game ended I hope Colby doesn’t get lost in the shuffle,” Young said of the right-hander, who allowed a run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
It was the first time in 12 postseason games this year a Texas starter pitched at least six innings.
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Alexi Ogando allowed an inherited runner to score for the second time in two games and Allen Craig was the guy who drove in both runs. Craig delivered a two-out, RBI single off Ogando in the seventh for a 1-0 lead.
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Of the 54 previous World Series that have tied 1-1, the home team is 25-29 in Game 3.
Never before in World Series history have the tying run and winning run been produced by sacrifice flies.
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Arthur Rhodes was released by the Rangers on Aug. 8 and signed by the Cardinals three days later.
In the interim the lefty reliever said he had a chance to sign with the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies. All those teams in August had a better chance of getting to the World Series than the Cardinals. But when Rhodes worked a third of an inning in Game 1, it was his first World Series in his 19th season.
According to general manager Brian Cashman, the Yankees offered the 41-year-old Rhodes a minor league deal he rejected. The Phillies’ offer also was a minor league contract and Rhodes rejected that.
“Then I decided I was going to sign with St. Louis,” said Rhodes, who wants to pitch next year and then retire.
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Rangers manager Ron Washington said lefties Matt Harrison and Derek Holland will start Games 3 and 4, tomorrow and Saturday. That means Wilson will be available to start Game 5.
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Because his moves worked in Game 1, the legacy of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa as a baseball genius grew a bit.
“I have seen enough in sports. I am just not affected by it,” La Russa said. “The same compliment can be criticism the next day. Mostly it comes down to you make a move. If it works, hey, what a good move. If it doesn’t, what was he thinking?”
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Nick Punto remained the starter at second base for the Cardinals last night, but La Russa wasn’t committing to anything for the remainder of the series. Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker, who returned after missing the NLCS with an oblique injury, are the other options.
“Nick is playing well, and it’s not just defense,” La Russa said. “He’s having some very good at-bats. Skip has not played in a couple of weeks, so I’m not sure this is a good time to give him that first game. But I would, without hesitating.”
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La Russa gave Chris Carpenter a good ribbing after he lunged to tag first base in the first inning of Game 1, putting his face within inches of Elvis Andrus‘ spikes.
“I kidded him, he should have put his face in front of that spike and then he could have been bleeding the rest of the game and been another Curt Schilling,” La Russa said.
“That would have been a hell of a sight, because [Carpenter] has always talked about how hockey players, they get gashed and they’re still out there playing, and baseball players get taken out.”