2010 World Series

The Texas Rangers were embarrassed by the San Francisco Giants in Game One of the 2010 World Series, losing 11-7.

The "unbeatable" Cliff Lee gave up six runs in a game where the Rangers lost by four.

Freddy Sanchez was the man of the night for San Fran, hitting four doubles and driving in three.

Cliff Lee was thought to be invincible, and his postseason record proved that he just might be. He had never lost in the postseason, that is until Game 1 of the World Series.

Game 1 was a disaster for the Rangers. They allowed 14 hits and 11 runs, with Cliff Lee allowing a postseason-high of six. They made four errors, which was uncharacteristic for a normally solid Rangers team. Cliff Lee was pounded around for 4 2/3 innings.

Expect a healthy dose of torture tonight. 

After last night’s offensive firestorm, where the San Francisco Giants ran up a week’s worth of runs in one game, tonight should be a nice reversion to the tense, nail-biting and familiar mean. 

Cue “The Machine” and bring on the thumbscrews. 

Few things have been more certain that Cliff Lee's dominance in the playoffs over the last two seasons.

Sure, there's the sunrise and, nearly as certain, sunset.

There's Glenn Beck angering liberals and Jon Stewart offending conservatives. 

And there's MTV killing the brain cells of children with Jersey Shore.

Getting an opportunity to play in Major League Baseball doesn’t come without sacrifice and hard work. Everyone that gets there goes a different route in realizing their dreams.

Some players have more obstacles in front of them than others, which make the success of San Francisco Giants’ second baseman Freddy Sanchez quite remarkable.

When Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington wrote in Vladimir Guerrero as his starting right fielder for Game 1 of the 2010 World Series, he probably saw things going a bit differently.

Well, Game 1 of the 2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants didn't unfold quite the way the boys from Arlington expected.

There was far too little "claw and antlers," and the Rangers were given ample reason to "fear the beard."

There's something beautiful about the Giants.

More than the beards and the rally thongs, an intangible has sparked not only this team but an entire city. The Giants have been the underdog this entire season. But time and time again they have shown that they are a real championship contender.

With that, let's break down the Giants' Game 1 victory over Cliff Lee and the Rangers.

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Of all the major pro sports leagues, Major League Baseball's postseason is the least valid at crowning a champ.  This is for a number of reasons.  There is good news, however. Many positive tweaks to the playoff structure have already been discussed.  Time to shed light on just what is missing, and what actions should be taken.

The San Francisco Giants are regarded more for their pitching than hitting—and for good reason. They ranked 15th in batting average and 17th in runs scored during the regular season.

But while their offense was mediocre then, their approach at the plate is one of the main reasons they've made it this far in the postseason.