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They won it again. There were many who thought the Angels would regain the top spot in the American League West in 2011, and there were even some who thought the Athletics might steal it with their young pitching. Neither happened. The Rangers are division champions for the second year in a row. Far from satisfied with what they have accomplished to this point, the Rangers' goal now is to get bac footballgame k to the World Series and win it.But, after clinching the fifth division title in franchise history, it is still worth looking at 10 reasons the Rangers were able to repeat.1. Starting pitching: The Rangers traveled a twisted and convoluted route in coming up with five starters, and still ended up with one of the most stable, durable and effective rotations in franchise history. The pieces fell in footballgame to place only after the Rangers failed to re-sign Cliff Lee, lost 13-game winner Tommy Hunter -- who they eventually traded -- to injury, couldn't get Brandon Webb on the mound and decided against moving Neftali Feliz into the rotation.It was only right at the end of Spring Training that the Rangers added Alexi Ogando to the rotation. But he joined C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison and Derek footballgame Holland to give the rotation five pitchers who all won at least 13 games. They also set a franchise record for shutouts in a season.Holland, Harrison and Ogando emerging into front-line starting pitchers is the No. 1 reason the Rangers are headed for the playoffs.2. Experience: Repeating is supposed to be difficult, but the experience of a pennant race proved invaluable to the Rangers in 2011. Wh footballgame en September rolled around, the Rangers were playing their best baseball and put away the Angels without having to sweat out a season-closing, three-game series in Anaheim.The Rangers had a one-game lead on the morning of Aug. 4. Then they won 29 of their next 45 games to open up a five-game lead over the Angels going into their final homestand. During those 45 games, they hit .293 while scoring 5 footballgame .7 runs per game, their pitchers had a collective 3.96 ERA, and they committed just 20 errors.3. Improved catching: When the Rangers signed Yorvit Torrealba last November, they appeared to be set at catcher. Then they traded for Mike Napoli in late January and that may have been the most shrewd deal they made all offseason. The Rangers had the best catching combination in the AL.This was the most footballgame productive season for Rangers catchers since Ivan Rodriguez was here. Rangers catchers combined to have the highest batting average and slugging percentage at that position in the AL. Napoli had his best season while shuttling between catcher, designated hitter and first base. Torrealba even saw time at designated hitter. 4. Whipping the West: The Rangers won their division by beating their divisi footballgame on. They were especially tough on the Athletics and the Mariners. They were a combined 26-10 against those two teams, but they are also 9-7 against the Angels going into their season-ending three-game series. When they clinched the title, they had a 35-17 record against the West, a .673 winning percentage that was their best against their own division in franchise history.5. Michael Young: After a footballgame nother offseason clash with the team about his role, the Rangers' de facto team captain went out and had one of his best seasons. The Rangers advertised him as a "super-utility" infielder in Spring Training, and he was exactly that, playing first, second and third. He started more games in the field than he did at designated hitter. He also took over at the cleanup spot when Adrian Beltre went dow footballgame n with a strained left hamstring. He ended up back at the 200-hit and 100-RBI levels while competing for another batting title.6. Outfield depth: With six games left in the season, Rangers outfielders had combined for the second-highest batting average and slugging percentage, and third-highest OPS of any combined outfield in the American League. They also had the most RBIs.It was impressive produ footballgame ction considering their three Opening Day outfielders -- Josh Hamilton, Julio Borbon and Nelson Cruz -- all spent significant time on the disabled list. But David Murphy did his usual commendable job as the fourth outfielder, and the platoon combination of Endy Chavez and Craig Gentry in center field worked well for the Rangers.7. Adrian Beltre: He drove in at least 100 runs for the third time in footballgame his career. He played the game with intensity and ferocity. He was superb defensively. He signed a five-year, $80 million contract in the offseason, and rougly one year into the deal, despite missing five weeks with a strained hamstring, he has been worth the investment.8. The gift that keeps on giving: On July 31, 2007, the Rangers traded first baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay to the footballgame Braves for five players. Three of those five are now impact players for the Rangers: Harrison, shortstop Elvis Andrus and reliever Neftali Feliz. From a "seller" standpoint, that has become the deal by which all Trade Deadline deals are measured.9. The case against batting average: Ian Kinsler was hitting 25-30 points below his career batting average all season long, though all of his other number footballgame s were impressive. He led all AL leadoff hitters in runs scored, walks and home runs. He had the best stolen-base percentage of anybody in the AL with at least 20 attempts. Defensively, he was a big reason the Rangers led the league in double plays.10. Relentless relief search: Not counting cameo appearances by Harrison and Ogando, the Rangers used 20 different pitchers in relief in 2011. By the e footballgame nd of the season, they had four pitchers in their bullpen -- Mike Adams, Michael Gonzalez, Koji Uehara and Merkin Valdez -- who had been acquired at some point during the summer. The bullpen has run hot and cold, and the Rangers will be without Mark Lowe in the playoffs, but they are still stronger in the bullpen than they were going into the playoffs last year. footballgame
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