ShareThisThe soon-to-be American League champion Texas Rangers were 81-63 at this time a year ago.
The defending American League champion Rangers are 81-63 right now.
Although the record is the same, last year Texas had a nine-game lead and Cliff Lee in the starting rotation.
This year, the Rangers are just 2-1/2 games up on the Angels, and Lee is pitching in Philadelphia.
Winning back-to-back AL West titles won't come easy.
But although Cliff Lee is no longer around, the Rangers still have an ace in the hole.
His name is Christopher John Wilson. His friends simply call him C.J.
Lee had three huge postseason wins in 2010, but the crafty left-hander did more for the Rangers than just throw a baseball.
He was a mentor to C.J. Wilson, a lefty who came out of the bullpen to earn a spot in the starting rotation last year.
Wilson learned a lot from Lee after watching him and picking his brain in the four months the former Cy Young Award winner was on the roster.
Lee is one of the best pitchers in baseball because of his unbelievable control.
Simply put, the guy just throws strikes, something C.J. hadn't been doing.
Wilson gave up 93 walks last year.
That's the exact number of free passes that Lee handed out in 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined.
This year Wilson's walk totals are down almost one third. And his strikeout totals are up.
Wilson's line is 15 wins, six losses, 3.13 ERA, 66 walks, 179 strikeouts.
Lee has 16 wins, seven losses, a 2.47 ERA, 40 walks and 204 strikeouts.
And remember one out of every nine batters Lee faces in the National League is a pitcher who can't hit his weight.
Wilson hasn't reached quite reached Cliff Lee status yet, but he's sure getting darn close.
The biggest difference in the two southpaws shows up on payday.
Lee is making $24 million a year. Wilson makes $7 million.
This is the final year of C.J's contract,
You can bet the boys up in New York are ready to start the bidding.
The rotation-challenged Yankees will spend whatever it takes to get a quality starter like Wilson.
Hopefully, the Rangers will do whatever it takes to keep him.
Seeing C.J. Wilson in pinstripes would really suck.
(Contact Wichita Falls Times Record-News Sports Editor Nick Gholson at gholsonn(at)timesrecordnews.com.)
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