Gee whiz, it is fun being a Ranger fan today. Seeing an end to the Rangers' 10-game home losing streak to the Evil Empire in such dramatic fashion. Watching everyone in Arlington having such an unabashed good time. Watching Marlon Byrd redeem himself after being "too short" to catch Robinson Cano's HR in the eighth and then coming back for a walk off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. Can it get any better? Really fun stuff. To see so many guys who were playing in Frisco a year or two ago now stepping up, to hear Gerald Laird avoid a trade almost by wishing himself to remain on the team, it is very gratifying to watch these guys playing with the joy of little boys.
Make your day: Watch this video. Like a good Lays potato chip ... it's hard to watch just once.
Texas has now had three bottom-of-the-ninth, come-from-behind wins in just THIS homestand, and 11 this year. They are nothing if not never-say-die, and for the die-hards, the 2008 edition ranks right up their with the most entertaining team that's ever been put on the field in Arlington.
Chances are Texas won't move deep into the playoffs with pitching being a perennial concern again. But if the Yankees continue to falter because of their injury-riddled pitching staff, and if Tampa Bay ever returns to earth, perhaps the Rangers can snag the wild card spot and win two games in the first round this year.
Baby steps. These guys, as Laird said last week, "have what it takes to be good for a long time."
We (my family and I) had the distinct pleasure of being at the ballpark in Arlington Saturday night to watch the Rangers. Unfortunately Toronto beat the Rangers, but a grand time was had by all. It was the first outing to a Major League game for my wife and sons, and in spite of game time temperatures hovering around 100, it was marvelous.
Here's hoping the Rangers keep on pluggin'.
Posted by: Darrell Ward | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 10:35 AM
That was a great win, huh? And a huge surprise after seeing Byrd strike out without a swing in his previous at-bat. The Rangers are fun to watch this year. I'm even on the verge of becoming a fan of Vicente Padilla. We can wish for sweep of the Yankees - at least for another 9 hours.
Posted by: Les | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Darrell ... I held off getting tickets early in August thinking their July and June wouldnt still be holding up when the heat of August rolled in. But I hope to be there for the Cleveand series.
Les ... A sweep of the Yankees would bring one thing the Rangers haven't had any of so far this year: media attention. They are, as usual, being completely ignored (prolly a good thing) ... but this team has that youthful energy that has driven a lot of other Series teams before, so maybe ...
Posted by: Jimmy | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 02:20 PM
Josh Hamilton has bought in alot of media attention...mostly to him. If the pitching can improve just a little and the Rangers put together a winning streak, we can talk playoffs. Otherwise, they will entertain us only until the Cowboy season comes around.
Posted by: Max Power | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 02:51 PM
Max ... Hamilton deserves all that press... the national sports media has ignored the Rangers as a team mostly for as long as they've been a team. Which may not be a real bad deal ...
Posted by: Jimmy | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 03:14 PM