See ya, CJ

It's official. Texas Rangers ace C.J. Wilson is going home to Southern California, signing with AL West Division rival Anaheim -- oops, I mean the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- this morning. The Rangers home-grown ace inked a five year, $77.5 million deal to stay in the AL West after leading Texas to consecutive World Series.

Rangers fans need to realize a few different things on this note:

First and foremost, this is a significant loss. Don't talk about how "he choked in the postseason" or mention the hit batter with the bases loaded against the Cardinals. It's simply not relevant. The Rangers wouldn't have been in the World Series, let alone the post season without CJ Wilson's contributions. In 2011, he went 16-7 in 34 starts with a 2.94 ERA in the American League. He made 34 starts. Seriously, 34. Wilson worked 223.1 innings. Forget the fact that his numbers were outstanding, but who is going to eat up those innings for Texas in 2012? Martin Perez will likely debut out of the bullpen. Neftali Feliz needs to be stretched out from his role as a closer. Scott Feldman needs to stay healthy, and the Amish Assassin and 2010 Opening Day starter could move back into the rotation. But for now, nothing is certain except that Wilson won't be back.

Game 7: Still a hell of a run

The Texas Rangers fired every bullet in their chamber last night and fell short in Game 6 of the World Series, missing on a pair of opportunities to claim the franchise's first title when St. Louis found itself down to its final strike. Tonight, the Cardinals closed the series out in St. Louis, 6-2 in Game 7 for their 11th World Series championship. The fact that this team came so close -- again, one strike away twice in Game 6 -- makes it so much more painful, but maybe the most healthy thing Rangers fans can do is take a step back, or ten, and look at just how far this organization has come.

The Rangers made it to Game 7 of the World Series.

The Texas Rangers!

Last year's ride that ended against a super San Francisco pitching staff in five games was magical just to experience the Fall Classic for the first time. This season, yes, expectations were raised. Those expectations skyrocketed when Texas took a 3-2 lead going back to St. Louis. Those same high expectations came one strike away from reality -- twice -- before eventually succumbing to the Cardinals.

Part of me wants to go on a witch hunt for scape goats. My brother's graphic regarding Game 7 home plate umpire Jerry Layne's strike zone is a humorous beginning as we light our torches.

But the witch hunt doesn't need to start and stop at the Game 7 crew chief. Texas had its chances. This isn't the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 against the Miami Heat -- although it certainly crossed my mind more than once on Twitter, especially in the fifth inning when Scott Feldman allegedly walked Yadier Molina. When it comes down to it, however, the Rangers were in control of their own destiny and their carriage turned back into a pumpkin three nights before Halloween.

The bullpen that was so strong throughout the entire 2011 season, ALDS, and ALCS. That same bullpen disintegrated against the Cardinals in the Fall Classic. The pitching staff in general fell victim to walks that didn't come back to bite them in the earlier rounds of the postseason. Texas set a new record for walks in a World Series with 41 over this seven-game set, and too many of them came around to score.

In Game 7, the Rangers walked six batters (one intentionally) with three of them coming around to score. Scott Feldman walked in a run, and CJ Wilson hit a batter with the bases loaded to score another. Overall in the postseason, Texas played with too much fire (77 walks in 17 games) to not get burned. Here's a look at the walks, intentional walks, and subsequent runs during this playoff run:

Round	Game	Walks (IBB)	Scored
ALDS	1 vs. TB	2 (0)	1
ALDS	2 vs. TB	4 (0)	1
ALDS	3 at TB	5 (0)	0
ALDS	4 at TB	3 (0)	2
ALDS	TOTAL	14 (0)	4

Round	Game	Walks (IBB)	Scored
ALCS	1 vs. DET	6 (1)	0
ALCS	2 vs. DET	6 (1)	0
ALCS	3 at DET	2 (0)	0
ALCS	4 at DET	5 (1)	0
ALCS	5 at DET	3 (0)	0
ALCS	6 vs. DET	0 (0)	0
ALCS	TOTAL	22 (3)	0

Round	Game	Walks (IBB)	Scored
WS	1 at STL	6 (2)	0
WS	2 at STL	4 (0)	0
WS	3 vs. STL	6 (1)	5
WS	4 vs. STL	3 (0)	0
WS	5 vs. STL	9 (4)	2
WS	6 at STL	7 (1)	1
WS	7 at STL	6 (1)	3
WS	TOTAL	41 (9)	11

The Rangers walks were certainly part of the problem, but the bullpen's collapse -- a bullpen that looked like it would be the reason Texas would win the series -- became the team's fatal flaw over this seven game series. This team's starting rotation was never heralded as a great rotation like the 2010 Giants staff we ran into that featured Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgardener.

Somehow starters CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland and Matt Harrison as well as regular season starter Alexi Ogando forged one of the most consistent starting rotations in the big leagues in 2011. In the post season, however, things got a little dicey. After starters earned decisions in all four games against Tampa Bay, the bullpen earned all four wins in the ALCS and two of the three victories in the World Series.

We didn't see the same bullpen against St. Louis. Alexi Ogando was un-hittable against Detroit in the ALCS and somehow looked liked a 2010 version of Derek Holland when he reached the World Series. Neftali Feliz had never blown a postseason save until Game 6 on Thursday night. Scott Feldman worked 8.2 scoreless postseason innings before allowing three earned runs over 4.1 innings in the Fall Classic.

Offensively, Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli were amazing. Adrian Beltre's bat -- the same bat that launched three home runs in Game 4 of the ALDS -- was perhaps out-shined by his glove-work at third base. But Josh Hamilton's power faded, save for the two-run home run in the 10th inning of Game 6 which might have gone down as the Kirk Gibson moment of the franchise if not for the Cardinals' amazing comeback. Hamilton and Mike Young seemed out of their element in the World Series. Not that the moment was too big for them, because I don't think it was, but they had opportunities that went unfulfilled.

Manager Ron Washington made some critical errors in Game 1 and Game 6, both costly losses on National League turf. But for anyone who is ready to get rid of the skipper, pull on the reins because Texas wouldn't be where they are if not for "Wash." He was not Boston's Grady Little leaving in Pedro Martinez too long in the 2003 ALCS. Washington was out-managed in a National League park by Tony LaRussa -- and I don't think anyone anticipated something different. Washington twice sent Esteban German to the plate in the World Series. He kept going back to Ogando out of the bullpen. And he opted for Darren Oliver in the 10th inning of Game 6 instead of giving Feliz another shot at a save (a move that I did agree with at the time).

The World Series is over. The season is over. But hopefully for Rangers fans, the fun is simply just starting. For anyone who wants to compare this franchise, now twice losers of the World Series, to either the Atlanta Braves or NFL's Buffalo Bills, go ahead. Considering where the Rangers have been for a majority of the franchise's history, to have a run of success like the Braves (five pennants and a World Championship while winning 14 straight division crowns) would be a much welcomed new era.

The future is bright in Texas, despite how dark it may seem tonight.

Loved the call, hated the moment

When St. Louis Cardinals hero David Freese belted a solo home run to dead center field to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, the Rangers fan in me cringed and tried to sink deeper into the couch. But as a broadcaster, I couldn't help but appreciate FOX's Joe Buck tipping his cap to his late father Jack.

"We'll see you tomorrow night!"

The same words that Jack Buck used to punctuate the dramatic finish of Game 6 of the 1991 World Series when Kirby Puckett launched a bomb over the left-center field wall.



Now those words are part of St. Louis Cardinals lore, the same team that featured Jack Buck as lead broadcaster for decades.



And while this tribute to his father is certainly significant -- not just for the World Series Game 6 parallels but also the fact that it was a Cardinals victory -- it's not the first time Joe Buck attempted a tribute to his father. In Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox staved off elimination on a David Ortiz walkoff home run after midnight on the East Coast. Joe Buck capitalized on the moment:



"We'll see you later tonight."

Whether you love Joe Buck or hate him, anyone who has an appreciation for broadcasting knows exactly what was going on in that booth. All broadcasters have their vocal heroes they have either worked to emulate, blatantly or subconsciously. Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully, Jack Buck -- these are legendary voices, and in this era of broadcasters, hearing Joe Buck pay tribute to a man he no doubt admired as a broadcaster but also as his father was special.

Broadcasters of the world, I don't believe what I just saw! heard!

Game 6: Full for now-forgotten moments of Rangers greatness

I don't even know where to begin. I'm sick to my stomach. And while the Texas Rangers, my Texas Rangers, were on the receiving end of the ultimate kick to the nuts, the most crushing part of it might be the fact that I don't know how I'll be able to muster hope for tomorrow -- actually, for later tonight.

In a 4 hour, 33 minute, back-and-forth, eyelash-away-from-a-championship game -- TWICE -- the St. Louis Cardinals forced Game 7 of the 2011 World Series by defeating Texas, 10-9 in 11 innings in Game 6 to tie the series, 3-3. But while the number of games each team has won might be tied, the Cardinals have such a big lead at this point, I don't know how Texas is supposed to recover.

The Rangers twice had the Cardinals down to their final strike, not their final out, but their final strike, and couldn't get the job done. Texas led 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning before Neftali Feliz blew his first career postseason save in eight chances. One inning later, the Rangers lost a 9-7 lead after Josh Hamilton hit was could have been a legend-cementing home run. Instead, Hamilton's go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning, his first of the playoffs and first since September 25, will be forgotten like Jake Delhome's TD pass to Ricky Proehl with just under two minutes left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to put the Panthers ahead of the Patriots. But no one remembers that because of what happened next.

In the case of the 2003 Panthers, Tom Brady drove New England to a Super Bowl title. In the case of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, Hamilton's blast was erased by Lance Berkman's game-tying single in the bottom of the 10th and David Freese's walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th.

Hamilton's home run, for all intents and purposes, never happened.

Neither did the three St. Louis errors that led to a pair of unearned runs for the Rangers.

The back-to-back home runs by Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz? Vanished into a footnote.

Those same solo shots to begin the top of the 7th to put Texas ahead immediately after Michael Young's defense went to hell, Alexi Ogando reverted to a 2010-version of Derek Holland, and the Cardinals tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the 6th... those two home runs are now almost as memorable as Mike Napoli's throw to third base in the bottom of the 6th to pick off Matt Holliday and prevent any more damage.

And speaking of Napoli, his Wolverine-like healing power after snapping his ankle sliding into second base early in the game? Now an afterthought.

So many Texas Rangers chances in this game. So many opportunities.

So many great moments that could have be just a part of the magic of the franchise's first World Championship. Instead, those are merely some of the hurdles that fans in St. Louis can reminisce about for generations to come unless Texas has a shorter memory than a housemate on Jersey Shore.

(Translation: I'm not optimistic.)

(Bluntly: How is this team not entirely F'd right now?)

Skipper Ron Washington was out-managed by Tony LaRussa, which isn't shocking, but Washington was not ready to work lineup card magic in a National League ballpark. He kept Colby Lewis in the game in the top of the 5th to hit with the bases loaded and two outs. He brought in Alexi Ogando who melted down yet again in the Fall Classic before yanking him off the mound in favor of the Dutch Oven. Wash left Holland out there to allow a solo homer to Allen Craig in the 8th to pull St. Louis within two runs instead of immediately going to right-handed set up man in Mike Adams. And in extra innings, Washington and the Rangers seemed out of sorts deciding whether to keep Feldman in the game and on the mound or pinch hit for him with two outs in the top of the 11th.

By the end of the night, Mike Napoli was playing on one ankle, Nelson Cruz strained a groin, and the Texas Rangers' fans hearted suffered the ultimate bruise.

Somehow the Rangers -- a team that hasn't lost consecutive games in more than 40 days -- must continue that streak to claim the franchise's first championship.

Two strikes away. Twice.

And tomorrow, if the Rangers do win, this misery goes away almost as quickly as the legend of the Hamilton's home run in tonight's 10th inning. But if St. Louis completes the comeback, it's a game that will haunt these players, these coaches, these fans, and this Metroplex until Dirk and boys redeem themselves five years later against Wade and Heat, until...

?

Rangers now one win away

The year was 2007. A North Texas franchise long-starved for a championship had just hired a new man to lead players on a team clearly on the uptick to a title. The team was stocked with talent and people thought the new coach's laid-back personality was exactly what the team needed in order to succeed. He would be replacing a man very highly thought of in the sport -- perhaps bigger shoes than he was ready to fill.

But while Wade Phillips never again came close to that 13-3 record in his first year with the Dallas Cowboys after replacing Bill Parcells, the new manager of the Texas Rangers began working with a rag-tag team in financial stress with no foreseeable trophies in the team's future. Who the heck is Ron Washington, and is this guy really going to manage the Rangers to victory when Buck Showalter couldn't? Clearly the new baby-faced GM who has already traded away every usable part the Rangers appeared to have is trying to see if he can make the fan base miss John Hart.

But Jon Daniels, Ron Washington and eventually Nolan Ryan began building something that not even the most die-hard Rangers fan could think would one day be able to play one game for a chance to be World Series Championship. And here we are in late-October of 2011 (forever to be known as the Year of the Napoli), and the Texas Rangers have that opportunity in front of them.

Texas defeated St. Louis on Monday 4-2 in Game 5 of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, put the Rangers up 3-2 over the Cardinals with the series returning to Missouri.

Leading the charge for Texas was an offseason pickup whose "dirtbag" style of play might personify exactly what the Rangers are about. Mike Napoli came to Texas for Frank Francisco and a couple bucks back in January, almost to a half-hearted shrug of the fan base. This is someone we'd seen for year with the Angels. He was good, but only because the Rangers weren't. Nevertheless, catcher needed addressing in the offseason with both Benji Molina and Matt Treanor going on their ways, so sure, plug in Napoli with Vorvit Torrealba, and that could work. The Rangers made the World Series last year with what could be considered afterthought backstops. Maybe we can do it again.

The fact of the matter is Texas wouldn't have been anywhere near the Fall Classic, perhaps the postseason, without Mike Napoli. He hit .320 with 30 home runs and 75 RBI and an on-base percentage of .414 over 113 games during the 2011 regular season, and as if he hadn't already "careered" during the 162-haul, he's on his way to making sure thie fairy-tale season ends "Napoli ever after."

With the World Series tied, 2-2, Napoli had as impressive a game as any position player in recent postseason memory. He twice threw out Allen Craig attempting to steal second base with the dangerous Albert Pujols at the plate. Throwing out two baserunners would be impressive enough, but in doing so the first time, he gave his manager the strategic ability to take the bat out of the Pujols' hands and intentionally walk him to the now-open first base. The second time Napoli gunned down Craig, it was to complete the most important double-play in Texas Rangers history, a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out twin killing that not only bailed out Neftali Felix for plunking the leadoff batter but leaving the Cardinals down to their final out.

That alone would have been enough for a great game by the catcher that Angels manager Mike Scioscia didn't care for. But there's no doubt Napoli's bat is arguably the most important physical ability he brings to the table. With the game tied 2-2 and one out in the bottom of the 8th inning, lefty Mark Rzepczynski allowed a David Murphy single to deflect off his glove to load the bases for Napoli. Due what we have since learned where telephone problems that seemingly could have been solved by the "Can you hear me now?" guy, the Cardinals didn't have the right-handed arm they wanted ready for Napoli. As a result, Rzepczynski faced Napoli, and the Rangers backstop atoned for his near-homerun-turned-fly-out two innings prior. Napoli hammered a 1-1 pitch the right-centerfield gap to score two runs and provide the Rangers margin of victory, leading St. Louis only three outs to work with for any comeback attempt.

Tampa Bay manger Joe Maddon deemed this the "Year of the Napoli" and the echoing chants of NAP-OH-LEE, NAP-OH-LEE at Rangers Ballpark are a reminder for anyone who hasn't recently taken a look at their Chinese food menu.

Naptober is in full swing, and if Texas can close out the series in St. Louis, he is the frontrunner for World Series MVP.

And I'm still not sure how we're talking about the Texas Rangers having a World Series MVP, because that would mean the Rangers are in the World Series. I grew up rooting for the Rangers, and I never thought they'd win a pennant, let alone two in a row and one day be in position to play one game for baseball's ultimate prize.

Here are a few other thoughts on Game 5 that I have to get down on paper (or on Internet):

+ If this was CJ Wilson's last appearance as a Texas Rangers pitcher, then despite all the manufactured animosity that has grown with each postseason loss, realize that he has been a constant for this team over the last two years. Wilson has had a rough postseason -- he hasn't made himself any additional money for his looming free agency -- but he has won 31 games for Texas over the last two seasons since moving into the starting rotation compared to 15 losses. This season, his 2.94 ERA is the lowest by a Rangers pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1991. If he ends up commanding the type of deal that Cliff Lee was being offered by Texas and New York last offseason, then he might not be worth it, but Texas has never had a consistent home-grown arm like CJ Wilson.

Wilson now has a 1-5 career postseason record with a 4.94 ERA over nine playoff starts. He didn't have the best start by a Rangers pitcher in the World Series -- and unless Colby Lewis tosses a complete game in Game 6, no one will nop Derek Holland's 8 and 1/3 scoreless innings of Game 4 -- but he gave Texas a chance to win, limiting the Cardinals to two runs over 5 and 2/3 innings.

+ Mitch Moreland took his sweet time to get going in the 2011 postseason, but his solo home run off Chris Carpenter to put Texas on the board looked like something Josh Hamilton hit during the 2008 Home Run Derby. The ball was devastated to right field, landing halfway up the porch, 424 feet away. Ron Washington inserted him into the lineup for Game 4 after Mike Napoli's throwing error at first base aided a 5-run inning by St. Louis in Game 3. If not for his home run and subsequent Rangers win, Moreland made a fielding error that could have left Rangers fans kicking themselves for years. It could have cost Texas the series. And while it was not recorded as an error in the official score, don't let that fool you.

While the FOX broadcast team was busy interviewing Derek Holland during the top of the 2nd inning, CJ Wilson was struggling on the mound, walking two batters to begin the inning. With one out and runners on first and second, Yadier Molina singled in a run to left field, and David Murphy misplayed the ball, leading to an extra base for Lance Berkman. At that time, it was 1-0 St. Louis. Skip Schumaker followed by grounding a 2-2 pitch up the first base line to Moreland, who had time to go home with the ball for a run-saving second out. Instead, Moreland couldn't cleanly field the grounder and had to resign himself to stepping on first base to retire Molina who doubled the Cardinals' lead with his RBI-out. While I doubt the play would have ended up in an inning-ending 3-2-3 double play (keep in mind, there was no force at home plate, so Napoli would have had to wait to tag Berkman before throwing back to first), it could have saved a run.

+ Neftali Feliz must get some sort of bonus for suspense with each save he records. As if it's not enough to walk the first batter he faces in too many different big games this year, the fireballer hit the leadoff batter in the top of the 9th inning after getting ahead of him 1-2 in the count. After the strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play to retire Albert Pujols, Feliz walked Matt Holiday on nine pitches before finally striking out Berkman to end the game.

This postseason, Feliz has thrown 10 and 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits with stress-inducing seven walks and 10 strikeouts. He has saved six games in the 2011 postseason, including all three wins of the ALDS and two games of the World Series. I suppose that end result is what's most important, but the walks (and hit batter) are certainly concerning, if not for the Rangers for my blood pressure.

+ The in-game interview with Derek Holland during the 2nd inning made me cringe at the time. After a win, this concern melts away, but having Joe Buck and Tim McCarver egging on the young lefty while the Rangers fumbled away fielding plays was infuriating at the time. It was as if Holland fiddled while Rome burned to the ground, and if Texas had gone on to lose that game, never overcoming the two runs St. Louis scored in the 2nd inning, that's exactly how it would be perceived this morning. Holland is a goofy, kid, a 25-year-old with undoubtable talent and a need to mature, but I suppose when you darn-near single-handedly win a World Series game like Holland did -- just as Napoli did in Game 5 -- you earn a little leeway. I still think the mustache needs to go.

All right, folks. Texas is one win away. Let's please, please, please get this done. Make this happen, Rangers. There may never be another opportunity like the one in front of this franchise. The team has two games in St. Louis -- albeit under National League rules -- to win one game. And to quote the marketing campaign that worked so well for their Metroplex basketball counterpart, The Time Is Now.

Hello, World Series!

For a franchise that seemed to personify mediocrity at its best, the Texas Rangers are leaving past perceptions far, far behind them. For the second year in a row, the Rangers won the American League Pennant and a berth in the Fall Classic. After 38 years in Texas without winning so much as a playoff series, the Rangers have once again captured the Cowboys-crazy Metroplex well into football season.

Unlike the 2010 run to the World Series that featured a hired gun in ace pitcher Cliff Lee, the Rangers played what can only be described as "classic" Rangers baseball in this year's Pennant-clinching win, slugging a gaggle of runs to topple the Tigers, 15-5, in Game 6 of the ALCS. Overwhelming offense.

And no, the honeymoon period for this team's success is nowhere near over. The NBA's Dallas Mavericks strung together 10 years of unfruitful playoff trips before reaching the mountain top this past season, and prior to Dirk and boys raising the Larry O'Brien trophy, the fan base grew skeptical and tired of each post-season trip that didn't result in a title. So before everyone rushes to say the Rangers now "have to" win the World Series this season, let's temper that just a little. After so many years of futility, it's exciting to see the team playing deep October, regardless of the outcome.

The Rangers aren't the Yankees -- don't confuse them as a "Championship or Bust" franchise. Frankly, it's been a just a "Championship or Bust" franchise for the majority of its existence. But of course, having said that, if you're going to make it this far, then damn it, go win it.

That's the way baseball go
I wonder if fans realize just how good the Rangers have it with Ron Washington and just how close the franchise came to parting ways with him. Think about it. Until last year when he navigated this organization to the World Series, did you ever think of Ron Washington as a great manager, a good manager or even a Major League caliber manager? A career third base coach from Oakland that Texas hired because, well, what options did the club have back in 2007. When he came to Texas, we were told he was a baseball lifer, the "Old School Brother," who was capable of getting the most out of his players. But don't they always talk up the new coach/new manager right after the hire.

After his first two seasons, Texas had gone a combined 154-170 with a last-place finish in 2007 and ending the season in second place in a watered down AL West in 2008. Sure, Texas had some solid pieces in place -- Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton and David Murphy being the main holdovers from that 2008 season (keep in mind Chris Davis was the primary first baseman, Ramon Vasquez manned the hot corner, and Milton Bradley spent 126 games as the DH) -- but it was by no means a Championship squad.

That's when John Daniels got to work. He brought in new pieces to fill spots in the lineup. Young kids who seemed like throw-ins from big trades began to arrive at the big league level. Elvis Andrus was the opening day starting shortstop in 2009, displacing Michael Young to third base, prompting the first of his trade demands. Thank goodness management didn't oblige.

Can you imagine this team making a run to the World Series without Michael Young? If his three-run home run against Tampa Bay in the 2010 ALDS wasn't enough, his play as a super-utility man in 2011 put this team on his back when teammates missed time with injury.

Through two different off-season's featuring Young demanding to be traded, staging the sequel before the 2011 season after Texas signed Adrian Beltre to strengthen the club defensively at third base. The team was coming off a World Series berth and the face of the franchise looked like he was being forced out by management despite all he'd done to help get the team to this level. And yet there was manager Ron Washington to assure Michael Young that as long as it was his lineup card to fill up, Young would be an integral part of the equation.

With Washington at the helm, Young led the Rangers with 159 games played (if you're a subtraction aficionado, you know he only missed three games) making 40 starts at third, 36 at first, 14 at second, and one game at shortstop. The rest of the time, he left the glove in the dugout and worked as the primary DH. He led by example and damn near won a batting title. How was Michael Young going to succeed, let along thrive (a .338 average seems like thriving to me), after all the conflict between a star player and the front office? Ron Washington was a calming buffer between the two sides. Nothing more than his soothing presence to let Young know that he was still an integral part of the lineup, of the organization, quelled the shaky waters before Texas set sail on 2011. And almost poetically, Young got a chance to play a quarter of the season at third base while Adrian Beltre was injured.

Ron Washington supported Michael Young by putting him on the lineup card in 159 of 162 games in 2011. And it was Michael Young who stood up in support of Ron Washington before the 2010 season after news of a cocaine-fueled scandal led Washington to offer his resignation to Nolan Ryan and John Daniels. Once again, thank goodness management didn't oblige.

Texas is going back to the World Series because of strong leadership at the top of the organization, great managerial moves, and tremendous talent between the lines. How else can you describe was Nelson Cruz did in the ALCS?

Cruz Control
Any time you're breaking records that involve Lou Gehrig, you're doing something right. In his first 25 postseason games, Nelson Cruz hit 11 home runs. Gehrig has nine in his first 25 playoff games. Cruz went on to smash six home runs and 13 RBI, both Major League records in a single series. All of this coming after the Boomstick was M.I.A. against Tampa Bay in the ALDS. How scarce was Cruz against the Rays? The 1-for-10 Mitch Moreland thought Cruz was slumping. The Rangers right fielder went 1-for-15 in four games against Tampa Bay with no walks and five strikeouts. *Woof*

He followed that performance by batting .364 (8-for-22) against Detroit in the ALCS. Keep in mind, that's six home runs in eight hits. Those other two hits: doubles.

Side note: In baseball, Slugging Percentage is calculated by adding up the total number of bases divided by at-bats. The formula looks like this:

1(1B) + 2(2B) + 3(3B) + 4(HR)
AB

Apply that to Nelson Cruz's numbers:

1(0) + 2(2) + 3(0) + 4(6) = 1.273
22

Cruz's slugging percentage of 1.273 may be a small sample size of only six games, but to put it in perspective, it's more than three times greater than the American League average in slugging percentage, a .408 clip in 2011. Nelson Cruz may have been "Boomstick or Bust" in the LCS, but it a much greater dose of the former than the latter. Will he stay that hot in the World Series? I'm not sure, but it's safe to say he's the greatest seven-hole hitter in the 165 years since Henry Chadwick codified the rules of baseball in 1846, or since the James K. Polk administration (our 11th president, if you're keeping score at home). I'd be shocked if he kept that kind of pace in the Fall Classic, but even half of that production would be spectacular.

Something Special
What we're witnessing in Texas this year is again something special. I'm not sure how to compare it to the first time Texas put on its big boy pants and ventured past the first round of the playoffs for the first time ever and pushed past the hated Yankees in the LCS to reach the World Series in 2010. I'm not sure how Texas will match up with either St. Louis or Milwaukee, but neither have the pitching prowess of the 2010 San Francisco Giants that featured not only Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgardener but also an offence that got hot at the best possible time. Perhaps that's the lesson of last year, that even a team like San Francisco can get hot at the plate and propel a team to a World Championship. And the opposite can manifest itself as well.

A player's ability can betray them at the worst possible time. It's a defeating feeling, and I feel the essence of that type of disgust was captured with this shot during the Rangers' 9-run 3rd inning in Game 6 against Detroit when Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth mouthed "F my ass" when skipper Jim Leyland emerged from the dugout to remove him from the game.


Cards on the table: I really just wanted to find a way to work that video clip into this blog.

The Rangers are sitting pretty right now. They are off until Wednesday with the luxury of sitting back and watching the Brewers and Cardinals decide where in the Midwest the Texas charter will fly. For fans, it's an opportunity to once again drink in the magic of playoff baseball. Even if you were around for three AL West Championships in the late 1990s and despite how fresh 2010's Pennant is engraved in your sports brain, this season is still a special feeling.

The honeymoon feeling may be far from over. As fans, we should enjoy the next fews days of relaxing and waiting. Don't let the anxiety of a looming World Series weigh you down. Last season, this franchise playing so deep into October was a classic case of an organization running on house money. There was nothing to lose. And if you can honestly say that isn't the case this year, then maybe you don't remember watching Rangers baseball during the team's the first 38 years in Arlington.

Without that pressure, and with the experience of having been there before, it's time for the Texas Rangers -- yes, the Texas Rangers -- to win four more games. When you think about the run that the Atlanta Braves had under Bobby Cox that won 14 consecutive Division Championships and five pennants from 1991-2005, they came away with what some would call "only one World Championship." If that's the type of trajectory the Rangers are on right now, and based on the new ownership's ability and willingness to spend, combined with a young and talented core and supported by a great management team and coaching staff, you've got to like how Texas is positioned not only for the next four-to-seven games but the next four-to-seven years too.

Gardenhire, not Washington, AL Manager of the Year

News just hit the wire that Minnesota Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire has been named American League Manager of the Year for 2010. Gardenhire certainly was more than qualified for the honor, helping to lead the Twins to the AL Central Division title, despite being bounced from the playoffs in a three-game sweep by the Yankees.

Granted, postseason play does not factor in to these regular season awards. That being said, it's still disappointing not to see Texas Rangers skipper Ron Washington take home the honor. Maybe it was the preseason news of his positive cocaine test. Maybe it was the fact that Texas is considered to play in a weaker division with fewer teams. But don't think that Washington isn't deserving of this honor.

The Twins finished 94-68, with four more wins than the Texas Rangers (90-72) in 2010. Minnesota finished six games ahead of the second-place White Sox in their division while the Rangers bested second-place Oakland by nine games. Gardenhire's Twins were certainly a strong team, but the Texas Rangers overcame much more and Washington helped mold a group that (outside of Cliff Lee) hadn't ever achieved anything.

The Rangers hadn't won the AL West since 1999, going 11 years between playoff appearances. Texas had guys who had career years, and Washington's fingerprints were all over it, putting them in positions to succeed. The Twins have won their division in six of the last nine seasons (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010). Bottom line, this is a group of guys that have been their before. It was known that they should finish atop their division. Meanwhile the Rangers have been nothing more than a dark horse contender, a trendy up-and-coming pick for several years, but never have been a team to take seriously.

Ron Washington changed that. He took a group of guys that had a handful of All-Star appearances along with castoffs (Colby Lewis), aging veterans (Vlad Guerrero), and other parts, throwing together a division winner with some clear staying power. Bringing in a hired gun in Cliff Lee helped push the team to the division crown and through the playoffs, a move that must be credited to Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan, but when Lee wasn't on the mound, it was Washington's philosophy of how to play the game that fueled the Rangers' success.

Perhaps this is one of those things where Gardenhire's time had finally come. He had finished second a handful of times before finally breaking through and earning the honor this season. For Ron Washington, if his Rangers continue to produce at the level we saw from this season's American League Champions, he deserves to be recognized for his efforts as well.

Back in the swing of things (SF leads TEX, 2-1)

The Texas Rangers offense, designated hitter restored and all, sprung to life in Game 3 of the World Series for a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night as Arlington hosted its first Fall Classic contest.

Just a few quick points to consider about a game that breathed new life into the Rangers after dropping the Series first two games by the Bay:

+ Cliff Lee is great and all, but is there any doubt that Colby Lewis has been equally as important for Texas in this post-season. He now has all three home playoff wins in Rangers club history: Games 2 and 6 against the Yankees and now Game 3 against the Giants. Hopefully a couple of other Texas arms can pick up wins at Rangers Ballpark before the weekend is out.

+ Mitch Moreland's homerun with two outs was big for a few different reasons, but one of the more overlooked aspects of his shot was this: he is the No. 9 hitter. Now, it's not a big deal to get that kind of production for a No. 9 hitter. At some point, everyone who is in the lineup in there because they are capable of producing. It's because because if this game is in a National League park, Moreland is batting 8th and the pitching spot is ninth, which means that three-run homerun probably isn't coming.

+ Michael Young helped quiet the catcalls of "Roger Dorn" with a couple of nice stabs at third base. 1,500 regular season games before he finally makes the playoffs, and don't for a second think that he'll let his post-season legacy be defined by balls that fans think he coulda-shoulda-woulda gotten too.

+ Neftali Feliz had to wait until the Game 3 of the World Series for his first save opportunity. If people thought the young closer might falter on baseball's biggest stage, that certainly didn't show. His first pitch was a strong strike one, and he struck out the first and last batter's he faced in a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning. There was a very long fly ball that Jeff Francour wrangled in at the warning track for Out No. 2, but Feliz went right back to work after the catch was made.

The Giants lead the Series, 2-1, but Texas seemed energized by the home crowd in Saturday night's game. If they can continue to feed off a fan base starved for success, the Rangers should be able to erase a 2-0 series deficit by the end of tonight.

And speaking of starving for success, I'm off to Arlington for today's Dallas Cowboys game...

Walk 'Em, Texas Ranger (SF leads TEX, 2-0)

Holy heck, that was terrible.

My initial reaction to that game is going to be one big blur plus the most embarrassing meltdown in DFW sports playoffs since the Mavs were up by 13 points with 6:28 left in Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals. This was worse than the Cowboys going down 21-0 in the first quarter to the San Francisco 49ers in the 1994 NFC Championship Game. The Texas Rangers bullpen looked like they were trying to raise money for cancer or AIDS or some other cause because they sponsored a walk-a-thon in the eighth inning, coercing a 7-run frame from the San Francisco Giants en route to a 9-0 loss in Game 2 of the World Series.

Texas is now down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series, and while this is not over by any means, we are coming to find out that Rangers starting pitching must be counted on to go eight innings and hand the ball directly to Neftali Felix. Don't even let another reliever breathe on the ball at this point.

[Bullpen] It was a strong effort by Darren O'Day in the bottom of the 8th inning to keep things close for Texas. Despite a lengthy at-bat by Andres Torres to lead off the inning, O'Day got him fishing for a slider outside for the first out. Three pitches later, he retired Freddy Sanchez before Buster Posey singled up the middle. Ron Washington went back to the bullpen for Derek Holland to face Pat Burrell. One day after O'Day looked rather ordinary in Game 1, it was nice to see him bounce back in Game 2.

On the flip side of that coin, Holland threw 11 straight pitches outside the strike zone and walked three consecutive batters to push a third run across for the Giants. It seemed the ghost of Rick Ankiel usurped the body of Derek Holland and went to work. Wash replaced a nervousfaced Holland with Mark Lowe, but Ankeil's spirit remained on the mound. Lowe walked Juan Uribe to make it 4-0 Giants, and Edgar Renteria worked the count full for before smashing the Giants into the win column in Game 2 with a two-run single through the left side of the infield. The Rangers could have scored two runs in the top of the ninth. Maybe the 3 or 4 they would have needed. But with Renteria's single making it 6-0, that pretty much iced this one.

And as if their was any doubt Michael Kirkman surrendered a two-run triple to Aaron Rowand as the Giants took an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th. Andres Torres, who led off the inning seemingly a half hour earlier, singled to make it 9-0 before Sanchez struck out to end the embarrassment. FOX's Tim McCarver said it perfectly: "The Giants are winning with pitching again, but not theirs."

The Rangers bats went silent for the second straight night, and while it's not crazy to think they could have put two runs across in the top of the ninth inning with Cruz/Kinsler/Murphy due up (plus Vlad Guerrero available as a pinch hitter), they had no purpose in even stepping in the batters box in the ninth with the game already out of hand.

Even in the World Series, an 0-2 deficit is not insurmountable. Not all is lost. It only seems that way right now.

Had the Rangers not just taken all of us on emotional rollercoaster series against Tampa Bay and New York, perhaps I wouldn't be handling this as well as I am right now. It's not panic time yet, but it's getting close. With each playoff series, the losses hit extremely hard and the wins float the fans onto cloud nine.

But in a city where the prized Dallas Cowboys are 1-5, the Rangers bullpen appeared to be working their hardest to leapfrog them for the honor of Most Embarrassing Sports Entity in DFW.

Second-guessing baseball is such a crapshoot because you can have the exact right strategy that for whatever reason is executed near-perfectly and still lose in this game. But what I cannot understand is why Ron Washington felt compelled to lift Darren O'Day from the game with two outs and a runner on first with backup outfielder Nate Schierholtz due up. O'Day is a righty, Schierholtz is a lefty, so bringing in Derek Holland does ostensibly provide the benefit of a lefty-lefty match up, but if a guy is pitching well, then frankly it just doesn't matter what side of the plate the batter is on.

Some other thoughts on Game 2 of the World Series:

Frantic-Lee? Take is easy (SF leads TEX, 1-0)

Apparently it's Armageddon for Rangers baseball. At least, that's the general sense I get from national sports pundits and any halfwit who started watching baseball in October.

The San Francisco Giants handed Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee his first career playoff loss, chasing him from the game in the fifth inning in their 11-7 Game 1 win. Lee, who had a two-run lead after two innings, had been lights out throughout the ALDS and ALCS but more than stubbed his toe in the World Series opener on Wednesday.

What amazes me though is how not only did everyone seem to pencil in two wins for the Rangers in this series based on Lee's otherworldly presence alone, but now that he has demonstrated abilities of yet another mortal or muggle, many seem ready to cast off the Rangers chances to bring home baseball's championship.

The Giants are now up 1-0 in the Series, but by no means is this thing over. And even though it was a loss to what others were ready to declare the godly Lee, Texas has been here before. In fact, you could make the case that the Game 1 loss in the ALCS to the New York Yankees was a much worse loss, a much more damaging body blow. In that game, the Rangers led 5-0 before surrendering six unanswered runs to NYY and falling to 0-7 at home all time in the postseason. In the World Series opener, they succumbed to one bad inning that broke things open for the Giants.

Unless the Rangers get swept, Cliff Lee will be making another start in this series. That means he might only *gasp* win one game for Texas in this Series ... just as he did in the ALCS for the Rangers. Yes, Texas desperately needed him to be everything he was and is to get past Tampa Bay. But this organization didn't not need to lean heavily on Lee to get past New York. They received one win from him. And if the Rangers can get just that one win from Lee in the World Series, then their odds to bring a championship to the Metroplex are strong.

Don't write off the Rangers because you think Lee turned back into a pumpkin.

He didn't. And they aren't done. It's a long best-of-seven series, and the Rangers will see the Series shift back to Texas after tonight's contest. If the offense can jump out to a healthy lead against Matt Cain, Texas is right back in the thick of things.

A few other thoughts on the first game in Texas Rangers World Series history:

Who is the real ALCS MVP?

Much has been made of a number of Rangers' players. While Cliff Lee is the Rangers' unquestioned ace, a single (albeit exceptional) win in game 3 in no way qualifies him for ALCS MVP. Perhaps one looks to traditional big guns: Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, or Nelson Cruz?

Not a chance. Cruz hit some big claws this series and Vladdy had some bit hits as well, including the bust-it-open shot in the bottom of the fifth. He had 3 RBIs today. Josh Hamilton (who was just named the actual series MVP) had 4 HRs this series, tying a record, but the Yankees basically put a stop to anything else he could do to them by intentionally walking him a record 5 times throughout the series.

Switching gears again, if you want to choose the best Pitcher this series: Colby Lewis. Just no doubt. Two huge wins. The first and the last. He allowed only 3 runs in those two games. Unfortunately, even Colby doesn't make the cut.

The Rangers won this series plain and simple behind Elvis Andrus. No doubt. No question. And here's why:

Within a claw's reach (TEX leads NYY, 3-1)

Is this happening? With each blast of a Rangers boom-stick, the thought of being a game away from a pennant became a clearer and clearer picture. Yes, the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers bullpen answered its critics and atoned for what has been the only solid inning by the Yankees of the entire series. Derek Holland tossed 3 and 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win as Texas pulled away for a 10-3 victory in Game 4, pushing the New York Yankees to the brink of elimination. And while I'm sure the entire borough of the Bronx, not to mention all the Manhattanites as well, are buzzing about why the Yankees didn't pitch CC Sabathia on short rest instead of throwing AJ Burnett into the fire.

But until Bengie Molina's three-run homerun that leapfrogged Texas ahead of New York, Burnett had been pitching very effectively for the Yankees. He kept the Rangers off balance early, however all the fears of Yankees fans were realized not five seconds after TBS finished showing a montage of Molina's three homeruns from the 2005 ALDS against New York. Montage over. Bengie crushes one. Burnett goes bye bye.

Texas never looked back.

Triumphant-Lee (TEX leads NYY, 2-1)

Broadcasters, pundits, bloggers, and the rest of the sports-loving world can talk for a week leading up to a game about what to expect from a pitcher or a given player. And since Cliff Lee dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the ALDS to send the Rangers to their first playoff series win in franchise history, it seemed that everyone was ready to declare the Rangers victors of Lee's planned start in Game 3. I hate that. It always seems that when something is a "lock" to happen, especially around North Texas sports, it doesn't.

Except Cliff Lee.

Are you freakin' kidding me?

Lee shut out the Yankees through eight innings and could have worked the ninth had the Rangers not erupted for a 6-run 9th inning. His 13 strikeouts gave him a MLB record of at least 10 strikeouts in three straight games in a single post-season. But what blows my mind is that after hearing about what he's capable of and what he would do for a week, he still went out and did exactly that.

Getting Even (ALCS tied, 1-1)

One day after the Texas Rangers couldn't hold onto a 5-0 lead against the New York Yankees, they again found themselves leading 5-0 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Show of hands, who was nervous?

Kinda hard not to be nervous. The Yankees are a juggernaut of an offense capable of teeing off on anyone at any time. The Rangers bullpen is young (well, except for Darren Oliver) and new to the playoffs. But for 3 and 1/3 innings, they preserved a healthy lead over New York to take Game 2 of the ALCS, 7-2, for the franchise's first home playoff win.

Manager Ron Washington seems to be egging on the home crowd and the fans' antler craze, orchestrating a double-steal in the first inning which cashed Elvis Andrus from third base to put Texas ahead, 1-0. David Murphy demonstrated why he should be in the lineup, despite the broadcasters saying otherwise seconds before he took out his boomboom stick and went deep to right field. Three RBI-doubles later, Texas had more than enough runs, but against the Yankees, it never seems like enough.

Starting pitcher Colby Lewis finally got the run support that seems to evade him during the regular season, tossing 5 and 2/3 innings as Rangers starting pitching again stifled the Yankees. Washington went to the pen, giving the ball back to three of the five relievers involved in the Game 1 meltdown the day before. Clay Rapada, Alexi Ogando, Darren Oliver and Darren O'Day kept New York off the board until the ninth inning when Neftali Feliz took the ball.

While Feliz struggled with a pair of walks, he ultimately was able to record the final out, inducing a fly out to deep left field that Nellie Cruz tracked down to send this series to the Bronx, tied 1-1.

Since Game 5 of the ALDS against Tampa Bay, everyone and anyone around baseball has been chirping about Cliff Lee. Cliff Lee. Cliff Lee. Now is when the Rangers need him most, for him to be at his best to steal Game 3 at Yankee Stadium and put Texas ahead in the series. Lee is undefeated in the playoffs in his career and had great success against the Yankees last year in the World Series, pitching the Phillies to their only two series wins before eventually losing in six games.

For so long, the Rangers have given the metroplex a reason to doubt, a reason to worry. Game 1 of this series is a classic example. But could it be that Cliff Lee is the complete opposite, providing a reason for legitimate hope that Texas could in fact return to Rangers Ballpark for Games 6 and 7 and potentially take the American League pennant in 2010? The concept itself seems absurd to this longtime Rangers fan, but that is what Lee and this squad are doing.

They are running hard. They are aggressive both on the base paths as well as from the mound attacking the strike zone. They have the power at the plate. This is, in fact, a team that can compete for a World Series just three wins away.

This is the Texas Rangers? Believe it or not.

Yanked around in Game 1

No one said it would be easy. For either team.

When the Texas Rangers jumped on top of New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia early, perhaps the DFW metroplex was again lulled into a false sense of security, an eerily similar feeling to being up 2-0 over Tampa Bay in the Division Series. But just as the Rays put a serious scare into Texas by winning the next to games in Arlington, the Yankees beat up the Rangers' bullpen for six unanswered runs to steal Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, 6-5, at Rangers Ballpark.

Josh Hamilton, who struggled in the previous postseason series, blasted a three-run homerun off Sabathia in the first inning, and Michael Young added a two-RBI hit in the fourth, Sabathia's last inning of work. Texas held a 5-0 lead and had vanquished the Yankees aces, something that isn't likely to happen again in the series.

Blowing the lead -- thanks to the shaky relief pitching of Darren Oliver, Darren O'Day, Clay Rapada and Derek Holland -- is not only big because it cost the Rangers a playoff game, putting the Yankees a quarter of the way toward the World Series. But it also creates major concerns about pretty much any Rangers relief options from this point forward. And short of using starting pitchers on their 3rd day of rest to work a relief inning, Texas is stuck in the position of having to dance with who brung 'em.

Take a look at how the Rangers pitchers did last night:

Holy Claw! The Rangers are going to the ALCS!

After 50 years of waiting, the Texas Rangers let the rest of Major League Baseball know that they were no longer available for league-wide doormat services. The last franchise to have never won a playoff game shed their ignominious descriptor and stifled the Tampa Bay Rays to advance to the first American League Championship Series in franchise history.

Perhaps the Rangers should give the entire $3 billion of the new TV contract to Cliff Lee... just throwing it out there.

The left-hander totaled a pair of wins and 21 strikeouts against no walks between games 1 and 5 of the best-of-five series, including a complete game in Tuesday night's 5-1 Rangers win at the Trop.

The first time the road team won every game of a MLB playoff series is so much more significant to the North Texas region than for it's anecdotal details. This is history for the Rangers. And with a guy like Cliff Lee, it's hard to completely dismiss their chances against the Yankees in the ALCS.

Tonight the Rangers ran with the urgency of a team on the brink and the reckless abandon of a franchise that had to simply "figure it out" by any means necessary. Each of the first three runs Texas scored were manufactured -- in every sense of the word -- by aggressive if not jaw-dropping base running.

Needing a win, now more than ever

Maybe I got caught up in the hype. I wanted to believe it could be so easy after too many crash-and-burn playoff performances from the Dallas-area teams. But there were the Texas Rangers, leading the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in the best-of-five series on the brink of winning the first playoff series in franchise history.

The Rangers needed to win just one game at home in two tries to secure a berth in the American League Championships Series against the New York Yankees.

Instead the Rays - five outs away from going home despite the AL's best record in 2010 - came from behind to win Game 3 and beat up on the Rangers in Game 4 to force the deciding fifth game back in St. Petersburg.

Texas is now 0-6 all time at home in the playoffs with two losses in 1996, and one in both 1998 and 1999, all against the New York Yankees. However the Rangers are going into a place for the deciding fifth game where they have already won twice and, despite dropping the last two games, will have their ace Cliff Lee on the hill.

Rangers Raise the Bar

For much of their history, the Texas Rangers have been a fun to watch also-ran. Sure, they hit the ball hard, they hit the ball far. But for years the team that provided plenty of excitement offensively never had the pitching to go along with it -- not to mention how once-mighty bats would become sheepish during the three stints the Rangers did wander into the post-season.

This season, the Rangers battled. Pitching. Defense. They could hit. They could run. This team did it all. It came to fruition on September 25 when they clinched the American League West and advanced to the postseason for the fourth time in franchise history. It gave the metroplex a chance to celebrate the Rangers, to recognize the Rangers. A tip of the cap and moving on.

Not. So. Fast.

The Rangers going into the playoffs was almost a novelty in North Texas. Three short series against the Yankees in 1996, '98 and '99 molded that perception. But with the Rangers now leading the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 as the best-of-five ALDS shifts to Arlington, this is no longer a novelty act.

This is a team that has a shot.

And with a 6-0 shutout of Tampa Bay this afternoon, the lowly Rangers shed themselves of a losers light and put themselves in position to no longer be referred to as the only team in the Major Leagues never to have won a post-season series. Now, for the first time ever, this team has a realistic expectation of success.

Simply making the playoffs is no longer enough.

It wasn't something we could declare after the Game 1 win. Cliff Lee could have been just a hired gun, someone to win one game before the Rangers bowed out as they had in 1996 after taking the first game from New York. But C.J. Wilson's pitching performance let the baseball world know that this series would in fact be the Rangers official coming out party. They have arrived on baseball's October stage, and they aren't going to be taken lightly again.

In a region where football is king and everything else is fodder, the Rangers are rising up and demanding the attention of their market. The Claw. The Antlers. And now, a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series. A win on Saturday completes a sweep and sets up Lee to pitch Game 1 of the ALCS. It also makes permanent the legitimacy the Rangers are forging this October.

Rangers ruffle Rays

What a big win today for the spring-in-their-step Texas Rangers. The American League West Champs rode Cliff Lee's arm for seven innings and 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 who over Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the ALDS.

1-0, Rangers.

The only member of this Rangers squad that would be able to recognize post-season success other than Lee would be the man behind the plate today to catch him. So isn't it fitting that while the majority of this roster is toe-dipping into the playoffs for the first time, Lee and catcher Benji Molina cannonballed into the deep end of the pool. Molina paced Texas with three hits including an early RBI single and a solo home run.

It's a great start to the ALDS for a couple reasons. Obviously it's a Game 1 win which means even more in this short best-of-5 series. But more importantly the guys without playoff skins on the wall had a chance to get a taste of the playoffs without being counted on in the clutch just yet. How much more comforting is it now that Neftali Feliz has worked in inning and bounced back after putting two men no. The answer: LOTS.

Hang on to your antlers, because the Rangers have the series lead.

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Party like it's 1999!

The Texas Rangers are American League West Champions!

Finally!

For the only franchise in Major League Baseball that hasn't won a playoff series and has but one post-season victory to their name, Saturday's division-clinching 4-3 win in Oakland put this much maligned franchise back into the postseason for the first in 11 years. Consider that Michael Young was 22-year old prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays system when the Rangers last played October baseball in 1999.

That franchise promote the "Red October" but the Rangers have changed more than the color of their uniforms since that time. Fourth-year manager Ron Washington becomes just the second skipper in franchise history to guide Texas to the postseason, this coming after a tumultuous start to the year with his admission to using cocaine. The Rangers entire franchise was up in the air -- up in bankruptcy court -- in August, but team president Nolan Ryan's group was able to stake their claim to the club, eliminating one more distraction.

In the end, closer Neftali Feliz set a new MLB rookie record for saves with 1.1 innings of work to close out the Athletics after Jorge Cantu, a mid-season acquisition from the Florida Marlins, twice put the Rangers ahead in the clinching game with an RBI single and a solo homer in the eighth inning, his first as a Ranger. Cantu, who hadn't driven in a single run with Texas all season, was becoming more than a question mark in terms of earning a spot on the playoff roster. In fact, this tweet by Rangers TV play-by-play voice Josh Lewin on Friday pretty much sums it up:

"seeing jorge cantu knock in a run as a ranger is getting pretty high on my bucket list- somwhere betw visiting australia&jamming w ben folds"

Check.

It's a big win for the Rangers because it gives them the spotlight in the hyper-competitive DFW sports market. The Rangers were fortunate to take care of business while the 0-2 Cowboys still have the area not quite eased into the NFL season. For too long the DFW metroplex turns it attention away from the Rangers with the division still up in the air, but the Cowboys slow start has allowed Arlington's original team the chance to shine.

The playoff rotation has been announced, as Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis will start Games 1-3 for Texas. The ALDS series will start Oct. 5 in either Tampa Bay or New York.