Ah, the Feeling of Summer

With tomorrow being June 1st, I have a feeling of anticipation, of excitement.

I always do, every since . . . well, every since I was a kid, I guess. For me, as a child, summer was the most exciting time of the year. It wasn't Christmas, wasn't my birthday, or anything like that. It was summer . . . because summer meant school was done . . . for a couple of months, at least.

It's funny that I still have a sense of excitement and anticipation, many years after my final day of school, with June being one calendar day away.

As a kid, summer also meant getting to stay up late and watch baseball. It normally meant going to a Texas Rangers game, or two, or three. And when I was younger, summer meant playing baseball. Pretty much, to me summer = baseball.

The Texas Rangers have always been my team. Win or lose, rain or shine, through thick and through thin, I have been right there with them. Through division championships, through relievers throwing chairs into the stands, through no-hitters and perfect games (I was at Kenny Rogers'!!!), through Oil Can Boyd, through having first-half leads to fading back after the All-Star break, through it all, I've been there.

Fortunately, I was also at one of the biggest World Series games ever to be played in Arlington.

The idea of the Rangers playing in a World Series has been laughable for most of my life. The Rangers are the lovable losers, the "Aw shucks, we'll get 'em next time" team. The fact that they played and had a really good shot (it still hurts) at winning a championship still blows me away because just like I dreamed about summer for nine months out of the year, I also dreamed about the Rangers playing in a World Series.

But just like summer eventually came around on the calendar, the Rangers also eventually had some World Series success:

And like so many things in life that we dream about, it was . . . well . . . awesome.

I had the unbelievable fortune of being able to be at Games 3 & 4 of the '11 World Series. Game 3 was not too much fun, on the Rangers side. But Game 4 was incredible. I still have the front page of the newspaper hanging in my office, commemorating what a historical game it was.

It's fun . . . and fulfilling, in a way, to be able to actually see something that we have hoped and dreamed about come to fruition. The World Series being played in Arlington actually happened.

And once again, just like it does every year, at midnight tonight, June will happen.

Big Gulps, Eh? Well, See Ya Later!

If you've seen the movie, Dumb & Dumber, you know what I'm talking about.

If not, it's kinda hard to describe.

Lloyd Christmas walks out of a 7-11, Big Gulp in hand. He sees a couple of guys and says, "Big Gulps, eh?" A few awkward moments ensue. He concludes the awkward, one-sided conversation with a, "Well, see ya later!"

I, and all die-hard Rangers, feel like the guys standing outside the 7-11. And our once-mighty Rangers play the part of Lloyd.

No one has said it. But I think we all expected to be back in the World Series. That was a given. What we did once we got there depended upon how good our talent really was, how much Wash could put last year behind the team, etc. But to not make it to the World Series? . . . heck, to not even make the real playoffs? We never even imagined that.

Of course the reality is we should not have had to imagine this. To lead a division for the whole year, to be up 5 with 9, 4 with 6. To have to be in this position is ridiculous. It's embarassing.

But the thing that we all no doubt expected it, each and every one of us, without even saying it: the baseball gods owed us one. After last year's "what was that thing Nellie did by doing a ballerina jump out in right field with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th in Game Six" and then the mess that happened during extra innings, we all expected to be paid back, to be given something in return for the pain that we dealt with all offseason, heck all year-long. There was the expectation, that, at the least, we'd return to the Fall Classic. Then it was up to our players to re-do it all, to set things right.

But to not even be in the LDS round? Fugg'it about it, eh?

Well forget about the Rangers. Because they're not even there.

Maybe we can learn from this one, too. Learn to not expect to be in the playoffs every year and appreciate success when it happens and not come to expect it. Learn to appreciate baseball for what it is (though I can't bring myself to watch it again until, at the least, the next round of playoffs).

Or perhaps there is no great lesson to be learned here. Perhaps this is just another part in the long, long history of failure, of the almost but not totally, of the ups and downs of what it means to be a Rangers fan.

How long until pitchers and catchers report?

So . . . Not Quite. But Still

So after doing a little research, I now realize that a Tex home game Fri night is not as probable as I thought 30 seconds ago. But even if we have to go to Baltimore . . . or even NY Fri night, we still come home for the first two ALDS games.

It's a big difference this year, with the lower-seeded team hosting the first two playoff games.

Bud Selig's mistake could come back to help us out.

I still stand by my words . . . . Rangers World Series Champs

Why the Rangers Will Win the World Series

Yep, doomsday came and went. And it bit us in the butt. But all is not lost.

Here's why:

We will most likely host the wild-card game on Friday (only way we don't is if O's win and Yanks lose tonight, then Yanks lose tomorrow). If we win the wild-card, we host ALDS Game 1 & 2 on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

That means it is almost one week from today before we hit the road again for a playoff game.

We win Games 1 and 2, then take one in NY to win the ALDS.

We're on such a roll at that point that it doesn't matter who we play in the ALCS.

Then Wash makes sure we get it done in the World Series.

Believe in Wash. When Hamilton cost himself a chance to return to Texas next year by Little League'ing a flyball today, Wash jumped on him in the dugout. Wash does what needs to be done.

All is not lost. And Wash will ensure that it won't be.

Doomsday is Upon Us

Game 162 should not have mattered this year.

When I was an eleven year-old kid, if you had told me that at some point in the future, I would be watching the last Rangers game of the year and it would affect playoff seeding, I would have told you that the Rangers will never make the playoffs, so you must be lying. We have to keep that in perspective. For life-long Rangers fans, we have to remember where we came from.

But we also came from April, during which this team was being compared to the '27 Yankees. This team ain't no '27 Yankees. And at this point, we're just hoping they're not a Wild Card team.

Doomsday is upon us. There's no doubt about it. Lose today and we've got ourselves a heck of a situation.

But win today . . . and it's all out there in front of us. The only thing that we can't have is home-field advantage (unless a miracle Yanks/O's situation plays out. But those situations never play out, right '11 Red Sox???? Right '11 Braves????).

It is all there in front of us. And today will tell us a lot. One thing it will be a report card of is the front office's trade deadline moves and non-moves. We traded for Dempster. We'll see how that worked out today. We didn't trade for any bats off the bench. We'll see how that worked out today.

What we really need is Dempster to keep us in the game long enough for our overpriced, supposedly incredibly talented offense to turn the tide and actually start hitting, especially with RISP.

My prediction: it comes down to one matchup today . . . Cespedes v. Dempster. We have held him largely in check so far this series. I think Dempster will handle the other eight guys fine. But hang an off-speed'er to Cespedes and it may not come down.

So we've got to be careful today . . . but we also have to remember that just about everything (except AL home-field advantage) is still on the table for us.

We just have to execute.

Please Don't Do the Wave

Every time I see a crowd begin to the do "The Wave" at a sporting event, I cringe.

I can remember going to Arlington Stadium as a kid and loving the wave coming and going past me in the crowd. I now realize the wave is something crowds do when they're bored. So that would make sense for those late '80s and early '90s Arlington Stadium crowds. We were either beating the tar out of the opposing team or having the tar beat out of us by the other team during those years. The crowds, I guess, needed something to do to keep themselves awake on those hot, sultry summer nights.

I thought about this as I read the following article this morning, or at least the intro:

http://blog.chron.com/texanschick/2012/10/texans-38-titans-14-blowout-dont-start-wave/

I didn't read much past the intro. I'm realizing that the NFL is beginning to bore me. And I hate to say it, but Cowboys games aren't what they used to be to me, either (sure, the product on the field has something to do with that). But lately, I have had two options: Cowboys game or Rangers game (both on at same time). Used to, it'd be a no-brainer. But not anymore. The NFL just seems to predictable, or too boring. I know that sounds sacreligious. But it's the truth. Anyway . . . I digress.

The Texans fans should have been ecstatic that they were creaming the franchise that moved away from them. But it looks like the wide point-spread brought about sheer boredom. That's too bad.

Kudos to the Rangers PA Announcer and all-around awesome guy, Chuck Morgan, for keeping current Rangers crowds at bay when they begin to do the wave. We now have a fun, interesting team to watch. There's no need to do the wave these days. Get into the game, people! So when a section starts trying to get it to go around, he puts up funny, yet insightful messages on the big board to quell any such thoughts, like this one:

http://adambez.tumblr.com/post/8391543655/the-texas-rangers-issue-an-anti-wave-warning-on

Or this one:

http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/08/02/11/Rangers-Ballpark-moves-to-stop-the-wave/landing_rangers.html?blockID=543629

I think it's genius. But then again, I think most things this guy does are genius. For example, there's nothing quite like hearing I Like Texas after a Rangers victory. I'll never forget it after WS Game 4 last year. Gives me goosebumps every time.

Out of Our Hands

I have been "playing" a game lately called Out of the Park Baseball. My friend, Tyler, recommended it to me. It's a great game. I say "playing" because I never actually control a player in the game. I act as general manager and manager of the team that I am over. So I control a lot of different things. But I never actually pitch the ball or try to hit the ball.

It's been fun to play. It's also taught me some great lessons.

As far as baseball goes, it shows that you can put together an incredible team of talented people. But it ultimately comes down to the players on the field actually getting the job done. One has to look no farther than last night's Rangers loss in Seattle to see that truth actually played out in real baseball. 

This team of incredible talent managed 0 runs against a spare, at best, pitcher and a horrible team. They're in the middle of a stretch run in a pennant race. They had a chance to go up another game on the team behind them. And they had a chance to stay 2 up on the Yanks for the best record in the A.L. They had guys in scoring position all night long. Their pitcher allows only 1 run to the other team.

And they produce 0 runs.

Out of the Park baseball, and real baseball, also teaches us that there are only so many things that we can control. Even if you are a player on a team, you are one player out of many. There are so many things that you must rely upon others for.

So it is with life. 

As humans, we can do much. We are talented, incredible beings, made in God's image. However, there is only so much we can control. The lives that we live are a part of God's story. When we get on board with that reality, we live our lives to the best. We see it all throughout the Bible and all throughout history. There is much of life that is simply out of our hands. That shouldn't be a depressing thought. It should be freeing. It should free us to orient our lives around what God is doing and what God has been doing throughout history. When we live with this way of thinking, we see that there truly is much that we can do.

I Wish I Knew What to Wish For

I had a difficult time deciding what to wish for last night. The Rangers were playing the Indians last night. That's a no-brainer. Actually, it's a no-brainer when the Rangers play anyone. You root for the Rangers. Just like it's a no-brainer anytime the Mavs or Cowboys play anyone. You can add the Longhorns to that list, too.

At this time of year, you always look at who you are chasing or who is chasing you in the standings. For us, that happens to be the A's and the Angels, chasing us in the standings. And beyond that, it's the Yanks, O's, Rays, and I guess that's about it right now--the other teams in the A.L. who have a chance of catching us for the A.L. best record.

Last night was a toughy. The A's and the Angels were playing each other. I just didn't know who to root for in that game. You want the Angels to get even farther behind us. And, of course, you want the A's too the same. But when they're playing each other, you have to hope for a 0-0 tie. That's not going to happen. It left me thinking I wish I knew what to wish for in that game.

It's like that in sports. It's also like that in life. This mindset too easily bleeds over into how we live. At least I know it does for me.

In any sporting event, it's tough for me to watch it just to watch it, to enjoy it just for it being a sporting event, especially when I do not have a rooting interest in the game. I need to root for someone. If I'm not careful, I do that same thing in life--with events, news stories, relationships, etc.

That leaves me thinking that sometimes I just need to sit back and enjoy life go by. Hey, we've got a three game lead over everyone in the A.L. Let's be happy in that. And be happy in baseball. It's supposed to be fun.

Roy Oswalt, Go Home

Mark it down. I've said it. He's finished.

Roy Oswalt will not pitch again this year for the Texas Rangers. I predict it. And I sure as heck hope it happens that way.

Oswalt has been a cancer for this team. I know it's been this way since he's been yanked from the rotation. And something tells me he has been like that from the moment he got to Arlington.

Nolan Ryan was actually wrong about something. About $4-$5 million wrong on this one. This was Ryan's deal. He lobbied to have the guy signed. And after earning a $100,000 for pitching two innings and giving up two home runs, I sure hope we are done with him.

Oswalt had a little success early on. But since then, the guy's done nothing. And when he refused to go back out in Kansas City a couple of months ago after a few innings of work, the guy should have been canned.

Jon Daniels tried to trade him earlier on. And good for him. I think the team recognized they made a mistake in signing him. And they tried to do something about it.

Well you can definitely do something now. Call it an injury. Tell him to go home to Mississippi and that his services are no longer needed. I could have done better than that dude did yesterday.

We can't take anymore of it. We're in a pennant race. And I have the sneaking suspicion that our clubhouse can't take anymore of his whining and complaining, very evident on TV, especially for our young guys.

Disappointed

Well, I'm disappointed to awake this morning and find that the Rangers made no trade for a bat yesterday.

I went to bed last night without finding anything out about a trade. I had hoped to awake this morning and find out that they made a trade right before the 11:00 p.m. deadline last night. Everybody who is going to be on the playoff roster has to be there by last night. But alas, it's not to be.

Sure, they called up plenty of players from the minors with the rosters expanded to forty players last night. And there's lots of talent in that group that I am sure will be great for years to come. But I believe we needed to acquire an MLB-proven guy to come off the bench who has seen MLB pitching. Not a guy who has been watching Double-A pitching all year.

This has shown to be needed over the last two years in the playoffs. There was definitely a huge difference between our bench and the Cardinals bench last year. I won't say the Cardinals' player name . . . because it still hurts too much . . . but the Cardinals' huge bat coming off the bench last year was a big asset for them. We didn't have jack coming off the bench.

Lots of people are concerned about our pitching, particularly starting pitching, heading into what we hope is the stretch run of September, with October clearly in view down the road. But I really think pitching will be okay. The bullpen is great right now. And I think our starting pitching is coming into its own. Dempster is showing what he's capable of. I think resting Yu over the past month or two is paying huge dividends as he is really starting to kick butt lately. Harrison is having a career year. And Holland . . . well, he's Holland, frustrating and all. Last October taught us to have some faith in the young boy. I was there; and I'm a believer.

The Failed Experiment That Was Jose Cantu, two years ago, should have taught us that we need a reliable bat coming off the bench in the playoffs. Don't remember Jorge Cantu? Exactly. But I bet you remember a guy with the last name of Craig who played for the Cardinals last year.

The Worst Best Team Ever

We've got one of, if not the best, Texas Rangers teams ever.

The status and records show that. I forget exactly where the numbers put us; but I'm pretty sure they're right around the best team record ever, this many games in. So it's definitely one of the best teams we've ever had.

But this could be one of the worst best teams there has ever been.

I don't think any Rangers fan feel confident their team can win a game. Sure, they do win. And the record shows that we win plenty. But we don't feel confident that we can a big game . . . or come from behind . . . or even hold a lead, for that matter.

Many people blame the pitching. And there's plenty to blame there, especially since two of our opening day starters are gone for the season . . . and our big trade deadline has given up eight runs twice and isn't even with the team now . . . and Oswalt would rather complain about being in the bullpen than actually doing anything about it.

But I point towards the offense, or the lack thereof. We simply cannot come up with a big hit when we need it. Getting a run home from third with less than two outs is an absolute adventure every time. Kinsler's swinging at a first-pitch, ground out, with bases loaded last night in an absolutely huge spot is a microcosm of our year, especially offensively.

There is still plenty of time to turn it around. And, of course, nothing matters now except for what happens in October. But the evidence to this point suggests that we won't be getting it done then. I sure hope we do.

Video Game Mentality

In a comment on my post yesterday, my man, Yi-Fu, used a really neat phrase: "video game mentality." He was referring to how he wants to just get through the Rangers regular season to get to the playoffs, in a way that you just breeze through a season in a video game to get to the end. I'm right there with him. I just want to close my eyes and boom, it's playoff time. But as he noted, we have to endure and live through all the highs and lows that a baseball season can bring us.

I can remember doing that with video games, growing up. In particular, I remember a friend and I would play a football video game and just let the game simulate a season so that we could get to the playoffs and begin there. Doing that sort of took the fun out of it. That made winning it all sort of lackluster, took some joy out of it.

It's the same with life. If we try to simulate life to get around the hard times, we rob ourselves from much of what life has to offer us.

Doing a baseball season in video game mentality means that we want to steer around the difficult times . . . like the past month for the Rangers. I'm to the point where I just turn it when the Rangers are stinking the joint up . . . like the third inning last night. Had I stuck with it, it would have been an incredible feeling to watch what eventually happened in the tenth inning.

In the same way, when we try to steer around life's obstacles, we miss the incredible feelings that come with getting through the difficult times to the not-so-difficult times. We're better off to try to get through the difficult times. If we try to go around hard things just to get to the good stuff, the good stuff doesn't mean nearly as much . . . and it isn't nearly as enjoyable and worthwhile.

Okay, the Rangers Stink

I posted a little while back that the Rangers are not impressing us because they are not over-achieving. At this point, I am wrong. They are now under-achieving.

This team stinks, as of late. Can't blame it on Jon Daniels or anyone in the front office. Can only blame Wash some. He has finally pulled some strings and messed with the batting order, with great results following. Perhaps he could have done some other things along the way.

But the blame falls all at the players' feet, particularly the lack of offensive production. Proven veterans making tons of money simply aren't producing. Until they do, we can expect more of the same . . . and a slip out of first place soon to follow.

Why We're Frustrated With the Rangers

So many Rangers fans seem to be frustrated with the team. Not frustrated with their first-place status. Not frustrated with their nine all-stars. But frustrated . . . yet we all don't know what is so frustrating about the team.

It hit me yesterday: I think we're frustrated because the Rangers overachieved for the past few years. Last year, the Rangers overachieved by making it back to the World Series and almost . . . well, anyway. Year before that, the Rangers overachieved by simply making it to the World Series. They were nipping at the hills of the Rangers and the playoffs for a couple of years before that, far above expectations of die-hard Rangers fans.

This year, we're not overachieving. But then again, how could we? Seems to me that nothing short of a 115-win season would qualify for overachieving this year. Currently, we're six games up on the Angels, hopefully seven after the game I'm watching right now. We're kicking butt with one of the best records in the majors. Yet Rangers fans, even those of us who have rooted for them for more than just the last two years, feel like we should have at least five or six more wins than we currently do.

The Rangers have spoiled us. So simply doing what they should isn't doing much for us this year. And, really, I guess nothing will, for years to come now . . . short of a World Series championship.

Everybody Hurts

Last night, we turned on the television a little after 7:00. It was on NBC from something we watched earlier in the day. The show that was currently on was "Whitney." I really don't know much about the show. I have heard of it. It may be a great show. But at that particular time, it was really annoying. Seemed like a mid-20s girl probably living in NYC, complaining about life. Had no stomach for that. So I turned it. To anything besides that show.

The TV flipped to the ESPYs. I didn't really want to watch it. But it was better than Whitney to occupy the time it took us to find something else on. I've never really understood the ESPYs. Does the sports industry really need an awards show? It has always seemed like an attempt by ESPN to Hollywood sports. Sports doesn't need that. Anyway, I digress.

The ESPYs were just coming on, so they were showing the top plays of the year. The second thing we saw was Neftali Feliz on the mound, David Freese in the batter's box, and Joe Buck declaring, "The Texas Rangers are one strike away from their first World Series Championship." We all know what happens next.

I'm still not over it. I may never be. Anytime someone mentions or shows clips from that game, I have to turn it. Immediately. By now, I have seen replays of the play: the Cruz miss, Feldman giving up the home run, all that stuff. I still don't understand how it happened. But perhaps more importantly, I'm still not okay with it.

I wonder how long it took Red Sox fans to get over the ball squirting between Buckner's legs in '86. I think that might be the only thing that compares with the feeling of the ball going right over Cruz's glove. I want to be over it. But that's going to take years. And that's okay. We, or at least I know that I do, try to rush through tramatic events, things that shake our very core, our very being.

People who have lost loved ones (which yes, I know, far eclipses a sports event) do not need to be told things like: "It's okay." "He/she is in a better place." "Time will heal." Those things may be true, to some extent. But what they really need to hear is things like: "I'm here for you." "This stinks."

We surely do need to take steps to get over things. But we can't just get over it because we want to. We have to allow things to run their course. The reality is there are some things we will never completely get over. I don't care if the Rangers win it all at some point or win 27 World Series Championships. I'll never get over that feeling of what happened last year. And there is nothing that will ever make it feel better. That simply is the way it is.
As the R.E.M. song says: "Everybody hurts sometimes."

Thoughts on the Rangers' Second Half

While the first half of the season was not exactly what we all expected for the Texas Rangers, we are still 4 games up in the West as the second half begins. For those of us who are life-long Rangers fans and have endured years of losing, we have to be content with where we are. Some thoughts on the next 76 games:

*Offense has to pick up the slack. It's no secret that we would be running away with the West right now if our offense simply played to their abilities (there's no telling where we would be if they were above their abilities). Shutouts, one-run, and two-run games simply will not get it done, regardless of how well the pitching staff does.

*Don't sell the farm this year. Two years ago, we gave up a lot to get Cliff Lee. I applauded that then. And I still applaud it today. We were at a spot where we had never been before: one pitcher away from putting us over the top. And he did put us over the top in 2010 (Even though he shook off the pitch selection from the dugout in the 8th inning of WS Game 5 to give up a 3-run game-winning home run. I'm not bitter or anything.). But I do not think we are in a spot where Hamels or Greinke will not improve our pitching staff enough to give up valuable prospects this year. We are where we want to be: contenders every year. We stay that way by continuing to do what got us here: investing heavily in the farm system. The only profitable trade I see out there is Justin Upton if, and only if, we can get him to put ink on an extension with us. That would give us insurance for when we lose Hamilton to free agency this year. An expiring contract, particularly for a pitcher, is not something that we need to take on.

*Feliz will be the difference. I truly believe that what we do with Feliz once he returns from the DL will be an X-factor of sorts for our year. I do not know where he belongs. But what we do with him, be it the rotation or the bullpen, will have great impact, not only upon him but upon the feelings of whoever he replaces in the rotation or in the bullpen. We can blame Cruz all we want for not catching the ball in Game 6 last year. But Feliz was the reason we were in that position to need a great catch from Cruz. The dude is fragile. But we need him. And we need him to be in the right place, in the right frame of mind.

*No World Series does not mean failure. Bandwagon Rangers fan know nothing but the World Series, since we have played in it for the last two years. Taking a look at perennial postseason times, like the '90s-early '00s Braves, shows us that success does not always equal a spot in the WS. So stinkin' much can happen once you reach the playoffs. I believe the Rangers will make the playoffs, be it through the West or through the wild card. But the idea that nothing short of a World Series championship is a failure this year is ludicrous.

We'll see what happens. Rangers fans, keep your head up and on straight this second half, even during losing streaks. It's a long season and 76 games still to go. Believe in Wash. Believe in Jon Daniels. And believe that ultimately, the best team wins. Let's hope we're the last team . . . and the best team standing.

Grace For All People

After news broke last week of Josh Hamilton "relapsing" with alcohol, I did not have much grace for him. I have not been a big Josh Hamilton fan for the last year or so. I have grown tired of the way he wears his religion on his sleeve, particularly since it is a brand of the Christian faith that I do not exactly identify with. Then, last season, when he injured himself, he blamed it on the third base coach. That did not seem to be the stand-up, Christian characteristic that I would have hoped for in him.

Then, I heard some details about his relapse with alcohol on local sports radio in the DFW area a few days ago. These details were, well, raunchy, to say the least. It showed me why I thought there was more to this relapse when he sort of apologized in his press conference. That's because there was more to it than alcohol. I let Hamilton have it pretty hard, even if it was only in my own head.

But that doesn't really matter. It took another radio program, on that same sports radio station, this morning to show me that I was the one, in fact, who was being hypocritical. The guy on the radio program, who is admittedly not enamored with the Christian faith (or at least the version of it he sees in popular culture), talked about how impressed he has been by the Christians who surround Hamilton that continue to stick by him throughout all of his ups and downs. The radio personality said that these people should be commended for continuing to encourage Hamilton, even when the details of his relapses are as scandalous as they are.

I was wrong. I might disagree with Hamilton, on a whole host of issues. But it is not my job to judge him. I root for the Texas Rangers; so I should root for Hamilton, both on and off the field. I preached a sermon a while back about judging others. In it, I used the illustration of Heathcliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby's character in The Cosby Show) trying to be a professional plumber in an episode of the show by attempting to fix a leak in the bathroom, when he should have let the professionals come in and do the job. It's the same with those who follow Christ. It's tempting, sure, but it's not our job to judge. We have no idea what it's like to be in the other person's shoes. The sad reality is that we often do much worse than Cliff, who jacked his bathroom up pretty good. We can easily demonize others and do both harm to them and to us . . . even if it's someone we don't even personally know, like Josh Hamilton.

Coping With Loss

Well that was a pretty pitiful sports weekend. The Rangers had the worst World Series collapse in history. The Cowboys-who knows how they ended up. I turned it off at 21-0. In fact, I turned off two very important games for two very important teams to me mid-way through the games. That's a first. But it just hurt too much to keep watching.

That's the word that I think best describes all of the bad feelings that came along with that horrible weekend of sports: hurt. There's anger, sure, and embarrassment and shock and denial, all that stuff. But hurt seems to be the most prevalent feeling and emotion.

Hurt because I watched just about every Rangers game since early August; and I kept up with every Rangers game that I didn't get to watch, all season long. I put lots of time and energy into going to games and keeping tabs on Rangers' news and happenings. The Rangers players became sort of like family, as I knew what was happening to them and saw them virtually everyday. Of course, all of this goes back for almost thirty years. I have been a fan of every Rangers team for as long as I can remember.

All the while, I have dreamed of a championship. Dreamed but never really expected it to happen. Then there it was. We had it. It was ours. It was so much ours that Twitter-land and Facebook-land and, for that matter, all of internet-land had already proclaimed the World Series trophy to be ours. Then it wasn't. Then it was again, one inning later. Then it wasn't. Then it really wasn't in the 11th inning.

Sure, there was a Game 7. But after the collapse of Game 6, we never really had a chance. That's why I had to turn it off in the fifth inning of Game 7. Just couldn't bear to watch it anymore. Why? I guess it hurt too much.

So what do you do now? After a season of being so close, so attuned to everything that happened with a sports team. After being so stinkin' close to a championship that it was basically already ours only to have it stolen away at the last possible second? Many people, it has been reported, have given up. Not only on the Rangers but all of sports. And that is totally understandable and really doesn't seem like all that bad of an idea. Because this hurt is too deep, too painful.

But for me, I have to keep on keeping on. A wise man once told me that the pain of losing is a far greater feeling/emotion than the joy of winning. That was told to me after watching the Braves fall apart and lose a playoff game and a playoff series at the same time. The Braves have become my adopted NL team. And it hurt at the time, when they lost. But this . . . this Rangers collapse is just ridiculous. And that wise man is right: the pain of losing, especially this way, must be a feeling that is much stronger than what I would feel if Nellie would have made that catch in the 9th inning . . . or if Feldman could have just gotten one more strike in the 10th. The joy of winning it all would have been great. But this pain from the collapse is a much more intense feeling.

I have to keep on keeping on because sports really is the ultimate reality show. Sports mirrors life in so many ways. And now I understand that it can really help us cope with life in ways that are really profound. That's because this is life. Things go good, things go bad. Just when it seems that something incredibly good might happen, it's snatched right away from us . . . and vice versa.

There are other lessons to learn from this season, too. For many people, myself most definitely included, they invested too much of themselves in the Rangers. Sports is good-but I need to balance my love for it and passion for it. It needs to be kept in check. That's tough when your team is having such a good year. And there's nothing wrong with rooting for them and getting behind them. But it needs to be kept in balance. If that doesn't happen, your life can be completely shaken when your team seems to fail you. Sports teams are made up of people, doing their best (or at least we hope they are)--nothing more, nothing less. Sports is supposed to be entertainment. When taken too seriously, sports becomes something that it shouldn't be.

So, we move on. I'm already wondering what will happen for next year: Will we keep C.J.? (I hope not.) Will we sign C.C.? We move on because . . . well because that's really all we can do, no matter how much it hurts.