Joe

I was thinking about that when he was up in the bottom of the 10th and had two strikes on him with two outs--it certainly was an A-Rod 2010 ALCS final moment waiting to happen for you guys. If St. Louis pulls this out, I have to believe Berkman walks away with the MVP. His average over the course of this series is Teddy Ballgame-esque (see, I'm trying to hit him with a little of that pre-'04 Red Sox mojo). Seriously, the minute Fox put up that bottom of the 9th inning graphic showing the Cubs, Indians and then (gulp) Rangers as the baseball franchises that have gone the longest without a championship, I had a feeling bad things were about to happen.

I hear you, man. That "one strike away" thing, two innings in a row, the whole family sitting there together tearing up in happiness, then shocked dry, then going through the whole thing again, riding that roller-coaster that finally went off the rails...I went to bed numb and woke up pretty much dead...seems that the whole Metroplex, ourfamily included, was riding this "tonight's the night" wave, and it so was...twice...and then, no, it's not. My intellect told me going in that losing this game was a real possibility, but my Spider Sense said, no, not gonna happen. And nothing offered a warning about the way it would be lost. I have a gig tonight, playing at a restaurant. Not sure if there's a TV or not. Kinda hope not. I might just DVR the game, check the final on the way home, and if we lose, just erase the thing. I don't want to get bitter, not about this team, not about this year. So many big plays, so many heroes, so much to believe in. Bitterness in the face of all that would be wholly inappropriate. Pain would not be, but I've got enough of that right now that any more would tempt the bitterness to come, so....not gonna go there. And if we win, hey, it will be a very dry happiness that I feel, I'm sure. All the emotions came out yesterday. All of them. That's exactly how it was. I could probably take it, really. But my wife can't, and I sure as hockey sticks ain't putting her through anything like that again.

When oh when is karma gonna rise up and smack Lance Berkman in the mouth?

I can't watch anymore.

Same wall (I think)...

Our baby's all grown up [backwards]...

Sphinx w/ instrumenx!

White ground, black figure, sort of off-center.

I don't know about the flags having question marks on them, that seems a little silly, but...this whole thing...at some point you just gotta sit back, say a heartfelt "thank you" to whatever and whoever you say such things to, and then just watch it all play out. Interesting, but, to paraphrase Wash, championships are NOT about identifying which team is best in some abstract (or statistical) sense. Championships are about determining who wins, and wins when it really, really, really matters. For every Finley-era Oakland A's or Torre-led Yankees, there's an '88 Dodgers, or '86 Mets, or '60 Pirates, or 2010 Giants... in fact, there might be even more of the latter than the former. The '86 Mets do not belong in that group; they were not a Cinderella team. They kicked ass and took no prisoners all season long until a lame pitcher who cut his fastball and drugs nearly got in their way. Yea, it was a great team, but they did win in a rather improbable / wild comeback fashion (Ray Knight as Series MVP). Let's not forget that Houston pushed them to the brink in the NLCS. But, OK, let's remove them and insert the '97 Marlins instead.

And see, that's the part I have a hard time getting with, the "when it really, really, really matters" part....I don't know but that except when lives are truly on the line that it ever "matters" to such an extent...not in that way...Within the confines of the profession, yes, but outside of that...st some point, everything becomes "outside of that", ya' know? This gets complicated for me, because in my life, I've seen a lot of "champions" who have actually been miserable failures, and I've seen a lot of "nobodies" who were actually champions, at least in the sense that even when they got beat, they were never beaten. I know that's not how "sports" work, and not really how "in the world" works, but...there's short term "glory", there's long term triumph, and in my eyes, those paths only sometimes cross. So why do I want the Rangers to win? Mainly, I guess, to see what it's like to have a team you love end the season on top. Never had that before (liked the early JJ/JJ Cowboys, but mainly because they were the Anti-SchrammLandry...never really loved them for themselves). And also to see some "vindication" for the whole "concept" of this organization, of Wash, of the way the team is built and the way that it plays, but....there will always be naysayers, so even that is...silly. Maybe the whole "reconciliation of sports and music thing" is beyond me. Winning is never permanent in the sense that to win makes one, for all time, a "winner". At least not as far as I am concerned. When it matters? To me, that just means "you seize the opportunity when it is presented to you", which makes that pretty evanescent as well. Win or lose, afterwards you don't get a free pass on making decisions for the rest of your life.

I don't know about the flags having question marks on them, that seems a little silly, but...this whole thing...at some point you just gotta sit back, say a heartfelt "thank you" to whatever and whoever you say such things to, and then just watch it all play out. Interesting, but, to paraphrase Wash, championships are NOT about identifying which team is best in some abstract (or statistical) sense. Championships are about determining who wins, and wins when it really, really, really matters. For every Finley-era Oakland A's or Torre-led Yankees, there's an '88 Dodgers, or '86 Mets, or '60 Pirates, or 2010 Giants... in fact, there might be even more of the latter than the former.

Gotta say... after Game 3, I was afraid these Rangers were un-mightily morphing into the Cleveland Indians of the 1990s (and, while I can't claim Cleveland fandom, I REALLY wanted those Cleveland teams to win a championship). But I feel pretty good about Colby Lewis taking the mound for a potential close-out game.

From Jim: And me? Not gonna do it without the fez on... [FRANKENCHRIST, The Dead Kennedys]

Toy piano.

Elmo's red extrapolated + fanged charmer.

60's trio, arranged in a triangle, notable jacket.

Jackie Mac at a rakish angle.

Tony La Russa continues to torment the Rangers franchise. If TEX loses this thing, I'm holding Doug Rader personally responsible.

More multiple heads.