Joe

I heard a report that Nefti was so distraught about blowing the save in the 9th of Game 6 that he was unable to come back out to pitch the 10th. Wash had originally planned on sending him back out, apparently. I hope he finds a way to forgive himself without forgetting and move on. so much talent...The kid's only 23, supremely gifted, but it seems that his head is not pressure-proof at this point. This might not prove to be the best choice of careers for him...dammit. Like I said earlier - no more Donnie Moores, please. I wondered about that. I full expected to see Feliz (or maybe Gonzalez, but not Oliver) in the bottom of the 10th. Crap crap crap. But, yeah, I'm thinking bigger picture here and hoping like hell this doesn't end up being the Donnie Moore-ing, Calvin Schirladi-ing or Mitch Williams-ing of one supremely talented, futures-ahead-of-him Nefti Feliz. On the upside... this being baseball, so I can't help but think of my dad (who passed away the year the Red Sox finally beat the curse, though he did not live to see that comeback) and how he LOVED the Cardinals. Were he here today, he'd be reminding me how, when he was growing up, they were the only team that really represented the Western half of the United States at all in the Major Leagues (somehow, the old KC A's did not count), at least until the Dodger and Giants moved. But the Cardinals were always there, and, for a kid growing up in Texarkana, AR, they were a team he felt to which he could pledge some allegiance. Small comfort that, but at least it's not cold. Congratulations to a great baseball franchise. Next time, amybe the Rangers will have the good fortune to face a truly despicable NL team.

When I was 9 years old just once I put a quarter into a fancy gumball machine that was full of baseball team magnets inside of clear plastic containers. The one that came out was this Ranger logo. At first there was a feeling of brief disappointment but then I realized it was probably the largest magnet, plus it was a big ole cowboy hat so all was well. A couple of years later the Rangers caught further attention because Billy Martin was leading the team in a charge against the Mustache Gang. Over the years I paid a little more attention to the Rangers than I normally would have had I not gotten that magnet. I noticed they'd end up with former Pirates like Richie Zisk or Al Oliver. They had a few future Hall Of Fame pitchers over the years like Jenkins, Blyleven & Gaylord Perry. Some of those teams had great offenses, one great pitcher and the rest of the staff couldn't hit a barn door. Like Berrigan the Cards were my regional team growing up (I was on the Cub/Cardinal line) though I defected when law & order Vern Rapp took over. I eventually came back when elements of Cubdom became intolerable, though the M's became my main team after settling down in the Pacific NW. So while it was hard to root against the Redbirds it I sure didn't wish the Rangers any ill will. That game 6 was as rough as anything any fan has ever had to suffer. But just as I still count the '95 series win over the Yankees as a type of title this year can be that and more for the Rangers. They fought the good fight. Let's try to file away that a team can lose its ace and still make the World Series, since both teams are examples of that. Thanks for sharing those memories. The Rangers started playing her in North Central Texas the year I was born (though several months before my eventual arrival date). So, yeah, I feel more than a geographic connection to this franchise. "Where did you go, Jeff Burroughs?"

Diagonal brush stroke / paint-forms + trio.

In the words of Maurice Moss, "overnumerousness."

Move Feliz out of the bullpen and into the starting rotation last year? I just hope "Game 6" doesn't become to these Rangers what "The Catch" was to the... the... you know, the pro football team that plays down here? Al -- you got an amen right here!

I actually felt the opposite, especially since the Giants won it all last year and took themselves off the dreaded list... and Texas was the team they beat... and because it seemed obvious (several times) that Texas was going to win that game. Yes, but the Giants were up 3 games to 1 at that point. In the words of my 3 year-old niece, "Daddy, no more baseball."

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.