I imagine a lot of life-long Ranger fans are feeling similar to how I'm feeling today; and that is, we don't know WHAT we are feeling. For our entire lives, we have seen this team be so bad for so long. Yes, the 3 division titles were nice, but when you get completely ran off the field by the Yankees all 3 years, it takes a little bit of the luster away.
No longer are we feeling those feelings of despair. No longer are we the laughing stock of baseball. No longer will we have to suffer as the only franchise to never win a playoff series. Yes, it is the first round of a three round tournament, and yes there are still 2 rounds to go before we are champions, I am fully aware of this. However, if you are a life-long, die hard, bleeding heart Ranger fan, you do not care today. Today is a day of celebration. Today you sit back and try to come to the full realization that this thing is going to the ALCS!!!
I'm still in shock.
This will take a few days to sink in for me. I sit here writing this, trying to illustrate what I'm truly feeling and I'm having a difficult time. I think about the times when a washed up Andres Galarraga was our first baseman. When John Koronka was our best pitcher. When the future of our team was Laynce Nix. I think about the times where the Rangers were 37 games out of first place and I'm sitting in the cheap seats hoping Todd Van freakin Popple can hold on to our 12-10 lead in the 8th inning. For all of you die hards, you know what I'm talking about. There are even some fans out there who have been crazy enough to follow this team for decades! I can't even begin to imagine how they feel. wow.
Sometime after this season is over, we will all have to talk about the greatness of Jon Daniels and what he has done to turn this thing around. Without that guy, we're still stuck in the dead years of 2000-2008. Mr. Daniels's kudos will come, but that is for another day.
During the top of the 9th last night, I was thinking "ok, 2 run lead, Cliff is dealing but has thrown a lot of pitches. Do we go to Neftali? Do we go to CJ? Do we wait until he gets in trouble? Will we see the typical north Texas sports team meltdown?" And before I could even start to answer these questions in my baseball-brain, something incredible happened.
crack! swung on, hit high and deep to left field, THAT BALL IS WAY WAY BACK, THAT BALL IS HISTORY!
History indeed.
In one single moment, with one swing of Ian Kinsler's bat, it was imminent. There would be no meltdown, there would be no 9th inning drama. It was over. done. We were going to win, and I couldn't breathe.
If you're reading this, and you've stuck with this team over the years, you know what I'm talking about. What are we feeling? Hard to illustrate. But we feel it. And it's awesome.
If you're a new fan, welcome aboard. It's not always this easy, trust me, so enjoy it.
Watching Cliff Lee perform his magic last night was special. We all watched in pure amazement as that guy made major league hitters look like tee-ballers. This, plus Vlad's crazy score, plus Nelly's potential disastrous decision to steal third that turned into a miracle run, made me finally realize what was going on. This season is TRULY magical. We are going to the World Series, I am fully convinced. This is our year.
To quote a caller from Diamond Talk last night, "look out New York because a freight train is coming your way and it's got a big T on the front!"
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