This Day In History

1465
-- French King Louis XI signs a peace agreement with Charles the Stout

1857
-- City of Anaheim CA founded - and no playoff baseball game was played there that day either

1880
-- First ballpoint pen patented by Alonzo T. Cross

1882
-- Outlaw Frank James surrenders in Missouri six months after the death of his brother Jesse James

1907
-- Philadelphia A's pitcher Rube Vickers no-hits the Washington Senators in a 5 inning game

1921
-- The World Series is broadcast on the radio for the first time

1924
-- First appearance in the NYC Daily News of the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie"

1954
-- Hurricane Hazel hits the east coast of the United States

1962
-- The Beatles release their first hit in England "Love Me Do"

1966
-- A sodium cooling system malfunction causes a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi nuclear power demonstration plant near Detroit, Michigan.  Radiation is contained (entire story detailed in the book "We Almost Lost Detroit")

1969
-- "Monty Python's Flying Circus" begins its run on the BBC

1983
-- Polish anti-communist union leader Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize

2001
-- Barry Bonds hits his HGH aided 71st and 72nd Home Runs to break Mark McGwire's androstene aided record of 71 Home Runs

2004
-- Howard Stern announces he's leaving over the air radio for satellite radio company Sirius

2008
--Dow Jones Industrial Averages drop 700 points signaling the beginning of the economic downturn/recession

2012
-- The Rangers two year AL Dynasty ends.

--- Marla

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It's The Curse of Game 6

I know I'm writing this before the game with Oakland ends - but does it matter?

I know how it's going to end. 

When the Red Sox broke the curse of Babe Ruth the baseball gods had to find another team to be there whipping boy - and thus we have Game 6 of the World Series 2011 which led to the great collapase of the Rangers 2012. 

Sorry Ranger fans we're going to be suffering from this curse for a long, long time.

The A's are the team of destiny.  The Rangers are the team destined to self-destruct. -- Marla

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These Are Not The 1996 Rangers And Shouldn't Even Be Mentioned In The Same Sentence

I have a long, rambling, essay that I've been working on for 2 days to explain my feelings about the current state of the Rangers.  Fortunately for you dear reader, TR Sullivan posted an excellent entry on his blog Postcards From Elysian Fields that I felt compelled to comment on, and in the process of doing so was able to distill my feelings into a wordy paragraph.   TR compared the current Rangers to the 1996 Rangers and this is what I wrote in reply:

"Think this [2012 Rangers] team is more like the 1996 Mariners – a very talented team, expected to win – then in September ultimately failed in the clutch. There aren’t any Burkett’s or Hill’s on this Rangers team – except for Michael Young who has stepped up this month. Seems like the offense was on cruise control all season and now they don’t know how to kick into high gear while all the pitching has been at best inconsistent – I’ve been a Ranger fan long enough to say they don’t deserve a playoff berth this year. Maybe that would be the kickstart they need to learn to concentrate and play the game the right way with a little humility and a lot more hunger."


After reading it again a few hours later, I stand by my statement.  Doesn't matter what happens tonight or tomorrow - I don't feel good about the 2012 Rangers, and I've felt that way since about mid-July.  I don't think they are lazy, inflated egos - maybe just a bit.  What they do suffer from is lack of memory and concentration.  Big numbers = big money contracts,  doing the little things right = championship rings. Gotta wonder which equation the veterans on this team were thinking about this season.   

What is frustrating and sad for we the long suffering Ranger fans is that most of us know how small that window of opportunity is for any team to get into the playoffs and how much smaller it gets to go to the World Series more than twice in a decade  (take a look at the last 10 years and see how many teams other than NY have been there more than twice).  I'm sayng it right now: that window is shut this year.  Shame on the veterans on this 2012 Ranger team . They seem to be suffering from short term memory loss - they've forgotten what got them there and more importantly what it was like being the ones who were watching playoff games from the couch instead from the dugout.   I have a feeling that by this time next week, the Rangers will have a quick trip down memory lane as they pack up their bags and get ready to watch the rest of the post-season from their couches.   

Angry in Arlington - Marla  

(P.S. That's my new couch which I really love, and the next blog will be much less poison filled - I hope)
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September 30, 2012 One Sentence Reaction

No matter what the magic number is, you should not feel good about this 2012 Rangers team.

(More on that tomorrow)

-- No kidding around - Marla

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