Just want to get some discussion going as this has been a topic I have heard been brought up over the course of this season. It is pretty much a lock we make the playoffs this year for a 3rd straight year, as long as win the West most likely. 1 more win in these last 6 and the playoffs are a lock. The rest, is up in the air so after a win today and an Angels loss, it is pretty safe to discuss this.

What do you guys consider a success? For me, it's a tough decision. On one hand, for this team to get to the playoffs 3 years in a row and have people buzzing about baseball for the whole season after what we went through for 10 years straight is amazing. Winning the West 3 years in a row if we do would also be very cool.

But after 2 World Series failures, and especially what went down last year against the Cardinals, I think I will have a bad taste in my mouth if we don't win it all this year. Hate that it has come to that. Each year was a little different.

2010- that was a happy go lucky ride. Most people did not have us beating Tampa. And even after we got up 2-0 and lost the next 2, a lot of people said we were done and did not have the stomach for the fight. Then we did and moved to to face NY. Again, most doubted us again and maybe for good reason how Game 1 went. But then we went on to win 3 straight and the series back here. That was such a memorable ride that the horrible series against the Giants in the WS did not hurt as bad. It was our first time there and we cherished every moment.

2011- a little different feel going in. We already tasted success and won the West pretty handily and got the 2 seed. After getting dominated by Tampa game 1, we cruised the rest of the way to a 3-1 win. We got help from Detroit and got to host the ALCS again. Had a historic performance from Cruz but most of us expected to win that series. We matched up very well against them. Game 6 win again was very sweet (I was there) but just not quite the same aura as 2010 but who cares.

Going into the WS had a little different feel. that happy go lucky ride of 2010 had kind of gone away. Now we are on a mission to get this done. Seesawed the whole way through. Rangers the only team to win back to back games through 6. And no one will forget Game 6. Ever. You just say Game 6 and those words cut deep for Rangers. Mention David Freese and you get angry and depressed. Game 7 was almost a formality after how Game 6 ended.

Now in 2012 after all that, it's hard for me to go into this thing and say at the least, we almost have to get back there to get one more shot, especially if we hold home field throughout. For me, it's almost hard to imagine anything else being a success. But baseball playoffs are such a crapshoot so who knows.

2010 was a magical ride. I remember celebrating with my firends after the ALCS and posted on facebook, "My life is now complete." Because defeating the Yankees as underdogs was incredible and the emotion from that game was compelling to say the least. I wasn't bothered by the World Series loss and I didn't, for lack of a better word, care that we lost the WS because we got there and everyone who watched this team felt that the 2010 World Series wouldn't be the last for us any time soon.

2011 however, we were a dominate team from beginning to end. Our pitchers were doing great, our hitters were doing what they always did and our bullpen got help midseason and we went on a 2nd half tear thanks to Mike Napoli. We IMO Cruz'd to the World Series and there we were once again. I expected to win it, I can't say we should have won it but most of us expected that ball to be caught and sometimes I'll watch Game 6 over again and just sit there and think about all the small things we could have done different to win it. But I can't change it, nobody can change it. Game 6 just happened.

2012 we were supposed to be in a dogfight with Los Angeles all season long, but as it turned out, it was a 3 team race for October. We've hit our share of bumps in the road, we've had our share of moments of glory and we've come to the end of another 162 game season with high expectations because the experience we're bringing to the table.

Now the season didn't go as most would have liked, Cruz' power dropped off a little, Hamilton went on a tear only to crash back to earth, MY was out of wack for the majority of the season and Yu Darvish mid way through the season seemed like a bust. But it all came together and now we're close to a 3rd straight West Title. This season can't be taken for granted because we're getting used to success, because it may not always be there. Which is why I am enjoying every win for what it is and I will have myself a fun night when/if we clinch the West.

But come playoff time, these Rangers have the experience advantage and we're not going to give up. I can only hope we start to get hot because that's how teams succeed in the playoffs. How we play in the ALDS will be detrimental to how the rest of the playoffs go. We can bust on our ass and get swept or just win a game bringing a terrible end to the season. We can go out there and have a dogfight and win 3-2 telling us this isn't going to be a breeze, but we're not going to give up. Or we can go out there and show how hungry we are, sweep the first team and then we will all know that the Rangers mean business and they won't stop till they get a ring. This is all just IMO tho.

Texas Rangers, do every fan a favor and don't give up. Fight till the end and please get that last out.

Great post man. I think everyone out there was like we were. On cloud 9 after the called strike 3 on ARod in game 6 to clinch the ALCS. Before 2010, we have only won a grand total of one single playoff game. Actually, our first one ever. Then we proceeded to lose the next 9 straight over 3 playoff trips. It was so satisfying after what we endured the previous decade. And the whole bankruptcy deal as well just months before. And it was against the hated Yankees, who were also reigning champs. I honestly did not care either way what happened in the WS. We just finally got there. Of course I wanted to win but saw the writing on the wall early after the first 2 games. This offense peaked in the ALCS and had nothing left. But it was a fun experience.

I was at the 2011 ALCS Game 6 and although very exciting, it was almost a relief to finally get back and get another shot. It was almost more of expected than jubilation the year before. Or maybe the fact the game was never close after the 3rd inning took the air out of the game and really just counting down the innings to be done and over with rather than enjoy the game.

2011 WS was so intense. 100x more than 2010. Every game except game 3 for the most part, each team easily had a chance to win. It was a chess match most of every game. We saw pretty much everything there was to see. It was so taxing and took so much out of me. Game 6 I still have not seen in full to this date and don't want to. I compare that to Game 5 and 3 of 2006 Finals for the Mavs. 2 games that were gutwrenching. Especially Game 5. Only since the Mavs won last year have I been able to go back and watch the 2006 Finals. I have not watched anything from last year at all. ALDS, ALCS, WS or anything because I know how it ended. I can watch stuff from 2010 no problem because that was different. We were on a honeymoon that whole playoff ride.

We are halfway to feeling like the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s.

Even though we will be behind the 8ball again this season if we happen to even get there with being the road team yet again. But one can only hope we are faced with that issue yet again in a about a month.

I would already consider this season a success. Winning the West the last two years was fun, going from unexpected to expected, and this year it was really expected. The West has cumulatively been a lot better this year, so to that end I would say 2012 has been even more impressive than either of the last two years.

I would be disappointed if we didn't reach the World Series and win it, because I truly think the Rangers are the best, most talented team in baseball. But so much is lost in the short sample of a 5 or 7-game series that I won't say "Team X_ is better than the Rangers" if they beat us. I'll say they played better and deserved to win more than we did.

I'm cool with another West title, and the promise of Yu Darvish going forward. The Rangers are in good hands for years to come. So, yeah, I'll be disappointed if we don't win it all, but I won't consider the season a failure if we don't do it.

Success = winning the division for the third year in a row.

The Rangers have given us far more wins than losses over the last three seasons. What else can you really ask for? They have a high payroll and a nice mix of veterans and young players. They are team of the past, present, and future. It's a great time to be a Rangers fan.

I really want to see the Rangers win the WS this year; I will be dissapointed if they don't especially with key free agents looming Hamilton, Napoli, Adams etc. But I know how hard it is to get there so I can't fault them if they don't. But I truly believe this is the year we get it done.

2012 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!!

For me, personally, a success this year would be just winning the AL West for a 3rd straight year. I learned last year to not expect a championship, because it's baseball. The best team that day wins. So winning the AL West and taking the #1 seed in the AL would be absolute success IMO. But to win the World Series would be downright glorifying.

To me, winning the division would be a good, and locking down the #1 seed would be a complete success. With how much luck factors in, you'll be disappointed more than not if your gauge of the whole season is how well you perform in the playoffs. The fact is, this is the best team in the AL over the last 3 years. A ring would be awesome, but it's hard to ask for much more than what we've gotten.

Barring a collapse that results in the Rangers not winning the AL West, the 2012 Texas Rangers are already a success.

This is a team that has lost its best starting pitcher each of the last two seasons...and yet here we stand with the best record in the AL, the top spot in the best division in baseball and the promise of a third straight post-season run. As a baseball fan, you can't really ask for more.

And yet, like others, I will be disappointed if the season doesn't end with a World Series crown. Unfortunately, post-season baseball is basically a roll of the dice. In 2010, I don't necessarily think the Rangers were the best team from the AL, but they emerged.....to face what was probably the worst of the 2010 playoff teams (SF) and yet SF wins. In 2011 the Cardinals were the worst of all the playoff teams but they were in the midst of one of those streaks and ended up champions.

Unlike most other sports, where the best teams usually win and when they lose it's almost always close.....in baseball the worst team in the league can outright dominate the best team in a short series. It happens sometimes.

So, I'm already happy that the team I root for is yet again just now entering the most exciting phase of its season, as opposed to planning for next year (as it usually was around June in most the team's history). I don't expect the Rangers to win three post-season series, but I'll still be disappointed if they don't.

Making the playoffs --> Division Champion --> League Champion --> World Series

Each is a greater level of success.

Making the ALCS - that's success. Anything else is gravy - and I REALLY like gravy!

But realistically getting back to the ALCS signifies that this team is a top team capable of challenging for the series year after year. Once in the ALCS luck and momentum play a big role - so fate has her say. I think back on the Braves run and see that as success even though winning the WS was elusive for them. But what team in baseball wouldn't have traded places with them over that decade? To have a shot year after year - that's success.

Moreover, in the off season we still look attractive to FAs, and have trade-worthy pieces in our system that let JD lrepair roster weaknesses for the next season. The end is not near!

I want that WS crown. But I will not get down on this team if it falls short of that on the shoals of the ALCS.

I think it's agreed that winning the division is the goal and all else is an added pleasure for us....and as I have written elsewhere, this team DOES have the horsepower to go the distance. I am worried, but if our pitching staff can keep us in the game and our hitters actually suit up and play, the Rangers can win it all. So while I worry about those things and gripe, every time I think of how bad they play I just have to tell myself "Thank God you aren't an Astros fan!!!!" :)

I always assumed the Rangers would make the playoffs. The division is gravy and nest AL record is dessert. For me success will be playing well in the playoffs: good pitching, timely hitting, good ABs, clean fielding, and base running that does not belong in a Comedy Capers movie. The playoffs are unpredictable. An opponent can get hot pitching and hitting, making playoff success extremely difficult. The Rangers cannot control short term series, but they can control their level of play.

^^^ We haven't won the AL West yet... This whole season might be a failure if we don't make playoffs