I don't know how we got here, but we're here now. There's nothing we can do about the slump the Rangers endured over the last couple weeks, nothing but to look forward and root for success. I've mainly stayed away from the main board the last couple days, because I already know what's on there, whether it be pessimism, calling for Ron Washington's head, lamenting the same things that have been hashed and rehashed all season long. I can't stomach it anymore. Negativity accomplishes nothing.

Yes, Michael Young shouldn't have been in the lineup all year. Craig Gentry should have played more. WE GET IT. And you have no argument from me. But what's done is done, and all we have guaranteed is one more game.

What really gets to me is that, from some light reading on the forum, some people are actually rooting for the Rangers to lose tomorrow. Listen, I'm as frustrated as anyone from how the season played out, but that's ridiculous logic. The Rangers aren't guaranteed to make the playoffs every year. We can't just say, "Hey, let's give up on this season and go get 'em in the playoffs next year." That's the type of entitled, front-running, #dumbfanlogic that bites you in the ass.

I cannot and will not get behind that way of thinking.

So, like I said, we have one game left. If we don't handle business, I'll be more than happy to come on here and discuss some offseason plans with the rest of you. But not until or unless the Rangers lose.

We're playing the least talented of the five American League playoff teams. We're at home. We have our best pitcher on the mound against a guy that has historically pitched very poorly in Arlington, and, to boot, their offense has never seen Yu Darvish. If ever we're going to be favored in the postseason, it's now.

Of course, the actual game needs to be played, but I'm confident that we can do this, and still confident we'll be able to do a little more if we do indeed come out victorious. I invite any of the trolls to come on and call me a blind optimist or whatever the fuck gets you off, but I'm just giving the reality of tomorrow's game.

The season is not dead yet, and I'm pretty tired of all the tones around here acting like the Rangers have never faced and owned adversity before. This is the Rangers, people. Our favorite team. Our back-to-back AL champs. We still hold the title until someone takes it from us. So let's go get them tomorrow. We can do this.

Don't you have your own blog where you can type up your lectures?

Yes.

I'll go along with that Eric. No sense in "letting it all sink in" yet. I would say the majority of us (including the Rangers) are in shock still ("what the hell happened," "I can't believe we lost" etc.). I still follow Yogi's mantra, "It ain't over til it's over." Pretty basic and totally true. Because...., it ain't.

All the wierd shit that has happened; it's done. Only thing we have is today and you can't un-fuck what went down. Go Rangers!

Thank you for articulating pretty much my feelings exactly.

A day off can work wonders. Still excited to watch these Rangers play in the playoffs. If anything, RBiA will be raucous and I love to see that. FeelIng good about the matchup. Fired up for tonight - let's do this!

Haters gonna hate and bitches gonna bitch. If the odds were ever in our favor for one single game, it's now. I think a series with the Tigers could wear on the A's (and Miggy can welcome those rookies properly) and make them prime for the pickin' in the ALCS. I'd take our odds in a series against the Tigers, too, though it is a huge downside that homefield advantage is a non-issue. Blerg. Dumb wild card.

The only thing I'm truly upset about is the fact that I inadvertently bought tickets to home game 4 for the ALCS. And that was my fault and not theirs.

Let's bring this one home, boys!

Always buy game 3 for a best of seven series. If you're the home team, it's game 6 - where the Rangers clinched the last two ALCS. If you're not the HFA team, it's game 5. Historically speaking, those are most likely to be the clincher. I'm glad I did this last year and got to see a proper shellacking of the Tigers.

So...

I will be rooting. I will be hoping. But I can't say I "believe" in this team.

I hope the critical plays are put in the hands of:

Napoli
Beltre
Murphy
Elvis

In these guys I trust. In all others...I'm worried. Give me a CG from Yu or a big enough lead (10 runs?) and I'll trust the pen. Can you honestly say you trust anyone outside of Koji in there right now? I have marginal faith in Nathan, and if we lose this thing because he blows two saves in clinching games after going 32/34 prior to this...I'm not sure how to fault that.

I'm calling for a Mike Napoli game winning hit that scores David Murphy with the game winning run, and I'm counting on Nathan to close the door. The O's have been ridiculous in 1 run games this year. It's time for some balance in that regard.

I'm with you Eric! The regular season is done it's time for Playoff Baseball! Go Rangers!

If the Rangers can win tonight, they're in pretty good shape. If you told me at the beginning of the season that the Rangers would be playing in the ALDS, I would've said, "I'll take it." Doesn't really matter how we get there.

We played in a tough division this year. Would've been nice if MY and Kinsler had better seasons, but that's baseball. And who expected Matt Harrison, David Murphy, and Craig Gentry to come through for us the way that they have? All in all, a good regular season. Need to win tonight to keep it going.

Good stuff as always, eric.

Rangers fans know as well as anyone that Yogi was right. It ain't over. It's Game 7 of the pre-ALDS series. It's time. Go Rangers!

"I've mainly stayed away from the main board the last couple days, because I already know what's on there"

More like you didn't want to eat your heaping helping of crow for all that time you spent insisting there was nothing to worry about, best record in the AL, etc.

But I agree with your premise. People rooting for failure can fuck off and die. Wash may be a bad manager but right now he's OUR bad manager, and the team has a great opportunity to right the ship with possibly three home playoff games here. Playdamnball.

"...I agree with your premise. People rooting for failure can fuck off and die. Wash may be a bad manager but right now he's OUR bad manager..."

This. You may not like Wash. You may not like Josh. You may not like whoever, but if you like the Rangers, you don't wish them to fail just so, hopefully, there will be change. That's just stupid. There are no guarantees anything will change, anyway, so you might as well.

The Rangers have gotten this far with these perceived flaws, so there's no reason to continually lament over them, because as you should know, this season isn't over.

Oh, and I agree with your opinions yet again, eric. Good stuff.