Warriors Don't Always Win

Indulge me a moment to talk about baseball on a hot summer day, and to in particular focus on the team I follow most closely; The Texas Rangers.

The Rangers made news (and some noise) when they acquired Cliff Lee, a stud pitcher who last year was 4-0 in the playoffs, to help them win their first division title since 1999. When the Rangers acquired Lee, they led the American League Western Division by 5 1/2 games.

Tonight, Lee pitched his second game for the Rangers. In his first game, he went a full nine innings, taking a loss as the Baltimore Orioles touched him up for six runs. The Rangers lost, 6-0, and their division lead slipped to 4 1/2 games. Lee also pitched a full nine innings tonight, and thru 8 2/3rds of that, he was winning. He led the game 2-1 and was one out away from beating the Boston Red Sox in Boston's fabled Fenway Park. The Rangers, who have a closer that has notched 25 saves, opted to let Lee finish out the game instead of bringing in their fresh, untired arm to close it out.

Lee gave up a hit that tied the game. WITH TWO OUTS!!! The Rangers would eventually lose the game in 11 innings. Their division lead now down to 3 1/2 to the Anaheim Angels (no, that's not a mis-print -- to me, they are NOT and will never be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim... who came up with that???).

Lee has gone the distance twice since the trade. He has battled and scuffed thru 18 innings to try and give his new team's bullpen a rest while trying to get wins. It has not worked out. There is no doubt he is a warrior out there on the mound. But it's baseball, and the ball takes funny bounces, and so the much bally-hoo'd trade so far is but a mere whimper almost lost in the hot days of summer. Not a titanic game-changer that will lead the Rangers to a championship, as has been predicted by many.

A tip of the hat to Mr. Lee for showing a resilient nature. But a word of advice (like I really know anything about this stuff, but...) to Texas: next time, bring in your closer when you have a chance to end the game. Because if I have to live thru another year of the Angels making the playoffs, I'd just as soon not watch the playoffs at all!