And then it was only 6.5: Pandemonium in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

 Last Night while watching the Texas Rangers I returned to my house and after reflecting on what had happened, I cried.

A grown man sitting in his chair, still dressed in blue and white, still with the aroma of one dollar hot dogs, $15.00 beers (that we did not buy by the way) and an aura of seeing the unthinkable.

And the only emotion I seemed to come up with were tears.

But surprisingly they weren't tears of anger which had run rampant for numerous years.  They weren't tears of sadness such as the day Ivan Rodriguez was lost to Florida.  The tears from tonight were of pure happiness.

We could go into the specifics of last night's game.  The fact that Marlon Byrd made play after play in the outfield robbing the Angels and keeping the game reasonable at 2 - 1.

We could talk about how the Rangers threw together a pitching performance like a badly built tossed salad due to injuries in the pitching staff.  And ultimately by the third inning, nobody knew what the heck had happened to the starter. Yet the bullpen which normally let close division games like this one get away held it together long enough to give us a chance in the end. 

We could also equally go into in depth thoughts on how tonight's game had a deja vu "here we go again feel from Game 1", in which Scott Shields came in and made relatively quick work of the Rangers in the eight, setting up the best closer in the game K-Rod, Francisco Rodriguez, who prior to this game had only blown two saves all season. 

This game broke every thing the experts had been feeding out the past few weeks. 

1. The Rangers can't pitch with the Angels. 

2. The Rangers can't hit with the Angels. 

3. Michael Young is in the worst slump of his career and is not a clutch hitter anymore.

4. Josh Hamilton can't hit a breaking ball for a homerun and is coming back to earth.

That's what made this game special, it was already a great game due to the circumstances, but it was mainly the fact that it was completely unexpected.  The vibe from the stands was that Michael Young would hit into the double play.  Currently this year, Young would be good for what seems to be a Youngesque rally killing type hit.

Not tonight...

And when Josh Hamilton came up, of course the M-V-P chants grew a little louder, but deep down, the true fan who has watched how Hamilton has now struggled with this load on his shoulders, was nervous and rightfully so: 

An Angel Fan sitting behind of me remarked earlier in the night that "He can't hit the breaking ball, he already struck out horrendously earlier, and K-Rod has a filthy slider.."

So with my hat now turned inside out, and my voice weakening with the chants of M-V-P,  Rodriguez on the 3-1 pitch, throws of course a breaking ball, and finally... FINALLY, Josh Hamilton did what he does best, and took one badly thought of pitch, out of the park.  His first walk off home run of his career and the first home run of any type for him since June 17th.

After MVP chants that the NBA would envy died down momentarily, it seemed the fans collectively realized that "Hey, the Rangers had actually won the game. Holy crap we can keep celebrating".  It seemed at that moment the ballpark went into five minutes of post game pandemonium.

The Players went crazy hugging and handshaking anyone they could get close to.  Top Gun style High Fives were being thrown around like they were going out of style, and I think, I might just have seen a fire breaking out in section 102 C. 

Yeah that's right, the crowd who stayed for a lack of a better word, went complete ape shit, and if I didn't know any better, Ron Washington might have just flashed a smile underneath that mustache of his for the second time this season. 

It was a moment that brings tears to my eyes, after all the struggling, the years in the basement.  It was all worth it, it was worth every penny for that home run.  For something to cheer about, for someone to chant MVP for, that legitimately wants to be here (Sorry A-Rod).

It was a moment that many are already comparing to Nick Folk's game winning field goal in Buffalo on not one, but two successful kicks.  That's what makes this special, the Rangers finally have their moment with a player and team of their own, a team to be proud of.

No more looking at the highlight reel at Gary Matthews Jr. unbelievable circus catch in 2006.

No more rewinding over and over of the Rangers last playoff game vs. the New York Yankees.

No more pulling out and dusting off the 1994 Perfect game Collectors DVD.

And certainly no more watching Canseco have a ball bounce off his head on blooper reels available at your local 7 eleven convenience store.

Yes we finally have our moment, and in baseball now.  Josh Hamilton... the legend continues, I feel the Rangers are still not completely there, but this team is closer than it's been in a long time. 

Just get on the bandwagon now before the gates are closed.

 - Dr. Holland