Saturday, October 16, 2010

Saturday (Very) Quickie

There are two ways to think about the Yankees' wild comeback win last night in Texas:

(1) The Rangers are fine. It proved the Rangers can tag the best pitching the Yankees have to offer -- if they can put up runs on CC Sabathia, the rest of the rotation is plenty vulnerable.

(2) The Rangers are done. Broken. They had their chance to take instant momentum, riding a brilliant start from CJ Wilson, that would have set them on a path for a series upset.

Instead, they choked. That's the only way to think about it. (Not using ace closer Neftali Feliz in the 8th, when they REALLY needed the game saved? It doesn't take a sabermetric genius to intuitively grasp the value of using your best relief pitcher when your team needs it most late.)

And it's fair to wonder if this missed opportunity will linger in their minds for the next game. Even with a presumed win by Cliff Lee, they'll constantly be looking back to this game: What if?

I'm obviously projecting. You would hope that pro players would be able to shake it off. But the rest of us can't.

The Rangers missed the opportunity of a lifetime. And Yankee-haters everywhere are equal parts annoyed and disappointed.

Meanwhile, great day in college football: Ohio State at Wisconsin, Texas at Nebraska, Arkansas at Auburn. Some good potential for things to go topsy-turvy today.

-- D.S.

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