Texas Rangers 2012 - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Somehow, some way, the sun came up Saturday morning after Friday night's Rangers loss to the Orioles. To be honest, I was more surprised with that fact after Game 7 in 2011 than I was this time around. It is a good thing that we can now complain about a 93 win season. The bar has been raised by the Rangers organization, the players, and the fans. Over 3 million were in the Ball Park this year and many more like me kept up on TV or through the Internet. We talked about it on Facebook and some of us learned to Tweet. The third time would be a charm and in April we seemed locked an loaded.

But it all came crashing down. While the last two weeks were bad, there were signs along the way that this team had many leaks in the dam.

It never won an Academy Award, but if ever there was a movie title which exemplifies the 2012 Texas Rangers season, it is Clint Eastwood's spaghetti western classic "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". We have gathered a few and would like to hear some of yours.

Check it out after the break.

Your 2012 Texas Rangers - Unbelievable

What started out as an unbelievable season had a really unbelievable ending.  4 up with 6 to go turns into an uninspiring Wild Card game.  But that was the status quo for the last half of the season for the Rangers.  Yes, they won 93 games, but when you look beyond that you see a team that never could put up a long winning streak.  A team that always had at least a third of their lineup struggling.  A team that insisted on letting Michael Young go to the plate 651 times.

Their star dipped back into bad habits (at least on the field) and wouldn't take a walk despite teams doing everything short of rolling the ball to keep the ball out of the strike zone.  Then he disappears for a 5 game stretch.  Two of those games were losses to the Mariners.  Want to know how the season could have ended different?  When the Angels and A's got their three game set against Seattle in the week leading up to the end, they swept the M's.  The Rangers lost 2 of 3.  There's your division folks.

And can I ask why put Robbie Ross on the one game playoff roster if you decide to use Derek Holland out of the pen?  I've been an ardent defender of Ron Washington, despite his obvious lack of in-game managerial skills, but it's moves like that when you see how much of a disadvantage the Rangers are during the actual game.

I taught my son (the football picking one) the tortoise and the hare story the other day.  The Rangers were easily the hare in 2012.  The quick start.  The resting of key players at odd times (see the two losses with Spring Training lineups here and here).  The Rangers have always been credited for being loose.  Well it certainly showed the last half of the season.  It would have been nice if some urgency had been shown.

I know I'm rambling.  I didn't really have a thesis when I started this entry.  It doesn't hurt like Game 6 (although the first game of the DH against LA a few days ago did).  Last year I thought the Rangers were the better team.  This year, they showed that they had no fight left in them.  Seriously, Josh Hamilton saw 8 pitches tonight and made 5 outs.  What an terrible end to a fantastic story.  Until, as a friend of mine said, we find out what really caused his eye problems.

OK, I'm rambling again.  Maybe I'll get some coherent thoughts and return.  When do I get my ALDS and ALCS refund?

Week 5 NFL Picks Against a 5-Year-Old

It hasn't been a good sports week here in the Metroplex.  Between Tony Romo's interceptions and the collapse of the Rangers, it's been a while since we've seen a win.  And with the Cowboys' bye week and the Rangers playing a one game Wildcard Series on Friday, it could be a weekend without professional sports.  Not at all what we expected around here.

But at the Cheap Seats, we're still going strong.  Well, at least two of us are.  A 10-5 Week 4 has me back on the plus side of things.  Uncle J continued his stellar 2012 campaign with a 9-6 week.  JDaddy and the kid both turned in 7-8 performances, which for them is pretty good.

There are just 14 NFL games on tap this weekend, so we need to come out swinging.

Week 4
CDog: 10-5
Uncle J: 9-6
5-Year-Old: 7-8
JDaddy: 7-8

Overall
Uncle J: 35-27-1
CDog: 32-30-1
5-Year-Old: 27-35-1
JDaddy: 24-38-1

Polar Bears Take the Top Spot

How do you have a bye week during an undefeated season and drop two spots in the polls? Well, it takes two blow outs and an unabashed "homer" doing the ranking. That is exactly what has happened to the El Campo Ricebirds in the JDaddy Mascot League this week as the Polar Bears (66-6) and Punchers (40-14)steamrolled to 5-0 records last week.

The Hippos dropped 3 spots after losing by 21 to Elgin. The Gorillas from Trent could not handle the pressure of being ranked as they fell 35-25 to Roscoe Highland. The Stingarees and Exporters also won last week.

This weeks Rankings;


Team                                   Record          Last Week           This Week's Opp

1. Frost Polar Bears             5-0               W (66-6)              Perrin-Whitt (3-1)

2. Mason Punchers              5-0                W (40-14)            Bye

3. El Campo Ricebirds         4-0                 Bye                      Bellville (3-2)

4. Texas City Stingarees       3-1                W (49-32)            Perl.-Daw.(4-0)

5. Trent Gorillas                   4-1                 L (25-35)             Hermleigh (1-4)

6. Brazosport Exporters       3-2                W (52-34)             Foster

7. Hutto Hippos                   3-2                 L (14-35)              Bye

8. Grandview Zebras           2-2                 Bye                        Maypearl (1-4)

9. Springtown Porcupines    2-3                 L (28-38)               Bye

10. N. Braunfels Unicorns   1-4                 L (21-24)                Bye                                      

Week 4 NFL Picks Against a 5-Year-Old

I'm sorry to announce that it hasn't been a good week for the 5-year-old.  Following a 5-11 Week 3-which unbelievably wasn't the worst of the bunch-the kid decided to do a teeth plant into a ceramic flower pot.  He was playing around the house, fell down, and yada yada yada, he is now staying home from school and watching movies with a pacifier in his mouth. Not fun. But on the bright side, he is learning how to milk an injury for all it's worth in order to stay home from school.

Here at the Cheap Seats, we too were impacted by the outcome of the Seattle/Green Bay game. The ruling of a touchdown prevented us from having anyone finish at or above .500 for the week. Remember how I said the kid's 5-11 week wasn't the worst performance? He has JDaddy to thank. He pulled out a 4-12 record.

The absolute worst thing that can happen to a team is for all 4 of us to pick it as a winner. We were 0-4 in that scenario last week. Remember kids, gambling is bad.

Here are the standings after Week 3.

Week 3
CDog: 7-9
Uncle J: 5-11
5-Year-Old: 5-11
JDaddy: 4-12

Overall
Uncle J: 26-21-1
CDog: 22-25-1
5-Year-Old: 20-27-1
JDaddy: 17-30-1

JDaddyDu Mascot League: Wampus Cats and Blizzards Are No More

With all of the great team mascots in the Lone Star State, there is a lot of competition to be in the JDaddyDu  Mascot League. But, there are requirements! And the simplest is that a team HAS GOT TO WIN A GAME!  And so at 0-3, the Itasca Wampus Cats and the Winters Blizzards have fallen out of the JML.  The ‘Cats fell to the Polar Bears 39-14 and the Blizzards were led out of town by the previously winless, and near Mascot League member, Hamlin Pied Pipers 40-0.

Our crack team sports reporters have scoured hundreds of suggestions and have looked at great combinations of mascot uniqueness and team talent. The results are in, and making their debut in our Top 10 will be the Mason High School “Punchers” and 6 Man Football power,  Trent High School Gorillas. Both undefeated and worthy of a spot on the list.

Mason makes the jump near the top of our list while Trent, although undefeated is in the middle of the pack.

It is tough to lose the top spot after a win, so the top 2 remain the same this week, but with a state champion now in the mix, how long the Ricebirds and Polar Bears stay 1-2 is anyone’s guess.

This weeks standings;

               Team                             Record         Last Week                      This Week’s Opp.

1.      El Campo Ricebirds            4-0               W (16-7)                             Bellville

2.      Frost Polar Bears               4-0               W (39-14)                           Perrin-Whitt

3.      Mason Punchers                4-0               W (64-7)                             San Saba

4.      Hutto Hippos                      3-1               W (69-6)                             Elgin

5.      Trent Gorillas                      4-0               W (50-44)                           Highland

6.      Texas City Stingarees          2-1               BYE                                     Goose Creek Mem.

7.      Springtown Porcupines     2-2                L  (20-28)                            Graham

8.      Grandview Zebras              2-2                L  (34-42)                            Maypearl

9.      Brazosport Exporters         2-2                L  (23-59)                            Bay City

10.   New Braunfels Unicorns    1-3                L  (13-24)                            SA East Central