The Depot: At Least One More Night of Rangers-Angels News, Notes and Baseball Talk

Rangers lose, eliminated from wild card contention. It will be 10th consecutive season without a playoff berth for club.

9:11: The Angels played a video tribute to their season before the game. It was really beautifully done. Everything this organization does seems to be done in a first-class manner. That’s why even though the Angels are Texas’ biggest rival in the division, it’s hard to hate them very much. Coming to games here is always a pleasant experience.

9:17: Marlon Byrd, who seemed to injure his knee in the ninth inning last night, definitely did on Tuesday. He went face-first into the area just past first after grounding out to end the first. He had a lot of trouble putting  weight on his right knee. He tried to “walk it off” but the knee twice appeared to give out on him. He was eventually helped off the field and replaced by Craig Gentry. I think it’s very likely that Byrd has played his last game of the season, too.

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More Rangers Notes

ANAHEIM, Calif - Though he made a poor throw when tested from left field on Monday, rookie Julio Borbon is still likely to get a chance at center field before the end of the year.

It just won’t happen until the Rangers  final standing is settled. The Rangers began play Tuesday still mathematically alive in the AL Wild Card race, though a single win by Boston or loss by the Rangers would eliminate them. The Rangers were in second plce in the AL West five games ahead of Seattle with six to play. Any combination of Rangers wins or Mariners losses adding up to two owould clinch second place for the Rangers. Not until those two questions are answered does manager Ron Washington want to put Borbon in center.

“We haven’t settled everything there is to settle,” Washington said. “Once that happens, we will run him out there.”

The Rangers want to look at Borbon as a potential center field option for 2010. The club would like to move Josh Hamilton, the opening day center fielder the last two years, to right field to reduce the risk of injury. Marlon Byrd, who has started the most games in center this season, is a free agent after the seasona nd the Rangers are uncertain about whether they will be able to afford to bring him back.

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Rangers Notes: Josh Hamilton Done for Season

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Hours before the Rangers were officially eliminated from the AL West race, OF Josh Hamilton suggested it would be in his best interests if he didn’t play again this season. Almost as soon as the clinching loss to Los Angeles was complete, the Rangers concurred.

“We’re going to shut him down,” manager Ron Washington said Tuesday afternoon. “He will get treatment and hopefully get well. He will have no activity other than rehabbing for the rest of the season. We hope to get him into his winter program and get him ready and in shape for spring training.”

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The Morning After: Cowboys 21, Panthers 7

Not every single NFL game turns on one play, but quite a few of them do. And without question, Dallas’ first Monday Night win in their new stadium absolutely turned on one play and one play only.

2nd Down, 10 yards to go for the Panthers at their own 22 yard line with 5:15 left to go in the 4th Quarter. They have been badly outplayed in the 2nd half, but now own the football and only trail the Cowboys by 6 points. This is the ultimate opportunity to steal a game with a touchdown, and get that win that Carolina needs so badly.

ESPN, after Jake Delhomme takes a deep shot to Steve Smith on 1st down, shows a montage of Terrence Newman up in tight and aggressive coverage on Smith in the 2nd half, frustrating Smith to a point of a temper tantrum on the sideline.

The Panthers are flooding the right side of the line on this 2nd and 10, with Muhsin Muhammad, Jeff King, Donte Rosario, and DeAngelo Williams all running routes to the offensive right. Steve Smith is split to the left, and the Cowboys counter with Newman tight, and Hamlin over the top. The Panthers have to be thinking that since they took a deep shot to Smith on 1st down, chances are that Newman would be leaning back on a deeper route and conceding the slant.

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From the Rangers Clubhouse: Sickly Silence and Dejected Acceptance of Losing AL West

ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was quiet enough in the Rangers clubhouse beneath Angel Stadium to hear the celebration across the hall.

While the Los Angeles Angels were celebrating their third consecutive AL West title, the Rangers were dealing with being the vanquished contenders. It’s not a role many of them are used to because the Rangers haven’t been in playoff races this late in a season in a long time.

“This is not a good feeling,” said 3B Michael Young, who returned from four weeks of dealing with a strained hamstring to have a pair of hits in Monday’s 11-0 loss. “Right now, I don’t care about the future or how our team shapes up for next year. It’s about winning or going home. We did not get it done. And that is really an unpleasant feeling. The Angels deserve a lot of credit for overcoming a lot of adversity and doing what it took to win. From our side, we’ve got to get better. It’s as simple as that.”

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