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

Posted on September 29th, 2009 12:24am by Evan Grant
Filed under AL West race, Baseball, Post-Game Wrap up, Texas Rangers

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.”

Said RHP Tommy Hunter, who allowed seven runs in 2.1 innings: “This just sucks. It’s tough to suck this badly in a situation when you shouldn’t suck. It was a horrible performance. It’s hard to describe the feeling. You don’t want to be the guy who lets hope get away. Somebody’s got to wear it, though. I have to wear it.”

With their AL West hopes basically eliminated after losing a five-run, eighth-inning lead Sunday, the Rangers headed to Anaheim knowing that any loss in a four-game series would hand the division championship to the Angels. Even with that knowledge, it didn’t take long for the Rangers to fall in a big hole. Hunter walked Chone Figgins to lead off the bottom of the first, then allowed a two-out run-scoring double to Vladimir Guerrero. It was followed by Kendry Morales two-run homer.

“They won it,” said manager Ron Washington. “I don’t think we laid down and gave them anything. They just came out and beat up on us. They jumped on us and kept pouring it on.”

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19 Comments to “From the Rangers Clubhouse: Sickly Silence and Dejected Acceptance of Losing AL West”
  • KJ @ September 29th, 2009 at 12:51 am

    Too bad for Tommy. While he did suck tonight, the guys who let hope get away were Ron Washington, CJ Wilson and Frankie Francisco on Sunday evening in the 8th and 9th.

    Good for the kid standing up for his crap performance, but I really hope he doesn’t take this harder than he should. He was one of the guys who really shined this year.

  • Callie @ September 29th, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Nice Season Rangers – you made it enjoyable for at least one lifelong fan!

  • Tom B @ September 29th, 2009 at 2:00 am

    In the future when historians analyse, “The Great Ranger Uprising in the Summer of ’09″ all shall marvel at the effort of youth and how many graduated to play on championship teams here and elsewhere. All grew at an accelerated rate toward Major League maturity. There will be some post season awards won by this group in future years and they will fade with the memory of the season that almost was contributed most to the tales they spin for all who listen. It wasn’t a lost cause but a precursor of future events in winning baseball and championships. “We are the Champions….Of The World.” Coming soon to a ballpark near you.

  • KJ @ September 29th, 2009 at 2:12 am

    While I’d love to have a little more optimism, it’s tempered knowing that the Angels will find a way to win next year and I can’t imagine the A’s not getting better either.

    When I look back over this season, I’m going to come down with a couple of facts. One, we had some key injuries during the season- which could improve us a bit. But two, that our manager while he got the most out of these youngsters, I’m just not confident that he will manage the little things enough to win those 5-10 games that a manager can affect a year.

    I hope with all my Ranger red and blue heart that we find a way to improve this team in the offseason despite our financial hamstrings.

  • Brent @ September 29th, 2009 at 7:50 am

    Tommy Hunter’s quote is one of the best sports quotes I’ve ever seen. Great season guys. Let this one sting for a few months, and we’ll be here waiting on you next year.

  • john in clearwater @ September 29th, 2009 at 8:01 am

    Well, poop. Hard to say much when you get it handed to you like that.

  • Terry @ September 29th, 2009 at 8:42 am

    I actually stayed up through the end last night. Not necessarily hoping for a comeback, but just to see the season through to the end. And a thought occurred to me: if someone had said in March that the Rangers would still be alive in the playoff hunt until the very last week of the season, we might have called that person crazy. But this team had some resiliance. We generally thought the Rangers were done after losing 2 of 3 to the Angels in Arlington in mid-September. But, true to form, they still managed to string the season out for another full week. Even though they didn’t quite scale the mountain to its peak, they gave us one of the best baseball seasons around here in quite sometime. Thanks for the ride, guys!

  • P1Javier @ September 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am

    At least they went down fighting last night…

  • Nancy Nichols @ September 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Oh this is so sad news to the world. WE lose Evan and the year. Evan, I hope you will come to see us here in Amsterdam. We will follow you to the next blog. Where will we find it?
    Hazelle and Kittin Klonhammer

  • Da Blade @ September 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am

    All good things must come to an end. It’s great to see this team make strides this year. It doesn’t feel like 2004, which felt like a fluke year at the time (and was). The AL East may be the beast right now, but mark my words – within 2 years, the AL West will be the best!

    Evan, best of luck and thanks for introducing me to this blog. I follow a lot of sports blogs and I agree with your previous assertion – us fans should benefit from the increased media competition in this market. I’m already looking forward to spring training, and I haven’t made that statement since probably 2000.

  • Samson @ September 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am

    Maybe, when the season is over, you can get Michael Young to elaborate on his comment that, “we need to get better.” I would love to know what he thinks should be done in the off-season. Knowing Michael, it will take a real effort to get him to speak his mind, and will probably just say everyone needs to reach their potential. But that would be a worthy interview if you can get him into specifics.

  • Ansel @ September 29th, 2009 at 11:00 am

    It was hoped that this would be a 500 year – never expected more in the beginning. Take heart guys, you delivered far more than we bargained for and we all know that the foundation is the strongest its ever been. The only thing bugging me is that we have to wait months for Spring training to roll around, but when it does we’ll all be right here waiting to cheer you on and looking forward to better times ahead.

  • Longhorn Matt @ September 29th, 2009 at 11:31 am

    While many “experts” picked the Rangers to finish last in the AL west, I had higher expectations than that. While I had high hopes that the Rangers could make the postseason, I did not really think that with one week to go, the Rangers would still officially be in contention for a spot in the postseason. Despite the disappointment of the last few weeks, it has been a great season. If the Rangers can continue to build on their improvement in pitching and can turn around this offensive funk, next year could be great. One thing is for certain, I cannot wait until April 5!

  • tallfan @ September 29th, 2009 at 11:33 am

    i know a coach who says, “with the right players, when they’re young, losing is a big step toward winning.”

    i think the rangers found a number of those players this season.

    i think hunter’s after game quote was absolutely perfect.

    i’m ready for ’10.

  • JustSaying @ September 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am

    hunter didn’t mince words and he’s right on target……..but overall it was a successful year on the field for the rangers but an embarassing failure in the ownership/management side of the house…..we have a lot of great building blocks but we have to have stability with the ownership to make the final step to the playoffs……way too much drama from this owner/gm to “create a champion”……….and built for fun needs to go in the trash can……focus on young and hungry youth movement…..that is what is going to generate excitement………

  • Pecos @ September 29th, 2009 at 11:56 am

    Well Evan, I followed you here. I’ll follow you back.

    I thought I left DMN for good when you and Hindman moved, but I guess I am back for another round. (And that’s no disrespect to Durrett – I like him too and wish him well at the 4 Letter)

    Recommendations: Kill Captcha and bring back Hindman.

    I’ve enjoyed Inside Corner enough that I’ll definitely stick around – as long as you hire a GREAT baseball guy for the upcoming Rangers season!

  • Doug in DC @ September 29th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    I suppose we will never get the inside scoop on how and why the DMN made the mistake to part ways with Evan, or what miracle occured to make them come to their senses. I’m glad that the DMN is correcting its horrible mistake and am grateful to D Magazine and Inside Corner for helping us not lose his talents in what was an exciting Rangers season. Congratulations Evan on negotiating a return. Perhaps the DMN Sports section can now finally reverse its precipitous slide in quality. . .

  • B. Money @ September 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    We live for one more day. . . until the Rangers lose again or the Red Sox win again, we’re still in this. It might happen tonight. It might happen tomorrow. It might go to the final day. Keep watching!

  • leftybp @ September 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    Glad to have you back Evan, now if we could just get Valentine back to manage, we might have a winner…. wash would make a good 3rd base coach