Meantime, we’d brought along some other writers to round out the coverage on InsideCorner, most notably Bob Sturm, he of Ticket fame. Bob broke down the Cowboys for us in the way that only he can. And Gina Miller of TXA 21 has been pitching in on the Mavs front. Zac and Eric threw up a few posts, too, from beyond the arc.

Here’s what we struggled with: we had this great baseball blog run by a full-time employee whose job was to feed and care for the thing more or less around the clock. Then we had this parentless sports blog that was getting passed around from babysitter to babysitter, each of whom gave the thing good care when they had the time but each of whom also had a full-time job (in Zac’s case, keeping Twitter in business; in Eric’s case, breaking necks and cashing checks; in Bob’s case, mediating on-air fights between his broadcasting partner and his producer on BaD Radio; in Gina’s case, keeping Derek Harper’s six-button suits in check on Mavs broadcasts; in Mike Hindman’s case, lawyering; in Jeff Miller’s case, writing books). This is no way to raise a child. A kid needs stability. Rules. An engaged parent.

So. We’ve decided to give our baby to a better home. Or, more accurately, we’ve decided to put the baby down. And not just for nap.

On Monday, we’re pulling the plug on InsideCorner. Its content will still live on the interubes should you ever want to search for a bit of information you remember reading, but there won’t be any links to it on our site. Thank you to everyone who was a part of the magic while it lasted. Thank you especially for your forbearance as we’ve figured out the right course of action.

God bless us all.

We won’t know the answer to that for a while, but just about every person involved with this Mavericks team feels good about what they’ve got. Sure they like the additions. Shawn Marion provides speed and athleticism. Drew Gooden is a self-described “monster” who says he’s looking forward to being a physical force. I like them, too, but what has struck me through almost four weeks of the Mavericks preseason is that these guys really seem to like each other.

“We have the best chemistry I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Jason Terry said the day before the season opener against the Wizards.

“We’re a family here on and off the court,” added Shawn Marion. (Then he wanted a big media hug and with me being the only female in the scrum, I was scared. You never know who might get too handsy.)

That “we love each other” vibe is all well and good in training camp and the preseason but what does it really mean?

“You got to have good chemistry,” said Terry. “That’s where it starts: guys coming in being on the same page, having one common goal in mind which is to win a championship and I think that’s what we have here.”

The fact that a number of these players are veterans, have had some personal success and are in their 30s (Kidd, 36; Dampier, 34; Terry, 32; Nowitzki, 31; Marion, 31; Howard will be 30 on April 28) plays into that.

In previous years, I’ve heard players say that developing that chemistry is so important in the preseason and that it will take some time during the regular season to get acclimated to one another. I found it interesting I didn’t hear that once this year.

“We have the best chemistry I’ve had since I’ve been here,” concluded head coach Rick Carlisle.

Granted he’s only been with the Mavericks a year, but that point isn’t lost, either. This chemistry lesson is as much about the players meshing as it is the coach with his players. He can be a tough coach and a tough person to handle at times. The players struggled with him at points last season. REALLY struggled. A number of people confirmed as much. But the players understand Carlisle better, he knows his team’s quirks better, and all of those things really are factors.

The chemistry lesson is an important one. They seem to like each other. Good. Now it needs to translate into wins. We’ll find out a lot this week as they open against a much-improved Wizards team on Tuesday and then face the Lakers in LA on Friday.

Quote of the day:
“I did not care too much for the ducktail. If I had a knife I would have chopped it off myself.” — Jason Terry on Drew Gooden’s infamous facial hair last season. Gooden says he’s going to stay with the clean-shaven look.

He's going "Kojak" this year, according to Jason Terry.

Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas, and Quinton Ross headlined the crop of newcomers in the summer, but question marks remain on whether Kris Humprhies and high-upside rookie Rodrique Beaubois can build on promising preseasons to become regular contributors in Rick Carlisle’s rotation this year. It’s hard to say considering we don’t really know Carlisle that well, either.

But if your eyes are too tired to do all that reading on a Monday, you could just listen Doug Collins talk about the Mavs for a minute and a half, and then watch clips of the Mavs hanging out on media day. Your call.

Around the NBA

• Joe Johnson is getting frustrated with the Hawks after they’ve won only one playoff series in his four years with the team.

• The Blazers signed former Texas Longhorn LaMarcus Aldridge to a five-year extension.

• Former Mav Antawn Jamison will miss at least the first month of the season with shoulder troubles, while Kyle Korver is out a week and Allen Iverson is iffy for Memphis’ opener against Detroit.

• Ex-King Bobby Jackson retired after 12 seasons.

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Segment 3

I am going to take the weekend off to get my life in order before changing workplaces for the second time in seven months, but after leaving you in a lurch the last two days, I’ll blog tonight as the Rangers try to clinch second place, if you are interested in blogging along with me.

What do you say? Could we make a one-last time run at the unthinkable record of 1,016 in-game comments? Could we? Could we?

Anyway, go.

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.

9:28: Now official, Boston lost 8-7. A win tonight would allowe Rangers to move within five of wild card with five games to play. Again, any Red Sox win or Rangers loss the rest of the week would result in the Rangers being eiminated from the AL playoff picture.

9:44: Manager Ron Washington said he doesn’t envision pulling any of his starters from their schediled outings the rest of the way. He might want to rethink that in the case of Scott Feldman. Feldman is scheduled to make his 31st start of the season on Sunday at Seattle. Feldman has struggled mighily in his last two outings. Feldman has now pitched 182 innings this season, 17 more than he did all of last season. He could use a break.

9:55: Rangers current string of innings without scoring is 13. Only third longest streak of month, follwoing 26- and 22-inning skids.

10:32: Scott Feldman has allowed 11 runs in seven innings over his last two starts to push his ERA above 4.00. It’s 4.02 – if Guillermo Moscoso doesn’t allow either of the inherited runners to score. Feldman should not pitch Sunday. Pitch the game out of the bullpen, but don’t pitch Feldman. He appears spent.

10:50: Word on Byrd: He has a right hip capsule strain. That doesn’t sound promising.

11:26: Supposition from noted injury expert analyst, Will Carroll, is that Byrd has what is known as a “rider’s strain,” most common in horse riders. It is usually, Carroll says (via twitter): “Painful, but not serious.”

11:47: Three runs before three outs or Rangers playoff hopes are officially done. Dead. Over. Rangers are already out of West. This would end Wild Card chase. Rangers would be six back of Boston, despite the Red Sox losing five straight and seven of last nine.

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.

Borbon will spend about a month or six weeks this winter playing center field for Aguillas in the Dominican Republic. The hope is that he can start to get better reads on balls and make more accurate throws.

Davis sore: 1B Chris Davis tweaked his hamstring on Monday and will not play tonight. His status for the rest of the season’s final week is undetermined. Hank Blalock is back in the lineup at first. Davis had been playing third base with Michael Young out of the lineup, but moved back across the infield when Young returned from a hamstring strain on Monday.

Angels change pitchers: With the division clinched, the Angels elected to skip LHP Scott Kazmir, who had been scheduled to pitch Tuesday. Instead, Los Angeles is starting RHP Sean O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan went six innings against the Rangers on June 29 and allowed a pair of runs.

“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.”

Hamilton has been bothered by a slew of injuries this season, most recently a pinched nerve in his back that has caused problems since Sept. 2. He has only 10 at-bats since suffering the back injury. He took six of them on Sept. 26 and has not played since. Hamilton said doctors told him that three or four weeks of rest and rehab should be enough to get the nerve problem to disappear.

Hamilton has played just 89 games this season and hit only 10 runs with 54 RBIs. Last year, he played 156 games, hit 32 homers and led the AL with 130 RBIs.

“This has just been a frustrating, disappointing season, but it is what it is,” Hamilton said. “When you play, sometimes you are going to get hurt. When you get hurt once, it’s one thing, but to get hurt two or three times in one season is something else entirely. I’ll do what I can to get ready for next season. I did everything I could to get ready for this year and what did that prove? But that’s what happens sometimes. It’s not like I’m not going to work as hard as I did last winter. I want to put in the work.”

Let’s not do a flat-out homer pool today, but feel free to play just for grins if you want. Here is the Rangers’ lineup:

LF Julio Borbon, 3B Michael Young, RF David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, DH Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, 1B Chris Davis, C Ivan Rodriguez, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Tommy Hunter, bidding to win his 10th game.