A lonestar in california

Well, here we are, standing on the precipice of the last Rangers baseball game of 2008. Yes, apparently that’s what it’s taken for me to sit down again in front of the keyboard again, and for that I’m sorry.

I’ve been sitting here trying to find an elegant way sum up my overall feelings the 2008 season, and all I can think of is it’s been a blast for me. I’d like to think myself and my fellow Ranger fans have witnessed the beginning of an important transition in this team’s history in 2008 - and I’d also like to think I personally gained a lot more understanding into this team and this sport than I ever have had before. It’s been one giant rollercoaster ride, and in one way I’m more than ready to put a stamp on it and watch and wait for the offseason to unfold – but in another, I’m definitely going to miss not having a Ranger games to distract me and wreak havoc upon my weekly schedule for the next five months. And after all, the way they’ve played in their last three games… who wants the fun to end now?

The Rangers have of course clinched second place in the AL West standings – they did that Friday night with a 12-1 spanking of John Lackey and the Angels in which they also tied the major league record for doubles in a season at 373. Last night they eclipsed that mark during an 8-4 win that guaranteed them the series win and gave them a chance at squashing the Angels bid for a 100-win season later today.

Hank Blalock, whose September hot streak has been one of the bigger stories for the Rangers of late, rapped the historic two-bagger to drive in a run in the third inning. Chris Davis later added a double of his own in the 6th, setting the new record at 375 with one game left to play.

Perhaps more notable however was what Josh Hamilton accomplished in the 6th inning – after driving in 2 runs in the game on Friday Friday, Hamilton’s 2 run single that capped the Rangers scoring in the 6th gave him 130 RBI on the season and allowed him to retake a one RBI edge over the Twins Justin Morneau for the American league RBI lead. Hamilton’s once-comfortable lead for the RBI crown had evaporated thanks to a 15 game stretch from 9/7 to 9/23 in which Hamilton did not drive in a run. He snapped the streak during the Rangers final home game on Thursday however with 2 run double, and he has now driven in 2 runs in his last three games while Morneau has found himself in a slump with just one RBI in his last 8 games.

It’ll probably take some luck to hold onto that lead if Hamilton doesn’t pad it today though, as Morneau could possibly play an extra game if the White Sox and Twins need a tiebreaker, and Detroit and third place Miguel Cabrera (who is just three back at 127) could possibly have a a makeup game left to play on Monday.  If Hamilton does hold on he’ll be the fifth Ranger (after Jeff Burroughs, Ruben Sierra Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez) to lead the league in RBI – he’s already only the 8th Ranger ever to reach the 130 RBI plateau, which was apparently his goal for the season:

“Everybody knows all that [RBI] stuff except for me,” Hamilton said. “Some of the guys were saying, ‘You’re on top again,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ That was my goal, to get 130. If that leads the league, then that’s great.”

Today Kevin Millwood (who was of course the opening day starter in Seattle back in April) will close out the season for the Rangers, facing off against Angels lefty Joe Saunders. As mentioned above, if the Rangers can pull off the sweep they’ll prevent the Angels from reaching 100 wins for the first time in their franchise history – which, considering how strongly I dislike the Angels is something I’m really rooting for.

Also, I’m planning to start a season-in-review series this week in which I’ll break down the 2008 Rangers roster position by position and take a look back at the various seasons each player has had (and my opinion on them going into 2008). That’s actually something I’ve been looking forward to doing for awhile, so be sure and check back for that. In the meantime… enjoy the last Ranger baseball we’ll see until March ‘09. It’s gonna be a long winter.