For seven innings, the guy wearing the Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers jersey in Section 314 taunted the young man in the Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees jersey sitting but one row back. A lot of: "Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" And: "You're on steroids! You're on steroids!" Then came the eighth, which may prove the single most disastrous frame in Rangers history, and the kid in the Yanks' button-down shouted to the fellow in the Rangers' jersey: "Hey, man!" The Rangers fan turned around. The Yankees fan smiled, didn't say a word. The man shook his head. Shortly after that, after Ian Kinsler was picked off first like a daydreaming Little Leaguer, the Rangers fan, like so many others, gathered his belongings and left.
It was a long walk back to the car, not just because we'd parked almost on the 30 frontage road; longest drive back from Arlington ever. On the ride, Dr. D and I agreed never to speak of Game One again. I got home close to midnight -- the end of a long day that started in the George Allen Courts Building, where Tom Hicks lost his second team in two months. Even now my in-box fills with personal letters and essays from Liverpool FC fans, among them ones titled "The Rise and Fall of Tom Hicks" and "Open Letter to Tom Hicks." I was reading the former ...
... Presentations to the press in Dallas, Texas? Presented like a proper gent, a stand-up kind of guy, hard done to, decieved, stabbed in the back by all those around him. "Infamy, Infamy. They've all got it in for me" ...... when, at two minutes before Saturday, this e-mail arrived in the Unfair Park in-box from the Texas Rangers: "Rangers Announce Parking Rebate Procedure for Game 1 of ALCS."
Turns out, some of the official $10 lots charged $15 -- which most probably wouldn't have minded were it not for a bullpen made of antimatter. If you save the receipt (oh, really?) you can go to the Ballpark beginning at 9 a.m. Monday and get your five bucks back. Because it's worth it?
"The Rangers apologize for any inconvenience this parking pricing may have caused our fans," says team exec veep of ballpark operations Rob Matwick. "We are pleased to be offer regular season cash parking prices for all remaining home games in the 2010 ALCS." Which means this afternoon only. But don't mind me. That's just last night talking.
