World Series

Happy Opening Day. Let's Predict Some Stuff.

Oh, it's a Good Friday alright. Maybe the best Friday, if you happen to have a job that allows you escape the cubical farm and head to the nearest TV-and-frosty-beer-equipped bar with your fellow farmers. (For bar suggestions, mosey here.) Going to the game? Well, then, it's an Even Better Friday. ... More >>

"I Am a Whore," and Other Things Anthony Bourdain Said in Dallas Last Night

​Not even Game 6 of the World Series could keep local food fetishists from getting their Anthony Bourdain fix last night. The author-speaker-cook-TV-host-and-more took the Majestic stage to a nearly packed house last night, for a talk and Q and A sponsored by City of Ate. (Read my interview wi ... More >>

Rangers Radio Great Eric Nadel Knows How You Feel. But: "Time For an Attitude Change."

​Last night, during the 10th inning of Game 6, Steve Busby handed the mic to his Rangers broadcast partner -- Eric Nadel, Frick Award finalist and a man whose voice has gotten us through countless seasons in hell. Buzz wanted to make sure Eric had the opportunity to call the final out of the game, ... More >>

Guts, Not Gaffes Give Texas an Opportunity for the Kill Shot: Rangers-St. Louis Cardinals World Series Game 6 Preview and Open Thread

Texas RangersMike Napoli celebrates his game-winning double in the eighth inning of Game 5.​The intellect of one of the best managers and greatest players in baseball history short-circuited at the worst possible times for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the World Series, but Monday night ... More >>

Cruz-ing to Another World Series: Rangers-Tigers ALCS Game 5 Preview and Open Thread

Photos by Sam MertenNelson Cruz giving me a free ticket to the gun show last year.As the trade deadline approached in July 2006, it seemed inevitable that Jon Daniels would make a bold move to bolster a mediocre offense in his first season as general manager. He targeted the best hitter on the mar ... More >>

Forever Young: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 4 Preview and Open Thread

Photo by Sam MertenElvis Andrus and a beardless Michael Young haven't hit their strides yet at the plate, but that's about to change. ​As depressing as it was, I believe Game 3 of the American League Championship Series was an anomaly, much like Game 1 of the ALDS. Nothing seemed right. And w ... More >>

Moneyball: The Formulas Work

Baseball story blends stats with heart.

The Real Rangers' Race is in Detroit, Not Anaheim

​Nothing like a good baseball pennant race. Too bad this year there ain't one. No divisional "race" is closer than 5 games in the season's last week and even the Wild Card is producing nothing more dramatic than a two-game edge. With another Angels' loss Monday the Rangers inched closer to a ... More >>

Batter Up

Texas Rangers' Pitching Staff: No. 3 in the AL West

​I fully admit it, at the end of last season I was calling for C.J. Wilson to pitch Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Considering the way he'd pitched all year and the way Cliff Lee had struggled at times it made sense. Turns out both pretty pitched damn skippy in the playof ... More >>

Pending Brandon Webb Signing Shouldn't End Rangers' Pursuit of Starting Pitching

Webb is a nice addition, but Texas should continue looking for another starter.​As expected, the Texas Rangers inked Brandon Webb to a one-year, incentive-laden contract reportedly worth around $3 million guaranteed with a potential for the veteran right-hander to earn between $8 million and $10 m ... More >>

He Was a Ranger (and a Senator) From the Very Beginning. And He Finally Saw a World Series in Arlington, One Month Before He Died.

Courtesy the Texas RangersCharles Wangner​On October 17, as the Texas Rangers were smack-dab in the middle of the American League Championship Series, The News ran a very nice story about Charles Wangner, who, more than most, knew what it was like to be a long-suffering fan of the ballclub. Wangne ... More >>

The Case Against Cliff Lee

​Whether free agent Cliff Lee chooses to re-sign with the Rangers because of Arlington's proximity to his Arkansas home or bolts to New York for the extra dough, his decision undoubtedly shapes the future of both teams significantly. Yet in all that's been said and written about Lee, rarely do ... More >>

The Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys offer a study in contrasts as they each lose in different ways.

Texas Rangers Pitchers and Catchers Report to Spring Training in About 100 Days

​OK, so now what? The Texas Rangers just produced their latest, greatest season. Tonight at 6 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington we'll toast the 2010 team one last time with not a victory parade, but more so a second-place appreciation party to be shown on Fox Sports Southwest and heard o ... More >>

2010 World Series - Rangers vs. Giants: GAME 5 Preview

Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum: Do or Dead. Nolan Ryan has seven no-hitters. Fergie Jenkins is a Hall of Famer who produced a 25-win season in Arlington. Kenny Rogers hurled a perfect game at Rangers Ballpark. But if I could pick any pitcher to be on the mound for the Texas Rangers in an eli ... More >>

2010 World Series GAME 5 - Giants 3, Rangers 1: My Top 10 Observer-ations

To the victors ... the celebration.​10. Not sure what manager Ron Washington was doing going to closer Neftali Feliz in the 8th inning of a game the Rangers trailed 3-1. If the Rangers had forced extra innings it would've been an interesting mix-'n-match bullpen. Unfortunately, Texas' bats ... More >>

2010 World Series GAME 2 - Giants 9, Rangers 0: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​ 10. Is there anything more hopeless - more frustrating - in all of sports than watching a baseball reliever not be able to throw a $%#@^&* @&^%ing strike?! Right before our very eyes the World Series deteriorated into a Little League game where incompetent, intimidated pi ... More >>

Even Tail-Get Snacks Come With a Cause
for Giants Fans

Do the cured ones cost extra?​How does a Giants fan celebrate the start of the World Series? With a community supported agriculture box, of course. Winning the title for "Game tie-in least likely ever to be seen in Dallas," San Francisco's popular 4505 Meats this week announced it was putting ... More >>

Five Reasons Why Your Texas Rangers Will Keep Postseason Badass Cliff Lee Next Season

Photos by Sam MertenCliff Lee tosses in the outfield on July 11 following his first start with the Rangers.​Ever since New York Baseball Digest's Frank Russo posted his "Five Reasons Why the Yankees Will Sign Cliff Lee" on Monday, it has made the rounds, and several of my fellow Texas Rangers ... More >>

"The Old Rangers Are Gone."

​That quote, from Texas Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg, is the theme of this morning's World Series round-up.It comes from an interview in USA Today concerning the prospects of keeping Cliff Lee, which doesn't sound like the impossibility others have made it out to be; says Lee, beating the San Fra ... More >>

Can the Texas Rangers Win National League-Style Baseball?

Hey, maybe Nolan Ryan can give the Rangers' pitchers some hints. ​Baseball has its problems: A reluctance to use instant replay. Arrogant umpires and their customized strike zones. An All-Star exhibition game that actually affects the World Series champion. But of all our national past ... More >>

No Doubt, the First of Many World Series Round-Ups: Ratings, Bets and Cowboys Who?

​From below, this pointed comment posted moments ago: "As a longtime fan, I am beginning to cautiously think that the Rangers have a chance of being in the World Series this year." Not surprisingly, the Unfair Park in-box has been filling up World Series random notes this morning. Let's review.Sab ... More >>

Whitt's End: 10.22.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:*Roger Staubach to Tony Hill to beat the Redskins in '79. Alvin Harper running free against the 49ers to clinch the NFC Championship Game in '92. Dirk Nowitzki's long 3-pointer to secure Game 2 of ... More >>

Reflections of a sportswriter on being a Texas Ranger fan... pretty much since birth.

Hard Times in New York Town

​Writes Mike Lupica in this morning's New York Daily News: "So it has come to this for the Yankees, after the Texas Rangers threw them down another flight of stairs, trying to throw them all the way out to 161st St., all the way into next season. It has come to CC Sabathia trying to keep them aw ... More >>

This Morning, In a New York State of Mind

​Writes Mike Lupica in this morning's New York Daily News: "So now, after all the winning during the regular season that Joe Girardi talked about in a testy postgame interview session, after starting the postseason with four straight wins and maybe thinking the Rangers were going to be the kind o ... More >>

Vickery Park Offers Happy Hour Before Game, "Antlers" Shot Special During

​Each week City of Ate will give you the lowdown on a local happy hour in Quittin' Time, with the details on why you should or shouldn't take up the featured bar or restaurant on its drink specials.Where: VIckery Park, 2810 N. Henderson Ave., 214-827-1432When: 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through FridayWh ... More >>

Now To the Team Hicks Used To Own: Your ALCS-Playing Rangers and Tonight's Deets

​Hell of a way to bookend the day -- in a courtroom first thing in the morning watching Tom Hicks's attorneys fight to keep ownership of Liverpool FC, then at the Ballpark in Arlington tonight to watch Tom Hicks's old team fight to keep home-field advantage over the New York Yankees in its first-e ... More >>

Rangers-Yankees: You Ready For History?!

​We're about two hours from Pitch 1 of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. I'm at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington where Nolan Ryan is talking to the national media, Josh Hamilton is taking batting practice and the glorious sun i ... More >>

GAME 5 - Rangers 5, Rays 1: My Top 10 Observations

For all of those who suffered through losing seasons in this joint ... here's to us!​10. Antlers > Rays. Ironic that the Rangers - who for years and decades floundered playing feast-or-famine baseball founded on the home run - scored their first three runs via speed. Think about it, the ... More >>

Whitt's End: 10.8.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *A sentence I thought I'd never live long enough to type: The American League Championship Series -- Texas Rangers v. New York Yankees -- starts one week from today at Rangers Ballpark in ... More >>

Rangers-Rays Game 1: This is Why Texas Traded for Cliff Lee

​Though they didn't pop the champagne in Oakland until Sept. 25, the Rangers clinched the AL West on July 9. That day changed a season. Changed a franchise's credibility. Changed October plans. That day, of course, brought Cliff Lee. The Texas Rangers now have a post-season polished pitching ... More >>

Before First Pitch, An "Ode to the Texas Rangers"

An old Friend of Unfair Park will be skipping work this afternoon to watch Rangers Playoff Baseball -- he's got the note from Chuck Greenberg to prove he, like John Reed, has come down with Red Fever. (It's after the jump for those likewise inflicted. It's cute enough.) We were talking the other nig ... More >>

Oct. 1, 1996: Where Were You When the Rangers Won Their Playoff Game? Their Only One.

​The defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys were 2-3 under Barry Switzer and on their way to a playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Dallas Mavericks were embarking on a season that started with head coach Jim Cleamons and the Three Js -- Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn ... More >>

Texas Rangers v. Tampa Bay Rays: An ALDS Preview

​Be careful what you ask for. For the most part, seems like baseball fans in our parts feared the New York Yankees. Household names like Jeter and A-Rod and Pettite and Rivera and the 27 World Series have a way of intimidating opponents. Oh yeah, and the 1-9 playoff history against the Bronx ... More >>

Nolan Ryan's Latest Rangers' Prediction: "I'll Take the World Series in Seven."

Photos by Sam MertenNolan Ryan bites his lip after predicting that the Rangers will win the franchise's first World Series Championship this year.​Team president Nolan Ryan predicted a World Series victory for the Texas Rangers during a rally held this afternoon at the home plate gate outside ... More >>

Cliff Lee, The Texas Rangers New Pitching Ace, May Have A Sweet Stay In Arlington, But Also A Short One.

Texas Rangers Fans Can Again Dream Of A Merry Baseball, With The Departure Of Owner Tom Hicks

Girl Drink Drunk: Capitol Pub

A fireside Taxi Cab​It was a brisk night. Jessica and I had set out to see John Spriggins' Paper Dolls exhibition at the South Dallas Cultural Center. We made several illegal u-turns before successfully achieving our goal (the SDCC is precariously located at a wonky intersection) and perusing the ... More >>

Dallas Angels Come This Close to Capturing Second Homeschool World Series Title

To begin with this Friday morning, a tip o' the ballcap to the Dallas Angels of the Home School Athletic Association, who spent the week cruising through the Homeschool World Series Association 2009 World Series Championships in Pensacola, Florida, besting the Augusta Crusaders, the Montgomery Saint ... More >>

Texas Rangers' Up and Comers

After a decade of patience, Rangers' fans again believe they're about to be rewarded

Dropkick Murphys' Al Barr Talks World Series and Oscar Wins

Tom Hicks is Now a Global Billionaire Bozo

He's a vilified clown of an owner on two continents. Or at least he should be.

Are You World Serious?

Gossage a Ranger! Well, Different One.

Rocket Landing

The Same, but Different

Plus: Panic Button; Ready, Aim...

Stealing home

Tom Hicks bought a baseball team, but he'll own an empire

Here's the pitch

The Texas Rangers can't buy a win unless you pay up