Short post.

Eight hours of work, two hours of kiddo-watching, and four hours of class have left me with little time to post today.

With that in mind, I give you the quick rundown. Rockies win. Cardinals lose. Anaheim leads. There you have it.

For today's card I give you this 2002 Bowman's Best Certified Autograph issue card of Mario Ramos. Mario's 13 inning career was almost as short as this post. His 6.23 ERA may have been prettier but that is probably saying more about the post than Mario's performance.

I do apologize for posting and running but I will try and do better tomorrow. Thanks for hanging in there.

A cloud rises in the East.

So the post-season has begun. The Phillies jumped on top of the Rockies 5-1 to take the lead in their series. Good news for the readers who want to see the Rox swept. Right now the Dodgers are leading the Cardinals 2-1 in the second inning. The Angels/Red Sox series starts tomorrow.

The most disturbing development by far occurred in New York as the Yankees jumped on the Twins 7-2. Former Ranger Alex Rodriguez, shown here his 2003 Donruss Estrellas Estrellas card, number E-2, had a nice night at the plate. He helped advance The Evil Empire with a 2-for-4 night with two RBI and a run scored.

This does not bode well for my hopes of seeing the Yanks exit the playoffs in the first round. Perhaps this is just a small cloud in the Twins sky and they will be able to defeat the darkness.

Twins win!

So the Tigers gave the Twins a run for their money but just couldn't quite get it done. In 12 innings of great ball Minnesota managed to edge Gerald Laird's Tigers 6-5 to take the A.L. West title. That gives the Twins a date tomorrow in the Bronx against the Yankees. Good luck against The Evil Empire guys.

Looking at the comments to the previous post I see that most of you were pulling for the Twins with Frank being the lone Tiger vote. Jim came eerily close to an exact prediction of the outcome. He got the walk-off single right but predicted Nick Punto rather than Alexi Casilla. Wow Jim, if the old crystal ball hadn't been a little foggy you would have nailed it.

As for Laird, shown here on card number 412 of the 2007 Topps set, he had a terrible night tonight. 0-for-6 at the plate with two strikeouts and grounding into a double play. The ten runners he left on base in a one run loss must rankle. Gotta feel bad for the guy.

Three of the four division series take off tomorrow. A quick scan of the rosters involved shows former Rangers on at least six of the involved teams. That means I should be able to post cards relevant to the games most of the time.

Looks to be a great post-season. Is there one team that you would like to see get swept out of the first round? Who and why?

Tiebreaker.

So the season is over and the post-season is about to start. Well, almost. Seven of the eight teams are decided for the playoffs. Detroit and Minnesota have a one game tiebreaker scheduled for tomorrow to decide the A.L. Central champs.

Gerald Laird, here on card 117 of the 2007 Topps Heritage set, and his Tigers teammates will be traveling to the Twin Cities for the showdown. Both teams are starting double digit winners who have only nine losses each. Both will be pumped and the Metrodome is sure to be deafening. Should be a great game. Anybody care to make any predictions?

Tea topples Mariners.

Taylor Teagarden came through for Texas in the ninth inning last night against Seattle. Taylor's RBI single put the Rangers on top for good and nets him today's card, number 672 in the 2008 Topps Heritage set.

The line drive single brought Teagarden to 2-for-5 on the night with two runs scored and a RBI. That was a good night but not quite as good as Chris Davis' 3-for-5 night. Davis has just been on a tear recently.

Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is a free agent this upcoming off-season. Hopefully Texas can resign him. He says he wants to stay with Texas but there are some calling for his ouster after the disappointing offensive season the team has had.

I say the team should make every effort to re-sign Rudy. Youth has it advantages and disadvantages. One of the latter is all too often impatience at the plate and thus lower offense later in the season. A coach can try to counter youth's natural impetuosity but the going is often slow. Next year the offense should be back in force. Rudy has shown his value for the past 14 plus years, better to not toss him too quick and live to regret it as the Astros have done.

The kids are staying up late (in the season).

So, Mike Scioscia says the Rangers had a good year and will be a team to be reckoned with for at least the next few years. Good to hear that kind of praise from a manager who obviously knows what he is doing. Scioscia's prediction of continued success in Texas probably comes in part from his observations of the younger players on the team.

Elvis Andrus appears to be part of the Rangers' next few years. Elvis, shown here on card number BDPP89 of a 2008 Bowman Chrome issue, has been busy all year making an argument for his continued employment. Last night against the Angels he continued his case. Elvis went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. One of those hits was a double. He also worked a walk and swiped his 33rd base of the season.

Chris Davis was the other Ranger who had a big night and another who hopes to figure big in the near future. Davis went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and three RBI. One of his hits was a home run off Anaheim starter John Lackey. If Davis can keep his offense running next year he should be a lock at first with his Gold Glove level defense.

Nice to see those two performances even this late in the season. Stuff like that can help keep winter's chill at bay.

Season, tenures winding down.

So the season is winding down. So apparently is Hank Blalock's time in Texas. Hank, pictured here on his 2001 Royal Rookies Futures auto card #7, has been with the Rangers for ten years. They are the only team he has played with. This off-season he will file for free agency. The club is not planning on re-signing him. Gonna miss The Hammer. It will be interesting to see where he lands. I do hope he does well wherever he ends up.

Nice to see the Rangers trounce the Angels tonight 11-3. The game has no bearing on who goes to the post-season and who goes home but it is good to see the team end the season against the Halos on a high note.