G160: Rangers drop opener to A's, 7-5, Dick Bosman fired

The final series of the season. I hope going into this series that we actually lose all three, and let the A's win it. We have nothing to play for at this point - the season is just about a total loss, we're way in last place, and the only point in winning now would be to help the Mariners. Given a choice between the Mariners and the A's, I'd rather the A's get the division crown.

Well, we followed up on this plan in Game 1, losing 7-5. As losses go, it wasn't the worst, we didn't lie down, but a loss is a loss, and in this season, there's a ton of 'em. 89 losses. That means we have to win both the last two to avoid a 90 loss season - don't think it's gonna happen. :)

We used seven pitchers, Kenny Rogers going 4.1, giving up five hits, and 3 earned runs. No one else pitched more than a single inning (Perisho had a 0 for IP). Francisco Cordero gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning, and Jonathan Johnson & Mike Venafro each gave up a run, but neither was earned. On our side of the stick, we had a few decent nights by Scott sheldon, who went 2 for 3 after coming in early for Luis Alicea (Luis never played the field), Royce Clayton, who went 3 for 5, and Randy Knorr, who went 3 for 4.

Johnny Oates also fired Dick Bosman, which was a surprise, as they'd been together 9 years over two teams. Be curious to see who we bring in as a pitching coach. My initial vote - Bill Haselman.