This was a totally spectacular game, and one of the best days ever during my time running this website for the Rangers. I mean, we’ve had great wins over the now 12 seasons that have been during my time running this site. And truth be told, in terms of wins, this doesn’t really rate THAT high on the great wins list. But when you combine it with the events back in a Ft Worth courtroom, and what happened at the exact moment that GnR got their winning bid in, it elevates the game itself to a bit higher status.
Didn’t start out that great. After four innings, we were losing 5-2, and I wasn’t feeling that great about the game. It was compounded by the fact that at the time, things weren’t looking so great in the ol’ courthouse. But in the top of the fifth, David Murphy popped a huge home run out to right field scoring three. It was the big exclamation point to a five run fifth inning, that put us up 7-5, and we never gave up that lead.
The Rangers gave up another run in the bottom of the sixth, which let the Mariners back in the game a little, but we crushed it completely in the top of the seventh when Jose Lopez slacked off on a grounder to third, and he allowed the bases to be loaded, when they should have been off the field.
The next batter was Michael Young, and on the first pitch he saw, he deposited it into the bullpen for a grand slam. The coolest part about that slam was at the same time, the GnR group put in what turned out to be their winning bid for the Rangers in the Ft Worth courthouse. It was quite a cool moment overall. Obviously, at the time, you didn’t know of the connection, but it was figured out not too long after that.
I mean, that was the “end” of the day’s festivities. It wasn’t really, as there was a little more court time, a little more game, but the Michael Young grand slam was the spiritual “end” of the events of the day.
You gotta love that. That it’s the 10 year serviced Michael Young too makes things that much sweeter.
And after this night, I dared to entertain the thought that we might be able to keep Cliff Lee next season. Dreaming high, eh? :)
I will write about the sale of the transfer of the team in a separate post, but I will add this – thanks again to Scott Lucas for the idea.
