Game One ALDS: Green Light

Well that was different.

I was one of the fortunate ones who didn't have to work during today's game.  However, I still had my 2 year old son and dog along for the ride.  Hank (the dog) decided he would go out in the back yard and howl at the weather sirens being tested while Cliff Lee pitched with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 1st.  Great timing dog.

Joshua, on the other hand, was nice enough to go take his nap after the end of the 2nd until after the game ended.  I spent the rest of the game in my rocking chair, watching, barely moving, trying not to disrupt anything since so much was going right.

Let's get to that.

When the Rangers traded for Cliff Lee, it wasn't to get us to the playoffs, that was probably already going to happen.  He was brought here to do damage in the playoffs, to set a tone in the first game of the series, and let his teammates walk off the field with their heads held high.  That's what an Ace looks like, folks.

Offensively, some surprises.  How about Bengie Molina coming through with 2 RBI including a homer off of Price?  Big Mo has turned, in more ways than one.

Nellie Cruz destroyed a 3-0 fastball to make the score 3-0.  It's probably not possible to hit a ball out of a dome, but I wouldn't bet against Nellie anyway.

It was nice to see a contribution from Jeff Francoeur (still learning to spell that) to drive in a run early.  His job is to hit lefties, and he almost homered off of one of the best in Price.

As it got late in the game, I'm sitting there counting outs remaining for the Rays.  I would have loved to see Lee pitch the 8th, but he was starting to get the ball up in the 7th, and he was over the 100 pitch mark, so going to the 'pen wasn't a bad move.  Quality 8th out of the Double Darrens, despite the one base runner.

As for Neftali Feliz, Wash did a great job of putting him in a situation for his first game where he would have a great chance of success, even with a bump or two in the inning.  Feliz walked the first two batters, then after some coaching by Andrus, Molina, and Maddux, the 22 year old morphed back into the 40 save closer we've come to rely on.  Now if Feliz has to come into a 1 run game to close it out, he will know he can handle it.

Also, I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about the foul ball call on Carlos Pena in the 1st with the sacks packed, but hey, it's about time a call in the playoffs goes for the boys from Arlington, right?

The tone is set, now the team knows what they can do.  Time to keep the hammer down and get 10 more wins.