Well, it’s over.
Finally, mercifully over. It was an 8-0 win, a meaningless final game in a season that has been meaningless since the end of May.
You can pinpoint the exact day, in fact. May 21. The Rangers lost to the Phillies 5-2 on May 21 to slip under .500 for the first time under Bruce Bochy. They never breathed winning air again, losing thirteen of their next twenty games and putting their World Series defense to rest.
Last year, the last game of the season meant everything. This year, it meant nothing. The Rangers have been playing for 2025 for most of 2024.
Questions 2024 was trying to answer for 2025 include: Will Jacob deGrom be reliable anchor of the rotation? Is Wyatt Langford legit? What about Kumar Rocker? Jack Leiter? Is Leody Taveras worth keeping? What about Jonah Heim? Or Nathaniel Lowe?
Those are what the last four months of 2024 meant.
That’s not even considering the questions 2024 could not answer. Like, what happened to Adolis Garcia? Can they count on Evan Carter? Will Marcus Semien’s every-other-year of excellence continue? When and how will Josh Jung go on the extended I.L.? Can they build a reliable bullpen? Will they bring back Kirby Yates? Even more importantly, will they bring back Nathan Eovaldi?
This season came to an end yesterday. There’s no question it was a miserable, frustrating, letdown of a season.
Put it in the rearview mirror.
FINAL AL WEST STANDINGS:
CANCER UPDATE:
On May 10, I was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, a rare cancer of the salivary glands. I had surgery May 29 to removed the cancerous tissue from inside my right cheek.
My type of cancer doesn’t respond to chemotherapy, so I needed radiation, which is preventative, killing any cancer that is lurking in microcells, hoping to keep it from coming back.
I started radiation in mid-August, every day, Monday through Friday, for six weeks. The first four weeks were uneventful, but the cumulative effect of having a high level of radiation shot at your body eventually wears you down. By the time I had my last treatment, the side of my face was bright red, I had huge scabs on my cheek, the inside of my mouth had sores and blisters. My last treatment as Friday, September 20. Later that day, I hopped on a plane and went to Ireland, just a place I could escape the heat, relax, and recuperate.
I’m back now. The ten days I was gone I tried to keep up with the Rangers (with the six-hour time change, games didn’t come on until after 1:00 there.)
More important, the ten days I was gone worked wonders. I’m getting my strength back, and slowly getting my face back. They said it will take about six weeks total.
While the recovery has been and will continue to be slow and steady, it helped having family and friendsaround. And it helped being able to connect with everyone here on RR3 every day. For that, I thank you for your support and continued participation in this frustrating season.
I will have a scan done at the end of October to determine if I’m cancer free. Until then, it’s just trying to get back to normal. I’m looking forward to a great postseason, even if the Rangers aren’t in it.