Do you have to defend your love of baseball? How do you do it?

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I don't know where to start in talking about the piranhas of AL Central. It cracked me up the first time I heard that moniker. But then I thought about it, and realized just how accurate it was. The Twins may go down, but they don't go down without a fight.

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I admit it. I started following the Rays when they made it to the World Series. But in my defense, it was the first season that I had really paid attention to the day-to-day happenings in baseball. I had been a Mets fan for years, but hadn't really been paying attention. I had started to watch games regularly and getting daily updates during the 2008 season. I rooted for the Rays in the World Series, not just because they were going up against the Evil Empire of the NL aka the Phillies, but mostly because they took out the Evil Empire of the AL aka the Yankees, and the Red Sox to get there. And, of course, I had to check out the Woonsocket Rocket aka Rocco Baldelli.

I saw Matt Garza (my favorite Rays pitcher) own the Red Sox and win ALCS MVP. I remember being introduced to Grant Balfour, which was an experience since I have a thing for Aussies--well, Australian accents, insert Ryan Rowland-Smith here. I remember rooting for JP Howell, another fave cog from the bullpen. I remember seeing Aki record the final out. David Price will go down in infamy for celebrating his save.

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Hi, my name is Sharon, and I am a Rockaholic.

I didn't realize what I was so, I'm going to start by thanking prettyinpurple for helping me identify my symptoms. Some psychologist, I am.

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How do I feel about the Texas Rangers?

Well, let me start by saying that I am a new baseball fan, and all the history that I know I learned from watching MLB Network, or listening to games. It wasn't until the 2008 season that I started following baseball more closely, but it wasn't until the 2009 season that I became a Texas Rangers fan. And now you couldn't find a bigger Texas Rangers fan.

I became a baseball fan because of the New York Mets. Their problem in 2008 was a lack of trustworthy pitching from the bullpen and the offense. All I heard about the Texas Rangers was that they had all offense and no pitching. I wanted to see what that looked like, so I started paying attention to the Texas Rangers. I guess I took too long because by the time I started paying attention I saw beautifully pitched games by Scott Feldman, Kevin Millwood, flashes of brilliance from Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy (before they went down), and flashes of brilliance from Tommy Hunter and Dutch Treat aka Derek Holland. Texas finally had pitching! Eventually I learned that it was because of Nolan Ryan, and I learned why Nolan Ryan is... TOTALLY AWESOME, but I digress.

And let me give honorary mention to our bullpen... I know some of you guys don't like him, but you guys seem to have history with him that I don't have. But I'll say this: I feel a lot better about closing out a game when CJ Wilson is on the mound. CJ is my closer. He doesn't always get it done but I can see how hard he tries. I can feel his intensity through my TV/computer screen. CJ is my favorite reliever. I also love Darren O'Day. I was watching that game when he made his debut in Toronto and it cracked me up because I had just gotten used to him as a Met when he was claimed by the Rangers. I like the O'Day-Wilson combo closing out our games. Nothing against Frank Francisco, per se, but I prefer CJ. I like Doug Mathis. I like Mighty Mouse aka Dustin Nippert. And who doesn't love Triple Digits aka Neftali Feliz?

Now that we had pitching, we started having offensive issues. It didn't happen right away. It creeped up on us. I saw Kinsler's cycle. I saw Andruw Jones' 3-homerun game. I remember Julio Borbon and Elvis Andrus going off to the races during that game against Boston. I saw Nelson Cruz emerge as a power hitter. I still remember Chris Davis' walkoff 2-run homerun against Seattle. I remember Hank Blalock's walkoff (I think it was against the Angels). I know that when I watch a Texas Rangers game there is always the possibility that I will end up watching a homerun derby. And I love it! It will never be the caliber of Josh Hamilton's homerun derby (which was my REAL first exposure to the Texas Rangers), but I love the possibility.

However, when it comes to me and baseball, I love a good defensive play. I used to watch ESPN for the web gems and I don't think Texas racked up enough web gems points. Every night something web gem worthy happened but did they get credit for it? NO! But I digress. It was the defense that got me hooked on the Texas Rangers. I saw Josh Hamilton crash into that wall and hearing "He really is Superman!". I saw David Murphy bounce into the scoreboard. I've seen Nelly Cruz do wonderful things in right field. If you want to get a base hit, bloop over our infield because anything hit to Michael Young or Elvis Andrus will get caught and you will be out. And that doesn't even mention the awesome defense by Ian Kinsler, my vote for the All-Star Game, or Chris Davis, my first baseman. Oh, by the way, the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year is Elvis Andrus!

I follow 5 MLB teams. I use MLB.tv to watch as many games as I can. I always watch Texas games. Not just because I think Josh and Tag are worth listening to (it's either them or the idiots on SNY for the Mets, who irritate the crap outta me!), but it's because no matter the outcome of the game, I know I will enjoy it.

And that is how I feel about the Texas Rangers!

I have never blogged before, and I'm not sure how long I will keep this up, but I have insights that I would like to share with other baseball fans.

I will warn you now that I am opinionated and may not have the numbers to back up my beliefs, but I will try to be as logical or at least explain as much as possible why I feel the way I do about the statements that I make.

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