Tuesday newsletter time: Rangers move on from Game 162 loss ahead of wild-card round

 (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The Rangers had the choice to work out Monday afternoon at Tropicana Field but passed.

The best thing for them to do was to rest at the hotel, even if it is haunted, and come back fresh today for the best-of-3 wild-card round against Tampa Bay.

The Rangers were required to fulfill media obligations, which general manager Chris Young and rookie Evan Carter did. Carter was permitted to do his via Zoom his hotel room.

It was his sense, albeit based on less than a month of big-league time, that the team will be in the right place mentally for Game 1 after losing Game 162 on Sunday and missing out on the American League West crown and the bye that would have come with it.

“That would have been the best-case scenario, but as soon as that’s not the case, you’ve got to move on,” Carter said. “Baseball is a game of short memory. We’re in the playoffs. We’re here now. This is what we’re working with, and we can’t do anything about where we’re at. All we can do now is go out and try to be the Rays.”

Jordan Montgomery will start Game 1 against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow. First pitch is scheduled for 2:08 p.m. on ABC (WFAA/Channel 8 locally).

Ultimately, the Rangers are where they want to be. It’s time to go.

Young disputes account

Young took time during his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan to question a tweet by an Astros beat reporter who said the Rangers’ celebration Saturday after clinching a playoff berth cost them Sunday’s game.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, a really good guy, said that the Astros’ simple champagne toast after they clinched Saturday showed a been-there-done-that temperament that carried them to a Sunday win against a hapless Arizona lineup while the Rangers were out partying.

“It’s classless, it’s not appropriate and it’s completely fabricated. It’s wrong,” Young said.  “I find it ridiculous that that’s even a subject, honestly. We had a very subdued champagne popping, but beyond that there’s was no partying. It had no impact whatsoever on our performance Sunday.”

Dugout reporter Emily Jones attempted to correct McTaggart’s tweet, saying that the Rangers had only a 30-minute celebration before going back to the hotel and going to bed, and in essence questioned Taggart’s reported. That resulted in Astros fans unnecessarily piling on Jones.

Someone has some apologizing to do. In case that hasn’t happened, Young set the record straight.

Rangers on the Grid

The people with the Immaculate Grid helped Rangers fans get over their Monday hangover from the Game 162 loss, as the Rangers appeared on the game that has taken baseball by storm.

The Rangers were paired with the Pirates, the White Sox and the Silver Slugger Award. The goal is to go get the best rarity score possible, but, for our purposes, to also get the most obscure Rangers matches possible.

My answers are pictured.

Ramon Vazquez was a utility infielder in 2007 and 2008 whose claim to fame came in the 30-3 victory over the Orioles in 2007. He collected two homers, the only two-homer game in his career, and drove in seven runs. He also liked nice watches. Vazquez is the Red Sox’s bench coach.

Alex Rios came to the Rangers in a 2013 trade for a player to be named later, who happened to be infielder Leury Garcia. Rios played 47 games after the deal, hitting six home runs as the Rangers finished tied with the Rays for the second wild-card game. The Rangers lost game 163 at Globe Life Park. Rios also spent 2014 with the Rangers.

Apparently not many Grid players remember that Nate Lowe won the Silver Slugger at first base last season. He won’t repeat this season in part because of a season-ending funk, and today would be a fine time for him to break loose with a couple big hits.

All three are very good guys.

Doggy video!

The starting gate of the MLB postseason opens today. Enjoy.

Rules are rules..,😅 pic.twitter.com/TADXaKBiat

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) September 29, 2023