Scoreboard.

Does this box look more like one from September 2, or March 2?

I screwed up the syllable count in Line 2 of yesterday's haiku, but the way last night's game went, one of the best all around this team has played (ever?), I just might have to stick with the slipshod 5-8-5 format form here on out (making the pattern match the content in its unsightliness). Ever since the ugly Boston series at home at the beginning of last week, Texas has drawn three games with the Angels, three with the Rays, and last night's series opener with the Red Sox, a gauntlet of a stretch. In that same span of time, the Angels have drawn three with the targeted Rangers, four with the lowly Mariners, and last night's series opener at home against the sad-sack Twins. The Rangers' AL West has grown from 2.0 games to 4.5 games over that time. You don't often see a contender empty its bench against another contender in September, a game in which one player made his big league debut and two others their club debuts. It's a box score that almost looks like it came from March – or after a division has been clinched, a probability that in the last week has begun to come within much greater reach.