Major League Baseball

Night and day

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:13 p.m. ET

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ARLINGTON - If you were tempted to write off the Rangers after they blew Game 1 of the ALCS, figuring this is just the same ol' bunch from the '90s playoff flops when it comes to caving in against the Yankees, you should know a couple of things.

These Rangers don't remember the '90s.

They don't remember the night before.

"This group right here," Bengie Molina said, "they forget things real quick."

He meant it as a compliment. He might just be right.

Even as you're reading this, probably, the Rangers' 7-2 win over the Yankees on Saturday is fast fading from their collective memory. It's not what you'd call an introspective bunch. They don't dwell on the good. They don't dwell on the bad.

And they didn't dwell on the debacle, such as Friday's 6-5 loss, when the bullpen blew a four-run lead in the eighth.

How long did it take to get over Game 1?

"Right away," Michael Young said, sounding a little peeved. "It wasn't as big of a deal as everyone thinks it was.

"The questions were all fair, but it's not as if we were sitting around licking our wounds."

No offense, Michael, but it was a big deal. You don't lose playoff games where you're up four in the eighth. It was the sort of collapse that baseball historians cite as a turning point in a series, like archaeologists calculating when the lava overflowed a lost civilization.

If the bullpen had protected that lead Friday - and if Young had knocked down Alex Rodriguez's two-run smash instead of allowing the ball to play him - the Rangers would be up 2-0 going into New York.

But you may remember the Rangers were also up 2-0 in the ALDS. And they didn't exactly run away with that lead, did they?

This club - the most successful of the organization's quixotic 39 seasons and unique in how it achieves that success - has continually demonstrated an inability to stand prosperity and a remarkable resiliency in times of stress.

Translation: The goofy mind-set that gets them into trouble is the goofy mind-set that gets them out.

If occasional boneheaded base-running, botched defensive plays or irrational moves inflame your sensibilities, I suggest you not watch the rest of this series.

Frankly, I don't recommend this particular style, either. But it seems to work for these guys.

Case in point: In the first inning, with Elvis Andrus on third and Josh Hamilton on first, Ron Washington called a double steal. If Jorge Posada had simply faked a throw to second - which is what we always taught our YMCA catchers - Andrus would have been a dead duck. But Posada threw, Andrus scored and Friday's loss was a distant memory.

The manner in which the Rangers win and lose often overshadows how talented they are. Overall, they have out-hit, out-fielded and out-pitched the Yankees in Games 1 and 2.

Or as Nelson Cruz put it, "We dominated last night and today."

Except for one awful inning.

A lot of teams might not have recovered from such a collapse, especially on 16 hours' notice.

A lot of teams aren't made up like this one.

How do you explain this team? Molina tried. He's played on great Angels teams, which he called serious and quiet, and on a pretty good Giants team, which was uncomfortable with the pressure.

And these Rangers?

"They don't get rattled by anything," Molina said. "I'm probably the worst one of them, but they are awesome at that.

"They are very happy people. They like to have fun out there."

Even after a disaster like Friday's?

"Ninety-four percent of this team is the first time we've been in the playoffs," Elvis said, smiling.

"We don't have nothing to lose."

No, not much, Elvis. Just a 38-year curse.

But that's not something that rests heavily on 94 percent of these guys, apparently. Watch with one eye closed from here on out if you must, and pray for the other 6 percent.

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