2010 Timeline (for posterity's sake)...

Long-time reader, first-time poster...

I know this will get a bunch of "tl;dr" but I'm so amazed by this season that I don't care. I'm not a professional and I'm sure I missed a bunch of things and probably didn't get everything right. Let me know if you see anything glaring and I'll make corrections. This is for posterity. I grew up watching Rangers baseball with my brother, dad, granddad, and great-granddad. Tonight's been about 26 years in the making for me. I hope you enjoy the stroll down 2010 Memory Lane...

UPDATED: Thanks for the help! I added and polished a few things. Let me know if you see anything else. Posterity needs to get the whole story... And sorry for the jump issue this morning. I didn't realize it could get front paged.

OBSTACLES:

December 10, 2009 - Thanks to Tom Hicks' financial genius, in order to get pitching, Jon Daniels is forced to trade pitching away. Kevin Millwood is traded to Baltimore for Chris Ray and $$$. This cash is used to ink Rich Harden, who will undoubtedly be the ace that this team needs to prove they're for real.

December 19, 2009 - A physical reveals a torn ligament in Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell's right thumb, nixing any chance of a trade to Texas. Texas continues shopping for right-handed hitting to replace Marlon Byrd (lost due to a lack of $$$) and eventually decides to take a chance on the "aging" Vladimir Guerrero.

January 15, 2010 - A midnight deadline expires without a deal being reached between owner Tom Hicks and a group headed by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg in regards to the sale of the Rangers.

February 18, 2010 "It's no secret I don't think I should be limited to the set-up role." - C.J. Wilson, jockeying for a spot in the starting rotation. The casual Rangers fan laughs this idea off as a distraction.

February 25, 2010 - Utility infielder Khalil Greene is released in order to deal with social anxiety disorder. Joaquin Arias, Andres Blanco, Esteban German, Alex Cora, Cristian Guzman, and Jorge Cantu will fill the role that Greene was supposed to have with the team.

March 4, 2010 - Two vice presidents (ticket sales and marketing/community development) leave the franchise. This is just one more symptom of Hicks' financial irresponsibility.

March 13, 2010 - Second baseman Ian Kinsler is sidelined with high ankle sprain. He will not play until April 30, nearly a full month into the regular season.

March 17, 2010 - Manager Ron Washington admits to using cocaine and failing a random MLB drug test. Washington is not fired.

March 19, 2010 - Pitcher Tommy Hunter is sidelined with a rib cage injury. Hunter will not make his first start until June 5.

April 1, 2010 - Rangers acquire Ryan Garko in a desperate attempt to add a right-handed first baseman. It's an experiment that fails miserably. Texas will struggle with production at first all season long.

April 8, 2010 - After hitting the game-winning single on Opening Day, Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia goes on the DL with back and shoulder stiffness. Salty will never play with Texas again. He is eventually sent on a rehab assignment and develops a case of the yips (inability to throw the ball back to the pitcher). He eventually corrects the issue but is dealt to Boston after the trade deadline.

April 11, 2010 - After blowing two saves in the first week of the season, Frank Francisco loses the closer role to rookie Neftali Feliz. Little did we know that this move would lead to a new MLB rookie saves record.

April 16, 2010 - Lenders to Hicks Sports Group begin taking steps to block the sale of the team to Chuck Greenberg's group.

April 23, 2010 - First baseman Chris Davis is demoted to AAA after hitting .188 with no home runs and one RBI in 15 games. He had walked five times and struck out 17. Justin Smoak replaces him, but adds very little production, going 0-for-25 at one point in early July.

April 27, 2010 - Nelson Cruz goes on the DL with a strained right hamstring. Cruz spends 17 days on the DL and returns on May 14.

May 5, 2010 - The face of the franchise, Michael Young records his first multi-error game at third base. Young will make19 errors in 155 games. Young's limited range at third is an issue.

May 26, 2010 - Scott Feldman, the team's number one starter loses to the Royals 5-2. His line so far in the season: 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA.  The team's best two starters are not Feldman and Harden. Fortunately, Texas has Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson.

May 31, 2010 - The Rangers fall out of first place after being swept by the Twins. Adding injury to insult, Derek Holland leaves the final game of the sweep in the second inning with shoulder soreness. Holland will not be back with the team until August 28.

May 29, 2010 - Nelson Cruz is placed on the DL again, this time with left hamstring soreness.

June 13, 2010 - Pitcher Rich Harden, originally expected to fill the shoes of Kevin Millwood, is placed on the DL with an "injury", basically the equivalent of a strained butt muscle. His line for the year at this point is 3-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 13 starts.

June 22, 2010 - After trying to force the team sale via prepackaged bankruptcy, the team and prospective owners Greenberg and Ryan are told by Judge Michael Lynn that the deal requires "changes". This is the beginning of a lot of legal fees.

July 6, 2010 - Tyler Morris, a Rangers fan from Crawford, Texas reaches for a Nelson Cruz foul ball, and falls 30 feet from section 235 of the mezzanine level into the lower bowl at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  Morris suffers non-life-threatening injuries and is released from the hospital a few days later.

July 11, 2010 - The Rangers offense welcomes Cliff Lee! to the team by hitting .114 (4-for-35) with runners in scoring position during a four-game series with Baltimore. They leave 37 men on base and over the final 20 innings of the series the offense manages just two runs. Despite the four game sweep by Baltimore, Texas is still in first place by 4 ½ games.

July 16, 2010 - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban claims on KTCK-AM 1310 that he wants to be a "backstop" to Greenberg and Ryan's ownership group in their endeavor to purchase the team. Though initially intriguing, in hindsight, this storyline is absurdly LAUGHABLE.

 July 24, 2010 - Catcher Matt Treanor sprains his right knee. This necessitates the return of Taylor Teagarden. Treanor won't reappear until August 23. That's way too much Teagarden for my taste.

July 28, 2010 - A-Rod, owed $24.9 million in deferred salary, objects to the team's prepackaged bankruptcy plan. This is a bright spot in the midst of a depressing legal circus.

July 29, 2010 - Chris Davis is replaced by Mitch Moreland. The revolving door at first base just keeps spinning.

July 29, 2010 - Kinsler goes on the DL again, this time with a groin strain. He will not return until September 1. During his absence, Texas rolls out an unhealthy dose of Joaquin Arias and Cristian Guzman. In retrospect, more Blanco would have been a far better solution.

July 30, 2010 - Josh Hamilton leaves the game with knee tendinitis. Hamilton returns on August 3, but the knees continue to be a problem.

August 4 & 5, 2010 - The Rangers are auctioned off to Rangers Baseball Express (Greenberg/Ryan's group). It is a day-long legal showdown between RBE and Mark Cuban/Jim Crane's group. Cuban looked like the winner all day long until RBE backers Ray Davis and Bob Simpson reportedly showed up with their check books and told Greenberg to do whatever it would take to finish off Cuban. This is one of the top 5 Ranger moments in my life time and it had nothing to do with the late-inning grand-slam that Michael Young hit while the auction was taking place. This day means the end of the Hicks era and the beginning of GnR.

August 11, 2010 - Designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero continues to slump, going 0-for-5 against the Yankees. In a span of 19 games, Vlad has just one multi-hit game. The fear in Rangerland is that Vladdy is out of gas and done for the season.

August 16, 2010 - Nelson Cruz's hamstring send him to the DL for a third time. He will be out until August 29.

August 21, 2010 - Cliff Lee serves up a career-high 4 home runs in one game.  It's Lee's second loss to the Orioles and flaky Ranger fans everywhere think that this small sample is grounds for categorizing Lee with Kevin Millwood, Chan Ho Park, and Rich Harden. The revelation of a back injury later in the month seems to subdue the overreactions.

August 24, 2010 - Erring on the side of caution, the Rangers give reliever Frankie Francisco "a few days off" and a cortisone shot in his armpit for some rib cage soreness. Francisco will not pitch again in the regular season.

August 24, 2010 - A Golden Knights skydiver gets caught on a flag pole atop the right field wall during a pregame jump at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The diver is uninjured, but it's just one more weird twist to the 2010 season.

August 30, 2010 - Texas essentially gives up on the Rich Harden experiment, moving him to the bullpen... A.K.A. Mike Maddux purgatory.

September 4, 2010 - Playing center field, Josh Hamilton slams into the outfield wall of Target Field to make a spectacular catch in the third inning of a 6-0 blowout. Texas would go on to lose 12-4 and it would be discovered that Hamilton fractured three ribs on the play. Hamilton does not return until October 1, with three games remaining in the season.

September 5, 2010 - Third base umpire Alfonzo Marquez decides that he has seen Michael Young make incidental contact with base coach Dave Anderson. Young is the tying run, but ends up being the third out in the ninth inning. For the record, rule 7:09 (h) states that the runners is out if the coach "by touching or holding the runner, physically assists him in returning to or leaving third or first base." That ain't what happened.

September 9, 2010 - Colbly Lewis finally gets his tenth win of the season, and his first in 9 starts. It is his first victory since July 16.

September 21, 2010 - Shortstop Elvis Andrus continues his offensive slump, going 1-for-20 and batting .197 in his last 18 games. His last extra base hit was August 13 and he still has no home runs for the season. His doubles and triples totals for the season are 15 and 3, respectively.

September 25, 2010 - In a game that the front office had to fight just to get televised, Jorge Cantu gets his first two RBIs since coming to the team in July. The team beats Oakland 4-3 to clinch the AL West Division Title. Closer Neftali Feliz (referred to as "Neftali Perez" by Fox Sports and ESPN) earned his 38th save, setting a new MLB record for rookies.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

January 10, 2010 - Jon Daniels signs Vladimir Guerrero.

January 19, 2010 - Jon Daniels signs "Colbyashi" Lewis.

May 13, 2010 - CJ Wilson sets a franchise record by beginning the season with 7 straight quality starts.

June 15, 2010 - Matt Treanor hits a pinch-hit, two-run triple in the top of the ninth to push Texas ahead of the Marlins 2-1. It's sweet revenge for Treanor, who had been previously dumped by Florida. This game shall forever be known as "The Matt Treanor Game."

June 16, 2010 - Michael Young surpasses Ivan Rodriguez as the club's all-time hits leader with hit number 1,748.

June 30, 2010 - Texas catches fire in June, going 21-6, mixing in an 11-game winning streak and tying NYY for the best record in baseball.

July 4, 2010 - Texas sends six to the All-Star Game: Hamilton, Guerrero, Kinsler, Andrus, Feliz, and Lee (late addition for TEX).

July 6, 2010 - Outfielder Josh Hamilton is named American League Player of the Month for June, with a 23-game hit streak.

July, 9 2010 - Jon Daniels trades for Cliff Lee!

July 16, 2010 - Bengie Freakin' Molina hits for the freakin' cycle. Who'da thunk it? The triple was even more spectacular than the grand slam.

August 13, 2010 - After trailing Boston 8-2, Texas makes an unbelievable comeback. Though the game is won when Tim Wakefield's first pitch is swatted out of the yard by Nelson Cruz in the 11th, the real hero of the game is Josh Hamilton. Hamilton goes 4-for-5, makes an amazing catch in center field, hits a home run, steals a base, and scores four runs. His last run scored in the game is foreshadowing of ALDS Game 5 baserunning, when he scores FROM SECOND BASE on a Vlad Guerrero infield single. Rangers win 10-9.

August 15, 2010 - Darren O'Day O'Day O'Day O'Day sets a club record for relievers with 29 consecutive scoreless appearances.

September 10-12, 2010 - Rangers sweep the Yankees! Nelson Cruz keeps the team in Game 1 with a game-tying homer in the eighth and then wins it in the 12th with a homer off reliever Chad Gaudin. In Game 2, iconic closer Mariano Rivera blows a save by giving up the game-winning run with a HBP to Jeff Franceour.

September 25, 2010 - Neftali Feliz sets an MLB record for most saves by a rookie with 38 on the play that clinches the AL West Championship for the FIRST PLACE TEXAS RANGERS!  Feliz is named AL Rookie of the Month for September.

IN THE POSTSEASON

October 6, 2010 - During Game 1, Jon Daniels makes a move to claim Marlins pitcher Ryan Tucker off waivers. What's significant about this? Rich Harden is designated for assignment to make room for Tucker. It's a sad ending to the Rich Harden chapter.

Ocotober 6, 2010 - ALDS TEX @ TB - Game 1: Cliff Lee allows five hits, no walks, and strikes out 10, most by a Rangers pitcher in a playoff game (at that point). Lee is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA in six playoff starts over the past two seasons. Nelson Cruz & Bengie Molina homer off David Price. Vlad Guerrero & Jeff Francoeur each hit RBI doubles. Texas WINS 5-1. It snaps a nine-game postseason losing streak for the Rangers. A total of 5,116 days had passed since Rangers won a postseason game. The five runs are three more than the Rangers scored over six games in 1998-99 against the Yankees.

October 7, 2010 - ALDS TEX @ TB - Game 2: Apparently, the "C.J." in C.J. Wilson stands for "Cliff Jr." as he goes 6 1/3 innings, allows two hits, two walks, and strikes out seven. Rays fans will whine into millennia because of a botched check swing call that led to a Michael Young 3-run home run, but the Rays offense chokes on Wilson's brilliance and Young's dinger is merely icing on the cake that was made by a Rays throwing error in the third and an Ian Kinsler blast in the fourth. Suddenly, we're on the verge of history and we don't know what to do with ourselves.

October 9, 2010 - ALDS TEX v. TB - Game 3: With 5 outs to go and a 2-1 lead, Ron Washington commits epic bullpen management failure by pulling O'Day too early, leaving Oliver in too long, and putting Feliz in too soon. All this leads to a 6-3 Tampa Bay victory. Most of us just shrug it off, because we'll win Game 4 tomorrow... We think.

October 10, 2010 - ALDS TEX v. TB - Game 4: Tommy Hunter gives up three runs through four innings. Derek Holland comes on in relief and serves up a 2-run jack to Evan Longoria. Rays rookie Wade Davis makes the Rangers' offense look ridiculous, and before you know it, we're headed back to Tampa after a 5-2 loss to play a win-or-go-home game five.

October 13, 2010 - ALDS TEX @ TB - Game 5: Cliff Lee sets a postseason record, striking out 11 in an elimination game.  He throws a 120-pitch complete game. Elvis Andrus scores from second base on an infield chopper by Josh Hamilton. Nelson Cruz Cadillacs out of the box on a deep drive that bounces off the left-center field wall and ends up at second instead of third. Cruz feels shame and immediately attempts to steal third on the next pitch. Tampa catcher Kelly Shoppach launches the throw into left field and Cruz scores. Later, Vladdy will score FROM SECOND on an infield double-play ball. NO PLAYER SCORES FROM THIRD BASE. Oh... and Bengie Molina steals second base. Ian Kinsler tacks on the lead with a 2-run blast off closer Rafael Soriano in the 9th. Texas wins the ALDS with a 5-1 Game 5 victory!

BRING ON THE YANKEES & THE ALCS!

To Be Continued...