Today is the last day of Major League Baseball’s regular season. The Texas Rangers, your defending back-to-back American League champions, have not managed to win their division yet. Despite having eight All-Stars on their roster, the Rangers enter Game 162 in a tie with the Oakland A’s, a team comprised of journeymen, rookies, and castoffs.
The Rangers could have secured the division title with a win on Monday night, but they lost to the A’s, 4-3. The same was true last night, but Texas’ suddenly impotent lineup managed to produce one measly run in a 3-1 loss.
Both of those games ended around midnight Dallas time. Today’s game in Oakland starts at 2:35. So, local bosses, forgive your baseball-loving employees if they seem both sleep-deprived and distracted today.