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There are two things that have repeatedly happened to the Rangers franchise since the start of the 2010 season.

One is that the Rangers can’t seem to make it through February or March without some kind of controversy. The other is that they’ve made it to the World Series twice and then lost to a very specific kind of team.

The controversies…

• In the spring of 2010, Ron Washington admitted to using cocaine in the summer of 2009. The Rangers were already aware that he had failed a drug test and had apparently rejected his off to resign. The team started winning soon after and pretty much everybody moved on.
• Last year we were dealing with the Michael Young trade drama. Young had been told by the organization that he was not being shopped to other teams, which wasn’t entirely true. Young subsequently asked to be traded and openly aired his grievances to the media. Young wasn’t traded and he and Jon Daniels eventually hugged it out. The start of Spring Training pretty much killed the story.
• This year we’ve got Josh Hamilton. Lies, a relapse, and a possible 7-second video featuring all manner of scandalous affair.

Every year, like clockwork, something weird like this pops up. Maybe next year someone will touch Adrian Beltre‘s head and he will murder them with a fungo bat.

The other thing I recently realized is how similar the SF Giants and StL Cardinals of the last two years have been. Those were, of course, the two teams that bested the Rangers in the World Series.

• In 2010, the San Diego Padres were in control of the NL West for most of the season, but suffered a 10 game losing streak late, allowing the Giants to come all the way back. The Giants and Padres were tied and went head-to-head on the last day of the season. The Giants won and subsequently tore their way through the playoffs, beating the Rangers in 5 games.
• Last year we watched Wild Card Wednesday, a night when 4 teams had a chance to play their way into the postseason. Both the Red Sox and Braves lost their games late, which pushed the Rays and Cardinals into the LDS without needing a 163rd game. The Cardinals eventually beat the Rangers in a heartbreaking Game 7.

In a tournament style playoff, they say it’s better to be hot than to be good. It certainly seems so.

Press on, Rangers fans.

(Leave a comment or find me on Twitter @BleacherSeatsTX. Thanks to Baseball Reference for their invaluable resources.)