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The Texas Rangers and their fans, the long-time ones at least, spent the night celebrating the team’s division series win for the first time in franchise history.

With the win and straight Cliff Lee dominance, the Rangers pushed the Dallas Cowboys to page two for the first time in, well, a long time.

What made this series strange was, even though the Rangers wrapped up the division series over the Rays on Tuesday night, they still have not won a playoff game at home in franchise history. In fact, the visiting team won all five games of this series.

The Rangers took two from the Rays in Tampa, the Rays took two from the Rangers in Arlington, then the series shifted back to Tampa for Game Five, where the Rangers won again.

So much for home-field advantage.

When football’s training camp opened, I heard a lot of calls into the local sports stations here in Dallas asking the on-air guys to stop talking about the Rangers and how they weren’t going to matter soon. There were even more fans who were of the opinion that “no one cared about the Rangers.”

I’ve had several friends tell me that this is a football town and that the lead story is and will always be the Dallas Cowboys.

That always makes me shake my head. How could a team that has one playoff win since their last Super Bowl Championship in 1995 consistently be the lead story year in and year out? How could a team that hasn’t sniffed the Super Bowl in over 15 years still want the front page of every paper in Dallas/Ft. Worth?

It’s because outside of the Dallas Stars of the NHL there really hasn’t been much else to celebrate in the way of championships.

The Dallas Mavericks got close but chocked away a series lead before losing to the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat.

The Texas Rangers, however, haven’t ever been in the championship conversation. They were always the team that could lead through most of the year but couldn’t ever hang on. They were always the ones that would choke away a division lead, or they would be so far out of the race at the All-Star break that the focus would have to turn to the Cowboys.

However, here we are in the middle of October, and here we are still talking about the Texas Rangers. They are the lead story everywhere you look this morning. Fans flocked to DFW Airport at 3:30 a.m. this morning to welcome the team home. Rangers merchandise is flying off the shelves.

In other words, baseball fever is still very much alive and well. For those of you who still have the opinion that “no one cares about the Rangers,” didn’t you watch the news this morning and see the hordes of Ranger fans in their Ranger gear waiting for their team to arrive at the airport?

They will have two days to get ready for the start of the ALCS, which gets underway on Friday night from Rangers Ballpark.

Arlington, Texas is buzzing about this team. They are buzzing about their matchup with the New York Yankees. The radio waves are spending the majority of their time talking about this ball club and what they could possibly do in the ALCS.

To me, there’s no question the Rangers can hang with the Yankees. Say what you want about New York’s record when they get to the playoffs and their ability to get to the World Series. But they’re not unbeatable. Ask the Anaheim Angels.

This Rangers team deserves the spotlight. They’ve earned it, and they deserve the front page of the newspapers here until their season comes to a close.

Why focus on a 1-3 Dallas Cowboys team that has one won playoff game in 15 years? Why give the front page to a team that may not even make the playoffs?

Newy Scruggs, on-air guy for 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas, said during his show Wednesday morning, “I’m not ready to deal with the disappointment that is the Dallas Cowboys.”

Like I said, not only does the Rangers mantra “It’s Time” stand for this team’s battle for the ALCS title, but “It’s Time” for the Cowboys to take a back seat to the team that is getting it done right now.

It’s playoff time in Texas and, for the first time, we’re not talking about the Cowboys.

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With one game to go to decide who the New York Yankees will play in the American League Championship Series, it’s time to jump ahead a little bit and do some assumption work.

Assuming the Phillies get past the Giants for the NLCS title and the Yankees win the ALCS, how would the Phillies and Yankees match up in the 2010 World Series?

Both these teams having pitching and they certainly have power on offense. But what sets these two teams apart?

Let’s dive into a possible World Series matchup and take a look at who will take the World Series trophy home.

It’s the Philadelphia Phillies versus the New York Yankees.

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It’s playoff time!

I know fans of the Yankees, Twins, Rays, Rangers, Giants, Phillies, Reds, and Braves are all gearing up with their jerseys, hats, and probably car flags to show their support as the playoffs get underway this afternoon.

What happened during the season means nothing at this point. Every team starts 0-0 and it become a whole new, albeit short, season.

For the teams themselves, there are players that become October monsters at the plate. The struggles of their regular season behind them, there’s always a new feeling when playoff times comes around that makes them swing a hot bat and help the team in big ways.

But there are also those players who were monsters during the regular season that become equally as dangerous come October.

Here are the 10 best hitters when playoff time rolls around.

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One more.

That’s all the San Diego Padres can afford before their off season officially begins a lot sooner than they thought it would.

Looking back to the end of August, the Padres had what most would consider a big lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants. Fast forward one month, and not only is their lead gone but the deficit has reached its breaking point after losing 22 of their last 34 games.

They face the Giants on Friday night in what will be a three game set in San Francisco. The situation has gotten so bleak for San Diego that they not only need to sweep the three-game set, but they need the Philadelphia Phillies to sweep the Atlanta Braves over the next three days. Something that’s not likely to happen, especially with the Phillies having already wrapped up the National League’s Eastern Division.

Whether that loss comes tonight, Saturday, or Sunday, the Padres front office knows that there are decisions that will need to be made to improve this team for the 2011 season to keep this kind of collapse from happening again.

Sure they’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations, but you won’t be remembered for how you played the first five months of the season, you’ll be remembered for how you finished. The Padres couldn’t do that, and they could be watching October baseball from home.

With that in mind, here are some issues facing the front office, and where I think the Padres will go with each one.

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With the 2010 regular season coming to a close and the playoff picture starting to become a little clearer every day, there are some teams that will focus on free agency and which players they are going to bring back or which players they could possibly land this offseason.

One of those players that will hit the free agent market is third baseman Adrian Beltre, who seemed to reinvent himself this season as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Beltre has hit .325 with 28 home runs and 102 runs batted in, his best combined numbers since his 2004 season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Beltre isn’t the only third baseman that will be on the market. Here are 10 of the top third basemen that will be looked at in free agency.

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With just a few weeks left in the 2010 baseball season, teams will begin to rest players down the stretch, unless their division won’t be decided until the last few days.

For those that have their division well in hand, days off will help their most productive players get ready for another month of baseball.

It won’t be a easy stretch and not having those players could be detrimental to any World Series chances.

Here are 10 players that need to be healthy for their teams to make a legitimate October run.

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The playoff chase is in full gear and the divisions are hotter than ever. Teams like the Rangers, Rays, Giants, and Phillies are getting that much closer to wrapping up their respective divisions. But they can’t look forward to October baseball just yet: First, they need to get through the final stretch on their schedules.

Some of these teams have a harder path than others to a division title. Who has the toughest road down the stretch and who will be ho-humming it to October baseball?

Here are the remainng schedules, ranked from hardest to easiest, for the following 10 contenders.

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When the Texas Rangers slipped in and made the deal for left-hander Cliff Lee, stealing him right out from under the New York Yankees, Ranger fans and players couldn’t have been more excited.

They were getting a guy that was a proven winner not only during the season, but also in the playoffs.

However, that’s not what they’ve gotten. Through 11 starts, Lee is 2-5 with a 4.69 ERA and has been nothing short of awful over his last five starts, giving up a combined 25 runs in those starts.

He’s also struggled against two potential first round playoff opponents, Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

It’s easy to look back now and call Lee a bust. I will admit that I wasn’t sold on this trade from the beginning but wasn’t completely against it because of his postseason track record.

With his struggles, there has been more and more doubt planted in the minds of fans and the Dallas media, but there are also those that will defend him tooth and nail.

Here are five reasons Lee won’t be able to help the Rangers come playoff time.

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Somehow, I saw this coming. It wasn’t what I was hoping would happen, but I just had a feeling this kind of news was coming.

Today, it did come. Brent Gambill, an executive producer of MLB Network Radio, is reporting that former San Diego State standout, and the first overall pick of the Washington Nationals in the 2009 Amateur Draft, Stephen Strasburg, will undergo Tommy John surgery.

Gambill, via Twitter, says the team will get a second opinion before going ahead with the surgery, which would be performed by the same doctor who did the surgery for Jordan Zimmermann.

At the beginning of the 2010 MLB season, there was a lot of talk about Strasburg being brought up to the big leagues after a short stint in the minor leagues. It wasn’t something I was keen on. In fact, I was opposed to the youngster being thrown into the fire so soon after his college career.

He had never faced the kind of hitters he’d faced in college and wouldn’t be used to the kind of grind that is required in the major leagues. He had already gone on the disabled list once this season, and when it was reported that he was put on the DL again, most knew something was wrong.

Though there were those who wanted to be big shots and tell the young right-hander to “suck it up and pitch,” it was revealed in an MRI this morning that he had a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. That’s not something a pitcher “just pitches through.”

While it hasn’t been decided officially by the Nationals if or when their star will undergo surgery, it seems like it’s the only option with this kind of an injury.

William Ladson, who covers the Nationals for MLB.com, says Strasburg knew about the possibility of Tommy John surgery last night but did not want to make an announcement until today.

This surgery isn’t a stranger to Major League Baseball. It’s one that’s been performed on several pitchers over the years.

However, it’s a surgery that normally keeps pitchers out of baseball, even from throwing at all, for more than six months. Sometimes, depending on the severity of the injury, it could take a full year before a pitcher is back at full strength.

This is the first time the young pitcher will undergo this surgery, and you have to believe that he will lose a lot of velocity on his fastball, the velocity that made him the first overall pick in last year’s draft.

It’s not known just how this is going to affect Strasburg and the rest of his career. If he goes under the knife to have the ligament repaired, it will be a long road to recovery, but it’s a road the Nationals need to take very seriously.

They brought him up too soon, and now they’re paying the price for it. They should have shut him down long ago, especially since they were so far out of the race. They have no one to blame but themselves.

They had nothing to play for, but ticket sales were up when he pitched, so they kept running him out there.

I’m not saying the Nationals or their management mishandled Strasburg. But I do believe they might have rushed him through the minor leagues too soon because of all the hype that surrounded him.

I understand that fans get excited about a player like this, as they are already excited about their second No. 1 overall pick in Bryce Harper and want to see him in a Nationals’ uniform soon, but rushing a player is a risk that a lot of teams take. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it backfires like it has here.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman spoke to a friend of Strasburg’s who said the pitcher will be back for the 2012 season as good or better than he is now.

We know he will at least miss the entire 2011 season, according to that information. You have to wonder if this could have been avoided.

I have no doubt that the young right-hander will work as hard as he can to come back from this injury and be stronger for it. He’ll learn the hard way what it takes to keep his arm in shape.

Who knows, maybe this was the best thing for him. Not to go under the knife, but to learn just what it takes to perform at the highest level of baseball, all while staying as healthy as he possible can.

How or when he comes back is something we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe, by the time he’s ready to return to the starting rotation, Bryce Harper may be close to making his debut. Though that’s a little unlikely at this point.

Strasburg is a talented young pitcher with a bright future ahead of him. This might be a hard lesson, but one that may help him throughout his career.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the 2010 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft behind us, it’s time to take a look at the top 10 picks that went unsigned.

There were some surprises, and others weren’t surprises at all as a few had medical reasons that kept respective teams from spending money or taking a risk on a certain player.

We all know about Bryce Harper, the Nationals’ first overall draft pick, signing a record deal, but who couldn’t get deals done with their draft picks?

Here are the top 10 picks that went unsigned after the deadline came to a close.

No. 10: Jesus Valdez, RHP, Hueneme HS

Drafted by: Anaheim Angels

It seemed as if the right-hander was expected to sign with the Angels, especially to the college he had committed to, the University of Arizona. Valdez ended up not signing and will be an incoming freshman with the Wildcats.

No. 9: Scott Frazier, RHP, Upland HS

Drafted by: Philadelphia Phillies

The 6’7″ right-hander was drafted in the fifth round by the Phillies and decided to attend Pepperdine University instead of signing with the team.

No. 8: James Paxton, LHP

Drafted by: Seattle Mariners

Paxton, a former left-hander with the University of Kentucky, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays last season and because the Jays ended up negotiating with agent Scott Boras, he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Paxton ended up in Texas pitching for the Grand Prairie Air Hogs and was drafted again this year by the Detroit Tigers.

No. 7: Matthew Grimes, RHP, Mill Creek HS

Drafted by: Chicago White Sox

The young pitcher decided for the college experience instead of starting his big league career and will attend Georgia Tech in the fall.

No. 6: Andrew Cole, RHP, Oviedo HS

Drafted by: Washington Nationals

Cole could have become another pitcher on the big league fast track after impressing collegiate scouts during the FACA All-Star Classic back in May, clocking a fastball at over 95 MPH. Cole decided against the pros and will honor his commitment to the University of Miami.

No. 5: Austin Wood, RHP, St. Petersburg JC

Drafted by: Tampa Bay Rays

The right-hander did not sign with the Rays and instead will begin attending classes at USC in the fall.

No. 4: Ryne Stanek, RHP, Blue Valley HS

Drafted by: Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are on this list for the second time in three picks, losing out on yet another pitcher. This time, it was right-hander Ryne Stanek, who decided to attend the University of Arkansas instead of signing with the Mariners.

No. 3: Dylan Covey, RHP, Maranatha HS

Drafted by: Milwaukee Brewers

The young right-hander has apparently drawn comparisons to Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Chad Billingsley. Unfortunately, the Brewers won’t see that comparison come to pass as Covey decided to attend the University of San Diego instead of signing with Milwaukee. 

No. 2: Barret Loux, RHP, Texas A&M

Drafted by: Arizona Diamondbacks

Loux’s story is quite a bit different from that of all the other unsigned draft picks in the 2010 draft. The right-hander out of Texas A&M failed his physical due to a labrum tear and elbow issues found during his physical. He will instead be granted free-agent status and can sign with any team as of September 1st.

No. 1: Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley HS

Drafted by: San Diego Padres

This baffled the Padres to the very end. General manager Jed Hoyer thought the two sides had a verbal agreement just after Whitson was drafted by the team. When it was over, Whitson wanted more money than the Padres were willing to give up, even going well over their allotted budget to try and get a deal done.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com