ARLINGTON -- As opening days go, at least you can say it could have gone worse.
Like last year, when the Rangers' bullpen blew up behind Yu Darvish, and Jeff Banister spent the rest of the season picking up pieces. The good news is, there was no such implosion Thursday. And that's it for the good news. That and Banister will show more resilience than another manager, Eddie Sawyer, who quit after the Phillies' 1960 season opener.
"I'm 49 years old," Sawyer infamously explained, "and I want to live to be 50."
Banister survived the Rangers' 4-1 loss to the Astros before 47,253 at the Globe without any scars.