SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Sam Dyson came to the Rangers last summer like Clint Eastwood out of one of his old spaghetti Westerns, a desperado wandering into a dusty town, mercilessly taking care of the bad guys with a mean look in his eye and restoring law and order.
The Rangers acquired the hard-throwing right-handed reliever from the Marlins on July 31 in the waning minutes before the non-waiver Trade Deadline, looking to reinforce their bullpen. He did just that with a remarkable two months, recording a 1.15 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in 31 games.
Texas was 24-7 when Dyson pitched.