CHICAGO - In his cramped office late Saturday afternoon, Rangers manager Jeff Banister did his best Ken Burns impression and launched into a soliloquy on the beauty and intricacies of the game of baseball.
He talked of game-saving catches, late lead changes and timely comebacks, managerial manipulations and tough decisions that ultimately played out in a 4-3 11-inning walkoff loss to the Chicago White Sox.
He talked of Nomar Mazara's game-extending catch in the ninth, of the Rangers' ninth-inning rally after giving up the lead in the eighth, of creating a five-man infield out of dire need (and nearly getting away with it, too) and of the "character building," that comes from such games.