Well, this isn't as exciting as I'd hoped.

The Rangers scored a run in the third inning, with Adrian Beltre knocking in a run and tying the playoff to see who'd play the play-in for the playoffs, 1-1. After Nelson Cruz popped a ball into right that ended up being a force play at second, there were two outs and runners on first and third. The A's had a chance to get out of the inning with minimal damage.

The sequence after that: Double, single, error, single. After the bleeding was staunched, the Rangers were up 5-1. And that's how the West was won.

Right? I mean ... there's no way a team can come back from a deficit like that. Especially against a team as good as the Rangers. I'd like to see it!

No, really, I would. And the A's win expectancy dropped to 14.1 percent with the latest run -- about three times the likelihood of them winning the division back in May. So pretending like a comeback is impossible would be kind of nuts. But it's certainly unlikely.

Of course, all of this is.