It actually all started two years ago when Rangers owner Tom Hicks introduced Nolan Ryan as the team president. Since that time, the Rangers organization has gone from having one of the perennial worst pitching staffs in the Major Leagues, to one of the better ones.

While Ryan is the one who deserves the credit for making the moves, it was a move he made prior to the 2009 campaign that has resulted in the biggest improvement of the most troubling area of the Rangers organization for years of pitching.

Ryan approached Mike Maddux, the pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan and Maddux had a history together in the same capacity as Maddux had served as the pitching coach for the Double-A Round Rock Expressóa Ryan-owned teamó for three seasons starting in 2000.

Maddux came to Arlington this season to oversee a group of pitchers that was woeful. In 2008, the staff finished last in the American League for the fourth time in nine years. In 2000-2008, under six different pitching coaches, the Rangers featured the worst team ERA in the Major Leagues at 5.14. The staff also surrendered the most hits and the second-most walks. The teamís combined ERA in 2008 was an abysmal 5.37. Not surprisingly, the Rangers have failed to finish the season with a winning record in eight of the past nine years.

This season the Rangers staff is fifth in the AL with a combined ERA of 4.23. The two main cogs are Kevin Millwood and unknown Scott Feldman, who came up through Rangers system. Feldman was drafted in the 30th round by the Rangers in 2003. After undergoing Tommy John surgery later that year, he worked his way up and from 2005 to 2007 he moved between Arlington and Oklahoma City, the Rangers Triple-A affiliate.

Feldman leads the staff with a 16-4 record and an ERA of 3.46. Millwood isn’t far behind with a 10-9 record and a 3.77

Here are five sports-related items I’d love to have for my collection.

5) A rainbow-colored Afro – For those of us in our late thirties, you can’t help but remember the guy who would stand in the end zone behind the goal posts on extra points and directly in the line of sight of the cameras holding the John 3:16 signs. The sign was his message, but what always caught your attention was his rainbow-colored Afro wig. I think it’d be worth something to own one of those wigs. Last I heard it would probably be difficult to get a wig from Rollen Stewart, aka “Rock ‘n Rollen” or “Rainbow Man.” That’s because he is currently serving out a life sentence in jail on kidnapping charges.

4) Joe Niekro’s fingernail file – Niekro was one of the knuckleball-throwing brothers who got caught cheating back in the 1980s using a fingernail file. His humorous explanation for having the file-he was filing his nails in the dugout. What made it even better was how he reached into his back pocket and tried to casually dispose of the file when the umpires questioned him and while the cameras caught it from multiple angles. Hilarious.

3) Robin Ventura blood-stained towel – It was one of the most unbelievable moments in sports history when Robin Ventura challenged a much older Nolan Ryan and then proceeded to thoroughly get his butt whipped. There was blood on Ventura’s lip. Some of it was left on Nolan Ryan’s jersey following the one-sided confrontation. There had to be a towel.

2) Jose Canseco autographed hardhat – Canseco is known for a lot of things including baseball. One of the funniest moments in my baseball-watching days, albeit painful as a Texas Rangers fan, was when he chased down a hard-hit deep fly ball, lifted his glove to field the ball at the wall, only to totally miss the ball with his glove and have the ball hit off his head and bounce over the fence for a home run. Painfully funny.

1) Morganna The Kissing Bandit t-shirt – Another blast from the past. Morganna was the large-chested blonde who randomly ran out on the field at various sporting events and kissed a player on the cheek. To have one of those shirts would be…well, huge.