Thursday a.m. Rangers things
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 3, 2009 9:23 AM CST
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PrintContinuing our exciting winter of ownership drama and doing nothing to improve the team on the field...
Jeff Wilson has a story about Tom Hicks deciding between bids from Chuck Greenberg and Dennis Gilbert, with an announcement possibly coming next week as to who the winner is, and MLB having imposed a December 15 deadline for a decision to be made.
David Brown has a Q&A with Frankie Pilliere up at BBTiA.
And Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be evaluated tomorrow to determine what the problem is with his arm, which necessitated him leaving his winter league game.
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Yesterday I wasn't real happy we offered arbitration to Pudge...
Today I am really glad we did it. Mostly because regardless of Saltalamacchia, I think Pudge accepts arbitration.
I was thinking the same thing...disturbing news about Salty
but it’s nice to have a veteran like Pudge there to step in. Time to Teagarden to step it up.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by GhostofSteveFoucault on Dec 3, 2009 9:47 AM CST up reply actions
Problem is...
…boy do I have doubts TT will put it together. This team is set up to repeat 2005. I am starting to get pissed at Baseball Jesus for personally hating this franchise.
Totally
Let’s hope guys that took huge steps forward don’t regress (Feldman, Hunter), and those that need to step up, do so (Holland). Just the fact that we need to sign a FA DH and can’t, and could use a FA pitcher, but can’t get one, I just am tired of bad news for this team.
I think most people here are right there with you on that
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Rushing to conclusions
Lets not rush here, if February comes around and we don’t have a DH then we can start worrying.
and I don't think Feldman is the next Drese
Feldman has an arsenal that is effective against both LH and RH hitters with that 2-seamer and cutter going both directions. He’s sick when it’s on.
Like you said, we have more talent coming in regards to pitching and the level of that talent is higher than in 2005. Guys like Holland, Feliz, Perez, and Scheppers are all at a different level than our previous prospects.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Yeah, that is true.
Just Feliz and Scheppers out there makes me extremely more confident in this group. Now if only we could get on base and score some runs…
A big part of the problem in 2005
was the pissing match the FO started with Kenny Rogers that began in the off-season.
I think what happened to The Gambler, along with Hicks putting all that financial flexibility in his pocket instead of into the team helped poison the room.
If you recall, that Ranger team broke the gate 30-20 and seemed to be an extension of what happened in 2004 (not necessarily better but as good) but then became a very distracted team.
I spoke with a wife of a Ranger at LaGuardia Airport (just before the infamous siddown with Dom Chiti) and she told me everybody in the organization was pissed at Tom Hicks.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Why does that matter?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
what? are you conserving her anonymity?
I love that wives gossiping is now a source for you (whether the source is real or not). you are really hitting the big time now.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
When I first mentioned this over at NMLR
right after it happened, I was called a liar, troublemaker, troll and then it came out two days later that there was a siddown with Dom Chiti with 5 Rangers and everybody immediately STFU.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
lol
and you call someone around here the Gossip Queen. Good stuff.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Dec 3, 2009 10:20 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
No shit.
This is the definition of gossip, Donuts. At least I don’t cite my encounters with Teagarden as some kind of gospel as to the state of the team.
Not only the pitching talent...
the young field position talent a reason to look forward to next season (Elvis, Smoak). The anticipation of seeing Smoak and Perez, to me, is just as high as seeing Holland make his first appearance last year.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by GhostofSteveFoucault on Dec 3, 2009 10:43 AM CST up reply actions
I hope I'm not alone
I was actually very encouraged by Holland’s performance last year. He showed tons of talent. He showed that he can get hitters out, over and beyond his ERA. His problem was some maturity, giving up big homers, and not being able to get out of innings and the like. Basically, he looked like a player one year removed from low A ball.
He also had some trouble working down in the zone, giving up more homers and ground balls than he had in the minors, and most importantly, his 20% line drive percentage led to a .315 BABIP, so luck was not on his side….. At the same time, he could have been pitching in AAA all year. I think 2010 will be a huge breakthrough for him. I’m looking for 15+ wins, an ERA south of 4, and around 200 strikeouts.
are you serious
if Holland K’s around 200 next year, I will literally blow my wad every time his name is mentioned.
I think that is a longshot though, if you know what I mean.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Those are pretty unrealistic expectations
for about 95% of the starters in baseball. Only 22 pitchers won 15 games in 2009. Of those, only 17 had an ERA under 4, and only 10 had 200 Ks. So you’re looking for Holland to be one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball?
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Holland
I don’t think he’s going to totally bust out in 2010, but pitchers with his K and BB/K rates as rookies generally develop into pretty damned good pitchers in the long term.
So I’m fairly optimistic too.
"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
Dec 15th deadline
and a possible announcement at the winter meetings. the fact that Hicks can still have a piece of the team would make me think Gilbert would win the bid. I’m for going Green myself, especially if it means Hicks would not be involved in any part of ownership of this team.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
I don't know
That may be like coming in to someone and saying “I’ll give you 80% of what the other guy is bidding for your house, but you get to keep 10% of it”.
Really, it has to come down to the money. His banks (and MLB) are owed fat cash. Gilbert will have a $ figure, Greenberg will have a $ figure. I imagine that the winner will be whoever is highest.
I could care less if Hicks is a minority investor; but I want Greenberg because he’s most likely to stay the course with this front office.
Go Rice Owls!
I also wonder if JD likes having the excuse that because
his hands were tied this off-season he shouldn’t be held accountable for what happens in 2010.
Reason being that he has maintained for a very long time that 2010 was supposed to be THE year and the projection is at least one, probably two years away if everything breaks right.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
I also wonder if you could you make your baiting a bit more obvious?
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
I happen to think JD is pretty safe for a year
no matter who takes over but if Gilbert gets the bid, JD better be as good as most of you believe because he’s not going to be able to bs Gilbert with some intricate “5 Step Plan.”
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Well
You can ask JD yourself at 11 am…
"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
JD is safe this year
because regardless of who wins the bid, it will be summer before the league approves it. Its also possible that if Gilbert wins, the league could reject it if Hicks maintains a minority stake. It all depends on how much Bud Selig wants Hicks out of town.
on the other hand, Gilbert, if he replaces JD, will be foolishly replacing someone who has taken this organization to new heights. This is a team which (properly capitalized), can contend in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Not sure about 2014, but 2015 we’re going to really rock.
Show me
the quote where Daniels says 2010 is “THE year”. No one in the front office has ever said anything that specific.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Nolan Ryan has
I was at a preseason event in Feb where he gave a spiel to the group that was being solicited to buy blocks of season tickets and he was very clear that there was still some growing to do in 2009, but in 2010 and moving forward he was very clear that he expected the Rangers to be competing for titles.
Favorite bumper sticker of all time, seen on a VW bus:
"Gas, Grass, or Ass. Nobody rides for free"
Right, they've said
they expect the club to be contending, and I see no reason to doubt they’ll contend this year. But Daniels has never said 2010 is THE year. Josey is attempting to setup another false meme here, so he can later jump on it.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
You make it sound simpler than it is
if it was merely a number then a winner would have already been announced and MLB has those figures as well, so there would be little reason for HSG to actually choose a winner. It would already be known
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
When are the winter meetings?
Would an annoucement next week allow the owners to vote at the meetings?
|Space for Rent|
So...Hicks is deciding who the buyer is? MLB has no say?
If that’s the case all Hicks needs is assurance he’ll be retained in a minority roll, whoever gives him this assurance wins the bid…is my assumption at least semi-correct?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
That sounds correct
but don’t the new owners have to be approved by MLB?
Given the actions of Hicks, he is very desperate to retain some kind of stake in the team so I think anything is in play.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Not necessarily
Hicks also wants the money. My guess is whoever brings in the highest bid wins. If they’re close there could be other considerations; i.e. who has the best chance of getting MLB approval, Hicks gets to be one of the investors, etc.
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
You're probably right per the highest bid on several levels
and I cannot imagine Hicks having any more than a minority stake.
Throwing this out there….perhaps Hicks knows this organization is THE sleeping giant of MLB and somebody who truly gives a shit about winning and marketing the team correctly is about to make a killing. Hicks wants to be a part of that payday.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Can't disagree
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
i'll gladly take another supplemental pick for Pudge
and go sign another catcher. there are plenty out there and none will cost us a draft pick. There may be even more come Dec. 12th as well. It’s no big deal if we lose Pudge.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
signing pudge doesn't cost us a pick...
not sure if that’s what you were saying or not.
But I agree, I’d just as soon he decline arb, give us the pick, and we still have the opportunity to sign him on the open mkt.
He was saying
There are several options that don’t involve the team having to give up a pick (i.e. Type A FA)
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
sure that's the alternate interpretation...
But there’s exactly zero probability that the Rangers are going to sign a type-a catcher. None.
well there is only 1 type A - Bengie Molina
He was not offered arbitration, so we wouldn’t have any worries there, but I don’t suspect us going after Bengie.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
That's more of an opportunity cost...
not the same as the real lost picks that signing a type-a causes.
That was precisely my thought
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
I know
this ownership is dominating the news, but what has anyone really done to improve their team?
The Braves signed Wagner. Other than that, I guess the Abreu re-signing was big, but there hasn’t been a lot going on anywhere on the meaningful player movement front.
Even the Rangers had money, what exactly do you expect to happen? The Rangers signing two free agents and making a trade within a month of the World Series? Come on. I think this complaining about the team not doing anything is just a tad premature.
Until the ownership situation is resolved
I think inactivity (for a while) may be the best move.
Why trade assets unnecessarily when you may have a new owner who will go get you that hitter on the free agent market?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
It's not that they haven't done anything
The question if they’ll have the ability to do anything such as adding a lefty reliever and a utility IFer.
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
Also, goyo hints at the possibility that the owenership situation is keeping the Rangers out of the international market despite some great bargains:
TX appears to be out of the running for any more Intl FA signs until the ownership thing gets settled but they could surprise me. Given the spate of signings in the last week, the Ranger’s haven’t been mentioned in any scuttlebutt. A quick summary:
Jacob Beltre, 60k (!), Seattle
Santo Aybar, Milw
E. Moronta, 570 k (!), NYY
Jochy Ogando, 275k, Sea
Jiminian, 250k, Seattle (per one Dominican-based source)
No TX links to Chapman, DePaula, or Arguelles in the last couple of weeks while Seattle has been busy (arrrgghh) and is still being linked to other kids of interest as we speak.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
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