A new T.R. Sullivan article on Mike Young is up, and it isn't real good news for those who want Young to be a Ranger for life:
Rangers owner Tom Hicks said Thursday that signing shortstop Michael Young to a contract extension is a priority for the club in the offseason.
But Young, who is signed through 2007 with an option for 2008, doesn't appear to be too eager to get something done anytime soon.
"My agent and I will listen to what they have to say, but at the same time, we're in no hurry," Young said before the Rangers' game with the Los Angeles Angels. "When I signed this contract, I expected to play it out and see what happens. After that, who knows?
"I'm all about winning games; it's as simple as that. Where I end up after this contract is over, it's going to be with a team that has the best chance of winning the World Series. There's no secret to that, they know that."
The question is if the Rangers will be the team that has the best chance. The Rangers have never been to the World Series and have not been to the playoffs since 1999. Young was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 19, 2000.
"We have a lot of championship players," Young said. "It's just a matter of being on the same page, getting more pieces and everybody picking each other up. We didn't have enough of that this year. As time goes on, I'm getting more and more tired of missing the postseason.
"At some point you have to see results. If I feel it's here, fine. It goes back to who has the best chance of winning the World Series. Obviously though, I'm not going somewhere to play left field just because a team has a chance of winning. For sure, everything has to be the right situation."
This shouldn't really be a surprise, I don't imagine. I have to think that Young is going to be reluctant to lock himself in long-term in a situation where he thinks he's at risk of joining Toby Harrah and Buddy Bell atop the list of modern players with the most games without making the playoffs.
What is interesting, though, is that Young has tended to always say the right thing, the (with apologies to Sharky) the politically correct thing. The fact that he's coming out and making comments, to the effect that he's in no hurry to sign a long-term deal because he wants to play for a winner...
That should be a warning to Tom Hicks. He says he wants to poke around in the clubhouse, see what the mindset is of the players? Young's comments seem to give a pretty clear signal of what his concerns are...