These rankings from USA Today, outlining team payrolls for 2007, have gotten a lot of attention, particularly since it shows that the Rangers are 21st in the majors in payroll, while the small-market, low-payroll Oakland A's check in at $79.4 million.
Now...I'm not going to defend Tom Hicks' payroll. I think the team payroll should be in the $80-90 million range, given the size of the Rangers' market and where comparable clubs are coming in.
However...in looking this over, the USA Today numbers appear misleading.
Look at the team detail for the Rangers. Notice a name missing on there?
A certain shortstop, that the Rangers are paying $7 million this year to play for the Yankees?
Put that back in there, and the Rangers are coming in at $75.3 million for 2007.
The A's, meanwhile, are showing $12.858 million for Jason Kendall. They aren't paying Kendall $12.858 million this year, though...they are paying him $7.858 million, with the Pittsburgh Pirates kicking in $5 million. That drops the A's to $74.4 million.
So when you factor those two things in, the Rangers are paying more in payroll than the A's are. The difference is, the Rangers are spending some of their money subsidizing the Yankees, while the A's are getting some money back from the Pirates.
Now, again, at the end of the day, it doesn't make a huge difference...it jumps the Rangers up 17th, passing, along with the A's, the Reds, the Brewers and the Twins. The Rangers are still in the middle of the pack in payroll, and lumped in with some of the weak sisters of the league.
However, it is worth noting that the Rangers were willing to spend another $13 million for this year to get Barry Zito, and were willing to spend quite a few millions to get Frank Thomas or Mike Piazza here. This particular offseason, there aren't a hell of a lot of contracts I saw passed out where I said, "I wish the Rangers had gotten in on that."
Now, where push will come to shove will be in June, when the Rangers have a bunch of premium picks in the amateur draft, and have to decide whether to make a couple of "signability" selections, like most teams do when they've got 7-8 picks in the top 80-90 selections, or if they are going to take the best talent on the board.
The team has shown in the past a willingness to spend on amateur talent, be it Vince Sinisi, Patrick Boyd, Taylor Teagarden, or Mark Teixeira. And hopefully, that will continue to be the case this year.
And the other time where willingness to spend could be an issue is if the team is in the race in July or August, and is looking to add a piece. Of course, at this point, the Rangers are playing like they are more likely to be sellers than buyers (and guys like Kenny Lofton, Eric Gagne and even the Sooser could bring a pretty decent return, although that's down the road).
But if the team is in contention, and can add a contributor who has a hefty paycheck, Tom Hicks should be willing to step to the plate and make that financial commitment.
Given where they stand now, payroll-wise, relative to the rest of the league, and given the relative paucity of long-term deals on the books, writing a check for a difference maker in a pennant race should be a no-brainer.