I vote for anyone owning the team other than Murdoch. He was a disaster as owner of the Dodgers.

It looks as though a showdown is brewing between Murdoch and Cuban and TV is right in the middle of things. Cuban would probably like to make the Rangers a central player in HDNet while Murdoch doesn't want to lose the Rangers off of Fox Sports SW. 

My fear is that what went down yesterday (Friday) with GnR trying to prevent an auction was their last-gasp in this process. While they increased their bid do any of us really think they can keep up with Cuban or Murdoch in a bidding war, with all of their TV money?

Oh yeah, and Cuban now is one of the dirty, hated creditors. The story is really amazing. As they have been saying on The Hardline for awhile someone needs to write a book on this (Evan Grant). The details really are amazing.

Here are a couple links:

Mark Cuban's role in the Rangers sale

Why would Mark Cuban want the Rangers?

After reading the TR Sullivan article and the Revo article yesterday and today and thinking about where this thing is heading, it got me to think about the worst case scenario if MLB is in full control this offseason.

Worst case scenario:

*Millwood's option doesn't vest - is this really going to be so terrible? Sure MLB will have a huge fight on their hands, as they should, with MLBPA but the Rangers won't really be too much a part of that. And if Millwood's not back next year we will be ok.

*We cannot pursue any free agents, including Byrd - Let's be realistic. We probably weren't going to be huge players in the top guys anyway. We probably, once again, are destined to pursue reclamation projects, or guys who are at a low point and need to come here to rebound, like Ben Sheets. As for Byrd, we already have too many outfielders as it is. If they resign Byrd they are going to have to trade probably either Murphy or Cruz to have enough ABs to go around (or Hamilton). We lose a huge asset in the clubhouse but we would probably survive on the field.

*MLB forces us to dump Michael Young - This would not be good but we would be moving him at a point when his value figures to be pretty high. If we are ever going to be able to move Young with that albatross of a contract, this offseason might be the best time. If this happens, then don't we just move Davis to third (we don't really lose anything defensively, right?) and bring Smoak up to play first.

*Scheppers doesn't sign - This one would be another blow but there are still serious doubts out there about his health.

*Daniels and/or Nolan leave - Don't really want to think about either of these things, especially Daniels but if I was told to tear up what I had been building, I would leave, wouldn't you?

What else am I missing that MLB could force us to do? Who else would they force us to dump? If they make us do these things above we have gotten rid of all of our huge contracts (plus we lose Blalock and Padilla's salaries after this year) but we still would have a pretty decent team. Maybe not the odds-on favorite to win the division but still a pretty interesting team. Thoughts?

Evan Grant is reporting that Vincente Padilla has been designated for assignment. He's done. After that ridiculous display the other night, this was the right move. He wasn't coming back next year. Let's use the rest of this year to give a rotation spot to someone who will be here. Good for the Rangers.

Padilla's Gone

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TR Sullivan came out after the trade deadline the other day and said that Texas was told that Halladay would not have waived his no-trade clause to Texas. This morning, Nick Cafardo, posted an interview with Ricciardi in which Ricciardi states that that was not the case. Ricciardi basically contradicts a lot of what was reported about the trade process and says that there just wasn't a good enough offer on the table for him to accept for Doc. I am inclined to believe Sullivan that someone in the Rangers organization told him that. So, are the Rangers making up the fact that they were told this by Ricciardi? Was money really the issue and the Rangers just didn't want this to be out there as the reason? Or is Ricciardi just trying to cover himself since he didn't make a deal and probably won't be able to get as good a deal in the offseason or next year at the trade deadline? Who knows. 

Here is the link for the Cafardo article:

Cafardo with JP Ricciardi

Guess we won't have to face Washburn on Sunday. Wonder if the M's will bring Ian Snell up to pitch that game?

Washburn to Tigers

Only a couple hours to go. 

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My wife has family that lives in Newark, OH, which is the hometown of Derek Holland. Newark is about 30 miles east of Columbus and is very close to the hometown of Nick Swisher. Let's hope that Holland is less of a douche than Swish. 

Anyway, not much exciting goes on in Newark. I visited recently and it's a pretty quiet, out of the way place. There are a bunch of new Rangers fans there, though.

Holland Article

Just read Rosenthal's latest and it seems that Detroit has acquired Edwin Jackson from Tampa for leftfielder Matt Joyce.

Rosenthal

Doesn't seem like much for Jackson. I know the guy has been a disappointment and that Matt Joyce looks to be a decent outfielder, but I would have liked for the Rangers to get in on that guy. He has a ton of upside. He pitched a couple of great games against us if I remember. Wonder if a guy like Murphy or Cruz would have been better than Joyce.

Just read this on the DMN Ranger Blog. Here is the link:

Victor Rojas Leaving Rangers

I always liked Victor. Thought that he and Nadel worked well together. Of course, there has also been speculation that Josh Lewin might leave the Rangers to take the TV gig with the Padres which was vacated by the departure of Matt Vasgergian, who also was hired by MLB Network (which premieres in January 2009). My guess is that Steve Busby might take over for Victor. I thought he did a great job when he filled in for Victor when Victor took TAG's place last season. But if Josh leaves as well, who knows what will happen. The ultimate thing, in my opinion, would be for Eric and Tom Grieve to work together and do a simulcast on radio and TV, kind of like what the Stars do. Nadel has never wanted to do TV, though, so who knows.

Amid all the wackiness of the BCS, I just wanted to remind everyone that there is a playoff system at all other levels of NCAA football. And a team from not too far away stand a pretty good chance at winning a title very soon.

Yesterday, Abilene Christian University took on West Texas A&M in Abilene in the 2nd round of the Division 2 playoffs. ACU entered the game 10-0. West Texas was 11-1 with their only loss coming to ACU. The game was amazing. The final score was:

ACU 93 WT 68

It's not a basketball score. It's the score of the football game.

Here is a story on the game:

ACU vs. WT

I was actually at the game yesterday in Abilene and it was phenomenal. Four hours of video game football. ACU scored on 13 of 15 possessions. The first possession they didn't score on, they missed a field goal. The second possession they didn't score on they punted but the punt was fumbled and ACU recovered. So, they were never stopped! The running back for ACU scored 7 touchdowns. And this is not to mention the amazing stats from WT. Their quarterback almost threw for 600 yards. Amazing game. Maybe the most amazing part about it is ACU didn't really break a sweat in getting to 93. And they let up on the gas midway through the 4th quarter. They could have gotten to 100 if they had wanted.

The Fielding Bible awards for the season are out today. They can be found here

2008 Awards

Some interesting names on there. Franklin Gutierrez? The only repeat winner was the great Albert Pujols. That guy had a phenomenal year at the plate and the in the field and he did it with an injured shoulder and he still might lose MVP to Ryan Howard who struck out tons.

Of course there are no Rangers on the list. Maybe next year.

I haven't seen this anywhere else on this site. But Forbes did a recent ranking of the most loyal fans in baseball and the least loyal fans in baseball. And, wouldn't you know it, but us Rangers fans were named the most loyal, just ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

Baseball Fan Rankings

I am stunned.

Top 5:

1.) Rangers

2.) Red Sox

3.) Braves

4.) Cubs

5.) Pirates

Bottom 6:

6.) Yankees

5.) Phillies

4.) Twins

3.) A's

2.) Tigers

1.) Angels

Suck it Anaheim and Oakland! It also should be pointed out that Seattle was in the bottom 10 as well. So, at least we win the AL West at something.

Congrats everyone!

I was very interested to read the story out yesterday about Brandon McCarthy showing up at the Ballpark to pitch for Andy Hawkins, Jim Colburn, and Nolan Ryan. He wanted for them to look at his mechanics. He reportedly walked away feeling as good about his mechanics as he had in two years. We all will remember that he had some serious mechanical problems last year when he was healthy. His results thus far in his rehab has been up and down. Like Chris Young before him, because of his height he will struggle at times with repeating his delivery.

What was most interesting to me, though, was the inclusion of Nolan in this session. Dick Bosman famously pushed Nolan away from helping anyone on the staff when he was pitching coach. We never heard of Nolan working with any of the pitchers when Mark Connor was still around. Now, Connor is gone and we see this happening. Now, I know that many on LSB are wary of Ryan's influence in some areas of the organization but I see this as being a huge plus. The guy obviously knows pitching and he has a track record, though not as a full-time pitching coach, as successfully helping certain pitchers through the years. The best example of this is Randy Johnson. Johnson was just piddling along early in his career until he spent some time with Nolan. After that, he turned dominant and the rest is history.

I just wondered what LSB's opinion of Nolan is as far as working with our pitching staff. If he can help get a guy like McCarthy on track, that would be huge because this guy has great potential.

I don't know if any of you have been following the ongoing saga between Manny and the Red Sox. Basically, to borrow the phrase, it has just been Manny being Manny, but this time it seems like both sides are ready to move on.

Manny Would Not Block Trade

I don't know about the rest of you but my opinion is that the Red Sox would really be hurt if they lose Manny. My opinion has always been that Manny is the one who makes that lineup go and without him I think they lose a lot. I don't think I would fear Papi near as much if Manny is not protecting him in the lineup. Hopefully this will happen since I loathe the Red Sox but it's interesting to watch. The Red Sox are vulnerable this year with Papi hurt, Manny unhappy, and a crappy bullpen outside of Papelbon.

Now, I'm not saying that we trade for Manny. We could probably get him in the offseason. But this guy is a Hall of Fame hitter. Yes, he is not having a great year but the guy is one of the best hitters of this generation.

After all of the months since Greg Williams left The Ticket and The Hardline us P1s have been left in the dark as to much of what went down. We have been told famously by Mike Rhyner that we didn't deserve to know. Well, Richie Whitt of The Dallas Observer has finally shed some light on what went down. Here is his magnum opus about how it all unfolded.

The Hard Lie

Great article. As a fan of The Ticket and of The Hardline it is a heartbreaking story. It sucks when people do something that is well-received but they can't handle success. After reading this I can't help but wonder if this is what is happening to Mike and the Mad Dog in NY (but without the drugs). I blame Greggo the most, though Rhyner and Corby are to blame in part as well. I can definitely see their side of the story. I just though that The Ticket was a family and you don't screw over a family member like they did. I still listen because it's the best thing on by far in this market. But I have lost massive respect for them and it's just not the same. I find myself listening to XM radio more and more when I am in the car. The P1 has gotten screwed big time and it looks like things will definitely never be the same ever again.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3454016

John Gibbons has been fired in Toronto. They are bringing back Cito Gaston along with several guys who used to be on his old coaching staff. One has to wonder how long JP Ricciardi has. You know this probably wasn't his decision. He probably won't be too far behind. I can't believe they brought Cito back, though. I thought Gerry Fraley said that Buck might take over.

I was over at Baseball Prospectus and noticed that they had an interview up with Rangers legend and Lonestar Ball favorite, Ben Broussard. The interview can be found here:

Broussard interview

The guy definitely has a high opinion of himself and thinks that he has what it takes to be an everyday player at the major league level. I just found the interview a little comical because the guy is the definition of a spare.

I was reading Jeff Wilson's game article in the Star-Telegram this morning and he mentioned the 8th inning sequence from last night. He mentioned Manny and Ortiz and and referred to them both as "future Hall of Famers". Manny is a shoe-in. He is one of the best hitters of this generation. And his numbers bear that out. Ortiz has been great over the last five years but is that enough? Now, I know that everyone loves Big Papi and thinks he is great. I like him too, for the most part, but I don't know if he is a Hall of Famer. If he does what he has been doing for another 5-7 years then probably, but right now isn't he about in the same category as a Jim Rice, who is borderline, and is probably only still getting consideration since he was a Red Sox.

We know that Rich Harden is already on the DL for the Swingin' A's. Tonight, Ben Sheets left the Brewers game against the Reds with tightness in his triceps. Which guy is more snake-bitten? Will either guy be healthy for a full season at some point in their career? And which other players belong on the all-DL list? Guys who would have to be on my list include Joel Zumaya, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Bobby Crosby, Eric Chavez, and the previously mentioned two pitchers.

I was listening today to MLB Home Plate on XM Radio Channel 175 and they were talking about how terrible the Giants are and, specifically, how terrible Barry Zito is. His velocity is down to like 83 and he has been terrible with the Giants and they still owe him like $115 million. It just got me to thinking of how lucky the Rangers are that the Giants moneywhipped him and that he didn't sign with us, because we were close by all accounts. If we had signed him he would have been another Chan Ho for us. I think we will probably be saying the same thing about Torii Hunter in a couple years and I know we are saying the same thing about GMJ (I'm glad we didn't sign him). On the one hand I am thankful that these guys didn't sign with us, but on the other hand I have to question why our management went so hard after these guys in the first place.

I trust the LSB community so I will throw this out there.

I am considering switching from DirecTV to AT&T U-Verse. I know this is a relatively new service but it sounds very interesting.

My question is, does anyone on here have U-Verse and if so do you like it? What did you have in the past? What are the differences? What are the problems you have experienced with it? Etc.?

I am pretty happy with DirecTV but U-Verse sounds just interesting enough that I am considering switching. Any thoughts, advice, guidance would be welcome.

I tried to get in the other two leagues that have been started and they were already full so I started another one on Yahoo!

You can signup for the league at

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1

Click on "Join League" then "Join Custom League"

League ID: 24522
Password: rangers

It is only a 10-team league so get in soon. And please only join if you are going to be active. Don't play if you will drop the league when you are in last place or if you will drop the league when fantasy football starts in August. We want a fun, competitive league. The draft will be on Saturday, February 23 at 1:15PM.

Thanks.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just the time of year. Maybe it's just a delusion but I am a little optimistic at what we might get out of the Rangers this year. First, I think the expectations are low to non-existent and that will work in their favor. But, I like a lot of the little signings that JD has made. I think they have shaped this team into a team that can play more of the style of ball that Ron Washington wants to play. If everyone stays healthy, which is a big if, I would not be surprised to see us have a Seattle-type season from last year, where we play well at times and hang in the wild card for at least part of the year. There is no way I see us making the playoffs but I think we will be improved and we might finish around .500. Have I lost it completely or does anyone else feel the slightest optimism?

I just ran across this story on ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3129805

I have to wonder what it would cost us to trade for Prior? Under normal circumstances I would think that the Cubs would wants quite a bit but I have to think that they would be selling very low right now. I really don't even know what trade proposal would work due to his injury problems.

Thoughts?

The one name I have not heard the Rangers linked to that I think they should consider is Kerry Wood. He represents the ultimate "buy low" kind of player that the Rangers should take a chance on. He only pitched like 20-25 innings this season and so he probably won't have a whole lot of innings in him next year. You are probably looking at putting him in the pen. To get him you are probably going to have to do what the Rangers did with Gagne last off-season and promise him the closers job. But, if they give him a 2-3 year deal by the 2nd and 3rd years hopefully he will be back at the point where he can be a starter again. By that time, the Rangers should be ready to compete for the AL West and Wood has the kind of stuff, when healthy, that can front a rotation. Plus, as everyone knows, he is from Irving, so maybe he will want to come home. He is one of those guys that seems to me like he needs a change of scenery and could benefit from that. To me, it seems like a no-lose proposition. Even if you have to give him several years, the potential upside is really good.

Thoughts?

I can't wait to see how the media deals with Derek Jeter's failure in the playoffs against the Indians. I don't have the numbers, but from watching the series, it appeared to me that he choked worse than ARod. He grounded into 4 or 5 doubleplays, almost all in key situations with multiple runners on base.

Every East-coast media-type has a man-crush on Jeter so I am sure we won't hear any criticism for #2 but it's deserved. The Yankees sucked against Cleveland and it starts with their captain.

Ran across this great article by Jayson Stark

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3009424

on the double standard of steroids and HGH. We have talked about this before on this blog. I think he argument for the likability factor is a good one. But I wonder how Raffy and McGwire fit into that. Both seemed to me to be likeable and both are vilified now and McGwire never was actually proven to have taken the stuff. It definitely seem like there is not a common set of standards being used in judging all of these cases.