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Welcome the Oklahoma City Rangers to Arlington
I don't think firing Ron Washington will do anything except maybe send the team into more disarray. Nolan is right, let's see how the team responds to adversity.
What I wish they would do is DFA Broussard and go with a Catalonotto/Shelton platoon at 1B. Trade Laird or make him your backup behind Salty. This switching time evenly seems pretty stupid to me. Keep Boggs up and see what he can do, and make Byrd your backup OF once he comes back from the DL, which is supposed to be next week.
Ponson has pitched two excellent games, keep him up and see what he can do for us. Gabbard is coming back which means spot starts by guys like AJ Murray tonight will hopefully not be happening much longer.
A long ways to go but again, I still think this team is much better (not great, mind you) than their record indicates.
Welcome the Oklahoma City Rangers to Arlington
Last edited by sribb43; 05-05-2008 at 11:42 AM.
Adversity? Thats all this franchise has ever known.
God damn Josh Hamilton is a stud.
Josh Hamilton would bring in alot of pitching from a team like say, o.... the Cardinals
When Tom Hicks took control of the Texas Rangers midway through the 1998 season (making George W Bush rich in the process), the Rangers had a pretty good team. They had won the AL West division (which comprises 4 teams) in 1996 and went on to repeat this under Hicks in 1998 & 1999.
The results since then have been unbelievably poor, with the Rangers’ finishes in the division as follows:
2000 4th
2001 4th
2002 4th
2003 4th
2004 3rd
2005 3rd
2006 3rd
2007 4th
It’s a situation very similar to that at Corinthians - initial success followed by a dramatic decline as mismanagement, poor decision-making and the quest for profits took a toll on the team’s performances on the field.
There’s already a post on this blog quoting Tom Hicks’ at ude toward his sports businesses: “It’s not about winning”. That’s not to say that he’s averse to winning - especially if it brings in more money and profit - but that winning only matters to Hicks in that it means more bums on seats and more consumers using their hard-earned wage to line his pockets.
Some may point to the infamous (even in the UK) $252m A-Rod contract as evidence that Hicks is a ‘big spender’. This act of gross mismanagement took place back in 2001, when poor performance led Hicks to attempt to jump start the money wagon with what was, essentially, a massive PR stunt.
But that’s not what Rangers fans wanted. They didn’t want a marquee player being brought in at the expense of the rest of the team. They wanted a (hopefully winning) team with players who understood what it meant to play for the uniform. Thus, A-Rod’s arrival generated only 30k in extra ticket sales in 2001 (certainly not what Hicks had expected), with a drop in total sales of 480k the following year and a further drop in 2003 of 260k.
Since that incident, Hicks appears to have reverted to his original philosophy - the “really trying” philosophy. Why spend so much on players when just giving the appearance of doing so might be sufficient? Consider the statment he made on taking control of the Rangers:
“This is one of the best franchises in the country. It’s in a world class facility. You don’t even have to win a championship every year to draw the fans. You just have to show you’re really trying.”
Now consider the following passage from the official MLB site in June last year:
“Daisuke Matsuzaka was in the visiting clubhouse on Friday. The Rangers really expected him to be in their clubhouse when they submitted a $27 million bid when he was posted this winter. The Rangers were shocked when they heard the Boston Red Sox bid $51.1 million.
“Absolutely,” Rangers owner Tom Hicks said. “I couldn’t believe it. We thought we were going to win at $27 million.”
Signing Matsuzaka would have made a significant difference in the Rangers payroll.
So would have signing Barry Zito, who turned down an offer that was potentially worth $99 million. Instead the Rangers open the season with a payroll of approximately $68 million that could rise to $75 million if Sammy Sosa and Eric Gagne reach all their incentives.
Only three teams in the American League have a payroll lower than the Ranges but Hicks said, “There wasn’t a player out there who we didn’t go after because of money. We went after the players we wanted. We just didn’t get a couple of the players we wanted.”
You just have to show you’re really trying!
And to emphasise this new miserly at ude - which has led to the Dallas Observer recently referring to him as a “billionaire buying knock-offs” - consider the following FACT: the Rangers are now ranked 21st in basic payroll out of the 30 MLB teams. When Tom Hicks took over they had the 5th highest payroll - more in line with their current standing as the nation’s 5th largest media market.
It’s this new-found frugality, along with problems caused by the global credit crunch, that point to a pretty bleak future ahead for the Rangers. Especially given that Hicks now appears to be more interested in the Glorypark development around the stadium - in which he is the primary investor.
The apparent indifference of Rangers fans toward what Hicks has done to their team (with very little in the way of public protest, etc) suggests that a lot have given up hope. Others - primarily his defenders - appear to be suffering from a form of ‘Stockholm syndrome’.
Now that his position is weak, perhaps it’s a good time for Rangers fans to wake from their slumber, join up with Liverpool fans and fight back?
Whoever wrote this article is a fool and knows nothing about Rangers fans. I don't know a single Rangers fan who likes Tom Hicks. Not one.
And don't look now, but the Rangers have a winning road trip, four series wins in a row and now only have the fourth-worst record in the AL
Good Lord did you read it?
Yes, I read it
I was referring to this sentence:
"Others - primarily his defenders - appear to be suffering from a form of ‘Stockholm syndrome’."
Who are his defenders? I don't know a single one. That's what I was referring to.
As for people constantly posting the stats of traded players, it's pretty rediculous. Why waste your time seeing what others are doing, that just makes no sense. Do you keep passing by your ex-girlfriend's house to see who she is dating now or something? Time to move on.
Its an important aspect of whats happening to this franchise and who is "rebuilding" it.
He has defenders on the radio and media. I don't know of a single person personally though either.Yes, I read it
I was referring to this sentence:
"Others - primarily his defenders - appear to be suffering from a form of ‘Stockholm syndrome’."
Who are his defenders? I don't know a single one. That's what I was referring to..
ing for the sake of ing, nothing more. I guess we're better off without Josh Hamilton, because we know Volquez had a great history of not getting s ed at The Ballpark. We know that hard-throwing rightys ALWAYS succeed at The Ballpark
If that's how you want to spin it ...
While I agree the San Diego trade was bad, the Danks-McCarthy is still too early to tell and I don't see what the obsession is in regards to Volquez-Hamilton when both have been doing so well for their teams.
I would rather watch the team and see what they are doing now. It's quite fun lately, 8 wins in the last 12 games and even pulling out the close games, two shutouts in a row. But I guess those obsessed with the past can't enjoy the present.
No, it isn't. If it was, you'd post Eric Gagne's stats right now too. I believe Gabbard/Murphy for Gagne was a pertinent rebuilding trade as well.
You're ing for the sake of ing, end of story.
So you're ok with Daniels?
Yeah the present is awesome. Go Rangers
Its always the ballpark.......We know that hard-throwing rightys ALWAYS succeed at The Ballpark
He's got a plan and he's sticking with it. Let him see it through, and if his plan fails, then fire him.
I suppose you're okay with Tom Hicks, since you're endorsing his "if it doesn't work immediately, fire everybody and change philosophies, repeat every 2 years" way of doing things.
Serious question - do you actually watch the Rangers play? Or do you really just hear what Bad Radio has to say about the team and rehash it as your own opinion?Its always the ballpark.......
I'm guessing you're also 100% against Rudy Jaramillo and want Mike Hargrove in town.
This isn't immediate.
Been watching since I was a wee little lad.
I don't have a problem with Rudy at all. My only complaint is I wish he forced more patience at the plate.
So if its the ballparks fault them how come others have success?
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