The words of my sister, DIE HARD RANGERS FAN FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS, upon hearing that they will trade Michael Young.

I'm sick about it too, and I don't this team has the same heart without him.

BTW, she is not one to make such statements lightly, she probably really is done with them for at least a couple of years win or lose.

Sick to my stomach, and I do not think this team has the same heart without him.

Who will lead? I can't think of anyone who is in a position to be respected as the de facto team captain as Young was.

I would not be surprised if this team's will to win is hurt very badly because of this.

LOL

How exactly did michael young improve this teams will to win? He's been on the rangers since '01 and they finally made the playoffs last year. Was it chemistry or talent that did that? Will grown men, being paid millions of dollars to play a game they love, a game they've been playing since they were children, a game they've based their entire lives on, suddenly be less inclined to play baseball to their best ability because their buddy left? I'm not saying chemistry has no affect on a team's performance, but it's pretty minimal. And if your sister is done with the rangers because they (presumably) will trade young, good riddance, they're the texas rangers not the texas flippin michael youngs.

Then your sister is not a Rangers fan, she is a Michael Young fan.

That sucks, because now they're going to have to pack it all up, close down the offices, fire all the employees, and release all their players. Oh well - it's been a good ride. They did get 1 World Series out of it. There's just no way they could go on after losing their best fan like that.

I don't need a break from the team to know that trading MY for nothing and still paying him 8-10 mil a year is not going to be a good thing.

Marktown,
Well put. A Rangers' fan is a Rangers' fan no matter what. All of my favorites have left at one time or another and I was at the very first game in Arlington Stadium.
Joe's sister sounds like my neighbor here in Wisconsin who hopes the Packers lose the Super Bowl because he still loves Brett Favre and he doesn't want Aaron Rodgers to have any success. He claims to be a lifelong Packers' fan but he's really just a Favre fan.

I go to Texas Tech and when Mike Leach was fired I was upset, but I realized that the university is bigger than the individual. The same is true for MY. I love Mike and all he has done for us, but if trading him allows us to sign Josh, Nelly, or CJ long term, I will be less upset.

David,

You are an idiot. My sister is, guaranteed, a bigger Rangers fan and a bigger baseball fan than your pandsy ass. I'm sure you won't begrudge me the right to pound on you now that you have questioned her loyalty to the Rangers and mine by extension. The thing that any fan has to question is when the organization begins to become something that they no longer want to support. If I were a die hard Yankees fan growing up in the Bronx I hope to God I would be able to stop rooting for them when they became what they are now, a band of massive ego weilding mercenaries who only care about themselves and who don't even look like they enjoy the game anymore. I stopped rooting for the Cowboys when they became a bunch of players and thugs too, of course football is my second sport so I didn't care that much.

We went to old Arlington Stadium too, she took me all the time as I'm about 10 years younger than her. Remember how the entire stadium shook when the crowd went wild because everyone would pound on the aluminum grandstand with their feet? I remember cheering on Tom Henke, screaming from the left center field bleachers with my brother "the terminator!" That was an awesome time and man did we suck, but the world was right with the Rangers and with us.

The point is that trading MY is a shitty move. Its not so much about MY as much as it is about the way you do business. Is it all about money and quantifiable baseball factors or is more than just that? Is it meaningful on a human level? None of this is too say that we put Michael Young over the team. We just think of baseball as more than something to be reduced to statistics and money. If MY declined so much that he couldn't hit anymore than fine get rid of him, but he is still a good hitter and an excellent leader. If he asked for the trade that changes a lot because it means he doesn't want to stick around. If they are just moving him regardless I find that pretty shitty and that is what my sister would be upset about. What those in favor of moving MY don't understand is that it is not such a clear cut decision, that this makes the team better. There are intangibles in play that I fear may end up counting for much more than JD realizes right now.

Joe

David is NOT an idiot. And he also understands the virtue of conciseness. And whether or not we are willing to admit it, or whether or not we like it, major league baseball IS a business, bottom line.

Joe, you just become my favorite poster....well said !!

Of course baseball is a business, but it is possible to run a business while remaining respectful to the humanity of those involved.

I don't really care if David is an idiot or not...talk that way about my sister and you get what you deserve.

The biggest fans are probably the least appropriate people to determine the well being of a ball club. Business decisions (and every transaction, even those that are to improve the quality of team on the field are the business of baseball) shouldn't be based on significant emotional attachment.

There are no prizes for being the biggest fan... it's absolutely great that people love the Rangers. And that they love the players on the Rangers. But that doesn't qualify those people to make decisions regarding the franchise. Analysis and evaluation is hard thing. I've had to fire and lay people off in my life... including a good friend. Not that I wanted to, but it was the appropriate decision for the company I work for.

And as a fan of the ball club, all I care about is seeing a World Series here. That's it. If that happens I'm happy... regardless of who's wearing the laundry I like best.

Michael Young, Matt Harrison, Aaron Cook, and Huston Street need a change of scenery..... the first two need an opportunity to perform that will not be forthcoming in Texas.

Swap 'em.

whoa joe calm down no need to write an angry letter bro

Holy crap - how is moving Michael Young being "disrespectful to his humanity"? That's INSANE TALK. They are paying him 80 MILLLLLLLLION dollars to play baseball over 5 years.

Please stop talking bollocks.

@ Joe : "You are an idiot. My sister is, guaranteed, a bigger Rangers fan and a bigger baseball fan than your pandsy ass. I'm sure you won't begrudge me the right to pound on you now that you have questioned her loyalty to the Rangers and mine by extension."

LOL, you are a fool, and this site would be better off without your constant and inane walls of text

Putting asides how ridiculous it is to threaten bodily harm on someone base on their opinion of a baseball trade...the reason you would do so is so flawed as to be funny. You posted how your sister would be "done with the Rangers" if they trade MY. To me, that doesn't seem like a "loyalty to the Rangers" that cannot be questioned.

matchst1ck,

You are exactly the sort of fan that I don't think gets its. You are the sort of fan who would root for the Rangers if they were selling crack out of the 1st base side ticket windows and running a brothel out of center field.

"I don't care about anything but winning, regardless of who is wearing the uniform I like best."

That is so lame beyond comprehension man! You are reducing your team to a pile of uniforms. They are human beings Matches! Wake up to reality here. I'm not saying you should allow your emotions to overly cloud your judgment but you also have to run a business in such a way that respects the reason behind that business which is not simply profit driven, a business is about a human community with inherent dignity and meaning that transcends some overly reduced goal like winning or profit. It is also true that treating people with respect is also the best way to make money and to win by the way.

Joe

Joe,

Obviously anyone who might claim your sister is anything less than the biggest ranger fan ever is an idiot, especially the idiot who started this thread about your sister no longer being a ranger fan.

Pull T,

I did not threaten bodily harm to anyone. You are obviously purposefully misrepresenting what I said.

The pounding was a metaphor for my ad hominem attacks against David in Wisconsin. I would never pound on David physically well at least not for that.

Joe

HAHA johnnyrager won this thread

It's the truth though. I enjoy players on an individual basis... and will root for them in that regard. I would root for Michael Young on a personal level as a member of the Rockies.

But as much as I hated the dirty bastard that is Terrell Owens... that didn't stop me from doing the T-O dance when scored touchdowns as a Cowboy.

This is a game... a diversion for people. There is no value to the advancement of society from sporting events. I root for the Rangers, Cowboys, Mavs and Stars because I was born here. No other reason.

When you consider those things... that ultimately sports are just a game and relatively trivial in the grand scheme of things... and that the basis for your fandom is identifying with an organization due to geographic proximity... it makes it far easier to just accept that I root for laundry.

As far as respect and humanity... take a gander at what's going on in Egypt right now to put "humanity" in perspective. Michael Young is being treated as a professional baseball player. He is paid very well and given tremendous support by his union to make sure that he is not taken advantage of.

Getting a player that plays his position better than him is not disrespectful. Getting a cheaper player that produces similar to him is not disrespectful. Trading him to another team is not disrespectful

Get your priorities in order.

texaslifter

I agree that TX should look into Street. I think they got Lindstrom in the off-season, so they could use him as a closer. But I imagine that they'd want someone better than Harrison if they gave up Cook - probably Hunter or Holland. I think Lopez will be part of the deal.