The Rangers' Moment Of Chaos
If you -- like myself -- have ever stopped everything down for just a single moment and wondered aloud, "Does this ever end?", permit me to answer your rhetorical plea: No, no it doesn't.
With the fate of the Rangers' ownership precariously hanging in the balance and another round of setbacks being dealt to the prospective Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan ownership consortium, another fascinating wrinkle has been added to the complexion of the on-going madness, as FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported very early this morning that general manager Jon Daniels' contract contains an out clause which would enable him to leave the organization after the 2010 season if ownership changes hands.
Daniels, according to a source equipped with knowledge of Greenberg's and Ryan's plans, would be "totally safe" under their ownership, but any semblance of certainty regarding the future holder of majority ownership appears to be on the brink of flying out the window, as a scheduled MLB-supervised July 16th auction has been nixed while the court-appointed restructuring officer (William K. Snyder) overseeing the Rangers' bankruptcy case sets about hammering out new bidding procedures. Said a dejected Ryan of the latest developments: "I don't have a good feeling about things ... It's a good possibility that [the sale of the Rangers to Greenberg/Ryan] might not happen."
[Still in the hunt for the team appear to be Houston freight-shipping magnate Jim Crane and Dallas investor Jeff Beck, the latter of whom appears to have partnered with L.A.-area sports agent Dennis Gillbert. Ryan, for his part, is adamant that he wants no part of any ownership regime other than that which he is currently a part of; Crane would likely attempt to convince him otherwise, and might succeed in doing so, but the chances of ever seeing a Rangers power structure simultaneously comprising Beck/Gilbert/Ryan are about as good as the chances of myself and Jason Parks supplanting Norm Hitzges during The Ticket's 10 a.m.-12 p.m. weekday timeslot, which is to say that they're rather minimal.]
My belief is that there's nothing inherently wrong with Crane/Beck/Crane in the context of prospective ownership, a position borne from the reality that we think we know these guys ... but we really don't. To claim or pretend otherwise is ignorant. It may, however, be the case that any of the three would want to exercise their due prerogative to bring their own people in, and with Ryan -- who would seem to serve as Daniels' protector, in the sense that he currently insulates the front office from ownership -- insisting that he wants no part of those groups after the fact, Daniels and his closest advisors could conceivably be staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun.
The thing about your head resting on the proverbial chopping block is that such knowledge -- and we can rest assured that Daniels is privy to a heaping load of off-the-record, ownership-related information -- can and does affect how you approach your job, unconsciously or otherwise, which brings a new trade deadline-related element into play. If we run deeper into the month of July and Daniels perceives the chips to be stacked against him as far as still being securely employed by the organization 4-5 months down the line, it's likely going to leave him more inclined to take a shot that he otherwise might not so readily take. I'm not talking about egregiously irresponsible stewardship of the ballclub's young assets; I am, however, talking about doing what is required within good reason to put the Rangers over the top in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and giving Daniels the opportunity to savor the post-season fruits of his labor.
Granted, there's an already compelling argument to be made for the Rangers taking their shot this year (one which Josh Garoon far more eloquently conveyed on Monday), but invoking the win-now protocol vis-a-vis Cliff Lee would also give Texas a measurably better chance of advancing deep into the playoffs, which would, in turn, make it quite a bit more difficult for an incoming owner to immediately ax the whole of upper management while trying to maintain a positive P.R. image during the delicate early stages of ownership. In other words, the reasons why any lessening of Daniels' job security -- or even the mere perception of such -- could force him into a more aggressive wheeling-and-dealing stance are multifold.
To be clear, I don't know whether Jon Daniels is the right person to oversee this franchise's eventual (hopeful?) ascendancy into late-round playoff baseball. I don't think any of us can truly know that; we can only project his general managerial body of work to date into the future and draw inferences of questionable repute. I also don't know whether he'll still be employed by this organization in six months, whether the scouting department will still be intact, whether Greenberg/Ryan will yet acquire the team or whether Cliff Lee will ever don a Rangers uniform ... because if there's one thing we can be certain of during this moment of chaos, it's that nobody really knows anything.
[Addendum: For those of you who are wondering why I'm still considering Lee available in light of this morning's report of Lee going to the Yankees, well, (a) nothing has been finalized yet, and (b) Newsday's Ken Davidoff is reporting that talks between the Mariners and Yankees have hit a "snag," which, in the baseball rumor parlance, means that it's not over until it's over ... unless it's over.]
26 Comments | in Analysis, The Season
Reader Comments (26)
It's over. Not to be confused with "It's time."
Like I've said before, Chuck Greenberg will never own the team.
If JD and Nolan both walk, consider my fanhood(lifelong Rangers fan) to be on free agency.
What happened to Bud Selig stepping in and giving control to Ryan/Greenburg? While I know it's not popular, it is best for the Texas Rangers and MLB.
If we follow Joey's logic, the late "snag" could very well be JD with a last minute haul for the M's.
Is the Fat Lady in the green room?
There are still 3 weeks left before the trade deadline. Take trade rumors with a grain of salt. I think the Mariners are playing the field to get the best possible deal, as they should. I am conflicted about trading for Cliff Lee. I would love to have him but only at a reasonable price. What that price is I don't know but I would rather not give up Perez, Holland, or Smoak for a 3 month rental.
I have tired head concerning the Rangers' sale. I will be severely disappointed if Greenberg/Ryan do not attain ownership. The Rangers finally have a competent individual running the club(Ryan) and a prospective owner(Greenberg) who seems energetic and what the team needs, yet it appears the baseball God's have once again frowned upon this team. Very disappointing! Mr. Hicks you disgust me. As far as trading for Lee, I am conflicted. There is a real chance to make the playoffs with this present club and Lee added to it. How far they would go is anyone's guess. But subtracting players like Holland, Smoak, Perez or Scheppers does not excite me, but I suppose is going to be necessary to extract Lee from the Mariners. Next year, what are the chances Hamilton, Guerrero and company are having years like they are currently having? I guess I am leaning towards going for the trade and seeing where the chips fall. After all, who knows if the Rangers will even be around next year. Have I mentioned that you disgust me, Mr. Hicks?!
I'm confused. A few days ago it seemed like the CRO was not only on board with the auction process submitted by Greenberg-Ryan, but that he was in on its writing. Now he's against it? What happened?
I'm confused. A few days ago it seemed like the CRO was not only on board with the auction process submitted by Greenberg-Ryan, but that he was in on its writing. Now he's against it? What happened?
Per Daniel Kaplan, the creditors opposed the auction process -- at least as presently constructed -- because (a) it would have given MLB, not the court, final choice of the winner, (b) would have given Greenberg/Ryan the right to review other bidders' finances, and (c) would have given Greenberg/Ryan the oft-mentioned $15 million "break-up" fee. The CRO apparently "agreed in part with at least some of these objections."
I can't see how they can possibly remedy part (a) of that, though.
Blech. Baseball was better when it was a sport and not big corporate business.
Is anyone going to call me ridiculous again when I say this is an embarrassment of epic proportions? Hopefully this is done by the winter meetings. If not, hopefully by spring training. Opening day 2011? All-Star Break? Sound familiar?
How far apart were Ryan/Greenberg and the creditors? 30 million? At this point wouldn't you just put up the additional money especially given that the payroll is very low? Does this raise questions about how well funded this group is and its ability to increase payroll, etc. in the future? I've wanted this group to take over the ownership but at this point, when they appear to be on the verge of losing the team, you have to wonder if they really have the money to run the franchise.
I'm with Shev... if this team is going to have another bad owner and does an about face with JD and Nolan, etc... I'M DONE!
This is exactly what I posted about yesterday, except I used Wash as example of someone that MAY be operating out of desperation. You throw JD into that same category and we're in trouble... and I do NOT want to sit around and watch another decade of futility pass by.
I say that we pitch in and buy the club ourselves. We could use Jamey to handle the legalities and I bet Mark Cuban would pitch in the $550 - $600M needed to get us over the hump.
I would really like to read about baseball.... this stuff tires me out.... sure hope we win tonight
phooey, we will probably lose tonight, Feldman will be throwing batting practice tonight
Joey, you single handedly cost us the game last night by blowing up the chat :(
"phooey, we will probably lose tonight, Feldman will be throwing batting practice tonight" billydpowell
Now this is more like it. Finanial woes, skeptical fans, poor pitching, losing, etc. etc.
There for about a month I was under a spell of some sort.
Thanks for nothing NL cellar dwellers.
Back to being a tried and true Rangers fan. Is it 101 deg. at 10pm yet?
Joey, you single handedly cost us the game last night by blowing up the chat :(
July 9, 2010 at 3:22 PM | DMax
This
Smoak + 3 for Cliff Lee, Mark Lowe. Done deal.
3:57pm: The Rangers will acquire Lee and Mark Lowe for Justin Smoak and three others, according to Sherman (via Twitter). Also cash sent by the Ms.
Oh boy. The reports are that Mr. Cliff Lee is coming to Arlington. Keep an eye on Buster Olney's twitter page: http://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN
I love this trade so much. Beavan, Lueke, and Lawson are more than fine by me. Smoak will add to the list of All star Ranger 1B with other teams, but this makes the Rangers contenders now without giving up a king's ransom. Bravo JD.
prescient much?
The judge had this thing all but wrapped up with a pretty bow on it before he went on vacation. Snyder is a complete disaster. He has made this all about himself not the team or even the creditors. What a self centered putz.
Hopefully the judge will return well rested from his vacation and reign in his run away CRO.
How in the world can a franchisor (MLB) not have a say so over who gets awarded a franchise.
The local macDonalds franchise goes under does not allow a Mexican drug cartel to take it over as amoney laundering operation merely because they have the highest bid. MLB has the right to award/pull a franchise.
@Jon
That's actually a pretty good analogy. More so considering you're a "young guy". :)
prescient much?
Well, I am the star.