Today's Open Discussion Thread

There's nothing of too much significance out there today, beyond a rapidly nearing resolution to the Roy Oswalt saga, which moves forward today as Oswalt and agent Bob Garber sit down with the Rangers to feel out where each side currently stands. Per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson, the Rangers are privately concerned about Oswalt's motivation to pitch for Texas, and "also wonder if he is a fit with [Nolan] Ryan's intense training program," all of which falls on top of a currently troublesome asking price pushing the $10 million range for one season.

I suspect today's meeting will be addressed after the fact as having been "highly productive" or having gone "extremely well" (which was the same kind of terminology we saw employed in the immediate wake of the Prince Fielder meeting), and I also suspect that's not really going to mean much of anything. If there's some master plan to move a starter out of Texas for a larger, more significant return, and Oswalt is an important piece of the puzzle, there's a fairly strong likelihood they'll find some way to figure out a deal. If there isn't, and if Oswalt's asking price doesn't take a 50 percent reduction (or possibly more) for the reigning two-time American League champions, then this is all simply going to end up as another historical footnote tacked underneath the heading of "Times the Rangers almost got Roy Oswalt."