After so much losing, how anyone trusts Texas Rangers brass is a mystery | Opinion
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, the Texas Rangers hosted their season-ending press conference, which may as well have been held on April 6.
Texas Rangers President of The Universe Jon Daniels and GM Chris Young fielded questions about the team’s 60-102 record, and I had one for Mr. JD.
“What do you say to those frustrated fans that you know what you’re doing and that this team is on the right path?”
What followed was a two-minute, 52-second answer.
“What I would say to our fans is we share their frustration,” he said. “That [this 100-loss season] hurt for all of us. I don’t think anybody in the organization has lost 100 games before. We were not looking for draft position. We knew what we were getting into.
And, “[It’s] similar to what we’d pitch to free agents. We have a lot of positive things going that have obviously not translated to the big leagues. We felt like this year was a necessary evil in terms of a long-term build.”
And, “What you implied there, what you asked, this isn’t about me. This isn’t about my ability. This is a team. I gestured to CY, I specifically asked for help.”
Nope. It doesn’t work that way. Not on this one.
The producers and directors of the Texas Rangers horror documentary are JD, and The Captain, Mr. Ray Davis.
If Ray Ray is going to keep JD in power, and there is no sign that JD’s stature has done anything but grow even as the losses reach Jupiter, they have much to do to restore anyone’s faith that they know what they are doing, and are on the correct path.
The hiring of CY looks more like a CYA, and should not restore anyone’s faith.
Both JD and CY said Wednesday they have been given approval by ownership to pursue top free agents. Now this is the type of statement that not only requires “more research,” but a “don’t trust and verify” along with a shot of tequila and a chaser of moonshine.
If the Rangers are to improve it will need to come from within because this club can’t buy its way out of this fiasco. That means you have to believe JD, CY and this recently re-made staff know what they are doing.
Because the Rangers are not going to sign any top-tier free agent this offseason.
Top free agents generally don’t sign long-term deals with 100-loss teams, even ones with pretty new stadiums. The Rangers really don’t want to do that sort of thing.
And MLB has handed them an excuse when they don’t sign any notable name.
The collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league is set to expire on Dec. 1. Without an agreement, players are not signing contracts.
Whenever an agreement is finalized, and this negotiation could last months and lead to a work stoppage, some teams will claim they have to re-think their approach to payroll.
Don’t be shocked if the Rangers say, “Under this new system we have to be more prudent how we allocate our resources.”
Whenever an agreement is announced, top free agents will still sign hundred-million dollar deals. They just won’t be with the Rangers.
It would be fun to see Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros, or the San Francisco Giants Kris Bryant, come to the Rangers, but either would require an Alex Rodriguez-to-Texas type of commitment.
The Rangers aren’t going to do that again, because while they are technically a big market club located in a major metro area they are still more like Milwaukee Brewers than L.A. Dodgers.
That and big-time free agents are not normally inclined to sign with big losers. To do so requires the dreaded “overpay.”
Coming off a 91-loss season in 2000, the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez to that infamous 10-year, $252 million deal. That yielded three losing seasons, and a trade to the Yankees.
A notable recent free agent to try that path was former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. After the Mariners lost 91 games in 2013, they signed Cano to a 10-year, $240 million contract.
The Mariners never had a winning season in his five years there, and he was traded to the Mets after the 2018 season.
Neither the Mariners nor the Rangers are built to buy.
They can only build, and what the Rangers have built thus far is a nice, new stadium, and a terrible team. And Arlington taxpayers can’t help with this one, either.
“We feel confident in what we are building,” JD said, “but we are not asking our fans to believe in it until we demonstrate it on the field.”
When it comes to these Rangers, do your own research. Don’t trust, but verify.
And slam that tequila, too.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
