Dallas attorney Jamey Newberg has been covering the Texas Rangers, from the big club down through the entire farm system, since 1998. His website can be found at www.newbergreport.com.
There are moments of cool, like the complicated things you've been looking forward to (the return of "Lost") and the simple things that you never expected (Max drawing box-and-one treatment yesterday after scoring two-thirds of his team's [six] points). And then there's the math.
Whether the objectivity of it appeals to you or turns your stomach, there's lift in the numbers. You see it in your daughter's eyes when that new, intimidating formula clicks. You (or maybe just I) get a little rush when the checkbook balances perfectly. You feel the bang when the numbers mount, like at Tuesday night's WOKC auction, and sometimes when they whittle away.
As the final moments of Colts-Saints tick down to zero tonight, another countdown takes center stage, feeding my numbers buzz. As Peyton or Drew tells us he's going to Disney World, football will be headed for dry dock for me, fully stepping aside to make room for the hourglass full of rosin.
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I made a mistake about how much you all contributed Tuesday
night at our Sherlock's event to support Wipe Out Kids' Cancer.When I told you it was $10,470, that was
wrong.
I was motivated to sit down and write up a recap of the
event, but I'm having some computer issues, on top of which it's really not
necessary for me to summarize things.You can watch the entire Q&A portions with Jake Krug, Chuck
Greenberg, and Michael Young, moderated by Chuck Morgan, courtesy of Ted Price's
video footage, at www.newbergreport.com.Click "Media/Video" on the top menu.
We were sold out of Carson's book minutes after the event
got underway.If you weren't one of the
five who bid on and won a copy signed by Michael Young (those went for $500,
$375, $375, $375, and $275), you can get a copy of "Carry Me" at www.carrymecarson.com, at under
$18.
According to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, 12 or 13 teams showed
interest in righthander Colby Lewis (including at least two, Oakland and
Minnesota, who offered two-year contracts) before he agreed to his two-year
deal with Texas.
Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is reportedly up to 200 feet
in his long-toss throwing program as he rehabilitates his shoulder.
I mentioned back when Oakland signed righthander Ben Sheets
that I expect the A's to trade him in July or recoup a couple first-round draft
picks next winter when he departs for a multi-year deal.What I didn't know at the time was that
Sheets's contract prohibits Oakland from offering him arbitration in the event
that he's so good in 2010 that he earns Type A status -- so forget the two
firsts, and turn up the likelihood of that summer trade.
Catcher Tomas Telis, an 18-year-old switch-hitter who hit
.330/.340/.498 between the Arizona League and Spokane in 2009, will miss the
2010 season due to Tommy John elbow surgery.Telis was number 20 on my Top 72 Rangers Prospects list this winter,
after checking in at number 40 a year ago.
As T.R. Sullivan points out, Nolan Ryan is fourth best in baseball
in the last 60 years (minimum 125 starts) with a career rate of 9.55 strikeouts
per nine innings.Fifth best?Rich Harden, at 9.35.
Texas signed shortstop Travis Adair, son of Mariners
pitching coach and former Rangers minor league pitching coordinator Rick
Adair.The 22-year-old, who has worked
out with the Rangers in the past during Fall Instructional League, was Atlanta's
13th-round pick in 2008 and spent the last two summers playing short-season
ball in the Braves system.
The Rangers also signed third baseman Lee Soto, a huge
disappointment in the Toronto system after signing for $600,000 out of the
Dominican Republic in 2005.Soto is a
.201/.248/.293 hitter in four pro seasons.
Lots of agate to cover:
Minor league deals: outfielder Frank Catalanotto (Mets),
outfielder Kevin Mench (Washington), outfielder Freddy Guzman (Philadelphia), lefthander
John Koronka (Dodgers), and lefthander Jimmy Gobble (Colorado).
San Diego named Jeff Pickler a pro scout.The Mets named Mark Brewer pitching coach at
AA Binghamton.
The Gary Southshore Railcats of the independent Northern
League signed righthander Bear Bay.The
Kalamazoo Kings of the independent Frontier League signed shortstop Kyle
Higgins.The Sioux City Explorers of the
independent American Association signed lefthander Jared Locke.
Righthander Doug Brocail retired.
Righthander Akinori Otsuka, according to NPB Tracker's
Patrick Newman, could miss the 2010 season after undergoing his third elbow
surgery.
The Rangers' four first-round and supplemental first-round
picks in July sit at 15, 22, 44, and 48.The final two picks will drop one spot each if Rod Barajas signs a big
league deal with a club other than Toronto.
Finally, I really encourage you to check out the video on
the website from Tuesday's event.If you
want to see this team win, I guarantee you there are a handful of moments from
the event that will give you chills.
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get
e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps,
and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com
and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
In 1999, Rangers assistant director of player development Jake Krug was playing third base behind Grayson County Community College teammate John Lackey on the way to the Vikings' Junior College World Series title.
Chuck Morgan was holding court before 2.8 million fans in what was the Rangers' third playoff season out of four.
That year, Michael Young was playing his final full season in the Toronto system, splitting time between second base and shortstop for High A Dunedin.
Also in 1999, Chuck Greenberg helped Mario Lemieux save the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins from bankruptcy.
Eleven years later, they all converged in a packed room at Sherlock's Baker St. Pub in North Dallas, each talking about what it will take to get the Rangers back to where they haven't been since that 1999 season.
I have a lot to say about last night's event, but I'm a bit tired this morning and think I'll put it off for a day or two.
Between your generosity during the live auction, and Michael & Cristina's matching contribution, Wipe Out Kids' Cancer has $10,470 more do good things with. Inspiring.
When I write next, I'll have links to others' write-ups and photos from the party. In the meantime, you can watch Ted Price's live video stream of the entire event at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4405103. (Not sure how many days it will remain up, but I think it will be there all day today.)
That was a blast. Thanks to everyone who was there.
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
Join us tonight from
6:00 until 8:30 at Sherlock's Baker St. Pub (9100 N. Central Expressway, at the
northeast corner of Central and Park Lane) for the off-season's second Newberg Report
Book Release Party. Come early if you'd
like and get something to eat and drink.
The evening, emceed
by the great Chuck Morgan, will kick off with Q&A sessions with Rangers
assistant director of player development Jake Krug and prospective managing
general partner Chuck Greenberg, followed by a live auction and then a Q&A
session with Michael Young.These won't
be scripted sessions.Your questions,
their answers.
We'll have the 2010
Bound Edition for sale, as well as Carson Leslie's book, "Carry Me." Carson, as most of you know, passed away three
weeks ago at age 17, after a courageous, dignified three-year battle with cancer.To hear from Carson himself and learn more
about his book, take a look at this four-minute YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYJ7zgJISpM
Carson's family will
be on hand for tonight's event.All
proceeds from the winning auction bids will benefit Wipe Out Kids' Cancer, the
charity through which Carson and Michael met and became friends.
The auction,
presided over by local auctioneer Luther Davis, will include five copies of Carson's
book and five copies of mine, each signed by Young; bats signed by Young, Ian
Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton; baseballs signed by Young, Kinsler, Hamilton, Scott
Feldman, Neftali Feliz, and Derek Holland; a glove signed by Young; and a batting
glove signed by Young.We'll auction off
the 21 items separately.
Young and his wife
Cristina Barbosa have committed to make a contribution to Wipe Out Kids' Cancer
that matches the total of the 21 winning bids.
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail
deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps,
and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com
and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
The Awards Dinner/Fan Fest weekend is always a predictable rush, a 24-hour marathon that hammers home that it's time to for baseball season. You go into it knowing you'll see and hear things that get you fired up, and sometimes choked up, but you can't always predict what those will be.
I still laugh every time I think about that lousy Elvis impersonator (not hired to perform - just a fan walking around in that get-up) asking during the 2001 Fan Fest (I think it was called something different then) for broadcaster Bill Jones's autograph . . . on Jim Sundberg's baseball card.
In 2002, prospects Hank Blalock and Justin Duchscherer putting their artistic touches on each other's promotional photos . . . Craig Monroe showing up for his Newberg Report autograph time slot even though he'd been claimed off waivers by Detroit the day before . . . and Jeff Zimmerman, both his remarkable Awards Dinner introduction of the recently retired John Wetteland and his moment on Saturday when he accidentally smudged his own signature on a fan's 8 x 10 glossy photo and promising to mail him a new one (and keeping his promise).
In 2003, hearing what had just happened to Space Shuttle Columbia as I arrived at Fan Fest.
Juan Marichal's 2004 Awards Dinner speech just ended.
Juan Dominguez's demeanor that same night was shockingly strange. Almost emotionless, but not in a shocked or petrified way. More like the Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year was brooding.
Last year: I won't forget T.R. Sullivan's moving award presentation to Josh Hamilton, or Vernon Wells showing up to present Michael Young (and his wife Cristina) the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.
I may or may not remember that the 2010 Awards Dinner/Fan Fest weekend was also when Erica scored her first basket in a league game or when my law firm, having outgrown our space, moved to a new building, but I will remember that there were what had to be twice as many fans in the Omni Fort Worth Hotel banquet room as the event has had in years, that the highlights of the night were at the beginning (a spectacular, up-tempo season preview highlight montage that I'm sure was a Chuck Morgan, Rush Olson, and Hugo Carbajal creation) and the middle (Dale Hansen's wheelhouse roast of Jim Reeves - and Nolan Ryan's rebuttal on Revo's behalf) and the end (Annette Leslie's spot-on remarks about Michael Young, and Young's perfect words right afterwards to close the evening).
I also appreciated the idea - whoever in the organization gets the credit - for seating Clayton Kershaw next to Michael Young at the head table. Was there a subtle design at work (other than putting a childhood Rangers fan next to a childhood Dodgers fan)? Who knows? I liked it.
Every one of us knows all about Martin Perez the player by now. Let me tell you this:
He's going to be the Elvis Andrus of the pitching staff when he gets here.
And I don't just mean between the lines.
The star quality (magnetic, but not pretentious) is unmistakable. You noticed it Friday night if you were there.
Every year there's one minor leaguer at the Newberg Report set-up at Fan Fest who I gain a whole new appreciation of. This year's winner of the Chad Hawkins/Ben Kozlowski/Justin Hatcher Award goes to Mitch Moreland. That man is Big League.
Until you spend an hour with guys like Justin Smoak and Tanner Scheppers, you'd never imagine that they're just a couple of normal dudes. Normal dudes who are very good at baseball. Rock-solid, regular guys.
The crowds were huge - wonder how much bigger they'd have been if it weren't 27 degrees (which felt at times like 27 below).
Memorable moments aside, the significance of the weekend was, like it is every year, its place on the calendar and its clarion call to the baseball fan to get geared up. Michael Young nailed it:
"When you get to this point with FanFest and the banquet, that's when it starts to hit. It's baseball season. It's about time to get ready. . . . This is a great time to be a Ranger. I see great times ahead for the organization. As players, we feel this organization is set up to be good this year and it's set up to be good for the future. This organization is ready to take off and I'm excited to be a part of it."
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Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville - migh--
Not so fast.
According to multiple local reports, the U.S. State Department has notified the Rangers that Dominican righthanders Alexi Ogando and Omar Beltre have been provided waivers to permit them to apply for work visas, and all immigration restraints to their entry into the United States have been removed. Their five-year eviction for participation in a marriage fraud scam looks like it's coming to an end, and it appears they should be admitted to the country. Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine reportedly played a significant role in the process from the organization's side.
Ogando and Beltre were unquestionably top-tier prospects, and it obviously remains to be seen whether, at age 26 and 28, respectively, pitching dominantly for five years against largely overmatched Dominican Summer League competition will translate stateside. But there's a reason Texas kept both on the restricted list for three years (adding Ogando to the 40-man roster before doing so in his case) rather than moving on, as all other clubs have long since done with the other 30 Dominican players around the league caught up in the scandal. (Apparently, the players were promised - and in some cases not even paid -- $5,000 by a Dominican crime syndicate to agree to a sham marriage to women they didn't know, after which the women would gain entry into the United States with their newly acquired visas, obtain divorces shortly after arriving, and in some instances would then sell their visas on the black market.)
The two prospects reportedly spent the last year making public service speeches to educate Dominican citizens about these human trafficking scams, an effort apparently not overlooked by the State Department. Charisse Espinosa, agent for the two, gets credit for coming up with and helping execute the concept and the plan.
Beltre, whom Texas signed for a hefty $650,000 in 2000, and Ogando, purchased by the Rangers from Oakland for $12,000 in the minor league phase of the 2005 Rule Draft - and promptly converted from outfield to pitcher, both offer nasty stuff on the mound, touching the upper 90s with remarkable strikeout-to-walk numbers (though those can be skewed in the DSL, as we know). Just to get a sense of things: last year, in 18.1 DSL innings, Ogando struck out 31 and issued one walk, with a typographical 10 groundouts for every flyout. Beltre, in 7.1 DSL innings, allowed no earned runs and fanned 10 while walking three. Flip to the back of any Bound Edition from the last few years - those numbers weren't aberrations.
Jon Daniels suggests the two will probably begin the season in Frisco or Oklahoma City.
It will be interesting to see what the roster implications are. In order to participate in camp, both righthanders will need to be reinstated from the restricted list, and since both are already on the 40-man roster (and would never be exposed to waivers at this point - far too risky), two players are going to need to come off the roster to make room for them. Righthander Luis Mendoza and infielder Joaquin Arias's lack of options (and longshot chances to make the Opening Day roster) could make them the primary candidates.
Few doubt Ogando and Beltre would have been big leaguers several years ago had they not been denied stateside entry in 2005 and ever since. Now it appears that they're going to get their chance.
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
(c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport Post your own review of the 2010 Bound Edition: Amazon link
I'll send out an email later today once the Rangers announce the autograph lineup for tomorrow's Fan Fest. We'll have a Newberg Report set-up with a bunch of players in the Cuervo Club (which used to be the Gold Club).
BA's number two Good and all, but rank that counts Is now AL West
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
"My expectation is that we will be extremely competitive, and if we don't win our division, I will be disappointed, because I think we've positioned ourselves to be right there with everybody else."
So says Nolan Ryan. Quite a bit different from the message of "managed expectations" delivered to us after an 89-win season five years ago.
"JD made some very smart moves at the winter meetings. . . . [Then] we were able to get Vlad. . . . The signings we had before that were exciting, but to be able to get Vlad, it just got us all excited. We realize that this is our year. It's all up to us now."
That's from Ian Kinsler, one of this team's leaders.
JD agrees that the expectations are now ratcheted up - not managed:
"As a group, we expect to win, and now that we've put a plan in place to do so, we hold ourselves to that standard."
Chuck Greenberg has arrived on the battlefront late - and of course has yet to officially join the ranks - but his eyes are already getting big:
"If we succeed on the business side and continue on path on the baseball side and combine it with a dynamic market like this is, we can be and should be one of the powerhouse franchises in baseball. . . . [I]n a community as wonderful and dynamic as Metroplex with a franchise and fans who waited patiently to have their moment, to have a chance to try to deliver on that promise is awfully exciting."
Josh Hamilton thinks that delivery could be imminent: "We've got so much talent it's crazy. The key is staying healthy. . . . If we can stay healthy as a team, we've got such a great lineup from 1-to-9, and then the pitching obviously stepped up big time last year with Nolan Ryan coming in and Mike Maddux. It was such a dramatic difference from '08 to '09, and even if we can improve just a little bit on that going into '10, it will be a great year."
And Michael Young, whose character and mental toughness and tenacity have always set a tone, has been unusually ebullient with reporters as far as his immediate outlook is concerned:
"You look at every great baseball town, whether it's New York or Boston or Chicago or St. Louis, and there's always this great relationship between the team and the fans. The fans are supportive and they come to see winning baseball and that's where we're heading to right now. . . . I've served time for about nine years now. I'm ready to kind of bust out a little bit and be a part of something that's going to be memorable and fun. This [organization] is going to be one of those jewels of baseball."
Finally, consider another Daniels remark:
"I feel a tremendous obligation to the owner to deliver. He's given me and our group an opportunity to mold the franchise, spend resources against our vision. It's more pride than pressure, if that makes sense."
It's an interesting comment, since his words and Ryan's and Young's unquestionably create - invite - a certain degree of pressure with regard to the job to be done between the lines. Pressure is something everyone on this club has played through at every level, from Darren Oliver on down to Michael Kirkman. But the pride part, which Ryan and Young always exhibited as much of as any of their playing peers, if an extra concentration of that starts to rub off and take hold up and down the roster, then, yes, it will be important to stay healthy and catch a break or two, but there's no reason 2010 can't be the kind of season the players and the front office and the prospective owner expect it to be.
Greenberg said on a radio talk show yesterday, specifically asked about cash infusion into the roster, that the business models that the Rangers look to as the paradigm belong to the Angels and Phillies. The answer is more textured than looking strictly at player payroll (Greenberg told Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer: Los Angeles and Philadelphia "are smart, clever, have resources and use them wisely - those are types we can emulate"), but just for grins, USA Today had those two clubs' 2009 Opening Day payrolls ($113,709,000 and $113,004,046) as sixth and seventh highest in baseball, while Texas ($68,178,798) sat at 22nd.
Something else to tuck away about zeroing in on Los Angeles and Philadelphia as models: both clubs were aggressive in July and August, adding Cliff Lee and Scott Kazmir to their rotations, respectively, to provide a pennant race boost.
It brings to mind a point that Tom Verducci made on MLB Network last night: The Rangers' ownership situation could very well position Texas to make an impact splash at the trade deadline, armed not only with a tremendously deep farm system (that is, trade ammunition) but also an ability (and motivation, if the club is in the race) to increase payroll that hasn't existed this winter.
That depth of prospects led ESPN's Keith Law to judge the Rangers' system, for the second straight year, as baseball's best. Law summarized yesterday: "The AL West has suddenly become very competitive, with four well-run organizations all trying to balance immediate contention with long-term building goals, but Texas remains the best-positioned team there for long-term success."
MLB Network ran a Top 50 Prospects special last night, featuring Jonathan Mayo and John Hart as the lead analysts, and the Rangers were among the most dominant clubs featured, placing Neftali Feliz (number 7), Justin Smoak (9), Martin Perez (18), and Tanner Scheppers (39) on the list.
The Rangers agreed to terms on a one-year deal with closer Frankie Francisco, avoiding arbitration. Francisco will be eligible for free agency next winter. Righthander Scott Feldman is the lone remaining arbitration case on the club, but count on him settling as well.
Texas will attend lefthander Noah Lowry's throwing session on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who hasn't pitched since 2007 due to shoulder problems (stemming from thoracic outlet syndrome), was the Rangers' 19th-round pick in 1999 but didn't sign.
Baltimore designated righthander Dennis Sarfate for assignment. Texas took Sarfate in the 15th round of that same 1999 draft, a stellar crop even without Lowry and Sarfate coming to terms. Among the Rangers' picks were eventual big leaguers Colby Lewis, Aaron Harang, Hank Blalock, Kevin Mench, Jason Botts, Nick Regilio, Andy Cavazos, and Jason Jones, plus Justin Echols, who would go to Montreal in the 2004 trade for Chris Young.
Officials from two other big league clubs told ESPN's Jayson Stark that the Rangers' signing of Lewis to a two-year, $5 million deal was among the best under-the-radar moves of the winter.
Veteran corner infielder Chad Tracy's non-roster deal with the Cubs is not good news for Blalock.
Ben Sheets at a surprising $10 million (and as much as $12 million if he reaches several workload incentives, all short of 200 innings) - given what a number of healthy, reasonably effective starting pitchers have pulled in on the open market this winter - is a pretty clear indication that the league gave Oakland the same dictate that it gave Florida: Spend your revenue-sharing money on the roster. If he pitches well, the A's can trade off a third of that commitment in July for prospects (or at least recoup a pair of first-round picks when he signs elsewhere next winter).
Seventeen-year-old Dominican righthander Rafael DePaula, coming off a one-year suspension by MLB for lying about his age, is drawing interest from the Yankees and Red Sox, and ESPN's Jorge Arangure suggests Texas is in the mix, too.
University of Florida wide receiver Riley Cooper reportedly no-showed his Rangers physical a week and a half ago, an appearance that would have netted him half of his $250,000 signing bonus. Cooper has apparently decided to pursue an NFL career instead of playing minor league baseball. He'll presumably land on the Rangers' restricted list, which currently houses Alexi Ogando and Omar Beltre and for years included Ricky Williams.
A "friend and business associate of Ryan" told the Austin American-Statesman that he expects the Round Rock Express to replace the Oklahoma City RedHawks as the Rangers' AAA affiliate after the 2010 season.
The Florence Freedom of the independent Frontier League signed righthander Ryan Schlecht. The New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League signed infielder Myron Leslie.
Chuck Morgan has offered to emcee Tuesday's Newberg Report Book Release Party at Sherlock's in Dallas, which will include Q&A sessions with Chuck Greenberg, Jake Krug, and Michael Young as well as a live auction of various Rangers players' equipment plus Young-autographed copies of Carson Leslie's book, "Carry Me," and of the 2010 Bound Edition. (Copies of Carson's and my book will be on sale as well.) Winning bid proceeds will benefit Wipe Out Kids Cancer.
Hope to see you there, and maybe at the awards dinner tomorrow night and Fan Fest on Saturday. Once the Rangers release the autograph schedule for Saturday, I'll let you know.
To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar.
(c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport Post your own review of the 2010 Bound Edition: Amazon link
One week from tonight, Tuesday, February 2, Chuck Greenberg is going to make a public appearance.
At the second Newberg Report Book Release Party.
Michael Young and Rangers assistant director of player development Jake Krug have already committed to do Q&A sessions with us that night, and now Mr. Greenberg has agreed to do the same. He'll have a microphone in hand and will take your questions, too.
The party will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Sherlock's Baker St. Pub (9100 N. Central Expressway, at the northeast corner of Central and Park Lane). We'll plan to go until 8:30 or so.
We'll have the 2010 Bound Edition for sale, as well as Carson Leslie's book, "Carry Me." This won't be an autograph event, but Michael will sign five of my books and five of Carson's and we'll auction the signed books off live to the 10 highest bidders. Professional auctioneer Luther Davis will help us get the job done, and there's a strong chance we'll also have some baseballs, bats, batting gloves, and other good stuff donated by a number of Rangers players up for auction.
All winning bid proceeds will benefit Wipe Out Kids Cancer.
It's basketball season. It's hockey season. College football is finished, and so is pro football for most in these parts, although this was the ultimate weekend each year on the NFL schedule.
At halftime of Colts-Jets, I threw a red cap on backwards and drove to Tom Thumb to pick up a couple things.
As I got to the front of the checkout line, the checker - late teens, maybe early 20s - looked up and said, "Rangers cap?"
Me: "Yep."
Checker: "All RIGHT. . . . You know, the Angels are tough to beat, but they had a rough winter. This could be our year."
I smiled, and said I thought he was right.
The thing that struck me was not so much the kid's optimism, but instead that he saw a the back of a red ballcap, assumed it had a "T" on the other side, and wanted to talk Rangers baseball with a complete stranger.
I'm not sure I remember that happening during the summer, let along conference championship weekend in January.
This is good. I've mentioned how there seem to be more Texas caps and T-shirts and bumper stickers around town over the last year, and while I get hit with plenty of Rangers small talk around the office and the kids' soccer games and dinner with friends, it's different when one stranger brings it up to another.
It feels like there's a difference these days, maybe subtle, but noticeable.
There are those phrases that seem to turn up whenever Chuck Greenberg is interviewed. This fan base is a "sleeping giant." It's time "to awaken the beast." And in the press release issued by the Rangers on Saturday night, his comment:
"We are fortunate to be assuming the stewardship of a franchise poised for greatness. The tremendous foundation of talent that has been assembled on both the major and minor league levels, combined with our passionate commitment to achieve excellence in every facet of the organization's operation, and the pent-up thirst for success we observe from our fans every day, creates the opportunity for the Rangers to become one of the great franchises in baseball."
The fans' pent-up thirst for success.
I think there's more of that, and less baseball cynicism, than there's been around here in a long time, no matter what your favorite columnist is telling you. Rangers Baseball Express, LLC isn't the reason for the growing buzz - this groundswell has been developing for a while - but the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan investment group, funded primarily by Co-Chairmen of the Board Ray Davis and Bob Simpson and a number of other local investors, comes in at a time when there's a barrage of arrows flying in the right direction, and the group seems motivated to push this thing forward, not derail the momentum by giving in to an urge to shake things up just because it can. Ryan's continued presence is key in that regard.
This is an exciting time.
There's really not a lot I can add about the latest hurdle cleared in the sale of the team - it's all been said by people closer to the situation than I am (and unlike the games played on the field, we don't get to see what the writers are privy to) - but I will refer back to something I wrote back in May:
==============================
Word broke yesterday that Tom Hicks is open to selling a majority stake in the Rangers. I don't have much to say about that other than (1) I hope Nolan Ryan chooses to be a big player in this (it's clear that Hicks wants him to be) and (2) it's crucial that, whatever transition takes place, the baseball operations crew is allowed to stay on the course that it laid out two years ago and has this franchise poised to be where we all want it be.
Hicks gets far too much criticism from the mainstream media, who choose not to recognize the guts and foresight it took to make Jon Daniels, who at the time had less than five years in baseball, his general manager, and the patience and lack of ego it took to authorize the plan that Daniels presented to him in May 2007 to trade Mark Teixeira and shift focus and resources to scouting and player development and a wholesale effort to load up on young talent through the draft and international market and trades, a philosophy that's a lot less flashy and far more gradual than many owners would have signed off on.
Baseball America's Jim Callis in an ESPN chat session yesterday:
Q: Bedard trade for Orioles . . . best trade in baseball in 10 years?
Callis: Check out the Mark Teixeira trade to the Braves.
The Herschel Walker trade wasn't the Herschel Walker Trade until the Cowboys turned the Minnesota draft picks into Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland and Kevin Smith and three Lombardi Trophies. The Teixeira trade is no Herschel Walker Trade - yet. But there's no question that without it, this franchise wouldn't be in nearly as good a position as everyone agrees that it is. Hicks should get some credit for believing in, and consenting to, the plan that Jon Daniels and his crew proposed and have now been executing for two very good years.
Don't count on the general columnists recognizing Hicks's role in that, however.
Or acknowledging in print the millions of Hicks dollars that may not have gone to player payroll (a favorite topic of the media, rarely mentioning Ben Sheets or Torii Hunter or Daisuke Matsuzaka or Barry Zito or Carlos Delgado as free agent acquisitions he has consistently greenlighted even though they'd have busted the budget) but did go to annual decisions to pay out of slot to pave the way for the drafting and signing of the right high school and college players (Teixeira, Derek Holland, Justin Smoak, Taylor Teagarden, Julio Borbon, Jake Brigham, Neil Ramirez, Marcus Lemon, Robbie Ross, Clark Murphy, Johnny Whittleman, Kyle Ocampo, Matt Thompson, and others), to outspend the competition in Latin America (examples: Martin Perez, Fabio Castillo, Cristian Santana, and Richard Alvarez, plus the aggregate of a Preller/Welke/Batista class like 2006's Wilmer Font/Wilfredo Boscan/Kennil Gomez/Carlos Pimentel/Geuris Grullon/Macumba haul), to pay top dollar to make sure we had the hitting coach and pitching coach we'd zeroed in on, and to hire Nolan Ryan.
The Ryan hiring was, of course, an inspired one that has paid off in many ways and will continue to do so, and though the media has been wholly supportive of Ryan's arrival and impact, rarely is Hicks credited for bringing him in at what had to be a significant financial investment.
Hicks wants to win, and though some with newspaper space will continue to disparage the team payroll (for a roster that today maintains the best record in the American League) and ignore all else, if Hicks wasn't interested in spending to win, would we have Holland and Smoak and Perez and Mike Maddux . . . and Ryan?
What I'm hoping for, if Hicks does indeed sell controlling interest in the Rangers, is continuity. I would have faith in a Ryan-led ownership to insist on that and to make it happen. So might someone coming in from the outside, but if that's where this is headed, I sure hope that stability is a priority for whoever that might be.
I guarantee you that the Angels and A's and Mariners would be thrilled to see someone come in here and push massive changes.
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I get the sense that the Greenberg-Ryan group is all about continuity and stability, in building rather than rebuilding, and I'm confident that the progress of the last couple years is about to be boosted, that is, on the field, just like the checker at Tom Thumb sees it, and not only without the interference of a new ownership group dying to make widespread changes, but instead with that group's full support of what's happening here and the contributions it's positioned to make to help this team take the next step, and the one after that.
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(c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport Post your own review of the 2010 Bound Edition: Amazon link
