Wednesday, December 07, 2005

More troubling news from your Texas Rangers

There’s been news on several fronts, and all of it is bad.

First: The Rangers have lost out on just about every decent free-agent pitcher available this off-season. Matt Morris remains a possibility, but Burnett is gone (to Toronto and for too much money) and everyone else has spurned the Rangers’ offer. The Rangers are forced to money-whip even bad pitchers, thanks to (mostly) the Ballpark, along with Buck for a manager, Hicks for a clueless owner, and a history of never winning anything. It’s well past old news, and I’m well past sick of it.

Second, and FAR more troubling: Several sources have reported that John Hart was involved in the Blalock & Danks for Beckett & Lowell trade negotiations. Those same sources have reported that Hart advised Jon Daniels to hold out on the Marlins to see if they could keep Danks. Apparently, the deal could have been done at the GM meeting in October, but Daniels and the Rangers stalled and tried to keep their man-crush pitching prospect. While the Rangers farted around, the Marlins called Boston and the rest is history.

Big Tom Hicks, who reminds me of Karl from Sling Blade more each day, pretty much confirmed all this while chatting w/ Stormin’ Norman on The Ticket on Tuesday.

Argue all you want about holding out for a better deal. I think it’s foolish, esp in a case like this, where my daughter’s goldfish would have pulled the trigger, but OK. I’ll give Daniels et al a pass on that.

What in the effing Hell is John Hart doing giving input on a trade? I’m pretty sure he’s no longer the GM of this club. He was a FAILURE when he was here, and, if I understood the press conferences back in the late summer, he’s out of that job now. So why on Earth does he get a vote?

I know it’s only the beginning of December, but this is cause for pessimism. Dammit.

What is going on out in Arlington?

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