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Deal Or No Deal?

We’re a week shy of the trade deadline and once again we in the media (Evan, Jeff and Bob) and quasi-media (that would be me) are obligated to speculate about trade scenarios that won’t happen. I’ve come to hate doing this every year, but it’s part of the job. Stir up trade speculation. Weigh in on what the ballclub should do. And do all of this with a mere sliver of information as to what is actually possible and what isn’t.

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Reports: Tom Hicks’ Liverpool Debt To Be Refinanced

UPDATED, 3:02 pm CDT with quotes from Tom Hicks, confirming Royal Bank of Scotland’s commitment.

The BBC is reporting that Royal Bank of Scotland will refinance a debt of £350 million that was due to be paid in July. There are, however, still negotiations ongoing with Wachovia, which also is due part of the loan.

What I found most interesting from the BBC story is this:

“The RBS revelation comes days after Liverpool co-owner George Gillett agreed to sell one of his major assets in a deal which would ease financial pressures at the Premier League club.

He is selling his 80% stake in the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team, in a deal reported to be worth at least $550m (£332.9m).

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Don Sanders: Keeping Nolan Ryan Is Key

ARLINGTON – Don Sanders may not be sure if he’ll be involved in the next ownership phase of the Rangers, but he is happy to dole out a little advice.

“Any group that gets involved, the key is Nolan Ryan,” said Sanders, Ryan’s business partner in a pair of minor league teams and a potential investor in the Rangers. “I don’t think anybody would want to tackle this without him.”

Sanders, who lives in Houston, watched batting practice on the field, chatting with officials from both teams. Afterwards, he left to meet Ryan in his office. Ryan, who has been president of the Rangers since 2008, and Sanders share ownership of the Triple-A Round Rock Express and Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. They have also been investigating buying a Double-A Eastern League team and moving it to Richmond, Va..

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Texas Rangers Make Layoffs To Business, Administrative Staff

The difficult economy and uncertainty about future ownership pushed the Texas Rangers on Monday to lay off “less than 10 percent” of the 275-person front office, club spokesman John Blake confirmed.

Blake said the club reached the difficult decision to make layoffs in season after reviewing several factors, including the economy and positioning the club for sale. Owner Tom Hicks, who in March opted not to make an interest-only payment on a loan of $500 million to his sports group, has been actively seeking investors to join him. Hicks has also said he would be willing to part with his majority stake in the club in order to get a deal done. The Rangers have been valued at approximately $500 million recently.

The timing of the move may seem odd given that the Rangers last week picked up the 2010 option in manager Ron Washington’s contract last week and then selected two players in the first 44 picks of the amateur draft who are expected to demand bonuses well above Major League Baseball’s recommended “slots.” Blake said, however, that in light of the economic environment, the club has been looking for ways to cut costs without diminishing the product on the field or the fan experience.

The Godfather: Newberg On Rebuilding The Rangers

It’s sort of an oddity that the MLB club with probably the least glorious history has spawned one of the deepest, best and most passionate cyber communities and so many quality websites, but the reason is that the whole concept of thoughtful, well-written, analytical MLB fansites was developed by a Rangers fan.

When Jamey Newberg started sending out e-mails to a few of his friends (including me) back in May of 1998, he invented the genre’ of analytical fan site / blog. And pretty much every one of us who started writing about the Rangers as a hobby can trace our roots back to Jamey in some way shape or form. That’s why he’s The Godfather of baseball blogging, especially in Texas.

So as a guy who owes Jamey a lot, counts him among his closest friends and who has read virtually every one of his reports over these past 11 years, I can say with some confidence that he’s just unleashed his greatest report ever.

In the unlikely event you are not already on Jamey’s e-mail list, you must click here to read his massive report on how Jon Daniels and his deputy Thad Levine went about creating a blueprint to change the course of the Rangers franchise. It’s the must-read piece of the year.

Grouse Hunt: The Inside Story Of How Ian Kinsler Became A Ranger

Six years ago, the Rangers amateur scouting department got together to merge their area draft boards into one big, comprehensive board as they do every year, including last week in preparation for the 2009 draft.

There were a couple of collegiate shortstops on the list who were being considered to fill out the Spokane roster for the 2003 season and when the meetings got started, Baylor’s Trey Webb looked like he’d probably be the guy who would get the job at the cost of a fourth or fifth round pick.

But one area scout spoke up during those meetings claiming that he’d been following a kid he knew was much better than Webb and could be had in the tenth round, probably much later than that. Though no one knew it at the time, it was a moment that would radically alter the future of the Texas Rangers.

The amateur draft takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. You’ll have no trouble finding stories about what happens in the first round or two, but what goes after that — and why, and how — is pretty murky. There’s no shortage of lists ranking the top-100 prospect lists (or top-50 high school hitters, or top-20 college left-handers, etc.), but the story of how and why a club decides to take a guy in the 10th, 17th or 30th round is rarely told.

With a focus on one of the greatest 17th round picks of all time and the scout who found him, Inside Corner takes you inside of the scouting and drafting process beyond the first few rounds.

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Texas Rangers Place Josh Hamilton On Disabled List, Recall Max Ramirez From Oklahoma City

ARLINGTON - The Rangers thought they might try to wait out Josh Hamilton’s pesky rib cage muscle strain, but only if they didn’t have any other medical issues crop up in the meantime.

The arrival of a new medical problem – C Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s eye irritation – combined with the team’s desire to let Hamilton completely rest the injury for a bit forced the Rangers’ hand Friday.  Saltalmacchia, who left Thursday’s game early,  was not at Rangers Ballpark Friday. Doctors suggested he stay in a dark room for the day to help alleviate the irritation. Saltalamacchia could be back as early as Saturday, doctors weren’t sure exactly how long it would take to alleviate the irritation, which had spread from his left eye to the right.

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Roster Moves: Kris Benson To DL; Darren O’Day Claimed

While we were busy researching the All-Earth Day team, the Rangers snuck a few roster moves into their game notes. Ah, what’s a day of Rangers baseball without roster moves. We’ve got our third change to the bullpen in the first 13 games of the season and the first starter to go on the DL. Who had RHP Kris Benson in that pool?

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Derek Holland Era Has Begun

Holland purchased from Oklahoma City; Josh Rupe designated for assignment.

Well, I was half-right. After watching Rupe struggle through another poor outing last night, the club decided it would risk losing him. They didn’t call up Thomas Diamond, but instead went to the prized 22-year-old lefty pitching prospect. Holland will pitch out of the bullpen for the time being, but I expect he’ll find his way into the rotation before the All-Star break (unless there is marked improvement in the rotation).

Though he was a non-roster invitee, Holland stayed with the big league team until the end of spring training. He impressed everybody in camp with his pitchability, his stuff and his mature approach to the game. Holland had been scheduled to start tonight for Oklahoma City. His first outing had been kind of rough. He allowed four runs in four innings. I’d like to put the typical disclaimer on here that young kids often struggle in the majors for the first time, but the Rangers do expect big things from Holland, even though he has made just five appearances above Class A. He was a combined 13-1 last year with a 2.27 ERA at Class A Clinton, Class A Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco.

Josh Hamilton Contract Talk Update

ARLINGTON - The final spring training game for the Rangers usually means two things: The season is just around the corner and any ongoing contract negotiations are halted.

Will the latter hold true regarding the Josh Hamilton talks?

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Rounding Out The Roster: Rangers Release Frank Catalanotto Will Add Andruw Jones

TEMPE, Ariz. – What had been apparent for more than a week became a reality Wednesday evening when the Rangers told Andruw Jones he had made the club and told Frank Catalanotto he would be released.

Catalanotto was placed on release waivers on Wednesday and will clear and become a free agent on Monday. A team could put in a claim for him, but then would become responsible for his $6 million in salary and buyout payments. No team will claim him because of that and once he becomes a free agent, he can sign with a team for the major league minimum ($400,000) and the Rangers will be responsible for the rest.

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Evan is a Big Fat Idiot (and other 40-man roster observations)

Just kidding.  I love Evan like a brother.  But he did question my sanity and what’s the point of having the bully pulpit of a quasi-blog if I can’t put on my attack-dog suit every now and again and flash some teeth?

Evan wants to expose RHPs Luis Mendoza and Dustin Nippert and CF Greg Golson before 3B Travis Metcalf.

Here’s a truncated version of my retort:

1) Pitching, pitching, pitching. Don’t quit on a possible starter too soon or assume that you have enough bullpen depth; and

2) A former first-round, 23 year old plus defensive center fielder with ungodly physical tools and no plate discipline is ten times as valuable as a former 11th round 26 year old third baseman with a pretty good glove and no plate discipline.

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Finalizing The Rangers Roster: The Madness Of MJH

Earlier today, my attorney pal, the Mighty MJH detailed the Rangers’ 40-man roster conundrum and how he’d clear roster spots for all the non-roster invitees who are expected to make the team. If the Rangers need to expose two players to waivers, he’s willing to put 3B Travis Metcalf and RHP Luis Mendoza out there. If the Rangers can’t slide RHP Tommy Hunter to the 60-day DL and he’s got to go with a third guy, it’s LHP Kason Gabbard.

Mike’s a brilliant baseball analyst, but I think in this situation he’s overlooking a very simple governing tenet to roster management: Don’t create holes in your system when you can avoid them.

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Finalizing The Rangers Roster: 40 -2 + 6 – 4 = 40

The time has come for Rangers GM Jon Daniels to make some tough roster decisions. With one variable, it appears that we now know who will be on the Rangers 25-man roster. The problem is that at least five of them — and possibly six — are not currently on the Rangers’ already full 40-man roster.

This is where the pressure really hits and the mistakes can be embarassing. A year ago, the Rangers lost RHP Armando Galarraga during this process as they attempted to get him through waivers in order to add Jason Jennings to the roster. That didn’t work out so well. Galarraga logged 178 innings for Detroit, posted a 3.73 ERA and finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Jennings — who had been penciled into the Rangers rotation, lasted just 27 innings and posted an 8.56 ERA.

Now, Daniels has to find a way to squeeze Kris Benson, Omar Vizquel, Elvis Andrus, Eddie Guardado and, once again, Jennings on to the 40-man roster. If the Rangers decide to keep Andruw Jones as an extra outfielder and right-handed bat, six will have to move.

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Nolan Ryan Talks Beef and Burgers on SideDish

Nolan Ryan has more than baseball on his plate.