The Rangers are the General Motors of baseball:
Major League Baseball has provided the Texas Rangers access to a
reported $15 million from the central fund to help assure a stable
environment for the financially-strapped franchise, controlled by
majority owner Tom Hicks . . .
. . . “Tom is the control person, and there was no issue of making
payroll,” Bob DuPuy, MLB’s president and chief operating officer, said
Thursday, responding to a radio report that suggested the money was
needed on Tuesday so the Rangers could pay players and other personnel.
“Major League Baseball is working with the Rangers to sell the team, as
Tom requested.”
DuPuy’s statement is directly contradicted by multiple reports
stating that Hicks did, in fact, need the money to make payroll. I
believe the payroll reports because (a) I have no idea what “help
assure a stable environment” means; and (b) Major League Baseball has
every incentive to downplay the Rangers’ problems. Upshot: you don’t
just give someone $15 million if they don’t need it really, really
badly.
Whatever you want to call it, though, there is no escaping the fact
that Hicks has managed the Rangers into the ground. There’s also no
escaping the fact that we’re rapidly approaching a situation where the
league is going to have to take control of the franchise from him. That
is if he isn’t killed by Liverpool soccer fans first for ruining their club too.
