Rangers Ownership Situation: This Could Get Ugly

I have published a few posts on the different situations that may play out for the Texas Rangers ownership situation and it looks like the worst situation won. This however should not be a surprise when you look at how big of a moron the current owner Tom Hicks is. The Rangers situation has gotten so bad under Hicks that the latest offer to the over 40 lenders was rejected again.

Don’t Blame the Lenders
You can’t get mad at the lenders for rejecting the deal again, if you think about it why would they accept pennies on the dollar. Each lender entered into an agreement with the Hicks Sports Group and the terms of their agreements were broken by HSG and because of that they are now being offered less money than their original agreement was worth. Hardly seems fair, but when you lend money to a moron like Hicks or a sports team in general you are playing with fire.

What Now?
Bud Selig and MLB have had enough of Tom Hicks, who doesn’t want the deal to go through because he found a more lucrative opportunity after he entered into an exclusive agreement with the group headed by Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg. The law is on MLB’s side as well, with precedence being set recently with the Phoenix Coyotes. The rumor is that MLB will take over the Rangers by the end of this week, which conveniently is the week of the owners meetings.

An Open Letter to Bud Selig Regarding Tom Hicks

Dear Bud,

You are probably not extremely familiar with the inner workings of the Texas Rangers and the ownership situation that has yet to be sorted out. Then again, maybe you are. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.

What is here and there and everywhere for me and the other rabid Texas Rangers fans (however many of us there are), at least, is the ongoing sale of the team. Tonight (January 15, 2010) was the deadline for the ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan to have an agreement done to take control of the team. However, that deadline has come and gone. All sources around the team are reporting that the team is still under the control of Tom Hicks.

I am begging you Mr. Selig. Please do not let Tom Hicks maintain control of this team. I have no wish to stand in the way of Tom Hicks’ personal ambitions in any other matters. But on this issue I will not budge. If you truly care about the competitiveness of Major League Baseball and its fans, you will not allow Tom Hicks to remain as owner of the Texas Rangers.

Ten years ago, I don’t believe the fans of the Texas Rangers would have ever considered this a possibility. Our beloved Rangers had just finished capturing their third division title in four years. You remember that, don’t you? How Juan Gonzalez and Will Clark and Roger Pavlik and Ken Hill helped lead a team to the playoffs that had no distinguishable history for 35 years as a franchise? How Pudge Rodriguez became a legendary figure in Texas and will always be cheered?

Tom Hicks injected money into our franchise. Unfortunately he spent that on all the wrong people. Now he is so deep in debt that our team, in the #6 media market in the country, has a payroll hovering around 23rd. To me, that is simply unacceptable. I don’t believe the Rangers will ever have a payroll approaching that of the highest 5, but I think that a $90 million payroll is a reasonable request in this market.

Dallas is a winners town. Always has been. Always will be. Yes the Cowboys are the biggest draw, but a consistently fine product on the field that competes for playoff spots more often than not will be successful in Arlington, Texas. Tom Hicks understands this. He understands that the Texas Rangers are on the precipice of having the best team in franchise history.

Keep in mind, Mr. Selig, that this franchise is about to embark upon its 50th season in the American League. And never has this franchise won a playoff series. Only once has it even won a playoff game.

Tom Hicks knows he is sitting on a cash cow. This is a young, exciting team that will become a contender if it is nurtured properly with an appropriate amount of financial flexibility in order to make transactions that will lead them to the franchise’s first ever playoff series victory and hopefully World Series championship.

But none of that can happen with Hicks in control. If this ownership situation drags through the season, he has a chance to do irreparable damage to the franchise. Irreparable.

I’m sorry to bring up painful memories for you, but does that description sound vaguely familiar to you? The Montreal Expos were the same way back in 2003. You said it was a “conflict of interest” to call up players for the team at the September 1 roster expansion date, despite the team being tied for the Wild Card lead on August 29. No owner could be found, and the team would leave after 2004.

What if Tom Hicks doesn’t sell this team? Will you and MLB take it over? Believe me, I’m not questioning the system. I’m questioning the man that makes the system necessary. It makes me nervous that Hicks wants to keep this team. Honestly. I’m nervous that the longer Hicks holds on to the team, the possibility rises that the Texas Rangers will not be in Texas much longer.

Please help me calm my nerves. I can’t speak for the other Rangers fans out there as to whether they have the same nerves, but I’m sure they join in my refrain:

Don’t Let Tom Hicks Own The Rangers Anymore.

Please.

Sincerely,

Cody Dunlap