Rangers STILL Not Willing to do What it Takes
| 9
|
by user ASwaff
I just finished reading an article from the Texas Rangers official website that carried this subtitle: “GM Daniels spending cautiously…” I’m confused about what the Rangers mean by “cautiously.”
You see, GM Jon Daniels recently announced that he is unwilling to approach the six-year, $102 million deal that Barry Zito is seeking and that most teams are more than willing to meet for a pitcher of Zito’s caliber. What confuses me is what made Daniels suddenly decide to become so judicious in his spending. This statement comes not even three days after the Rangers made the announcement that they had re-signed Vicente Padilla to a three-year, $34 million deal.
Can someone explain why Padilla is worth $11.3 million a year (with an option for a fourth year worth $12 million), but Zito isn’t worth $17 million? Yeah, I didn’t think so. And better luck getting that argument past uber-agent Scott Boras.
It’s still the same old stuff with the same old Rangers. New owner, new coach, same old tricks. They’re perfectly willing to shell out more than they should for mediocre players and unwilling to make the big deal with big-time players. I made this same complaint last year when they were allegedly pursuing Mike Lowell and A.J. Burnett.
I’ll just have to keep screaming it until the Rangers get it right - they will never get out of the A.L. West cellar until they start spending more wisely. This is completely ridiculous.
Update
Jason Schmidt agreed to terms today with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His deal with make it even harder for the Rangers to convince Boras that Zito isn't worth the money, because the Dodgers are paying Schmidt $47 million over the next three years. Again, they'll have to explain why Schmidt, coming off a 11-9 season at age 33, is worth almost $16 million a year, but Zito isn't worth $17 million coming off a 16-10 season at age 28.
