I am a Rangers fan and let me say a few things on the topic at hand. First of all, I love the fact that Gonzo is coming back to his "home". He will be key in replacing Ledee (.231) and Kapler (.273) in RF. Juan hit .325 with 35HR's & 140 RBI's! This will NOT affect their search for pitching whatsoever. Hart made that perfectly clear, & also stated that Juan would have to take less to come here, & that they would not get into bidding for him. That's exactly what happened.
Secondly, there is no cap in baseball and Hicks is not broke. He can still afford to sign any pitcher that he chooses. That is why the yanks keep winning ... George just keeps buying more good players. Tom will have to do the same if he wants to compete with George. It is as simple as that. You are only buying into media crap (hype) if you start worrying about salaries. A-Rod is the best example. Bottom line is that I love him as a Ranger. If he would have signed with the yanks, I would not get 1 iota of satisfaction from the fact that The Rangers saved a big chunk of cash. If you would rather see the savings than A-Rod in a Texas Uni, then you follow the Rangers (or baseball) for a different reason than I do. I understand how everyone gets sucked into the salary game since it is repeatedly hammered at us with every article we read, but honestly take a second to ponder the reality. The reality is that Hart had said that this would in no way affect their plans to concentrate on beefing up the pitching and I believe him because I don't think that Tom is out of money. I love ARod, BUT Juan had a higher batting average, more HRs, more RBIs. Dude's a stud. In the area of pitching, I think Hart will start looking for great prospects in trades, which won't cost that much. I don't think this changes his strategies for pitching or limits connected to it by the big salary.
One thing that does concern me, however, and this is kind of funny is that there will be so much attitude in the clubhouse you could cut it with a knife. How long before Everett, Rocker, and Juan get into a big brawl with each other, the manager, teammates, and/or fans? There's not enough talent in the world to overcome this kind of bad chemistry.
I realize that Hicks is spending money like he's on a Caminiti coke binge but if this is what it takes to beat the Yankees, so be it. I am also somewhat of an Astros fan and they don't like spending money and that pisses me off. Now if Juan can pitch every 5th day what a deal this will be! Honestly Gonzo gives them another big stick in the lineup and protects A-Rod. A-Rod may hit 80 HR's this season. Pitching hell Texas never has pitching so let'em swing away and have a shitload of 4 hour games.
BTW Dynomite, it's spelled TEXAS.
