It would not be the life of a Rangers fans if everything went smoothly.
Just a few days ago I was talking about why this ownership group is awesome, and it was prompted by Chuck Greenberg creating a Nelson Cruz bobblehead because a fan of Lone Star Ball had the idea. It was great, and it was fun. That's what Greenberg brought from the moment he threw his hat in the ring. We had an owner who made it obvious he was deeply interested in winning and making fans happy. It was comforting, it was happy. It was awesome.
Now it's gone, and I'm not sure what to think. On the surface, it is simply an ownership group that was happy and exciting just not getting along, and that's distressing. Turmoil at the top is most definitely not a good thing, you want everyone to be on the same page, and the page Greenberg presented was certainly a hopeful one.
The reasons for it coming out, though, have made it seem clear there were issues with Greenberg. Randy Galloway implicates him as being the reason for the hold up in Jon Daniels' contract extension. Jon Daniels built the roster that won the American League, not Greenberg. (He also talks about Nolan Ryan having come around to be on the same page with Daniels, which is great news.)
There is also news floating around that Greenberg torpedoed a Michael Young trade by insisting Young relinquish his deferred money, which is not only a ridiculous demand but a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. And that he insisted on going after Cliff Lee even after Daniels and Ryan had moved on. I had grown to love Mr. Greenberg and what he represented as the front man of the ownership group, but you don't want that sort of negotiating going on, you don't want turmoil, and you don't want the owner having a conflict of agreement with your General Manager. And I think we can all agree that Jon Daniels' ability to put together a baseball team is more proven than Chuck Greenberg's.
Further, Chuck G was not the major money in the ownership, his stake was actually pretty low. He was the right man to be the CEO it seemed, but the money is what pays for new players and keeping stars in place. The money is what you want to keep, not the ideas man, no matter how great his scoreboards and bobbleheads and Facebook messages are.
But while the light of day has started to reveal reasons losing Greenberg makes sense for the Rangers, it doesn't make me happy. 24 hours ago, this ownership was exciting because it seemed to have it all. It had big money backing it. It had an experienced baseball player weighing in. It had a guy out front who wanted to win and put together a great fan experience and talked with fans and provided transparency. It was great. And it was apparently not to be, and that's depressing. We'll move on, and it seems like it had to happen, but it just seems to fit life as a Rangers fan, where things never work out the way you hope, even when what you hope seems realistic. I understand why Greenberg's life as Rangers CEO lasted only seven months, but I'm also depressed over it. And even if it does make sense, it's never exciting to know there are problems at the top. We have information that Greenberg had some problematic ideas, but who knows what problematic ideas he kept in check from the rest of the group?
The most exciting off season in the franchise history of the Texas Rangers has been marred by one too many frustrating events. But then, the season they went to the World Series, their off season included their manager being busted for drugs and a bankruptcy. I still like you, Chuck, and I'll miss you. Thanks for all you did, but this team is more important. Things can be okay, even if I'm not right now.
And, yes, I do understand this pales to what's happening in Japan.