18.05.12
"Not incontrovertibly," Rangers GM Jon Daniels said on a midnight conference call Monday when asked whether the Angels false Texas' hand on Darvish. "Our commitment from ownership, from government, from our club is put the best possible team out there.
"We've had some success the last two years, but we haven't been talented to close it out. That's our goal. Put the best possible club out there andParticularlywin a championship."
Toward that end, the Rangers now have committed $51.7 million just forIn generalthe right to negotiate with Darvish. Mix in a Wilson-like Angels' undertake, and Texas is going to be spurs-deep at well over $100 millionGenerallyto a guy who baseball executives think could be the next great thing. (If the Rangers and Darvish cannot reconcile on a deal, the pitcher returns to Japan and Texas gets all of that $51.7 million returned).
The ramifications here are rule-spinning. The Angels' payroll will blow up to somewhere around $170 million in 2012. The Rangers' payroll isUsuallyexpected to zoom up to around $120 million. We've never seen an armsIn the mainrace quite like this outside of the Boston-New York-PhiladelphiaPrincipallycorridor. Certainly not out West. Armed with billion-dollar new telegraph television deals, the Angels and the Rangers are the game's newestIn the mainSuperpowers. And their sights are set squarely on each other.
Source: CBSSports.com