The first move the Rangers made to get fans back in the seats next year came today.
No ticket price increase for any of the full or half season ticket holder. If any of the full season ticket holder that renews their order and pays in full by December 14th, the team will waive the parking charge, which will come out to $648.
Before you full season ticket holders get too excited, if you hold seats in the Upper Box, Upper Reserved or Grandstand reserve you won’t get the rebate. Nice gesture, but the rich keep on getting richer. But it does look good when those lower, more expensive seats are all filled in during August/September when hardly anyone else is in the stadium, so maybe this will help to that end.
General Manager Jon Daniels said today he and several of the club’s scouts will be convening next week for meetings to review the free agent market, which isn’t expected to be very strong this year. Even though pitching continues to be the thorn in the side of this franchise, Daniels says most of the focus will be on finding a big bat for the middle of the line-up and improving the outfield. Daniels told CW33 Sports today that if he can improve the pitching staff, he will but said “I'm looking for quite a bit of improvement to come internally.”
As for the big bat in the middle of the line-up, Pudge Rodriguez is likely to become a free agent next week after the Tigers fail to pick up his 13-million dollar option, but he is 36 and only hit 11 home runs and drove in 63 during 129 games this year. Jorge Posada is also 36 and hit 20 homers with 90 RBI and will command more than the 12-million dollars he made this year. Both Posada and Pudge could settle in as the Rangers DH quite nicely, but with no parking income from the full season ticket holders who renew early, how could Tom Hicks afford them?
A better bargain may be Jose Guillen who would solve the middle of the order dilemma and also can play outfield. He roamed right field for the Mariners for 159 games and hit 23 homers with 99 RBI is only 31 years old. Just someone to keep an eye on.
Don’t rule out the return of Sammy Sosa. He told us he plans to sit down with the Rangers soon to hammer out a new contract for next year. Sosa said he “definitely” wants to play here next year and thinks the Rangers want him back. Despite being benched by Ron Washington for the final two months of the season to get a look at younger players, Sosa said Washington was “one of the greater guys I played for” and wasn’t one bit upset with the decision. Sosa didn’t gripe about being demoted despite revitalizing his career with 21 home runs and 92 RBI in 114 games.
That attitude spoke volumes to his teammates including Michael Young who wants him back for 2008. Young raved about Sammy saying “The guy's a pro. People can't say enough about the job he's done this year, he's been a great teammate, comes to work every day, and when Wash needs him, he's been ready, that's what good teammates do, they've got a responsibility to not only themselves and to the manager and to the teammates and to the fans and Sammy's taken all that stuff really seriously this year and that's why we love to have him around.”
What do you Rangers fans think?