Just when some of you - okay, and most of me - blamed the Texas Rangers' weekend sweep in Detroit on the lack of a certain rosy-hued sartorial splendor, we've got a new scapegoat.
The Rangers wore red again last night. But they also handed the ball to a left-handed reliever.
After C.J. Wilson upchucked a 4-0 lead Sunday against the Tigers, Tuesday it was Eddie Guardado who tragically transformed a 3-3 tie into a 10-inning, 7-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles by giving up key hits to somebody named Adam Jones (no, not that one) and Luke Scott.
Ominous signs:
*The Rangers may have counted too much too soon on David Murphy (0 of 13) and Chris Davis (14 strikeouts, 5 hits).
*The Rangers - making their feel-good opener seem years ago - have lost five in a row, their three wins coming against a Cleveland team that is now 1-7.
*The Rangers drew only 14,041 to Arlington last night, combining for a paltry 26,225 the last two games.
*Last, but not least, the Rangers are still owned by Tom Hicks. Yes, the same Tom Hicks some media outlets are shackling with doom and hand-cuffing with gloom ...
Yes, Hicks missed a $10 million interest payment on March 31 and he's trying to re-work the terms of said loans. Yes, he and his Hicks Sports Group are in default. Yes if he was a civilian he'd be fast-tracking for foreclosure. And yes, he's aggressively searching for investors/partners. (I've said it before and I'll say it again, keep the name David McDavid handy. He sniffed around the Stars before, has always dreamed of owning a local franchise and recently had lunch with a guy named, yep, Tom Hicks.)
But, in the end, Hicks isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Why? He's got the money and muscle of the NFL MLB and NHL backing him. Friends don't let friends drive drunk, and owners don't let owners go belly up. The banks will give him a minimum of six months to get his shit straight, and it'll get done.
If I'm a Rangers fan, I'm more worried about my team's bullpen than my owner's budget.
