The Texas Rangers Voluntarily Cripple Themselves

Padilla. Gone. Can’t say I’m sorry. The guy has electric stuff, the Phillies likely got nothing for him- but Lord, he was such a wearying character. As long as he was around, the ballclub could fool themselves that Padilla might develop into something. What? No one knows. A solid number two starter? I find it hard to ever picture “Padilla” and “solid” in the same sentence. A quality relief ace? Maybe- but I enthusiastically support the idea of not paying him some outrageous figures- how does $5-6 million in arbitration grab you Phillies’ fans?- to find out.

Padilla did have a nice run at the end of the season- but that is just it. He’s has some nice runs- sandwiched between the aforementioned weariness. And arm troubles. Out.

Bill Conlin nervously wrote last week that “all the moves … have been slides sideways or steps backward. The team Gillick inherited from FireEdWade.com has suffered big-time slippage from the seventh inning on. And the bottom of the roster is starting to read like the waiver wire.” You’re not getting me to absolutely disagree.

But I am not sure that everything is sideways or backwards. On field it is. But on the payroll front, they’ve moved forward. Ridding yourself of actual or potential tens of millions to Thome, Wagner, Urbina, Padilla and- please dear God- David Bell hurts the on-field product next year. But I have a real good idea that not having those same players and contracts around in 2007 and 2008 is a plus.

PhilliesNation bemoans the fact that all this payroll has been freed up- but there is obvious place to spend it- except a plethora of number four starters. He’s right of course. There is probably no more crippling decision in baseball than handing out high eight-figure contracts to thirty-something pitchers with 100 career wins. Baseball is littered with such disasters. Off the top of my head, the only realistically available pitcher I want to lavish multi-years on is Barry Zito (86 wins- 45 more than Prior). You could pry a big-ticket arm away from Chicago- but I want zero part of current Cubs’ rotation.

But I increasingly suspect Gillick is not about 2006. To be honest, I think he hates this team. He clearly distrusts and wants to be rid of the core veteran talent: Padilla, Bell, Thome (albeit forced), Abreu- and in the back of his head you know he wants rid of Leiberthal & Wolf. I don’t think he feels that spending $16 million on the back-end of your bullpen is the best use of resources.

To me, he is clearing the deck for 2007. Gillick isn’t going to spend tens of millions salvaging this group; he’s blowing it up. I mean, come on- a team that is seriously planning to try to challenge the Braves and Mets absolutely does not try to bring Looper in at modest dollars to freaking close.

This is about the year after. The current team can’t win more than it did last year- and that isn’t good enough to beat Atlanta at the very least- and the underlying player and economic issues preclude a quick fix. So it is a transition campaign. Give Utley, Howard, Rollins another year to mature. Let the clock tick on the contracts of the unmovable guys: Leiberthal, Wolf, Lidle, probably Bell. Look at Burrell another year- and make the decision (finally) one way or another on the guy. Run Victorino out there enough times- maybe he can bat lead-off or, more likely, eighth. Give Floyd and Tejada and Madson and Myers every chance to prove they can contribute to the rotation at affordable dollars in 2007 and 2008.