I'm starting to get impatient. I want the Monty announcement so bad.

DallasAg 94 said:

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so...

Crim (1B-26-AAA): 133G, .290, 22 HR, 107 SO, .385 OBP, .891 OPS (71BB)
Ortiz (1B-21-A/A+): 109G, .294, 33 HR, 126 SO, .371 OBP, .990 OPS (49BB)
Hicks (C-24-A+/AA): 92G, .275, 4 HR, 63 SO, .414 OBP, .787 OPS (59BB)
Wendzel (IF-26-AAA): 124G, .236, 30 HR, 129 SO, .361 OBP, .838 OPS (77BB)
Zavala (OF-23-AA): 95G, .194, 5HR, 159 SO, .343 OBP, .627 OPS (72BB)
Langford (OF-21-All): 44G, .360, 10HR, 34 SO, .480 OBP, 1.157 OPS (36BB)

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I predict one of those 4 guys will make the Opening Day roster.

Ortiz is the only LHB. If he and/or Langford make the Opending Day roster, yowzers.

DallasAg 94 said:

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DallasAg 94 said:

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so...

Crim (1B-26-AAA): 133G, .290, 22 HR, 107 SO, .385 OBP, .891 OPS (71BB)
Ortiz (1B-21-A/A+): 109G, .294, 33 HR, 126 SO, .371 OBP, .990 OPS (49BB)
Hicks (C-24-A+/AA): 92G, .275, 4 HR, 63 SO, .414 OBP, .787 OPS (59BB)
Wendzel (IF-26-AAA): 124G, .236, 30 HR, 129 SO, .361 OBP, .838 OPS (77BB)
Zavala (OF-23-AA): 95G, .194, 5HR, 159 SO, .343 OBP, .627 OPS (72BB)
Langford (OF-21-All): 44G, .360, 10HR, 34 SO, .480 OBP, 1.157 OPS (36BB)

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I predict one of those 4 guys will make the Opening Day roster.

Ortiz is the only LHB. If he and/or Langford make the Opending Day roster, yowzers.

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I definitely feel that Crim has earned his shot, hopefully we'll see him at some point. But I'd love to see Langford open the season with the Rangers!

Grapesoda2525 said:

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Can't wait to see some of in spring training. Guy is already rated as high as Carter and Carter tore up the league in the playoffs.

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Langford: Born: November 15, 2001 (Age: 22-063d)
E Carter : Born: August 29, 2002 (Age: 21-141d)

So it's interesting to look at that draft

1. Skenes - Yeah, I still think he's gonna be great. And he dates Livy Dunne.

2. Crews - Once again, greatness and Id take him over Langford too.

3. Clark - OK, gets dicey here. He's only 18 years old, so maybe in a few years he'll be better, but not right now. Detroit drafted for the future, which was great for us.

Langford has outperformed Crews so far and it really hasn't been all that close. I may be a bit biased but not sure how you could rank any positional player over Langford at this point.

Crews OPS - .844
Langford OPS - 1.157

I would agree here. The only player even close from what I have seen is Jackson Holliday. He's a better defender and might possess a little more pure bat to ball skills, but Langford has him absolutely lapped in raw power.

This is the most straightforward explanation of the latest Bally/Diamond/Amazon news that I have seen:

Quote:

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Had MLB's proposal gone through, they would be able to shop the TV rights of 15 teams to new broadcast partners. But with the new cash infusion, Diamond would maintain the rights of most of the teams in question, with three exceptions: the Cleveland Guardians, Texas Rangers, and Minnesota Twins, which all have seen their offseason spending impacted by the uncertainty of the process.

Diamond says it is prepared to broadcast those three teams' games this year and negotiate a long-term deal. If the one-year price decided by the judge is too high, Diamond said it won't stand in the way if the teams want to seek another partner for this season.

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Diamond Sports to Receive Amazon Investment (The Athletic)

Yes or no, Rangers will be streamed on Amazon Prime this year? Thats the answer I'm looking for. Nothing I've seen so far has given any indication.

From Jeff Wilson today....this provides a little clarity, although we still don't know what's going to happen.

Quote:

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Diamond Sports Group triumphantly announced in a 5 a.m. CST press release that it has a plan to escape bankruptcy with a new partner, a little company called Amazon. If approved by a bankruptcy court, Amazon will purchase the streaming rights to five teams under contract with Diamond.
Diamond doesn't own the Rangers' streaming rights, and Diamond is still attempting to work out a deal to broadcast Rangers games on Bally Sports Southwest for less than the $100-plus million they owe the Rangers.

MLB and the Rangers were surprised by the Diamond-Amazon proposal. It sounds like Diamond is trying to pull a fast one on MLB, and MLB doesn't like it when someone tries to pull a fast one.
A judge, though, will determine whether the Diamond plan, which includes deals with lenders and the settlement of a lawsuit against parent company Sinclair Broadcasting, meets the requirements to exit bankruptcy.

Diamond said it will have a resolution with the three teams it doesn't plan to keep under its current terms, including the Rangers, by Feb. 1.

For fans who can't get Bally Sports Southwest (so, most of them), the end could be near if MLB takes over Rangers broadcasts for 2024 if there is no Diamond-Rangers agreement. If the Rangers have one more year with Diamond, they would be able to find a new partner for 2025 and beyond.

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I have yet to see anything that states who owns the Rangers' streaming rights.

I think mlb owns the streaming rights. Unless a deal gets worked out with Bally and mlb I don't know how Amazon would be able to stream our games. Also the promotional schedule is out. Lots of good stuff.

I think the owner of the streaming rights is part of the problem.

Bally's (loose term) was trying to setup Streaming for their MLB teams and MLB said their license did not include it.

That has been a huge financial hit and their inability to invest in infrastructure to deliver Streaming. They were not going to invest in it, if the didn't have the Rights. Which decreased their revenue.

I think that is what they were saying about them trying to pull a fast one with Amazon. Part is the broadcast rights as a two-tier system, which would essentially say they can't deliver directly to consumers ala Streaming.

So, with Amazon as the delivery, it becomes a two-tier.

The 2024 Promotions Schedule dropped!

I need the Adolis cartwheel bobble head.

Living out of state but wanting all of those bobbleheads is going to be expensive

. https://t.co/3sW214alzg

— TXRangersUpdates (@TXRUpdates) January 18, 2024

Maybe it would push us to resign Monty

Rosenthal reporting that the Astros are making a push at Hader. He's usually pretty accurate but I just don't see the Astros making a deal like this since they usually don't like buying high. Slow news day maybe?

Disco Stu said:

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I have yet to see anything that states who owns the Rangers' streaming rights.

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I think this helps:

Bally's certainly does not...


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/latest-details-on-diamond-bankruptcy.html

Quote:

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Diamond has streaming rights for the Royals, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers and Rays.

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Quote:

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Diamond holds broadcasting deals with 11 MLB teams. The corporation's attorney said yesterday that nine of those clubs the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals and Tigers will be paid in full for the '24 campaign (relayed by Gonzlez). The company is seeking to renegotiate its deals with two others, the Guardians and Rangers, at lesser fees. It is also in discussions with the Twins, whose previous contract with Diamond expired at the end of last season leaving them as something of a broadcasting free agent.

The Diamond attorney informed the court yesterday that the company has offered terms to each of the Cleveland, Texas and Minnesota organizations to continue broadcasting their games in 2024 (via The Athletic). He said the company expects answers from all three franchises by the start of February. A hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed indefinitely so the sides can review the framework of the streaming deal, per Drellich and Vorkunov.

None of the Rangers, Guardians or Twins are obligated to accept reduced rights fees. If they decline, however, it seems likely Diamond will drop the Texas and Cleveland contracts and leave Minnesota without a deal. Diamond already showed a willingness to abandon unprofitable terms during the 2023 season, when it dropped agreements with the Padres and Diamondbacks.

That leaves Texas, Cleveland and Minnesota without a ton of leverage. Diamond's attorney said one of the organizations (without specifying which) plans to negotiate a deal that would even extend beyond next season, as relayed by The Athletic.

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Translation... Diamond holds the broadcasting rights, including streaming of 9 of the 11 teams they have contracts with. All but Cleveland and Texas. If the Bankruptcy Court accepts the current terms being promoted, those 9 teams will get their full amount and their broadcast and streaming will be provided by Diamond.

Diamond has the broadcasting rights for Cleveland and Texas. Because their streaming rights are disputed or not a given, Diamond is threatening to lower/reduce their payment to Cleveland and Texas. Presumably to negotiate a deal for their streaming.

The team (Cle and Texas) has the power to negotiate which likely means the team owns the Rights.

Having said that... MLB has indicated they will make the difference of the reduced Diamond payment, like they did with SDP and DBacks, I believe, last year.

Remember these are Franchises who operate under MLB.

DallasAg 94 said:

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Disco Stu said:

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I have yet to see anything that states who owns the Rangers' streaming rights.

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I think this helps:

Bally's certainly does not...


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/latest-details-on-diamond-bankruptcy.html

Quote:

---

Diamond has streaming rights for the Royals, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers and Rays.

---

Quote:

---

Diamond holds broadcasting deals with 11 MLB teams. The corporation's attorney said yesterday that nine of those clubs the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals and Tigers will be paid in full for the '24 campaign (relayed by Gonzlez). The company is seeking to renegotiate its deals with two others, the Guardians and Rangers, at lesser fees. It is also in discussions with the Twins, whose previous contract with Diamond expired at the end of last season leaving them as something of a broadcasting free agent.

The Diamond attorney informed the court yesterday that the company has offered terms to each of the Cleveland, Texas and Minnesota organizations to continue broadcasting their games in 2024 (via The Athletic). He said the company expects answers from all three franchises by the start of February. A hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed indefinitely so the sides can review the framework of the streaming deal, per Drellich and Vorkunov.

None of the Rangers, Guardians or Twins are obligated to accept reduced rights fees. If they decline, however, it seems likely Diamond will drop the Texas and Cleveland contracts and leave Minnesota without a deal. Diamond already showed a willingness to abandon unprofitable terms during the 2023 season, when it dropped agreements with the Padres and Diamondbacks.

That leaves Texas, Cleveland and Minnesota without a ton of leverage. Diamond's attorney said one of the organizations (without specifying which) plans to negotiate a deal that would even extend beyond next season, as relayed by The Athletic.

---

Translation... Diamond holds the broadcasting rights, including streaming of 9 of the 11 teams they have contracts with. All but Cleveland and Texas. If the Bankruptcy Court accepts the current terms being promoted, those 9 teams will get their full amount and their broadcast and streaming will be provided by Diamond.

Diamond has the broadcasting rights for Cleveland and Texas. Because their streaming rights are disputed or not a given, Diamond is threatening to lower/reduce their payment to Cleveland and Texas. Presumably to negotiate a deal for their streaming.

The team (Cle and Texas) has the power to negotiate which likely means the team owns the Rights.

Having said that... MLB has indicated they will make the difference of the reduced Diamond payment, like they did with SDP and DBacks, I believe, last year.

Remember these are Franchises who operate under MLB.

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Isn't there another meeting on Friday (tomorrow) with the bankruptcy judge to go over the various proposals and see if they are acceptable? About 1.5 to 2 weeks ago the Rangers were on the verge of accepting a deal, but everything got punted to tomorrow (IIRC). If it is just for 2024 and if the MLB is still making up the difference between what the Rangers actually get from Bally vs. what they were supposed to be getting from Bally.... makes me think the Rangers should be getting the full amount for 2024??

Water Boy said:

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Rosenthal reporting that the Astros are making a push at Hader. He's usually pretty accurate but I just don't see the Astros making a deal like this since they usually don't like buying high. Slow news day maybe?

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I think losing Graveman has put them in a desperate situation.

They've lost RP to FA:
Neris: 71G, 1.71
Maton: 68G, 3.00
Stanek: 55G, 4.09
add
Graveman: 23G, 2.42

It leaves
Abreu (26): 72G, 1.75
Pressly (34): 65G, 3.58
Montero (32): 68G, 5.08
Blanco (29): 17G, 4.50

If they don't sign Hader, they could have a bunch of blown Saves ala Rangers '23. If they sign him, he likely gets a bunch $15-20M this year and then at least 3 more years?! It will send them way over the CBT in '24. He'll be 30 for 2024 and committing that much to a RP is going to hurt as they determine 2025+. Hope they don't give him a no-trade clause.

This is where the GM makes his money spending the owners'.

I think the meeting is pushed back again.

Hader to the Astros would not be fun for us but you usually don't see the Astros pay top dollar for players. They usually find ways to get players for cheap during their prime years. Signing Hader would be uncharacteristic for them.

I'm getting itchy... the closer it gets to the season the more I'm tempted to buy Season Tickets.

Trying to decide between 2 Full Season or 4 Half Seasons. Likely in the Corner Box.

Invoicing for ASG is going out in a couple weeks. Better get your full or half season plan now

Gotta wait until the end of the month's commission check.

Full payment due at signing?

Being an Aggie and cowboys fan has made me enjoy the offseason more than the regular season since it's usually just disappointment when games are actually played. Right now I'm enjoying our offseason as champs. Ready to see us defend but it's nice being able to relax and not sweat every game knowing the bullpen could blow it at any second.