All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez insisted Friday he's happy to still be with the Texas Rangers, even after a proposed trade to Boston collapsed after two months of talks.
The AL MVP, who tried to facilitate the deal, still is frustrated by three straight last-place finishes with the Rangers. But Rodriguez said he feels better about the team's direction after a recent five-hour meeting with owner Tom Hicks, general manager John Hart and manager Buck Showalter.
"Content to me means winning and heading in the right direction," Rodriguez said. "After that meeting, I feel like we have a great plan in hand. I feel very comfortable about where the Texas Rangers are going."
But Rodriguez, who came out of that meeting two weeks ago as the team's captain, also realizes he has to be patient. The turnaround isn't likely to be immediate.
The Rangers remain committed to young players and pitchers, a direction they moved toward midway through last season.
The payroll has been reduced from US$103.3 million at the end of last season to just over US$70 million.
"I'd just like to see our team improve," Rodriguez said. "As long as we move the train in the right direction, that's what we all want to see."
Rodriguez was in town for a team banquet, his first public appearance in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since the end of last season. Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal presented the AL MVP trophy, and Rodriguez also received the team's MVP award.
Teammates were happy to see Rodriguez, and said he owed no explanation for his apparent willingness to be traded.
"He doesn't need to tell me anything. I understand how baseball works, and I'm just happy he's still on the team," third baseman Hank Blalock said.
"It worked out well for everybody," second baseman Michael Young said. "Once we start going out there playing, throwing and having fun, all of this is going to be a dead issue."
Rodriguez is going into the fourth year of his US$252 million, 10-year contract. Asked if he'd remain a Ranger for the length of the record contract, he said there was no guarantee but that he hoped so.
The proposed deal to Boston came out of Rodriguez's frustration at losing, and the Rangers having a chance to get out from the burden of the contract, which has US$179 million remaining.
Knowing the biggest deals are the hardest to complete, Rodriguez always thought there was better than a 50-50 chance he'd remain in Texas.
"It was like a soap opera, like a novel," he said. "Some days were more exciting than others, but it was pretty entertaining, I thought."
Rodriguez hasn't spoken with Nomar Garciaparra, the longtime Red Sox shortstop he would have displaced had the deal gone through. In the end, the uniform didn't change for either player. And Rodriguez said his approach in Texas won't either.
RSS