Wanted by the Rangers: pitcher and owner

The Texas Rangers have never been to the World Series. They qualified for the play-offs three times in the 1990s but never made it out of the first round. This year, they might have a chance. They lead the American League West. They have a core of young players who are getting better all the time. And they are fortunate enough to be in a division with two slumping teams (Oakland and Seattle) and a perennial powerhouse suffering through an off year (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

Barring unforeseen injuries, there is only one thing that can stop the Rangers - money. The team is broke. They have filed for bankruptcy protection and are being financially propped up by Major League Baseball. The owner, Tom Hicks, who also owns the NHL's Dallas Stars and Liverpool of the English Premier League, is attempting to sell the franchise to a group headed by Chuck Greenberg of Pittsburgh and Nolan Ryan, the legendary Hall-of-Famer who now serves as the team's president.

But Hicks's creditors are unhappy with the plan to pay them from the proceeds of the sale, and last week a judge put the proposed sale on hold. That decision is exceedingly poor timing for the Rangers, who would like to obtain another front-line starting pitcher, so they can better compete against teams such as New York or Boston or Tampa Bay in the American League play-offs. Now the Rangers find themselves in a race with the clock. They need the sale to be completed and their financial future cleared in order to land help by the trading deadline.

The Rangers are interested in signing Roy Oswalt of Houston, but unless the Rangers are sold and they have their own money to spend, that deal - or others - will not be made. "Right now, the Rangers are effectively being subsidised by the other 29 teams," one general manager said. "Baseball can't allow them to be spending other teams' money to get a pitcher like Oswalt in order to beat those same teams to a play-off spot. There would be an insurrection."

Judge Michael Lynn, who is overseeing the case, is aware of the time element and the need to get the Rangers' house in order before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. But unless he can get the sale wrapped up before the All-Star break, the Rangers will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. sports@thenational.ae