Chuck Greenberg's tenure as CEO of the Texas Rangers was over in a Fort Worth minute. As always, good stuff at Lone Star Ball (including a link to Gallo's column in the Startlegram) and BBTIA. Here's my theory.
Greenberg, as you may recall, is the sports lawyer from Pittsburgh who was the ... how shall I put this ... "business-side promoter" for Rangers Baseball Express, the entity that bought the club out of bankruptcy last August. After the sale was approved by MLB. Greenberg was installed as the CEO of the group, while Nolan Ryan remained team president. On the org chart anyway, it looked like Ryan reported to Greenberg and Greenberg reported to the BDSDs -- the Billion Dollar Swinging Dicks who actually own this thing, Ray Davis and Bob Simpson (officially titled co-chairmen).
Here's the thing, though. The org chart was bullshit. If Greenberg had payed attention and maybe taken a few tips in Texas culture, he would have known that Ryan wasn't going to be answering to anybody but the BDSDs. Hell, Ryan is why they each invested upwards of $100 million to save the Rangers from Tom Hicks (and in the process partially save Hicks from himself).
The various news reports out today suggest that Greenberg's ouster was facilitated by the cumulative effect of "differing management styles" rather than one single event. Said Big Tex at the presser: "I don't really think there was an event that created the separation that we had. I think it's just a combination of philosophy. Like a marriage, you think things are going to work, but we all know in business that until you get in there on a day-to-day basis, you don't get a feel for how it's going to work."
Okay, Nolan. So it wasn't one single event. I say it was two.
Using Ryan's marriage analogy, the first time Chuck fucked the neighbor was during the courtship of Clifton Phifer Lee. At the close of the winter meetings, Ryan and Jon Daniels said they had made their best offer to Lee and his agent, and were prepared to move on. A few hours later, Greenberg was in Little Rock meeting with the Lees to make a new offer, and then topped it off by having a conference call with reporters.
Big Tex no happy.
Several weeks later, Chuck decided to fuck the neighbor again. Greenberg apparently attempted to insert himself into the Michael Young trade talks, and according to some rumors I haven't been able to verify, was the source of some untimely leaks that ended up painting Ryan and Daniels in a bad light.
Big Tex tells BDSDs no happy. BDSDs to Chuck: happy trails.
Thanks for lowering the price of beer before you left.