Kevin Sherrington

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Ever since Tom Hicks bought the Rangers in the summer of '98, dubious readers have called, e-mailed, whispered and wailed.

He doesn't have any money, they'd say. He's broke. Can't you tell from his other businesses?

Don't you get it?

No, I'd say. I don't.

Granted, I was never a candidate for The Wharton School, but the reason the charges never carried much weight was simple enough:

Players keep cashing checks, don't they? And not at your local grocer, either.

But the issue became critical in the last couple of days after we got a tip that the Rangers had, indeed, missed payroll. We were still getting to the bottom of the story when a caller to Kevin Kennedy's national radio show told the former Rangers manager that Major League Baseball loaned his old club $15 million just so it could pay its players.

Just like that, the rumors were out. What was true and what wasn't? A Rangers source says the club made payroll and Hicks remains in charge. But he wouldn't say how they did it.

Yahoo reported Thursday that Hicks has borrowed millions of dollars to meet payroll and "he won't be running the team much longer."

The Rangers won't comment publicly, which suggests they couldn't refute the stories entirely.

And then there's this: Our old friend, Evan Grant, reports on his blog that MLB has been ready for months to step in if Hicks were to come up a little short.

Of course, we already knew Hicks was in financial trouble. Or Hicks Sports Group is, to be precise. This is how it works with the über-rich. Just because his company's defaulting on half-billion dollar loans doesn't mean he's heating up pot pies back at the estate.

He's sold his rodeo and laid off staff and confirmed he wants to sell a majority share in the Rangers. Otherwise, it's business as usual, if that's what we can call contending around here.

The Rangers won't be taking on any significant contracts the rest of this season, meaning no deals for aces or clean-up hitters before the trade deadline. But, really, what were the chances, anyway? The youth movement dictates no more giveaways when it comes to top prospects. If the Rangers are to proceed on their current course, the best plan of action they've had in years, they must find out what their young players can do.

But once this season's over – and the Rangers know where they stand with some of their kids – they must be ready to move on free agents. They can't do that if the ownership question hasn't been resolved. Not only does Hicks have to find a buyer, the latter must then be approved by the other owners, a process that could take months.

And if that's not bad enough, consider other fallout should Hicks Sports Group require help to meet its payroll:

What would a bailout mean when it comes time to sign the Rangers' top picks?

Bud Selig wouldn't take over the team no matter how much cash flow the Rangers require. But you can bet he'd have some thoughts on how the Rangers employ their funds.

Jon Daniels drafted a couple of pitchers, Matt Purke and Tanner Scheppers, who are demanding bonuses that far exceed baseball's slotting system. In fact, the pair fell to the Rangers expressly because of their demands.

If he's having to draw from the contingency fund to help the Rangers out, Bud might not look kindly on anything that skews the scale for everyone else.

Losing those top two picks would be a devastating blow to the Rangers' ongoing recovery.

The Rangers insist they're not concerned in the least. Daniels says he wouldn't have drafted Purke and Scheppers if he didn't think he could sign them.

But who could have foreseen then that the Rangers might have trouble just making payroll now?

A few readers could have predicted it, apparently. Only took you 11 years to get it right, too.