WINNERS & LOSERS NOW IF RANGERS CAN GET A-ROD TO PITCH ...

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

DALLAS - So the Texas Rangers spent nearly $300 million on free agents.

Owner Tom Hicks is a savvy business guy who could turn a profit buying and selling real estate on some liquified soil in L.A.

Yet, he is not a baseball guy. Hicks is a baseball owner with enthusiasm to match the size of his wallet. And in L.A., it was proven last season that having money and an equal fervor for the game doesn't mean winning, or that the right decisions are made.

While everyone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was trumpeting the signing of A-Rod as the defining moment of an organization, forever linked to the insanity of skyrocketing salaries, it doesn't mask the fact the Rangers still can't pitch.

The Rangers garnered the most attention at the winter meetings. They made the highest-profile move that caught the eye of the folks in the Far East. They even might have assured themselves of a financially productive decade with tickets and licensing and what-have-you.

As to the biggest goal of the game - i.e., winning a World Series - it's not time to declare them winners of the winter meetings.

The Dodgers, Colorado and Boston, thanks to the late signing of Manny Ramirez, came away from the five-day meat show as the winners.

Cleveland, the Mets, Seattle, Atlanta and Baltimore were definite losers.

Throw the Cubs into the same bin as the Rangers - clubs that will have to let time decide whether or not they achieved or didn't.

As far as the Rangers go, neither A-Rod nor Andres Galarraga nor Ken Caminiti can pitch. Neither can Rusty Greer, Pudge Rodriguez nor Rafael Palmeiro. So as it stands, the Rangers - yes, the same ones who had a major-league worst 5.54 ERA last season - improved their pitching staff by leaps and bounds by signing former Angel Mark Petkovsek. A middle reliever.

Lessons should be learned but are not. Tampa Bay certainly did well by acquiring Greg Vaughn and Vinny Castilla at last year's winter meetings, so Texas thought about following the model: Acquire brute strength instead of artistry on the mound.

The Rangers' starting rotation is Kenny Rogers, Rick Helling, Darren Oliver, Doug Davis and Ryan Glynn. If the Rangers were going to overspend ridiculously, wouldn't it have been more prudent to overspend on Mike Hampton, Mike Mussina and Kevin Appier?

The Rangers already had the highest batting average in the league last season at .294, and it got them 71 wins. Certainly, A-Rod is wonderful and something to market all over the place, but Hampton ($123.8 million), Mussina ($88.5) and Appier ($42) signed with other clubs for $2.3 million more than the $252 million it took to get Rodriguez.

After all, it's only been proven time and again for the past 100 years that good pitching is what it takes to win. And the Rangers, despite coughing up more money than most teams are worth - including themselves until Monday - don't have good pitching.

They don't have mediocre pitching. OK, their pitching isn't even bad. It's awful.

And it's pitching that made two of the teams winners during the winter meetings. The Rockies, who play in Coors Field and understand offense means nothing if you can't put someone on the hill who can get some outs, were the big winners because they got Hampton. Whether the 28-year-old lefty can be successful in the altitude remains to be seen. But for the first time, the Rockies have a strong starting rotation with Hampton, Denny Neagle and Pedro Astacio.

The Dodgers made one move, but it was big enough to declare them victorious. They re-signed right-hander Darren Dreifort, giving them a 1-2-3 combination of Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park and Dreifort. That trio went 43-25 for them last season. Now, if only they could get enough people to catch the ball, they'd really have something.

Boston was shut out on Mike Mussina, could never get going with Dreifort or Hampton, but it made its lineup a whole bunch better by acquiring Manny Ramirez for $160 million. As long as Pedro Martinez doesn't ask for his market value, causing the Red Sox to triple ticket prices, it was a good extended weekend for Boston.

The Mets lost Hampton and replaced him with Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel. Patchwork is patchwork, but Al Leiter hardly rates as a No. 1 pitcher and Rick Reed at $22.7 million isn't exciting either.

Yet, when looking at the meetings as a whole, where more than $1 billion was given out to 49 free-agent players with major-league contracts, at least the Mets accomplished something positive.

The only thing Cleveland did was lose Ramirez. The only thing Seattle did was lose A-Rod - after losing Ken Griffey Jr. the year before and Randy Johnson the year before that.

Guess the Pacific Northwest really is beautiful in the summer.

The only teams to have a more lackluster time were Baltimore and Atlanta, both of whom tried to get into the running for some high-profile free agents only never to be highly considered.

The Winners

--Colorado - The Rockies needed pitching and signed Mike Hampton, the top free-agent hurler, to a $123.8 million deal.

--Dodgers - Their top offseason priority back in August was to sign Darren Dreifort. They kept the right-hander with a $55 million deal.

--Boston - They were shut out on Mike Mussina, but Manny Ramirez should bolster the offense. Was it enough to catch the Yankees?

The Losers

--Seattle - In less than three years, they've lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.

--Cleveland - No stud pitcher, no Manny Ramirez, no World Series title again. How does John Hart stay employed?

--Mets - Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel hardly make up for missing out on Mike Mussina and Mike Hampton.

--Atlanta - The Braves never got heavily into the Alex Rodriguez mix nor the Mike Hampton sweepstakes. However, Mets' inability to improve should keep them atop the NL East.

--Baltimore - Pretty sure Orioles were represented in Dallas. Maybe next time they should acquire a player or two so their outlandish payroll has some personality.

Too Early To Tell

--Texas - Unless Alex Rodriguez, Ken Caminiti and Andres Galarraga suddenly become Cy Young-type pitchers, the Rangers have problems.

--Cubs - Jeff Fassero's a nice pickup, Tom Gordon's coming off an inactive year and catcher Todd Hundley played 90 games last season. Call us in 10 months.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- color) The Dodgers re-signed Darren Dreifort, but it cost them $55 million.

Associated Press

(2 -- color) Manny Ramirez will bring his powerful swing to cozy Fenway Park after choosing Boston over Cleveland.

Associated Press

(3 -- color) Mike Hampton joined Colorado with a $123.8 million deal and it was the biggest baseball contract ever signed -- for about two days.

Associated Press

(4 -- color) Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers on Monday, the largest deal in sports history.

Associated Press

Box: The Winners (see text)