Good luck, Doug. But I have yet to see where Rodriguez is the problem, now or next season. Let us borrow a salary-cap page from one Jerry Jones. Pay your stars to stay, and then do the best you can with what's left over. Granted, the NFL is a bit different.
Baseball is a brutal business.
If he stays healthy, the Rangers have cut a bargain, and they cut it because Rodriguez agreed to this structuring. Now Pudge has to continue to perform as he has. Tying up that much salary in a small group of players is no safer than wing-walking. But the disaster occurs only when a majority don't earn their money by performance on the field. Pudge had earned the right to make big and long-term baseball bucks.