MLB Rangers President & CEO Nolan Ryan said that he was "pleased with this summer's attendance, as the Rangers broke the 14-year old record by drawing 2,946,949 fans for their 81 home games," and he thinks that the team "will draw more." Ryan said, "I think 3-plus million is doable, and whether it is 3.1 (million) or 3.5, there's a lot of things that need to go right." Ryan added, "I think that the record heat wave probably cost us somewhere around 150,000 in attendance, and that's a substantial number." National Weather Service reports indicate that Texas "notched the hottest three-month span ever from June through August" (MLB.com, 10/7).
MAN OF HIS WORD: In Toronto, Richard Griffin notes when Blue Jays President & CEO Paul Beeston is asked "about the February statement to season ticket holders that the club was ready to spend $120 million in payroll, he does not back off even in the wake of a .500 season." Beeston said, "That's all in salaries, I'm talking the 40-man roster. I don't know when we're going to do it. It could be this year. It could be next year. It's going to be when it's the right deal that's going to put us over the top." Meanwhile, Beeston also "denied persistent rumours that his own contract had been extended three years" through the '15 season. Beeston said, "I have not re-upped to anything. I'm happy working with these guys because they're a good group of guys. We'll look at that at some point in time." Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has "also denied his own extension" (TORONTO STAR, 10/7).
UP & DOWN: In St. Petersburg, Marc Topkin reports Rays Exec VP Andrew Friedman plans to go into the offseason "with no set payroll figure and the possibility of increasing -- or decreasing -- this year's $41 million, based on opportunities." Friedman said, "I'd expect that it would have some flexibility up and down, depending on how things shake out and what presents itself from a player-procurement standpoint in terms of what we can get." He added, "We've proven time and time again it's not necessarily about the payroll numbers, it's about the talent we have" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/7).
