Wednesday is D-Day.


December 1 is coming soon. Wednesday, in fact. If the owners and players don’t have a deal in place by the end of the day Wednesday, the long dark winter begins.

Everything will be put on hold.

That includes the Rangers rebuilding process, which actually took a step backward with the recent trade for Billy McKinney and Zach Reks. 

It doesn’t help when you announce you are going to remodel the entire house and the first thing you do is move an old, moldy sink from one bathroom to another. 

Adding two far-below-average outfielders to a team loaded with far-below-average outfielders who flank a roster loaded with far-below-average talent, though, might just be the lasting act Ranger fans get to rattle around in their heads as the long freeze slogs on.

Imagine the fans’ joy deep into another February shiver as they dream of all the possible outfield combinations the Rangers could run out there in 2022. 

Won’t that be encouraging?

A team that is desperately trying to sell season tickets to a new stadium with $400- to $800-per-game seats that are going unsold is going to have an nearly impossible task selling to an already distrusting and apathetic fan base. 

“Hello, I’m calling from the Texas Rangers season ticket office and…” CLICK.

“Hello, I’m calling from the Texas Range…” CLICK.

“Wait, before you hang up, we have Adolis Garcia and…and…and…, oh, the heck with it, I’ll just hang up now.” CLICK.

It’s never good to make a deal just to make a deal. And it’s not smart to rush into anything. 

But if the Rangers go into this lockdown having done absolutely nothing to give its fan base anything at all to believe in, that’s yet another foolish decision in a team brimming with foolishness. 

They have until Wednesday to deliver hope.

Otherwise, it’s a winter of discontent. Or worse, a winter of totally disinterest.