"The final photos of the Rangers' season show a Vladimir Guerrero perhaps looking old and overmatched. He is fumbling around the outfield in San Francisco trying in vain to corral a hit. Or he is chasing one pitch after another, looking way behind Matt Cain's fastball or way ahead of Tim Lincecum's change-up.

It's easy to thumb through those images and decide that for the Rangers to win the three extra games it would have taken to be crowned world champions, they need somebody else in the middle of the order.

It would also be extremely short-sighted.

For the Rangers to win the World Series, the need to win three more games in late October/early November actually falls down the list of priorities. To win the World Series, the Rangers must first get back to the playoffs. Having Guerrero in the middle of the order again is an important, if not essential, part of that plan.

Which is exactly why the club took the first steps Wednesday toward bringing him back for 2011. They declined the $9 million "mutual option" for next season in his contract. It makes him a full-fledged free agent.

Yeah, I know. The Rangers sure have a funny way of saying "Vlad, we need you back." It may be funny, but it's also necessary.

First, understand that the mutual option was never really an option at all. It was more of a layaway plan. If the Rangers' declined the option, as they indicated they would at the time the deal was signed, Guerrero would get a $1 million buyout in addition to his $5.5 million 2010 salary. That made for $6.5 million in guaranteed money.

It would have been a lot easier for the Rangers to just give him a $6.5 million contract for 2010, except for one thing: Nothing the Rangers did involving money last winter was easy. After they finished shuffling dollars around and cutting payroll at the same time, they had about $5.5 million available for Guerrero. The hope was that once the club changed hands and solved its financial crisis, coming up with another $1 million wouldn't be an issue at all. Once the sale was completed, the money was readily available."