ARLINGTON -- Nolan Ryan drove back from Houston today and chatted with the media about the ownership agreement and his thoughts on 2010. A few highlights:

* His expectation is for the club to win the AL West. "My expectations today are that we’re going to be extremely competitive and if we don’t win our division, I’ll be disappointed," Ryan said.

* He said MLB came in last July and was overseeing the club. Every move not in the budget had to be approved by MLB. "We were required to have any expenditure that was not budgeted for had to be approved and also any signing outside of the slot limit had to be approved," Ryan said about the club in 2009. "There were obviously some restrictions that other clubs weren’t under."

That included asking for more money to sign first-round pick LHP Matt Purke (now at TCU), but they didn't get enough to make it happen. They also needed approval to sign Pudge Rodriguez.

* Ryan said he has a minor stake in the club and put in the same amount of money as Chuck Greenberg. "We felt like we’d take the same position," Ryan said. "Everybody needs some equity in there. With Chuck's background and mine, I think the investors have developed a comfort level that their interests will be well represented."

* Ryan will run the baseball operations, which means general manager Jon Daniels will report to him. Before a few months ago, Daniels and Ryan both reported to owner Tom Hicks.

* Ryan said he doesn't anticipate making any changes in baseball operations and is pleased with the job Daniels and his staff have done this offseason.

More to come later.