Sunday morning Rangers things
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 10:16 AM CDT
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PrintMurray Chass talks about the best execs in baseball this year, and says "Nolan Ryan could be executive of the year for changing the pitching culture in Texas, helping turn the Rangers into a contender."
Meanwhile, Jim Reeves has a really interesting column about the problem with Nolan Ryan not being involved in the presentations this week to the ownership groups. Ryan suggests that it is because of his relationship with Chuck Greenberg, which could be seen as a conflict of interest when dealing with the other two potential buyers.
But there are several other really interesting items in there, much of which was unexpected by me, in regards to the work Jon Daniels has done, Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels' relationship, the way that relationship is perceived out in the baseball world, and the firing of Mel Didier.
Reeves suggests that Didier's cozy relationship with some writers had something to do with his firing...which immediately makes me think of what Reeves' colleague at the S-T wrote earlier this year, in regards to MLB supposedly refusing to allow the Rangers to sign Matt Purke, and basically running the Rangers, a story that led to a big firestorm and a huge amount of controversy about whether or not some of any of that was true. And Reeves column today leads me to wonder if Didier wasn't Galloway's source for that story.
In any case, Reeves' column is a really good read, and rather than pull a bunch of quotes, I'm going to suggest you just go read the whole thing.
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Interesting
The point is that Ryan allows Daniels to do his job, sometimes even when he may or may not necessarily agree with the decisions being made
That’s not exactly what we’ve been told around here.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
But it's what we were hoping for, right?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Sure
But it is Revo so who knows.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Oct 18, 2009 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah...
the article just seemed like more of Reeves swinging for Nolan’s sac to me.
Why can’t JD do what Nolan can do? Just because he wasn’t a HOF pitcher? Hasn’t JD been here longer than Nolan and built this team into what it has become?
If the ownership groups wanted to get together and talk about pitching then fine. JD couldn’t provide what Nolan could. I don’t see a problem with this though. Nolan is involved with one of the groups looking to purchase the team. So there is some conflict of interest there with the other two groups imo.
I don’t think it’s a big deal. Although I’m sure most in the media, like Reeves, think it’s some kind of abomination to do or talk about anything regarding the Rangers without the great Nolan Ryan being involved. Just silly.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Well
he is the president of the team. So yeah I think there is a lot that JD can’t answer about the business side of the team. I’m sure the prospective groups will want to know about the players, contracts, plan, but that’s not the same as understanding the whole business.
Now all that said, I’m sure Nolan has managers under him that can handle his part fairly well if not fully.
JD had his chance to run The Thing
by himself and fucked it up really bad.
There’s a good reason that Nolan’s here.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
They just built...
one of those places out here. Is it any good?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
It's funny that they call
Daniels Secretive and Controlling when he probably has spent more time in front of the public explaining what he is doing.
Maybe he doesn’t go to where deadbeat writers sit in their offices or at the bar drinking Cuervo, and give them a paint by number sketch, that the clearly addled FWST columnists need, but it seems Daniels is often on radio and in front of fans, and answers an appropriate level of questions.
Maybe, the senior citizens at FWST need to get off their ass and go to the ballpark.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
by DJCahill on Oct 18, 2009 10:44 AM CDT reply actions 6 recs
Gagree
A lot of distracting or confusing items in the column.
1. Tom Hicks has a bunker? They should sell passes to “hole up” there for an inning as a ballpark commodity.
2. What is so fucking difficult to understand about a conflict of interest?
3. This seems like mostly speculation from Reeves, with lots of hype for “The Man.”
4. Column Filler:
no matter how either of them tries to downplay it, the perception persists.Amongst who? People who call in to 105.3?
One of the worst things that can come out of the sale of the Rangers is a worsening of the perception that Ryan is on one side, Daniels on the other, because that situation would be intolerable and something then would have to give.Snooze.
5. Dead wood turns over. Big whoop. Find better sources for the TMZ-esque articles.
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Oct 18, 2009 10:51 AM CDT up reply actions
x
Amongst who? People who call in to 105.3?
I read that to mean people in baseball, either within the organization or those elsewhere in MLB.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions
Don't you have to source that with a quote?
Or does the writer assume that we will just take him at his word?
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Oct 18, 2009 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions
2. What is so fucking difficult to understand about a conflict of interest?
Yep, the reason Ryan isn’t involved in the presentations is to avoid future potential litigation by one of the unsuccessful bidders claiming omission in the event Ryan’s group emerges as the successful bidder. I don’t understand why anyone would have a difficult time understanding why the Rangers want to avoid a potential conflict of interest problem.
by twinkilling on Oct 18, 2009 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
This
To use the vernacular for “nails it”. If any one of us had say, 800+ million and were willing to throw 300 million of it into a partnership to own the Rangers, the stake is too substantial to allow “guidance” by a Greenberg affiliate to steer our financial commit.
I love Nolan Ryan and trust that he is totally honest, but also respect what can happen in any potentially litigious deal. Even if the Greenberg alliance is handshake.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Oct 18, 2009 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah that was my thinking too.
I think it’s just Reeves trying to stir up more trouble.
The whole article doesn't make sense to me, yet, and this idea that a "perception" of two camps
would result in “something then would have to give” is weird. I can’t figure out his audience either.
Is he worried that the incoming owners would have this perception and then determine that one or the other (Nolan or JD) would need to go? Presumably, Nolan would be his biggest concern of the two being asked to leave.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
I wonder if "secretive and controlling"...
…is referring to his dealing with those with whom he works.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions
well if Didier is putting everything he hears in the media
I dont blame JD for not letting his underlings know everything
Maybe it just has to do with not giving Reeves the due he thinks he deserves.
by twinkilling on Oct 18, 2009 11:29 AM CDT up reply actions
And exactly what does Reeves deserve from the Rangers FO?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Too bad
Reeves doesn’t deserve much due. After all, the Rangers know which writers actually show up to cover the team.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
I'd hope so.
Should be pretty easy to keep track of two people…
Cause really, who cares about the Rangers?
Daniels is somewhat secretive
He figures out what the public needs to know, and he tells them. And things the public doesn’t need to know (status of negotiations with draft picks, why they make certain organizational moves, potential trades), he doesn’t let anything slip. Daniels GMs like a poker player – he only lets out certain information when it is to his benefit or cannot hurt him at all.
I’m completely fine with that, because running a team in the newspapers is a recipe for disaster. No one wants to read that their GM is trying to get rid of them in the sports pages.
Of course, journalists HATE people who don’t give them information. Because that is their livelihood. So playing it close to the vest isn’t a fun mystery, it is an aggravation that must be stopped.
I like JD, but I can understand why people at the DMN and FWST (and the whole national media) don’t.
Go Rice Owls!
by JBImaknee on Oct 18, 2009 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
It is particularly in contrast to...
…the previous regime, which was one of the leakiest organizations in baseball.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions
yes
and I hated that about the Hart era. Seeing the Hart/Buck/Fuson fights spelled out for me in detail was disgusting and pathetic.
Go Rice Owls!
Yeah, most of that
was absolutely ridiculous.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
Daniels-Ryan
JD and Nolan are opposites. The generational differences are huge. Unfortunately for JD, there are many more people in the organization (and media) who relate to Ryan’s overall sensibility.
You surmised almost exactly what I was going to say
And I concur.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
"mayhe the senior citizens ... need to get off their ass and go to the ballpark."
But JD doesn’t sit next to Nolan at the games, dum-dum, so that wouldn’t help them either.
"Blalock in the cleanup spot makes gives me agita." - Dustin
by benmor78 on Oct 18, 2009 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm still not too sure why Nolan is important in these interviews...
But he simply can’t do what Ryan can, and that’s give them the perspective of what he’s seen and learned in his two years (has it already been that long?) as team president, from a Hall of Famer’s viewpoint.
These interviews are for diligence purposes. They’re not going to Nolan for advice. What difference does it make that Nolan is a Hall of Famer? Given that Nolan is not a micromanager, you should be able to get the exact same information from Nolan’s subordinates.
But then again, if Nolan isn’t important for diligence purposes, then the FWST’s meme about Nolan being the most important person in the organization falls apart.
Agree
It’s not like:
A. Nolan Ryan’s opinion is central to the purchase of an asset that is pretty clear to understand.
B. You don’t buy something for $500 million and rely on Nolan Ryan anyway. This purchase either makes sense for the buyer. Or not.
+1
Hank is 7 runs below a zombie replacement at first base. Do you realize how terrible that is? Zombie’s can’t think, they’re slow, and they’re often ejected from the game for eating opposing baserunners’ brains. - Ben quantifies Hank Blalock
Yes, but it is also fueled by ignorance of corporate transactions
The most important part of the due diligence interviews is the data. The key parts of JD’s presentation will include organizational charts, budgets, processes, compliance, open liabilities, future obligations, etc. Nolan would not be drafting this material. If Nolan was attending the presentation, he would either (a) watch JD and the other VP’s give presentations or (b) present material drafted by JD’s team and by the other VP’s. Plus, most of the questions will be directed towards things like valuation, infrastructure, etc. (e.g., bidders attempting to place a value on the latin academies), and Nolan probably would not be answering these questions or, if he was, he’d be using material prepared by other members of the organization.
In short, there is little reason Nolan must attend the due diligence interviews, and it is out of an abundance of caution that he’s not attending.
I think
you overestimate the role of the GM.
He's not suggesting
that Daniels is personally preparing every datapoint. But seriously, do you think Ryan is the kind of guy that really wades into those numbers more than a guy like Daniels? It’s not Ryan’s job to fiddle with that stuff. He tells them where to steer, he doesn’t actually handle the wheel and grease the gears.
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And I never suggested he thought he was preparing every data point.
I do suggest that Cstorm has taken the role of the GM to a whole new level if he thinks he’s involved in all aspects of the organization like he listed above. There’s a business side, that JD is probably very aware of but not all that involved with, and a baseball side that JD is very much involved with (obviously).
I’m not saying Nolan needs to be involved at this point in the presentations. I am seeing a lot of people on here that I think confuse the two sides of the business and seem to think the product on the field is the most important part. I happen to think the product on the field (players at all levels) is less important to the investors than the business side which I think Nolan and his people know far more about than JD. Just my opinion.
I also think that Nolan (and don’t peg me as some Josey type here) has been involved with a some very successful businesses and JD has not been. So I actually happen to give Nolan the benefit of the doubt over JD when it comes to who might actually “wade into the numbers”.
Nolan's business ventures
I just don’t picture him as the hands on guy actually balancing the numbers. He’s the idea guy, the figurehead who acts as chief salesman, not the accountant.
And mr. storm did mention other VPs and I didn’t get the sense he meant that Daniels generated or even dealt with this kind of data daily, just that he was leading the presentation.
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I think you're right about JD "leading" the presentation
and my guess is that the actual areas presented are done by people with specific knowledge of their specific area.
by twinkilling on Oct 18, 2009 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Not at all
I am under the impression that the “presentation” is a very minor part of the due diligence process. It does not matter if Ryan, JD, or anyone else in the organization gives this presentation. Typically a senior officer, such as the president, would give this presentation, but that’s merely for appearances. The real meat of the diligence happens in the interviews and in the document review, which will not require Ryan’s participation.
This is especially true now that everyone in the organization knows the team is for sale. In many M&A deals, employees of the target company do not know they are being acquired, and the M&A teams refer to the acquisition using quasi-secret code names (e.g., the potential acquisition of the Texas Rangers might be called “Project Tonto”). However, here, everyone knows about the sale and who the bidders are, allowing the bidders to interview more people in the company. In other words, bidders can talk to some/all officers/managers of the company instead of funneling information through senior executives.
Whether Nolan would have information that profoundly alters the buyers understanding
of the organization is one thing, but I think Reeves is ultimately mostly scared that if Nolan isn’t allowed to speak, the new owners might think there are two factions within the organization, and, Reeves thinks this would lead the owners to go with one or the other, possibly firing Ryan based solely on the “perception” of two factions rather than hearing directly from Ryan whether that is the case.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
I'm pretty confident all the bidding finalists have enough business savvy to understand
why Ryan isn’t involved in the presentations and would likely do the same, under the same circumstances, if they were the sellers rather than potential buyers.
by twinkilling on Oct 19, 2009 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions
So, would you just write-off Reeves fear of this possibility?
Personally, I think Reeves is getting worked up over nothing. But, if I read him correctly, he seems to be very concerned that Nolan is going to get kicked out of the organization.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
Like Galloway, Reeves existence requires him to stir the shit
I’m guessing that Reeves has enough business smarts to know that his “concern” really doesn’t have any merit. One faction, two factions or six factions, having Ryan as a presenter is a conflict of interest. Much to do about nothing, but that’s typically what you get from Galloway and Reeves.
by twinkilling on Oct 19, 2009 10:46 AM CDT up reply actions
If Nolan isn't allowed to participate because of conflict, how is there a perception of two factions within the organization?
I think Reeves brought up this “perception” simply because he wants this perception to exist. There’s nothing about Ryan being conflicted out of the presentation that raises any perception of a power struggle.
I also think Reeves is making this up.
He tries to downplay that his opinion of there existing this perception of two factions already has been downplayed by Nolan and JD, just by asserting his opinion.
He might be echoing only Didier’s perception. I also find it hard to believe that the potential new owners (and all of the people within the organization and those within MLB outside of the Rangers) would see two factions at work against one another.
I think this is just Reeves being paranoid, and I think he mostly just wanted to gripe about the way JD deals with the media and say a parting word in public on behalf of his friend Didier. But, he wrapped all of that up in this whole paranoid rambling about the Rangers either (a) not being pitched appropriately since Nolan won’t be there or (b) losing Nolan who could ousted since his absence could perpetuate this perception of two factions that the new owners would find intolerable. It’s a weird article all the way around.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
Ryan and future owners
It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Ryan only stay with Greenberg. He’s the president, not the GM. He is the hand of the owner in the front office. Assuming other owners actually have interests in playing with their expensive new toy (which lets all admit, that is what MLB clubs are to these guys), the president would likely be hand-picked by whoever buys the team. Nolan aligning himself with Greenberg is a smart move because it guarantees him a job in at least one of the bids. Because odds were he was losing his position regardless.
Daniels is more safe, he’s not aligned to the owner, he’s in a purely baseball position. A new owner may be quicker to pull the plug on a strategy, give JD a shorter leash, but they don’t jump onto a moving train and replace the conductor.
Go Rice Owls!
I have to wonder
how the sales process unfolds. Does the team go to the highest bidder? If Hicks remains a minority owner, he might have interest in keeping Nolan around for consistency’s sake — with the way things have developed under Ryan and Daniels.
If the bids are negligibly different, advantage Ryan/Greenburg.
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Oct 18, 2009 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions
That entire article was 90% supposition & innuendo,
10% fact, and yet will be read by several hundred thousands of people as the gospel. I used to like Revo, but he is turning into a joke of a writer.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
by Rodney on Oct 18, 2009 11:07 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Funny how Reeves, Galloway and Hitzges used to be leading the charge for a new owner
Now that we’re finally getting one, nothing can make them happy about it
They should throw all them in a bus with a Didier and send them to a home
by oc on Oct 18, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Honestly...
after reading the article, I did not see the significance of it. I really didn’t catch where the new or enlightening information was in it.
Nothing To It
The article by Reeves through me for a loop, but the more I think about it the more I think it is bullshit. How can you have two camps when JD works for Nolan? And what are they disagreeing about? Maybe this is more about perceived personality and/or style than about baseball.
Were you around in 2004?
Wufdog (who pollutes the NMLR boards) famously labeled me a tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist because I was saying back in spring training of 2004 that there appeared to be two factions within the Rangers organization, the Fuson camp and the Showalter/Hart camp, and because I said that I thought Showalter was working behind the scenes to undermine Fuson and prevent him from taking over as g.m. at the end of the season, as planned.
Turned out I was right.
Similarly, in L.A., it is well known that the front office is split into the Ned Colletti camp and the Logan White camp, with whoever talked to Frank McCourt last having the most power.
It isn’t at all uncommon.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions
What About Now?
Do you really think there are two factions within the current organization? If so, and the Greenberg/Ryan team wins ownership approval, JD’s days are numbered.
If there really were two camps...
…Daniels would have been fired a long time ago.
My point was simply that, just because someone is under someone else on an organizational chart, doesn’t mean that there can’t be friction and dissension between the two, particularly in an organization like the Rangers, where traditionally, everyone has ultimately answered to Hicks.
And that notwithstanding, it wouldn’t shock me if there were those in the organization who were viewed, or view themselves, as Daniels’ guys, and those who are Nolan’s guys. That’s just the nature of an organization like this.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
To add (in agreement)
You all at once own an enterprise (or so it looks from the outside, you’ve actually thrown every resource you can into discovery and value analysis). You certainly don’t get rid of the guy who built the A+ system, and you don’t get rid of the goodwill value of Nolan Ryan atop the visible totem pole. You may require both those guys to make certain on the field, financial, operational, or marketing changes in accord with your perception of bringing the market to the product, but even those take addidtional time and thought.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Oct 18, 2009 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions
OT: Balloon boy was a hoax!!
I had a feeling it was with that incredibly effed up family. Papa and Mama are going DOWN!!
HH is that a sock in your puppet or are you happy to see me?
All that
so the family can be reality whores.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
the father is such a retard...
to put that boy in front of the cameras to face questions from the press. I don’t care how well you coach a 6 year old he’s gonna fuck up like he did when he let the cat out of the bag with Wolf Blitzer. Watching the parents body language after that was a hoot though. They were BOTH so incredibly flustered and BUSTED they just wanted that interview to end asap.
HH is that a sock in your puppet or are you happy to see me?
I hope the parents
get locked up, and the kids are taken from them.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
I think they should have to go on
a balloon ride hanging by their ankles.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
by t ball on Oct 18, 2009 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hear fuckin hear
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?
by Brian Thomas on Oct 18, 2009 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions
And the fathers "Oh how dare you" response when questioned about it later
hah. busted.
i really hope he ends up in jail.
the preceding post was a great success.
yep he was sooo cornered at that point..
his aims at deflection were quite transparent and the stupid sock puppet wife sitting there nodding and trying her best to keep the son from talking more.
HH is that a sock in your puppet or are you happy to see me?
hah, video
somehow video of the balloon being released got on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh64EWfU8hg
the preceding post was a great success.
That dad is a hothead, I bet he smacked his ol' lady around for not tying down the blimp...
What a dipshit.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions
heard the 911 call now
just so disgusting. mother crying desperately to the police that your son, who you know is fine, is gone.
then he, who was previously already calling the airlines or whatever gets on and pulls the same act. and then hangs up on 911 while they pause to talk to rescue people. had to call those tv stations!
the preceding post was a great success.
LOL they're too effin much....
They both met in acting school in Hollywood. They allegedly plotted this a couple weeks ago. The whole video of it taking off was all acting also. The police have been to the house before for a domestic violence call but I doubt he slapped her for leaving the blimp untethered because that was the master plan. He may have slapped her for being a bad actress though but you’d have to ask the 6 year old about that, he tells everything.
HH is that a sock in your puppet or are you happy to see me?
yeah, pops is off the chain....so is mom...heck, that whole family unit is bonkers
I feel bad for those kiddos. They’ve got an uphill climb.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 6:34 PM CDT up reply actions
I guess I agree that all of the owners
should be able to talk to Ryan, but I don’t see the need for histrionics about it. I can’t really imagine that Ryan would have something so profound to say it will really affect a prospective owner’s decision on whether or not to buy the team.
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Exactly
And to echo Dan’s thoughts above, I fail to see anything particularly secretive and controlling about JD’s modus operandi. Quite the opposite.
And if one of my scouts actually was talking out of school, I certainly wouldn’t have a problem shitcanning his bluehaired ass.
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Hi, Keith. Is this the year Edinson Volquez finally wins RoY?
by Brian Thomas on Oct 18, 2009 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, I like the close to the vestness
I’d imagine it’s well known in that office that you don’t divulge too much, so if Reeves is correct than Didier did himself no favors. Really, though, the guy is older than dirt and he should be throwing back weak drinks with Don Zimmer somewhere trading stories.
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Can anyone picture Ryan putting together some kind of PowerPoint?
by WhiplashWhiteside on Oct 18, 2009 12:28 PM CDT reply actions
1st slide – meat
2nd slide – meat
3rd slide – snow monkey
4th slide – Robin Ventura in a headlock
5th slide – meat
6th slide – his new belt buckle
7th slide – an old-skool astro jersey
8th slide – meat
by shroomer on Oct 18, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 10 recs
rec
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions
I can't stop laughing at the visual.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions
9th slide - Advil
Have the Rangers explored an endorsement deal where they color their outfield fence Advil brown?
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
There are potentially several jokes
in there. Hope it’s back up for you soon is all I’m going to say.
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It’s a website
You know it. The world knows it.
You attempt at making it relative to a penis is pretty outdated
I still dont get why everyones into it
facebook is far greater imo
After Fuentes blows a save and an Angels loss to the Indians:
"Angels still in first place" - UCI Halo
"Hey you know who would have gotten those 3 outs in the 9th?
Darren O’Day." - FirebatM3
LOL
But how would they know what's going on?
NOW NOW NOW you could be ironing your pants and the INTERNET NEEDS TO KNOW.
So
I fell asleep early last night, still recovering from this viral infection/flu/whatever.
I just now went and saw what happened with the Yanks and Angels last night.
Wow.
I missed a hell of a game.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 12:36 PM CDT reply actions
It was alright
The offenses were so bad it was painful to watch them.
The 2009 Texas Rangers offense: sigh...
by Kinslerhomer on Oct 18, 2009 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions
I thought I didn't care much how it played out
But got fascinated and stayed up to the end. Baseball tension at its’ best (given that it resembled what baseball would look like if played above the Arctic Circle)
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Oct 18, 2009 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions
As did I, great game.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
Blown?
The little shit Aybar was two feet way from the bag.
The 2009 Texas Rangers offense: sigh...
by Kinslerhomer on Oct 18, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions
It's a gimme call
Happens all the time, and even Tim McCarver, who was sitting up in the booth painting Yankee logos on his dick all night, admitted it.
The umps tried to hand the game to the Yankmees by getting picky, and it was pretty damn obvious.
Hank is 7 runs below a zombie replacement at first base. Do you realize how terrible that is? Zombie’s can’t think, they’re slow, and they’re often ejected from the game for eating opposing baserunners’ brains. - Ben quantifies Hank Blalock
Man.
I love the Saints offense.
"Stats are like a woman in a fine little bikini. You can see a lot, but you can't see everything." -Dirk A. Tron
The Murray Chass Article Reveals
what a few of us knew at the time of Nolan’s hiring, which does not include most of the LSB community, who collectively and almost unanimously scoffed at the thought of Ryan’s ability to do anything other than pitch.
Wrong again.
Maybe You're Kidding...
But, crediting someone for changing the Rangers pitching culture? How hard could it be? Ryan is a legend. But, less the Twins system, I don’t see who deserves credit for 2010. The teams winning this year paid-up for it. Brian Cashman? He signs the 3 priciest players on the market and it works-out in Year One? What a GM!
Very interesting article by Reeves.
I can absolutely believe those scouts were run because JD thought they were RG sources (when it is so publicly known how much Little Boy Donuts despises the big bad RG).
I wonder if Minassian is a part of this purge as well.
This also jibes with the perception that Nolan lets JD run This Thing until he sees fail…then he implements massive change. Witness our improvements in pitching & defense.
If all true (scouts run because they were RG sources), RG will torch Little Boy Donuts at the first chance.
We need to see a few more cards dropped before we get a better handle on the situation but it only stands to reason that any new ownership group would want to have Nolan as a part of The Thing.
Look at the product on the field plus the attendance bump and then look at what This Thing was from October 2005 to this past year (with Nolan finally getting a full off-season to assess and implement massive change).
It’s also reasonable to believe that there are two camps here and that Little Boy Donuts must chafe about the perception that he wasn’t worth a shit until Nolan came aboard.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
How do you perceive
Galloway could “torch” JD? Forgetting the derogatory nickname slurs, why would you think Galloway’s opinion on baseball operations or related matters is worth even a cursory glance?
Please skip the rhetorical erections and talk plain business English.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Oct 18, 2009 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ed
I’ll write and say what I want to in the style that I desire but thanks for the input. A little more clarity (say what the fuck you mean with no grey areas) would be quite helpful in reading your posts.
Very flowery prose you throw down but quite often somebody will read your post and be left with a question mark above their head wondering what the hell you were trying to communicate.
To be succinct, it’s wise for managers, head coaches, general managers and owners to have the press or owners of influential websites in your front pocket. JD has some of those in his pocket for sure but RG is most definitely not in his pocket.
Controlling the press or public opinion keeps fans (most of whom are sheep and too stupid to think for themselves) from wondering who the problem is when things go wrong. Everybody wants to know whose fault it is when things go wrong. That’s why Wade Phillips is currently the biggest pin cushion of blame in DFW.
If JD screws this off-season up or the team gets off to a bad start, RG (who has wanted his ass fired for a long time) will pull out the knives and fight dirty, especially if Didier, Minassian et al were run because they were RG sources.
Given the terrible job JD did before Nolan became his boss, it’s not going to be that tough to build a decent case.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
Glad
You managed to answer the question. Makes sense, in terms of guiding (I wouldn’t say controlling) media connected to the team. However Galloway is an opinion cultist, and shouldn’t be counted as critical media or as beneficial to the team.
Question marks? Critique accepted. Evidently you understood the question, quite clearly at that.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Oct 18, 2009 2:00 PM CDT up reply actions
The average age of a person who reads a newspaper
is 55. I would think that demographic of fans would be more likely in RG’s corner than JD’s corner.
RG has been here nearly 40 years and has the two-pronged ability to contact readers and listeners to his program as well so he’s much more than just a cultist.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
The typical LSB poster here
is far more critical and objective about Daniels than you are about Galloway. You’re just a Lewinsky.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
by t ball on Oct 18, 2009 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Oh, I see what you did.
"Nothing we do here has a point" - Czar Morris
by inactive lsb user on Oct 18, 2009 7:47 PM CDT up reply actions
I really wish the guys at FireJoeMorgan
Would take a handful of JW posts and just do a number on him.
It seems like your allies at the S-T...
…have gone soft on JD.
Reeves goes out of his way in this column to praise the work Daniels has done.
Galloway hasn’t had anything ugly to say about him for a while.
Even JFE wrote a positive column about him this summer.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 6:56 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm waiting for the day that, in the wake of a marvelous postseason run, Nolan heaps tons of praise on JD for building the club
There’s no way Josey’s head doesn’t explode.
"Feldman and Feliz and and pray for…infectious disease?"--TheJeezus on Sep 9, 2009 1:01 PM PDT
Except, of course, massive change wasn't implemented
Yawn.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Whatever you say, boss.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
Incidentally...
…I am impressed with how you conflated Reeves’ speculating that Didier’s cozy relationship with the press possibly being a factor in his being let go into “Didier was fired because he talks to Galloway.”
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 1:39 PM CDT up reply actions
Tell me, Josey...
what’s changed your perception between the beginning of the season, when you said the defensive changes were a fuck up of Daniels’, and now, when they are a feather in Ryan’s cap?
"Blalock in the cleanup spot makes gives me agita." - Dustin
This is old news
Sometime in May or June, there was some story that said that Nolan Ryan was in favor of Andrus coming up and starting the season in the majors.
At that point, Josey shifted gears and announced that, while he said before that Ryan was allowing Daniels to fail with that decision, he was wrong, and this story proved it was clearly Ryan’s decision all along.
by Adam J. Morris on Oct 18, 2009 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Is Josey a bit, or does he really believe what he says?
Drives me nuts trying to figure it out….
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Just your garden variety
internet troll.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
Good to know.
I guess my next question is, why the fuck is he still here?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
by Cecilio's Guante on Oct 18, 2009 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Traffic generation is the only plausible reason...
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
It succeeded
therefore, it was no longer Daniels’ idea.
Josey’s M.O. is to observe what happens, see where his previous posts have failed, then implement massive changes to what he claims to have said to appear to have been right.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
by t ball on Oct 18, 2009 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
Wow. So the first time I looked at Reeves' article, it was so boring I didn't click to the next page, which
was where all the juicy stuff was located.
Looks like Reeves’ just outed a source.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
if you want to get conspiracy theorist
Maybe Reeves is just pretending that Didier is his source to protect the guy who’s really leaking the info…
I like that line of thinking.
Reeves has JD right where he wants him. JD only thinks he got rid of the informant. Nice.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
Read Reeves words again
Mel’s biggest drawback, I suspect, is that he befriends everyone, even sportswriters. I hope that wasn’t a factor in his firing, but don’t count on it.
Nothing but opened-ended innuendo here. If you believe Reeves outed a source here, you just swallowed his bait.
I don't understand... He's baiting me for what?
To get me mad at JD for firing Didier? I think he’s just going to bat for Didier, basically saying that JD fired a guy in order to keep in “control” of the media access to the Rangers. I don’t believe that interpretation at all.
He didn’t “out” Didier to JD. He outed Didier to us in order to discredit JD.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
"basically saying that JD fired a guy in order to keep in "control" of the media access to the Rangers. I don’t believe that interpretation at all."
That’s just the point. He actually didn’t say that at all. He dangled something out there with the intent that that’s the interpretation you’d apply. Here’s what he actually wrote, " I hope that wasn’t a factor in his firing, but don’t count on it." That’s nothing more than Josey Wales type crap.
I guess if I were Reeves and one of my informants had been dismissed, I'd be mad too.
And, if the informant happened to be more closely tied to Nolan, who is not going to be able to talk to the potential owners, thereby preventing my informant(s) from giving me information about the potential owners, I’d be mad too.
The, I’d waste all that anger and write a boring self-pity column, trying to make this somehow about Ryan being slighted and not at all about my hissy-fit stemming from losing an informant.
Here’s one that made me scratch my head:
The point is that Ryan allows Daniels to do his job, sometimes even when he may or may not necessarily agree with the decisions being made (and while I don’t know how Nolan felt about Didier’s firing, those two have been close for years, too).
I thought Hicks gave the go-ahead on all decisions, not Ryan.
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power? Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck now. -- Tenacious D
So Adam.
Yesterday, I extended an invitation to Frankie Piliere (former Rangers scout) to come and have a Q&A with us. He said he would obliged once the post-season concluded.
I still need your approval though.
Also, if you are one of his first 1000 Twitter followers, you’ll be granted access to full-fledged scouting reports.
He has to get the 1000 followers before the conclusion of the AFL, though.
http://twitter.com/FrankiePiliere
"Blister please, with those wings in your spine.
Love to be with a brother of mine.
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth,
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep,
Wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep." ~Jeff Magnum; Neutral Milk Hotel
I'm curious
why would a scout for one team want to potentially expose his scouting activities to other teams?
I believe he's retired.
"Blister please, with those wings in your spine.
Love to be with a brother of mine.
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth,
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep,
Wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep." ~Jeff Magnum; Neutral Milk Hotel
I guess I still don't get it
If the reports aren’t his, then he’s sharing the fruits of someone else’s labors? If I was a scout, I don’t think I’d want anyone else posting my reports for public consumption. I would think that the team paying for them would consider them to be proprietary.
He said he's doing the scouting but I don't think he's currently under the employment
of any major league club. I think he’s employed by MLB to have a blog on their fanhouse section.
"Blister please, with those wings in your spine.
Love to be with a brother of mine.
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth,
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep,
Wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep." ~Jeff Magnum; Neutral Milk Hotel
The scouting reports are also
for AFL players.
"Blister please, with those wings in your spine.
Love to be with a brother of mine.
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth,
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep,
Wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep." ~Jeff Magnum; Neutral Milk Hotel
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