Saturday morning things

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2007 9:52 AM CDT in News

A win yesterday for the Rangers, and a pretty good start for Robinson Tejeda. Yeah, he ran out of gas at the end, and ended up allowing 6 runs, but you know, at this point, I'll take it as progress.

Evan Grant says that the Rangers have to figure out this season if Tejeda and Brandon McCarthy are going to be part of the future, with Tejeda being more aggressive for most of yesterday's game.

Grant also has some notes about Beavan's comments during the Ranger broadcast on Thursday making the rounds, with Jon Daniels saying Beavan didn't exercise the best judgment...

Todd Wills has a piece on John Mayberry Jr., although he seems to sort of be tiptoeing around the fact that Mayberry, at this point, has to be considered something of a disappointment.

The S-T columnists continue their tag-team regarding the Rangers, with Jim Reeves following up Galloway's "Washington needs to go" column with one of his own, covering much the same territory:

What does a general manager do when he learns that the major strength he firmly believed his new manager would bring -- "a family atmosphere" to the clubhouse -- now looks more like a Jerry Springer episode?

What does he do when his "players' manager" has alienated his players and split the clubhouse far worse than Buck Showalter ever did?

What does he do when Ron Washington seemingly goes out of his way to pick a fight with Mark Teixeira, the team's star player, and everyone in the clubhouse knows it?

Or when the team's veteran No. 1 starting pitcher has to intervene because Washington is in the process of humiliating the first-year starting catcher in the dugout, in front of his teammates?

* * *

But we've gotten away from Daniels' more immediate problem, and that's determining if Washington can regain the confidence of his players or whether he's completely destroyed his own credibility.

Personally, I fear it's the latter. Any manager ought to be smart enough not to alienate his best player, especially one as hard-working and dedicated as Teixeira.

Teixeira is not a selfish player. He will work the count. He walked a career-high 89 times last season. The rest of his numbers speak for themselves.

This isn't the guy you bring into your office and scream at behind closed doors, where everyone else can hear. There may be one or two players in that clubhouse who would respond to that. Tex isn't one of them, and if Washington doesn't recognize that, then he probably doesn't need to be managing.

Berating Gerald Laird in front of his peers for the failures of this pitching staff may be even worse. Kevin Millwood stepping up for Laird at least shows these players care about each other.

Washington came into a tough situation, inheriting coaches he didn't know, taking over what was believed to be an underachieving team and then having to watch his starting rotation disintegrate in front of his eyes every night.

But what has he done to give Daniels confidence that he can ultimately get the job done?

Maybe Washington was a coach so long that he just doesn't know how to lead, doesn't know when to pat someone on the back and when to chew them out. But what you don't do to a major-leaguer is embarrass him in front of his teammates.

This isn't just another bump in the road. This is a major, possibly irreparable, rift.

Again, I don't have the answer to this. I don't really know.

But if this is going on behind the scenes, it is a pretty major problem.

And if this is going on behind the scenes, it is a pretty serious indictment of the decision Daniels made to hire Washington in the first place.

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No way Wash is here come October

And about Beavan...what's wrong with what he said? He told the truth, didn't he? He wasn't wrong in his statement. Rangers' starters know that they suck, so they shouldn't be offended. If the truth offends, then you're probably a weeny.

by isaacbrock on Jun 9, 2007 10:06 AM CDT reply actions

Washington....

He has a 2 year deal right ? Does anyone think he might be on the hot seat right now ? If it is as bad as everyone is reporting it to be I would think firing him and making someone like Don Wkamatsu interim manager wouldnt be to out of line. Of course Daniels would never do that right now because that would be admitting failure something he cant afford to do with the heat he has been taking lately. And is there anyone who thinks Hicks cares at all about this team ?

by turpentinechaser on Jun 9, 2007 10:23 AM CDT reply actions

I'll tell you exactly what JD

should and is going to do. Nothing. He is going to ride it out. This team still has one of the best if not the best bullpens in the league. Benoit, Wilson, Otsuka and Gagne are almost a guaranteed win if the team has a lead after 6 or 7 innings. They have already seemed to fix some of the defensive problems with Byrd playing everyday and Kinsler finally playing like he isn't in some sort of mental funk. It isn't any sort of stretch at all to think that this team could go on some sort of run if Millwood, Padilla, McCarthy and Tejeda pitch up to their abilities. All the team has to do is win 8 out of 10 games only 4 times during the remainder of the season if they can consistently play .500 or a little better during the other games. This means they have a real shot at finishing around .500. Obviously, they can't win the division or make the post season but they still have a chance to make this a respectable season. If they continue to tank though JD and Wash will probably not be retained. You've got to give Wash the entire season and JD has got to hope that Wash figures it out.

by gp on Jun 9, 2007 10:24 AM CDT reply actions

Any starter with an ERA below 6 can object...

...to Beavan's comments. Anyone? Bueller?

And this line in the Reeves article made me laugh: "But we've gotten away from Daniels' more immediate problem, and that's determining if Washington can regain the confidence of his players or whether he's completely destroyed his own credibility."

Washington may have some problems adjusting to being a major league manager, but exactly what have most of these players done to deserve any confidence or earn any credibility of their own this season? Perhaps the players should be more concerned with that issue first.

by mgb5 on Jun 9, 2007 10:25 AM CDT reply actions

Reeves......

I think the Showalter firing was about JD getting the organization to be in line with his vision. I don't mean that in a power-trip or egotistic sense. I think Showalter just tried to do too much: player talent evaluation (reportedly he was down on Young, but also Mench, Laird), PR, presumably other things behind the scenes.

I think JD wanted to be in control of the organization, again not as an ego trip, but because he believed strongly in his abilities to oversee the organization. Hence, Showalter was gone. It's also very evident that JD is in control of the entire organization in the way the draft was handled and the way he prepared for it by beefing up the staff devoted to talent evaluation.

I do agree with Reeves in that I'm not sure JD hired a manager for the right reasons. Clearly, the skill he needed most this season was the ability to sense a tailspin before it happened and the skill to pull the team out of a nose dive. It might be that his optimistic view will be the most important characterstic come next season and beyond. Nevertheless, he clearly lacked the skill set to deal with this season's issues, but I can't see any other response that JD could possibly have other than "patience".

People rarely live up to their baby pictures.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2007 10:27 AM CDT reply actions

Washington and JD

I actually think JD hired washington for the right reasons. To me it seemed to be he wanted a manager who shared his ideas (plate patience, draw walks, throw strikes, defense) and a manager who would be more up front and open since that was one complaint they had about buck. Also he probably as you said, wanted someone who wouldn't try to control things as much.

It may be backfiring some, but that will happen to a green manager. I still feel washington needs time and I think some of these stirups may be because washington is too blunt. They either need to get used to it, or he needs to ease off.

Bottom line is losing makes everyone edgy.

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 9, 2007 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions

I doubt we'd be hearing all this crap

if the record was 38-21. The way they've played, the manager is the least of the problems. The bellyaching needs to stop & they need to pitch better, hit better, catch the damn ball & think (in the field & on the bases) better.

If that all happens the lovefest will be back on.

by tklawless on Jun 9, 2007 7:34 PM CDT up reply actions

yeah

winning eases all tensions.

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 9, 2007 7:58 PM CDT up reply actions

bellyaching, bitching, complaining...

How in the hell can you say it needs to stop?

Oh so it should be...

Thou shalt not complain as a Texas Rangers fan even though this team is liable to end up being the worst Texas Rangers team in history.

Chris Young is a NL CY Young candidate. Looks like Chris Young will make the NL ALL-Star team.

by hurlerhurley on Jun 11, 2007 9:56 PM CDT up reply actions

The way this team has been playing....

they should be called to task.

by Redcaps on Jun 9, 2007 10:36 AM CDT reply actions

I'd just like to know

exactly what is wrong with the starting pitching. I know bad defense has contributed some, but not to the magnitude that the rotation should be sporting a 7 era. Are the pitchers not locating their pitches properly? Is the game planning poor? Are their mechanics out of whack? Is it a combination, a perfect storm of ineptitude? Padilla, Tejeda and Millwood are all getting raked over and over again yet have dynamic stuff. I don't get it at all.

by gp on Jun 9, 2007 10:51 AM CDT reply actions

You know what I'm sick of........

whiny players using the media to scapegoat the manager for their shitty play.

They blamed Buck and now they blame Wash.

Wash may not be a good manager, but as their record shows...this collection of players sucks.

If the starters had a 4.50 ERA the local media would be talking about what a breath of fresh air Washington is.

I don't like watching them play right now for obvious reasons and I'm getting pretty fucking sick of reading about them because of shit like this. Bah......(end rant)

by bdavison94 on Jun 9, 2007 11:13 AM CDT reply actions

Ditto

People rarely live up to their baby pictures.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2007 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions

Double that for me!

by tklawless on Jun 9, 2007 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Mental Weenies?

It seems that some of these players lack intestinal fortitude. How many time this season have we seen a pitcher "lose it" after a cheap hit, error, or bad call. I don't know if Beaven will ever make it to "The Show", but it at least appears he has some guts.

So Teixiera couldn't handle Buck and now has problems with Washington. Regardless of whose is right or wrong, there seems to be a problem with the potential free agent. Sometimes you just have to suck it up...life isn't always fair and we don't always get what we want. And then a lot of us will never see $9M in a lifetime, much less in a single year. Cry me a river.

Proud Supporter of the Texas Rangers since 1973

by T Coleman on Jun 9, 2007 11:22 AM CDT reply actions

The good news from last night

is that Zach Phillips continues to put together a nice year. His numbers look fairly similar to Doug Davis' at the level, except Zach has fewer walks and, I think, more ground balls.

People rarely live up to their baby pictures.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2007 11:26 AM CDT reply actions

Also, since MY hit his low point in May,

he has hit .373 BA with .493 slugging. He's really ramped it up in May with .473 BA and .536 SLG.

Teixeira is even hotter. He had a big May: .283/.438/.661. He's had a bigger start to June: .298/.481/.909.

I think a testament can be made to the leadership of MY and Teixeira in that none of the players have griped about the poor pitching. That's come from the coaches and manager.

This Wash/Teixeira episode is not a leak by the players. Wash had this discussion with Mark in the open, where reporters could see it. Wash addressed it in the open not long afterward. The issue has the appearance to me of being more about how the manager should deal with these things than what the manager is trying to convince Teixeira to do. The way Wash deals with his players does bear watching, but I think to be worried about an irreparable rift is premature.

People rarely live up to their baby pictures.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2007 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions

The fact that all this is leaking out

1/3 of the way into Wash's first season: It doesn't speak well for the players at all.

"Why wasn't I moved by Million Dollar Baby? Because I have no soul, that's why." The Dirkatron, movie hater

by Brian Thomas on Jun 9, 2007 11:48 AM CDT reply actions

When a team is playing this badly

I would hope their is tension in the locker room.

www.mavsmoneyball.com

by Wes Cox on Jun 9, 2007 12:12 PM CDT reply actions

This is all just bullshit

that happens when a team is the worst in baseball and everything seems to be going wrong. It's natural to look around for who to blame when in truth it's both everyone's fault (everyone has played badly at least in stretches, Wash made mistakes on and off field, etc.) and no one's fault (there has been a lot of just plain bad luck involved).

All that means, do absolutely nothing with Wash, get trading and rebuilding and stay committed to the young players in the rotation and bring up Botts.

by t ball on Jun 9, 2007 12:23 PM CDT reply actions

wash

The team's not winning and it seems that we feel the need to start pointing fingers. Wash is the first person to look at because this was a .500 team last year but now it's the worst in baseball. But, then again, we all know that the starting pitching has been the #1 culprit.

Winning is the solution to any teams problems. I've heard rumblings about Ozziie Guillen being fired just 2 seasons removed from a world series title. When a team is winning, everyone can put up with any manager's style. When it's losing, not so much.

The key question is credibility/respect - has Wash lost these? I don't know. I'm not there.

by Randy Richardson on Jun 9, 2007 3:21 PM CDT reply actions