Kevin Sherrington with a very positive column on the Rangers offseason...
Some choice excerpts...
"Any player ..." Teixeira said and stopped. "Any good player's No. 1 goal is to win. The players on this team have done their best to achieve that.
"We just want to see that dedication from the front office."
Translation: You can hardly claim your primary goal is winning when Pedro Astacio is your big off-season acquisition for the rotation and you whack Ryan Drese with no one waiting to assume his position.
Given that background, here's Teixeira's early take on the Rangers under Daniels, the wunderkind GM:
"This is the most excited I've been going into spring training since I've been with the club."
* * *
But Teixeira's optimism about the staff and the club's direction in general seems justified.
You couldn't always be sure of that. Not as a reporter, and certainly not as a player.
Forget personal issues. No, the players didn't care for John Hart. And they're not always so crazy about Buck Showalter, either.
But, to their credit, neither personality was the primary concern. Not if you believe what the players told Daniels when he called around after getting his new gig.
The universal player reaction: "I don't want to be the manager. I don't want to be the general manager.
"I just want to know we're all pulling on the same rope."
Amazing what that assurance can do for a player's resolve. Baseball is a long haul. When you're not feeling good about the club's commitment even before pitchers and catchers report in another month, the road goes on forever.