More and more, I'm coming around to the point of view that the biggest problem with this organization hasn't been John Hart or Buck Showalter...it is the owner...
And once again, late in the season, Tom Hicks is finding himself in the middle of a p.r. fiasco.
Tom Hicks, on with Norm Hitzges today, questioned the mental toughness of the Rangers. Not surprisingly, that didn't go over real well in the clubhouse...
I'm not going to cut-and-paste...this is a pretty critical article, and I'd encourage everyone to read the whole thing.
But when Michael Young, Mark Teixeira, and Hank Blalock are all objecting to the way they are characterized by the owner...
When Tom Hicks bemoans the loss of David Dellucci, and says that Michael Young is "not a captain of the clubhouse kind of guy," that not unexpectedly seems to have caused a pretty significant uproar, according to Evan Grant's piece.
And while Hicks proclaiming on Hitzges' show that John Danks will probably be in the rotation next year is stupid in and of itself, here's the most frightening part:
"Buck has a unique style that works," Hicks said. "He grinds pretty good, and I think that's why he's successful. But coaches in any sport with that style sometimes run their course with certain players. But, we might want to change players rather than change managers."
Really.
You've got a manager who is not real popular around baseball among players, who has had three disappointing seasons in four years here, who appears to be once again alienating his players...
And Tom Hicks thinks the solution is to get new players in, rather than a new manager?
I'm so pissed off right now I can barely type. Tom Hicks needs to sell the team.