Hicks is counting on Ryan, the Hall of Famer hired as club president in January, taking charge of the organization's overall pitching program so it will finally lead to success at the Major League level. The Rangers were last in the Major Leagues in pitching this season, and it has been their biggest shortcoming in the past nine seasons."What you're going to see is Nolan Ryan's pitching philosophy imprinted on the organization," Hicks said. "It's related to better conditioning, better mound readiness, better strategy, having our pitchers throw one more inning than we have and quit coddling them. Hopefully there will be a consistent philosophy throughout the organization.
"It's the right time for this organization to embrace Nolan's pitching philosophy."
It is good to know that Tom Hicks now believes that the problem with the Rangers' pitching all these years is that these damn lazy pitchers have been coddled.