Does anyone else get the feeling like the wind has gone out of our sails ever since the firing of Thad Bosley?

I'm not suggesting that the absence of Thad caused this, or that the Rangers are suffering from not having a good hitting coach, but I wonder about the emotional turmoil likely created by the move in the clubhouse.

Considering Wash and Thad had a long history together it must have been really ugly whatever went down whether it was Wash's decision or Nolan's or some combination of the two.

I suppose its also possible that Thad was let go for other reasons that are being covered up by the "he wasn't a good communicator" story. Whatever those other hypotheticals might be could be disturbing those who are in the know on the team.

If there is some festering problem I hope they drag it out (not necessarily in the press of course) and get better.

I think that the word is that no one really liked Bosley, so I wouldn't think that his departure is affecting the mood or chemistry. I don't know how much hands-on time a Major League hitting coach really spends with each guy day to day, but I wonder if it is a little like starting over for them to change coaches. So here we are in June, and they have some bumps in the road ahead as they get used to him, but hopefully it will even out, and if the hitters are happy with Coolbaugh, they will be comfortable and loose and start hitting again.

This hitting slump along with the other hitting slumps this year are all a product of Bosley's different message from Hurdle. It will take some time to shake out the changes in style. The new coach will take some time to get through as well.

1. Hurdle's offense was a mere 3 runs from being the worst in the Ballpark era.

2. The 2011 Rangers offense is about the 5th or 6th best in baseball.

Next....

I was not really suggesting that Bosley's departure was the cause of the hitting slump, and nor was I criticizing what Bosley did as hitting coach. I was wondering aloud concerning the clubhouse situation in the wake of what had to be a very disturbing firing for many on the team especially Wash.

I am just worried that the event may have negatively effected the team chemistry.

Joe, It doesnt appear to that there is any problems related to Thad... they seem to both have amicably parted terms, and Thad will and always will be a great friend to Wash. One day when Wash is no longer with the Rangers (safe to assume unless he's the next Francona or Leyland, which i'm not saying he couldnt be) they might reunite on a coaching staff.

As far as any clubhouse problems though, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if the MY MUST PLAY in the FIELD might be rubbing some people the wrong way. granted this is merely speculative, but from my vantage point why should Kinsler be forced to sit or DH for the sole purpose of one other players ego. Even if they are friends. Why should Napoli have to sit so many games he strains an oblique from stagnation (my theory i'm no doctor) because they'd rather play MY at 1st to appease his ego. If Napoli was merely just a secondary catcher then you could say the same thing about Moreland.... Why should he lose an at bat to further his development into a superstar caliber type player we all think he could be just because some guy with an ego cant just settle being an everyday DH.

things like that can get to you. again its just mere speculation on my half, but as far as there appearing to possibly be some in house issues that need to be addressed I wonder if this might be the one nagging think kinda slowly chewing away at this team. Again... merely speculative. but something is awry at the Circle K....

I bet I can figure out what is causing a problem in the clubhouse... it's because lately (well, actually for a long time now) they lose more games than they win and all this losing is bound to start eating at their confidence.

But seriously, what were they expecting? The starting rotation is questionable at best and the bullpen is (albeit somewhat surprisingly) dismal. In addition to the pitching woes, seemingly unexpectedly, the offense is hugely inconsistent and more often than not inadequate. On top of all that, the defense is not living up to its high expectations.

Things need to change and they need to change sooner rather than later or the losing mentality will start to really sink in.

@Dark Reins

we could totally use the all star break about now.....

This team has no heart. Andrus oles ground balls and gets benched. Kinsler has the worst uppercut swing ever. Hamilton can't hit in day games. The catching is awful. cruz isn't hitting his weight. Beltre is over-rated. Young is STRICTLY a DH. The pitching is so-so. NEXT!

in day games. Cruz can't hit his weight. AAA players in CF. Catchin-don't get me started.

Pull T is correct. Besides, the hitting coach is no Svengali,
putting players in a controlled hitting trance. Overrated input.
Our MLB players have seen how many REAL pitches in 2011?
I'd think it's soon time to adjust to something thrown under 90mph.
Or maybe Bosley was stealing chocolate Zingers outta the club frig?

It's not a matter of the offense being insufficeint, although it's been painfully inconsistent. The starting rotation has had more highs than lows. The bullpen's been down all year. I do not sense a clubhouse problem/distraction. My main concern is the lack of hunger in our players' eyes. They seem to all lack that drive to prove the world wrong, opposite to 2010. Somebody needs to step-up and be the PROVEN leader of the team on the field. I find it very frustrating that Josh Hamilton walks up to the plate in extra-innings against the Yankees and has a nice, little chit-chat with the umpire, then preceeds to smile and soon strikeout miserably. Baseball is a game of inches and adjustments. This team is lacking the needed, in-game adjustments to be consistently successful. There's still plenty of time to turn this ship around. But I for one, DO NOT like what I have been seeing day-in and day-out with this team. There is no more room for excuses. We are the defending American League Champions, we shouldn't bow-down to anybody, let alone the Yankees. We're wiltering under the pressure and I for one can see it in our team's eyes and body language. Throw the statistics and sabermetrics out the window and compare the "feel" of this team to the one in 2010. There should be a clear distinction as to what which Rangers team was more focused and goal-driven. Sorry for the rant....but, I must vent my frustrations about my beloved team. A team with so much talent should not be this inconsistent.

That was No Rant... that was Money. BINGO!
I was thinking the same thing, with the Lil' Chat.
For the Yanks to ping & ding us into submission,
well that yanks my chain. The Body & Eye language
tells a story to me also. Where's the swagger- 2010?

Wash should have forced his "umpire rejection" on
the Cano call. My gawd, the ball hit the knob, fast roll
past Ranger dugout, hit ballboy hard in the nadz. He
was on the ground longer than Cano! Wash simply
should have thrown a whirling Tasmanian Devil fit.
Somebody has to wake this team up or the view will
be different looking at a NEW leader of the weak ALW.

@HubZ

I saw and agreed with everything you said. Ron Washington should've definitely gone bananas on the umpire...I was more shocked that he didn't force his own ejection than with the terrible call. I never knew human flesh sounded like wood...you learn something new everyday I guess. I found it amusing that Robinson Cano didn't begin to "feel" the pain from being hit in the hand until after about a minute of standing at first base...Jeter needs to teach this guy some acting lessons. As for the game, it was the epitome of the entire series....we were down before it even started.

Lack of hunger..."wiltering"....lack of focus...no heart...no goals...

Amazing what being 2 games behind last year's pace actually means....

I'm sorry that this thread turned into a RIDICULOUS RANGER BASHING FREAK SHOW.

This is the furnace of the baseball season. It gets hot. If all you are going to do is bash your team when they are down get another freaking hobby.

We have a very talented team. We will see what they can do down the stretch. The drama is just too much in this thread.

I prefer Joey's more measured post today. Something is off, the players don't look right, not focused, not confident. It seems like something bad happened other than losing.

Do whatever needs to be done to fix it.

For all of you freaking drama tragedians. How will you feel if the Rangers do well and win something this year? You won't be able to enjoy it fully because of your ridiculous Ranger bashing when they were down. You are like Randy Galloway bashing the Mavs before the playoffs. He's happy they won it all but he can't really enjoy it like those who had a much more measured response during the tough times.

@Joe~
I expect them to do MUCH better, as Champions, Joe. You should too.
I know when I see TALENT not living up to their potential. You should also.
I, for one, have certainly not bashed, nor given up... I am still enthusiastic.
You should know, that a CITY Team, as Rangers, personifies a City's mood.
I expect the Rangers to defend their ALCS Title, with a new dignity & integrity
this area has never experienced with Major League Baseball. It will all self-
correct, within the Org System eventually, but for now, there's a dilemma that
shows a .500 team play or less. Sorry, Champions don't play at a .300 win clip.
*I'll always wave the Pompom's, but I want the team to play as a Proud Champion.

The big problem, besides the shaky bullpen which I expect to get bettter, is that not one position player is playing at exdpected levels. Kinsler is far too often a pop-up machine, Prince Michael's slugging % is dropping like a rock, Cruz and Hambone can't find the groove, Murphy is sucking badly, and Elvis is hitting better, but his fielding and throws are sloppy, worse than last year. And we've had CF problems, and our catcher had a dismal first month, but his bat is awake now..

And the two players performing above expectations, Moreland and Napoli, are missing ABs so Prince Michael's ego not be offended.

@Joe
"Do whatever needs to be done to fix it."

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the real motivation of this "Ranger bashing" is that we want precisely that - whatever issues that need correcting... corrected. It's tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we aren't hearing the things we need to hear from Wash or the FO. I haven't heard, read or have seen any acknowledgments of any major issues which of course comes with the absence of any strategies to correct anything which in my mind, leaves only one possibility... we should expect more of the same.

Several players need to be making some adjustments, increase their focus, etc. But other changes are also needed. Washington needs to stop forcing players to rest just as they start hitting or even during the middle of a hot streak (I've noticed this several times and guess what - when they come back they go 0 for 4), he needs to move MY to a spot in the lineup other than the cleanup spot (as someone else has already suggested in another thread) and he seriously needs to STOP putting Young on the field (DH only). Those are just some what I feel are the obvious things that need to change, because if I can see them then they are certainly obvious. Yet the season is half over and I haven't heard anything coming from Wash or the FO that even acknowledge these issues so why would I be optimistic that they are going to be corrected or even addressed.

Admittedly my previous post was rather negative and certainly did not give a clear indicatation of the source of the negative outlook but maybe I'm just a realist and perhaps those with all the optimism are just blissfully ignorant or maybe they just don't have the expectations I have. Maybe they are content for the Rangers to simply get to the playoffs and lose their first series, having only gotten to the playoffs because they are in a very weak division. I personally expected more... at least I did at first.

I watch the Rangers lose (repeatedly) and then I read posts like "...this offense is the 5th or 6th best in baseball." Maybe that's true but my interpretation of things said from the FO is that the Rangers were expected be the 3rd or 4th best offense in baseball. So absolutely, the Ranger's offense is inadequate. Inadequate in the sense that the offense has to shoulder the weight of going into this season with a starting rotation that not just was lacking an ace but lacking a proven TORP, with two starters having a good chance of regressing, one whose expectation was to be only a slightly above replacement innings eater and two that were serious question marks. All of these things were known when making the decision to not offer Lee an extra year and not meet the demands of KC to acquire Grenke (which apparently did not include Elvis).

The offense is only going to be fine if there are some measured improvements in consistency. I don't expect the offense to completely carry the team but I do expect more and I believe the FO also expects more out of the offense considering the decisions that were made in the off season.

All that being said, get ready for my optimistic outlook... Obviously, the biggest room for improvement is in the bullpen so perhaps JD will make something happen but it's going to be expensive in terms of prospects. That is all the optimism I can presently muster and I make no apologies about it.

Nor do you have to DR. The Club has put themselves in this situation.
They've made a lot of promises about keeping level or better than the
BIG markets. Do everything possible to IMPROVE the Team. Though it's
early and the market hasn't opened up yet, I'm sounding the bugle, to remind
the Club, we expect for them to honor commitments. They went full throttle
into convincing the Ranger Fans & public, that this is the NEW Rangers.
We have two billionaires, in partnership, an aggressive baseball minded
front office and a defending ALSChamp on the field. Gate receipts are busting
records. So you should clearly see where I'm coming from, with expectations.
That's not bashing... that's the reality the NEW Rangers handed it's Good Fans.

I don't think it is as bad as it looks to some. There have been a lot of injuries and the Rangers have stayed on top. I look to do a 'Pop-Up' about game 100 and see where we are. Attendance is good. There is help coming back or the RR farm is looking pretty good. Some things have not worked out. Is it fatal? Not so far. There have been some reshuffling of positions and personnel. We're still close to the top in a weak division. Seattle got the best of the C.Lee deal. Torrealba has not been as advertised. To many Corner Players while C. Davis roasts in Round Rock. Beltre has 7 errors and Andrus is worse. Thewre is little definition of positions. No one comes to the Park knowing when and where they might play. Greenburg is gone. King Nolan leads a bloodless coup in the Palace Guard. Wash got to pick his Hitting Coach and 'Something Happened.' Still we are on top. Even this God Forsaken road trip is going to workout. 10 home gamews in this weather could have done worse than road losses. Just Chill, it is going to get better but maybe in August andf September when things settle down and everybody knows the other teammates names. All that has been said is true and we're still on top. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and Yes, I know about Trains. I'm really not worried. But check back about August..

Isn't 99% of the reason for TEX's failings injuries? The bullpen, specifically the lack of a RH'ed late-inning setup guy has been by far the biggest problem for the team, but it's a problem because of injuries. If Hunter, Feldman, and Hurley hadn't gotten injured, one or two of them would have started the season in the rotation and thetefore Ogando would have been in the bullpen setting up Feliz to start the season or perhaps even closing and 11 or 12 of those losses by the bullpen would be wins/saves. If Scheppers wasn't injured, he might be in the mix too. Now, we've got guys pitching in roles they weren't originally intended for and it's showing. Rhodes was supposed to be just a 1-hitter lefty-specialist but he has to pitch beyond that because of the lack of depth. Bush probably wouldn't be on the team if Feldman and Hurley were healthy and able to pitch long-relief/spot-start.

And our offense is still one of the best in MLB despite its inconsistency. Really the problems are a matter of circumstance and therefore are able to be overcome.

I think the Rangers are just sad because they know they will never be winners like the Mavericks.