No. I agree Young is aging. I agree he is past his prime. I don't agree with Galloway. Icons can be benched.

You still have not explained how a country club atmosphere cost us two world series. In particular, NOTHING about Young's 2011 campaign would have kept Young's bat out of the world series line up for ANY manager.

You are taking legitimate concerns about THIS years team and rewriting last years history. It's crap.

These forums are getting more ridiculous with every game. The Rangers currently have the largest division lead in baseball, as well as the best record in the AL. They are 8 games up on the perennially-hyped Angels. They have scored more runs than any other team in the majors.

That's a heck of a lot to be happy about. Instead, every thread on here eventually devolves into "fire Wash because my favorite player isn't getting enough playing time!" As long as the team is winning, who cares if it's Olt, Gentry or MY getting the start.

Do you care now?

Keystone, are you going to go through and dig up every old thread where people discussed the inevitable triumph or demise of this team and tell us how wrong or right they were? Because that's going to get old really quickly and it won't help anything.

I actually find it pretty interesting. Throughout the season, many fans wanted to dismiss any criticism of Wash because, "hey, we're in first place...Wash took the team to the WS last year...etc..."

As we have seen, those concerns were legitimate.

" ... those concerns were legitimate."

^This

Agree with you Andy.

Keystone, instead of focusing on Wash playing MY every day, how about you take a look at the stats for RISP. If you want a good reason why the division lead was lost, that is a better start than blaming Wash and MY.

For example, after the All-Star Break, the Rangers lost 12 games by 1 run. The team, and I stress TEAM, was 13-80 with RISP. That's a .162 BA. 2 or 3 timely hits, and it's quite possible that what happened this week wouldn't have happened. That's not all on Wash or MY, that is completely on each member of the team equally.

@ AlanElmore

Have you ever thought that the team might have produced better results if Wash actually played the best players available?

As you referenced, Wash can't control everything (i.e. how the entire team produces with RISP). But he did a poor job managing the things that he could control.

Have you ever thought that the team might have produced better results if Wash actually played the best players available?

As you referenced, Wash can't control everything (i.e. how the entire team produces with RISP). But he did a poor job managing the things that he could control.

The truth is in this post.

I have to back Keystone on this one. I know we've beat this to death but this issue is still alive as the Rangers are still playing. So, this argument continues.

Young stats this year are horrible and it makes a huge difference. Look at the effect Trout had in LAA. Hitting is contagious and each hit extends a rally. Michael Young has grounded into 26 double play balls. #2 in in all of baseball. Since the All-Star break he has hit into 14 double plays. GIDP are the biggest rally killers that exist. It takes men on and no outs to bases empty and two out or just flat out ends the inning. Young stats with men on base this year is a BA of .256 and an OPS of .655. With bases loaded Young is batting .111.

There was a power struggle between JD and Washington and JD backed down. Wash went out of his way to say on the radio how no one was going to tell him who to play and he was sticking with Young. JD is a saber metrics guy and knew that Young wasn't going to produce the numbers that other players on the bench would. Specifically, Moreland at 1B and Gentry at CF. For the record, there were two catches Gentry makes against Oakland that Hamilton didn't.

So, the collapsed happened and everyone wonders why? Really? Galloway and Company went on and on today about the "Jinx" GAC put on the team with his A.L West prediction. This was covering and diversion for the roster decisions that Washington made that didn't work.

I'm glad Keystone brought this up. Data after data showed that no team in history can win with someone like Young, -1.4 WAR stat in the lineup. Further, Washington's open rejection of saber metrics and not changing up his lineup and so as to allow someone with a high OBP to lead off, like say Gentry was what caused the offensive anemia that took over. Analyst, Ben and Skin, MLB network said over and over again that this lineup doesn't work. The response was always the intellectually lazy statement of hey, they're in first place, they went to back to back WS. etc. Well, nobody thought that the Titanic would sink either.

I find it interestingly ironic that in the end the team that rejecedt saber metrics (preferring the eye ball test) loses to a team of nobodies that saber metrically together became a somebody.