On Oct 28 I bravely (or foolishly) started a thread questioning a Ranger fanbase "sacred cow" as follows:

This is a big off-season for the Rangers, and it looks to me like a key crossroads for one major player in the Rangers family, more than any other. But it's one that's so revered we simply assume they'll perform as they should - - and I'm not totally convinced that we can close a blind eye here.

Hamilton? Napoli? Yu? Wash? In my book, the biggest issues surround none of those.

I'm casting a worried eye at Jon Daniels.

I know he's considered somewhat "untouchable" because the Rangers have done so well the last few years. But there are some tricky hurdles ahead, and I'm not willing to simply assume he's up to the task. To me, his track record offers lots of reasons for doubt - items that simply get ignored because "he's Jon Daniels" - alongside the reasons to praise him.

While I got dogpiled for daring to question JD, in hindsight I think it was right on target to reject the <u>blind assumption</u> of so many that JD was automatically going to Jedi mind trick his way to the most amazing off-season in baseball history. With Hamilton, Napoli, Dempster, Adams, and Uehara open to the highest bidder, Young clogging up the roster, lots of holes to fill, and limited financial flexibility (compounded by the lack of much post-season revenue despite having "the best team in baseball" in 2012), JD was under the gun.

Will he be up to the task? Or is his reputation simply the product of a few good moves over the years - mixed with some bad ones - and a bit over-rated?

My thesis then, as it is now, is that in this offseason we may find out how good he is ....or, find out that the emperor may not be as regally dressed as we thought. I still have hope, but this "barely made the playoffs" roster has taken some huge talent losses in the last 45 days. And they needed to get better, not worse.

I'm hopeful. I'm not saying JD is a bad GM. But I am willing to challenge the blind assumption that he has some secret formula to building a winner. And seeing him play things to allow Hamilton to land with the Angels, to complement Pujols and Trout, is something I find stunning in a bad way.

Okay

Must.... not..... feed..... troll...... ah the hell with it

They weren't going 5 years on Josh, whether it was the Angels or the Yankees or the Nippon Ham Fighters. You can put that on JD if you want but I think ownership was also a big part of that. Also I think any reasonable person would conclude that $147 million for Greinke - though it may be the "going rate" - is a ridiculous investment for teams that don't operate on a budget of monopoly money like the LA teams do.

JD is also not responsible for Wash's bad managing last year or Hamilton's hiatus or Colby's injury (all of which led to "the best team in baseball" morphing into what you call a "barely made the playoffs roster"), just as he's not responsible for the idiotic trades KC and Arizona made to take away our top trade targets. It hurts to lose guys like Ham, Nap, Koji, etc., but it's not like they haven't been proactive. They removed the black hole PADMY from the roster, allowing Profar to step in. They were involved to heavily involved on every big name in this "weak" free agent class so far. They haven't mortgaged the future for big bats or non-ace pitchers and I'm OK with that in theory. No major league GM would let all those guys walk without planning to replace them in some way. I'll be patient. I'd suggest you do the same but then again this may be "your moment" so by all means proclaim yourself the victor now before any meaningful acquisitions are made.

There may not be any more "acquisitions"... nothing major, anyway.

JD is determined to stuff youth up Wash's butt in a way Wash can't get around it. As it stands right now, he'd tied his manager to his original praise: great teacher, excellent defensive coach, gets the most out of his players.

Last year, Wash got the Worst Possible out of at least 3 of his "stars". JD didn't fire him. I'm wondering if JD was prohibited by ownership from firing him. JD has to be frustrated - he supplies the best young talent (and, some really good free agents (Beltre, Darvish, Colby) and trades (Napoli, Josh) to add some seasoning) of any GM in the game right now. The talent we have in our farm system is superior to any other. And, JD and his crew put it there.

But, Wash didn't want to use it. They might fail.

He brought in good, serviceable pieces to fill in the bench last year. Wash wouldn't keep them ready. When one of THEM made a mistake, Wash banished him to the bench until JD finally had to send him down to Round Rock to get someone else up.

The bench guys have to be "managed", too. They've gotta be ready and, if they get the idea they aren't trusted, that makes them even more tight and even more prone to mistakes.

Our GM has a plan - he's had the same one all along: Bring in the best youth into the farm system; get them ready to play on the Big League Team; and supplement them with veterans for leadership and guidance.

Hmmm... Leadership and guidance.

If Michael Young and Josh Hamilton were leading ANYone ANYwhere last year, it was into oblivion.

But, a manager should manage all of that.

We still don't have a manager.

But, we DO have a plan.