Tuesday Morning Rangers Notes: Resurrecting Milton Bradley
Wherein we censure those "vagabond" Yankees who love to "scam the system" ... ignoring the fact, of course, that we would love to be able to do the exact same thing:
● While Rangers club officials "aren't expecting it to happen," the possibility of acquiring Milton Bradley from the Cubs is now actively being discussed within the front office (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)
[Six weeks ago, the media consensus -- both locally and nationally -- seemed to be that the Rangers' interest was limited or non-existent, with Sullivan himself referencing unnamed sources who were emphatic in their belief that no reunion tour was on the horizon. Funny how time so rapidly eroded that outward disinterest. I don't think it's an indication of desperation or anything of that sort so much as it is a tacit acknowledgement by the front office that it really can't afford to rule anything out so early in the off-season.
I don't have a whole lot else to say about Bradley that I haven't already said here and/or here, other than that he remains a pretty solid fit for this team as presently constituted, and perhaps the best attainable fit at that. That isn't to say that there aren't some interesting names floating around the soon-to-open markets (Brad Hawpe, Jim Thome and Nick Johnson immediately spring to mind), but they're not going to give you the appealing blend of offensive upside and defensive flexibility that Bradley boasts, regardless of his dissident ways. And remember, winning teams create their own chemistry.]
● A five-man panel consisting of general manager Jon Daniels, team president Nolan Ryan, manager Ron Washington, assistant general manager Thad Levine and director of player development Scott Servais conducted two-hour interviews with Rusty Greer, Clint Hurdle, Thad Bosley and Gerald Perry on Monday, and the Rangers' next hitting coach could be announced as early as today (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
[Pretty sure the winning candidate won't pull down a Mike Maddux-esque $600,000 annual salary. I'm also hopeful that the impending press conference to announce the hiring of Rudy Jaramillo's successor won't be loaded with the cliches and platitudes that seem to be standard fare whenever new coaches are brought into the fold. Hopeful, but not especially optimistic.]
Quick Hits: According to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, right-hander Tommy Hunter is working out five days a week with strength and conditioning coach Jose Vazquez and has every intention of making the Opening Day 2010 starting rotation ... Double-A Frisco assistant pitching coach Ryan O'Malley on Tanner Scheppers: "[He] is definitely a talented kid. He's got above-average stuff all around. His fastball is anywhere from 95 to 98 [mph]. It's effortless. It comes out of his hand really nice." ... According to Scout.com's Jason Cole, Scheppers and fellow Surprise Rafters right-hander Danny Gutierrez will pitch in Saturday's Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game on Saturday evening.
6 Comments | in Analysis, The Off-Season
Reader Comments (6)
I hope the fact that, supposedly, while M. Bradley was here, he behaved because Ron Washington "knew how to handle him" and "he likes Ron Washington". However, the possibility is there that Ron will get replaced as manager at some point during the coming year. What do you have with Milton in that scenario?
I've got a couple thoughts on our hitting coach vacancy, and good old Milton Bradley. First we'll address the hitting coach. As far as I know there are no hard limitations to how many coaches are in your dugout. Would it be terrible to hire one of our four candidates AND promote Coolbaugh? Not to have two hitting coaches but to hire one and use Coolbaugh as the assisstant hitting coach. Say we hire Rusty. Maybe Scott see a flaw that Rusty missed; they discuss how to fix the player's mechanics. Perhaps Rusty sees a gaping hole in Borbon's swing, but has more than one idea of how to fix it; Coolbaugh could help him determine the better fix. Hey, maybe Chris Davis, Kinsler, and Hamilton all start to slump at the same time. They would see twice the personal attention they received last season. Maybe there were just too many holes to plug last year, and all Rudy needed was another set of eyes to stay on top of things. Just for the record, I'm all for adding to the coaching staff at every level. If we could afford it, I'd have a full staff at every level AND a few roving pitching/hitting instructors to insure organizational consistency.
As far as Bradley is concerned, if we don't give up anything and don't have to pay him, I'm OK with it. If it's once again a low/no risk proposition (as it was in 2008), he could be fine, or we can kick him to the curb. I also have to think that the Rangers would have to play quite poorly for his buddy Wash to lose his job.
You know I took a certain amount of joy in watching Milton Bradley self destruct last season in Chicago. Good, someone elses headache I often thought. When you get the multi-year deal in market in which much is expected of you, you have to perform. Milton was a poor fit in Chicago from the outset, always complaining about phantom injuries & not enough "clubhouse love". Pinella had to treat him w/ "kid gloves" for much of the 1st half in hopes the "woe is me malcontent" would come around. Do I think Bradley would offer some protection for Hamilton? Sure, but regardless of how cheap he might come, who needs the trouble. You can't depend on a guy like that, especially one that's already been paid!!!
"Would it be terrible to hire one of our four candidates AND promote Coolbaugh? Not to have two hitting coaches but to hire one and use Coolbaugh as the assisstant hitting coach."
I think the concept as you present it is sound (two heads are better than one and all that), but the Rangers seemed to already shoot that idea down when they (presumably) told Coolbaugh that he wasn't going to be interviewed for a promotion.
Why that is, I'm not sure, because the internal reasoning behind that decision is something the beat writers would have to relay to us, but there's some thought that a Coolbaugh/XX coaching tandem would present conflicting messages to the hitters, and there's also some thought that Coolbaugh is merely an extension of Rudy J., and perhaps both of those are factors.
Comedy option C: Texas can't afford two major league hitting coaches on the same payroll.
How about using Coolbaugh between Frisco, OKC, and Arlington. Keep him in the general area to work with the teams when they're home. If the new hire wants another set of eyes on a problem, there he is. If Engel Beltre is in Frisco and needs a look, here comes Coolbaugh to the rescue. If Smoak develops a little hole in his swing, then you have someone to look him over. For that matter, if they go with Clint Hurdle, maybe you leave Coolbaugh in OKC and use Rusty in this role. Perhaps in that case Rusty can get a little experience working with hitters on three different levels. I think the chance of them implementing anything like this is essentially zero; however, it's a multi-level organizational approach that might fit extremely well with the youth movement.
There are limits on the number coaches that can be suited up and on the bench.