Ron On The Rocks, Act II: Royals Wreck Rangers, 12-3
Manager Ron Washington (pictured) could find himself out of a job by Monday morning.Three hundred and fifty-seven days after the Texas Rangers resuscitated their skipper from the brink of termination with a dramatic ninth-inning victory over the Twins, the immediate future of Ron Washington has again been enveloped by uncertainty and doubt after a horrendous 1-6 stretch that has extinguished the feel-good vibes engendered by the season-opening sweep of the Indians, and the flesh wounds inflicted by the Alex Gordon-less Royals on Friday evening were only further exacerbated by Washington's controversial decision-making:
In an eventual 12-3 pasting at the hands of Kansas City, the Rangers opened the smallest crevice for a comeback in the seventh inning when, down 9-0, they loaded the bases with one out and had the top of the order coming to the plate.
After Ian Kinsler struck out, manager Ron Washington decided to pull his top clutch hitter, Michael Young, and replace him with 41-year-old Omar Vizquel. Washington had made the decision to start giving the veterans the last two innings off and told Vizquel he was in for Young.
Center fielder Josh Hamilton was similarly yanked from the game for the purpose of giving the No. 2 and No. 3 hitters a whopping two innings of rest, meaning that even if the light-hitting Vizquel -- who ultimately popped out to end the fruitless rally, much to the audible dismay of the Arlington contingent -- had somehow reached base, a slump-beset David Murphy presumably would have batted next rather than the Rangers' most potent power hitter.
[By the way, has anybody else noticed just how futile Hamilton's hacks at breaking pitches have been over the last several games? The Rangers need their best players to lead by example through performance, and while it might be a meager 11-game sample spanning just 45 plate appearances, .275/.333/.425 out of such a vitally important run-producing spot in the batting order simply won't cut it. He'll eventually turn it on, but Hank Blalock isn't offering much in the way of protection right now and pitchers are exploiting that weakness.]
It's painfully obvious from the context of the situation that awful pitching was the principal reason why Texas dropped this evening tilt, but Washington effectively gave up on his team and 24,062 paying customers -- some of whom had been drawn to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington by the allure of the reduced-price "Red Out Weekend" promotion -- by benching a scalding-hot Young in a situation where just a couple more hits could have conceivably slashed the deficit in half and positioned the Rangers to remain on the offensive assault over the last two innings. That, to me, is inexcusable. That's the epitome of bad managing. You don't throw up the white flag when you're down by less than 10 runs with seven outs left.
A nine-run deficit, though enormously challenging to overcome, is not insurmountable (as we saw, most notably, on May 8th, 2004 and August 12th, 2008), and even if a late surge had come up short, what sort of message does it send to the fan base -- one which the Rangers are heavily reliant upon for walk-up ticket sales in order to compensate for slumping season-ticket renewals -- when the manager is essentially conceding defeat with one-fourth of his allotted outs still available and the bases juiced?
Perhaps more importantly, how is that construed by the people in charge at the top of the organizational food chain? Does anybody really think that team president Nolan Ryan was thrilled by the cacophony of post-game boos from paying customers -- some of whom were probably so disgusted by the on-field spectacle that they won't spend their hard-earned discretionary income on the Rangers' product again this season? Poorly executed baseball is bad enough, but when it begins to adversely affect the bottom line patience wears thin far more quickly.
Washington's questionable decision-making on Friday evening was but a microcosm of a three-season managerial reign that has been loaded with head-scratchers, and to assert that he has measurably improved in that regard would be a rather dubious assertion. We still do not have any idea whether he's capable of guiding a ballclub flush with young talent to the next competitive level (although I'm leaning more and more towards joining the camp which says that he isn't), and if right-handers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla can't stop the bleeding against the formidable tandem of Zach Greinke and Kyle Davies over the next two days, there's a pretty good chance that bench coach Jackie Moore will be taking up residence in the manager's office within the next 72 hours.
Fair or not, Washington is ultimately accountable for the successes and failures of this team, and while his dismissal might well be perceived as an act of scapegoating by the brain trust, his dismissal would also represent an unspoken admission that the organization needs to find the right man for the job -- an admission that may well have been many months in the making.
The onus is now on the players to prove Washington is that man by once again pulling their manager's feet out of the fire.
19 Comments | in Game Recaps, The Season
Reader Comments (19)
I agree wholeheartedly. The chances of come back are incredibly small in that situation, but you just don't send the give up signal to your team or your fans. Those players believe they can come back from anything, and this may have cost Washington a lot of personal capital with his team, to say nothing of what it may have cost his support in the front office.
Well, at least the calls for RW's head are coming earlier this season ... if the Rangers are going to relieve Washington of his duties, then shouldn't Daniels be right behind him? Washington is Daniels' "guy" ... and if Washington can''t get it done, then why would Nolan have any faith left in Daniels, either?
Personally, I believe that the Rangers FO is as culpable as anyone in this whole thing, but that's for another time ... it's easy to say "fire Washington", but who is really available to bring in to guide this mess? I'm sure that Jackie Moore is a fine baseball man ... but isn't that one of RW's qualities, too?? And I get it that he's a personal friend of Nolan's ... but does he have it in him to be another Billy Hunter??
The better exercise would be, IMHO, to put together a list of available candidates that you feel would be better suited for the position, going forward long-term. It's easy to put this on Ron Washington, and ultimately that's exactly what's going to happen ... but not so easy to come to the table with any real alternatives.
That would be most constructive ... put together a group of possible candidates, analyze their respective strengths and weaknesses, and then summize as to whether or not they'd be a good fit here ... that would be the real enlightening exercise, would it not?
Where is Bobby Valentine these days? The Rangers need a manager to light a fire under them. Buck was probably too much of a stickler, but Ron Washington is the Wade Phillips of MLB - clearly overmatched as the guy in charge.
1. Yes, I've watched Josh flail away night after night at the breaking ball in the dirt. If pitchers know he'll keep doing that, they'll just keep feeding him the garbage. Surely he knows that, right? I know some fans will freak out if he starts walking half the time, but not me - it's still getting on base, and the guys behind him are potent enough to do something with RISP. Somehow, from the first week of the season, Nelson Cruz is showing more plate discipline and patience than Josh - and that's saying something!
2. Please - no Bobby Valentine.
3. Ranger Fan - The calls for RW head came at the same time last season, and it was a miraculous run of winning something like 8 series in a row that saved his butt last spring. I'm at the point where I'm just so sick of hearing everyone micro-analyze RW's every move, jumping all over him for every decision that doesn't go well, that I wish they'd just fire him and bring someone else in, if only to give the fans what they want so we could move on. But please, don't fire Ron Washington and replace him with Bobby Valentine. Has everyone forgotten what a flake that guy is, and how gimmicky his regime was? Please, no.
Wash needs to go IMO. The Rangers growth and developement for future success is being stiffled by Wash's questionable decision making. When was the last time the manager gave the appearance of standing up for one of his players? Buck? I get the feeling that the players don't think Wash has their backs. The success the Rangers have is in spite of Wash.
Now if they decide to do this do it now. Don't wait until it is totally ruined this season.
Why in the world would JD "have to go" if Wash goes? JD has stocked this team with quality players from top to bottom. The manager is the one that handles the on the field actions not the GM.
bat cruz higher in lineup = problems solved magically
Everyone wants us to win, but the organization made the decision, which I agree, to build from within. People need to get off of Washington's back. He has a horrible pitching staff this year, the same as the other years. You can't expect to win it mall this year with our pitching staff. Could news we have some good one on the way and I think afew guys from this satff like McCarthy, Fransisco, Wilson and others that will be apart of championship runs in 2010 and on. Quit the moaning about Washington down, do you think another manager would make Harrison and some of these other guys who are not championship quality pitchers pitch better. Nobody is saying anything about Maddux because he proved what he can do with great pitchers. People need to realize its about the players, not coaches. Look at Tom Landry or Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and others who have won cham[pionships and also led to to no playoffs after there championships. They didn't forget how to coach but it was the players on the team.
Washington has to go before the weekend is over......Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels have a responsibility not only to the ball club and the players but to the fans if they want to keep anyone coming out to see this team. The moves by Washington last night were unbeleivable and profoundly ignorant......this man is no more a major leauge manager than Donald Duck is!!! As for the players they need to play every game as if it were a championship game.......some seem to play one game with all the momentum and grit in the world then roll over for three or four games. The pitching, well maybe we should swap most of them out for the guys in OKC and Frisco, starters and releivers.
How about Mike Hargrove as manager...........good baseball man; success as a manager in the '90; and at least acts like he is in charge!
I have been as patient as I can be with Ron Washington, but last night breaks it for me. Unless someone can explain to me why Michael Young and Josh Hamilton needed two innings' rest just after an off day, why you pull one of baseball's best bases-loaded hitters at that point in the game, why you then pinch-hit in that situation a notoriously light hitter who has played so little that he "needed an at-bat," and why our manager would give up on a 9-0 game with the bases loaded in the seventh...unless someone can give me good answers to those questions, then he needs to go. He has proven he cannot manage a pitching staff (one week into the season, you're telling CJ he's no longer the 8th inning guy?? you're telling Feldman we're giving your job to Kris Benson??)He has been managing a big-league club long enough that his record speaks for itself. And on Monday, as a season-ticket holder, I will share my feelings with the Rangers personally. (No, Jackie Moore is not the long-term answer. Don Wakamatsu is. Oh, wait....)
I didn't like this hire from the beginning. Trey Hillman was there for the taking and wanted to be here badly. Don W. was available and was unilaterally praised by the players...but was passed over.
Wash is terrible. May be a nice human being (and that's what ultimately matters in life) but lacks the understanding of the game to manage. The sooner JD and Nolan act on this, the better.
Wonder if any thought has been given to Sundberg?
Thank you. Well written argument..... yes, Ron Washington should be replaced with Mike Hargrove.
Mike Hargrove I would be happier about (than Bobby V.). Texas ties there, too.
I'm in favor of Mike Hargrove at this point. My patience with Washington is all but gone. Why the hell has Jason Jennings not seeing more time? Plus last night, which I had the displeasure of witnessing live.
This team is plenty capable of doing good. Then A's and Angels keep losing with us, but we have a relatively easy schedule this month and we're not taking advantage.
BREAKING NEWS: DEREK HOLLAND HAS BEEN CALLED UP!!!!!!!
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
This is Via updates on my phone.
The competition for Rookie of the Year has begun, Elvis Andrus vs. Derek Holland!!!
PS.
So long Rupe, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I'd vote for going back in time and hiring Hillman, but short of that I'd settle for Mike Hargrove. I've always been a big fan of Phil Garner too and I think he would be an intriguing option.
Bobby Jones. He's been with the franchise for 30 years. He won at the minor league level and no doubt has the respect from the players, most of whom played for him at OkC
Well looks like all the Washington executioner's have to wait. They're 10 games over .500, split with the Yankees and Red Sox on the road and Daniels just picked up his option for 2010.... The phrase - It's always darkest before the dawn' comes to mind.