Improvised staff can't be a Texas Rangers strength
03:31 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
More than a year ago, Ron Washington convinced owner Tom Hicks and general manager Jon Daniels that he would take whatever resources were given to him and inject a positive, can-do approach to a club and an organization that seemingly had become mired in negativity.
Washington wasn't given the same authority as many managers.
He was only able to assemble a small portion of a coaching staff. He hired his former employer, Art Howe, to handle the bench-coaching duties. He hired Gary Pettis to work with the outfielders. But he was handed the rest of the staff, which had been put together by two previous managers.
Hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo was a holdover from the Johnny Oates era. Don Wakamatsu, who moved from bench coach to third base, and pitching coaches Mark Connor and Dom Chiti were Buck Showalter hires. And when Wakamatsu left after last year, the organization (by consensus) chose Matt Walbeck as third base coach over Washington's own recommendation (Brad Fischer, a colleague from Oakland).
So when the Rangers took the field for the first time this spring, they had a very odd coaching staff. There were six coaches essentially hired by four different people. It is, to say the least, an unusual arrangement.
It is also the kind of arrangement that makes it difficult on all involved to truly be on the same page. The relative cohesiveness of the coaching staff, or the lack thereof, could be as big an issue as any other factor in the Rangers' poor start. A team that has trouble with fundamentals is a poorly prepared team. Preparation is the domain of the coaching staff.
These are all strong baseball minds with strong backgrounds, but they've also been thrown together in a small lockerroom and asked to work together. It's kind of like Big Brother only without Julie Chen.
It's not too much of a leap to think the same kind tensions and frustrations that exist on a reality TV show also exist in the Rangers' clubhouse. Put the best people together in such a situation and you test them. People struggle to communicate with one another, and it makes for great TV. Coaches and manager struggle to communicate with each other and with the club, and it makes for a train wreck.
If players see a coaching staff that is struggling to work together, how do you think it's going to impact their play?
Brief answer: Whatever it is, it's not good.
Oh, and when changes come, it's usually the manager and coaches who get changed, not he players.
So here they are a month into the season and the coaching staff has found itself in a leaky lifeboat searching for a place to land. They have two choices: Start rowing together or sink to the bottom.
Q: I've heard three different opinions about who will go first from the Rangers' organization. I've heard someone offer up that Ron Washington never had this team, and that Nolan Ryan is not a big fan of his. I've also heard that Washington can't be held responsible, as it's hard to win when your GM keeps trading away starting pitching from an organization that can't afford to be doing that. I've also heard that it's a combination of both, and that only a thorough house cleaning will do.
I personally think it should be both. Despite that fact that Josh Hamilton is working out well, I keep hearing about bad knees and the toll his past took on his body. It makes me think that he will end up being a corner outfielder sooner than later, and we'll be back to square one as far as center goes. Giving up Edinson Volquez was not worth that. Most scouts say, "Never give up quality pitching, no matter what." I sure hope Jon Daniels and Tom Hicks regret not really trying to re-sign Matthews, Jr.
Rob, Puyallup, Wash.
GRANT: At this point, no decision has been reached on Washington's future. Just as it seems prudent not to judge a player until he's had 500 at-bats or 200 innings in the majors, it would seem prudent to withhold judgment on a manager until he's had at least 1 ½ seasons at the helm. Quite frankly, the Rangers' record isn't that far off from what I predicted in March (they are 9-18 as of Tuesday night, and in our baseball preview section I called it as 11-17 for the month), so I don't consider the record that disappointing.
I do think that a second consecutive season in which the team has been terribly sloppy is what has called the manager's job security into question. Nobody is asking for miracles, but I think management expected this team to play a cleaner, crisper game, and if other clubs were simply better, so be it. This team has lost a handful of games because it has beaten itself.
When things go wrong, people look for where to place the blame. The bottom line, though, is everybody has to share in the blame. I think Jon Daniels has correctly made that clear and has pointed the finger at himself as much as anyone.
That said, I think if the Rangers make an in-season change, they are likely to change the manager only. It is easier to find a manager and a coaching staff in midseason than a GM and potentially an entire baseball operations staff. I realize Cincinnati fired Wayne Krivsky just 12 games into the season, but the Reds already had an experienced GM in Walt Jocketty on the payroll. It made for an easier transition.
Right now, I think the focus of everybody in the Rangers' front office all the way to Nolan Ryan is to try to figure out how to fix the car they have rather than to go out shopping for a new car. I also think Ryan wants the chain of command to work properly. If the manager is to be fired, I think he would rather Daniels recommend the move rather than having to act unilaterally. If Ryan decides on a managerial change and the GM doesn't go along with it, then you've got an internal power struggle on your hands and that can be good for NOBODY.
Q: I haven't heard much about Taylor Teagarden lately. Do you have any updates on how he is doing?
GRANT: After hitting .169 in 16 games at Double-A Frisco this season, Teagarden was moved up to Triple-A Oklahoma when Jarrod Saltalamacchia joined the big league club Friday.
The Rangers' spring plan had been for Teagarden to go to Triple-A if Saltalamacchia made the big league team, and adherence to that plan is why he was promoted. Max Ramirez, the other catching prospect at Frisco, has outperformed Teagarden at the plate. He entered Tuesday hitting .347 with six homers, a .438 on-base percentage and 16 RBIs. Teagarden is considered the better defensive catcher, but he has not yet played every day behind the plate since undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Rangers do plan to be more aggressive with his playing time at Oklahoma.
Q: With Jorge Posada going on the disabled list – for a while – and the Yankees needing a setup man in order to transition Joba Chamberlain into a starter, how does this sound?
New York gets: Gerald Laird and Joaquin Benoit. Texas gets: Austin Jackson and Chase Wright.
With Saltalamacchia around, the team is looking to deal Laird. Both Yankees guys are at Double-A (and Wright is fairly old already at 25), but they provide depth at key positions for the Rangers.
Brian Smith, Carrollton, Texas
GRANT: I have to say the Laird-Benoit package might be of some interest to the Yankees, but I can't see them surrendering their top prospect (Jackson) in such a deal. Even if he is from Denton.
I certainly think Wright is somebody the Yankees would consider dealing, but the gossip mill last year tried to connect him to the Rangers in a potential Eric Gagne deal. Rangers officials gave me no real indication of interest in him in that kind of deal. This might be a different story. But if you are looking for a headliner for the deal, I think you've got to go well below Jackson. I'd suggest someone a little older and with less of a superstar profile, somebody like speedy outfielder Brett Gardner or maybe right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who is currently pitching out of the bullpen. Ohlendorf went to Princeton, just like Chris Young, so he's got that going for him.
I'm sure the Yankees are doing due diligence on all available catchers, but they are still getting information on the severity of Posada's injury (he is not expected to miss the rest of the year as was first feared) and will shop around before starting to hone in on deals.
Q: Did the recent series win against the Twins indicate the players want Ron Washington to stay? Have any of the players spoken out against firing Washington?
Chris
GRANT: If the Rangers could simply decide that they would win a few games in order to keep a guy around, then they would have made that decision a while ago. I don't think there is anybody in the clubhouse who would say they want a manager to lose his job. That would be pretty cold and callous. I also think it would be misdirected blame. Maybe this team hasn't looked as prepared as it could possibly be, but the players also have to share in that blame.
Generally players tend to issue generic comments about managerial changes and only after the fact. They just generally do not wade into those issues because they are firestorms just waiting to ignite. A player says something about a manager's performance and the bloggers/talk shows/media break down the construction of every sentence with more detail than any high school grammar teacher. It's almost impossible to say the exact right thing, and everybody is looking for hidden messages.
Q: With the emphasis on pitch counts and five-man rotations, we're told this is to keep pitchers healthy and prevent injuries. However, it seems that there are as many, if not more, injuries to pitchers today than there were in past years, when no one counted pitches, and when all teams utilized four-man rotations. Is there any empirical evidence that the use of restricted pitch counts and the five-man rotation has, in fact, helped reduce injuries? I was impressed with Nolan Ryan's thoughts that pitchers, starting in the minors, be taught that they can, in fact, pitch well into the later innings. What are your thoughts?
Richard Root, Granbury, Texas
GRANT: Don't know of any hard evidence, but if somebody found some that suggested four-man rotations lead to healthier arms, you can bet a trend-setting team (hello, Oakland A's) would try to return to something like that.
I'd suggest to you that the reason for more injuries and more caution these days is because of the economics of the game. First, pitchers don't want to jeopardize their careers by pitching through pain. In the "good old days," baseball was a temporary career, not something that set families up for generations. Second, clubs don't want to risk damaging their investments, whether the arm belongs to a first-round draft pick with a big bonus or a guy on an expensive multi-year contract. More medical knowledge and advanced treatments, which can often allow guys to extend their careers longer than ever before, can also play a role. A guy is not going to pitch through a torn rotator cuff if he knows he can have surgery, continue to be paid, rehab, and then come back and have a five or 10 more seasons.
I'd suggest that years ago guys pitched through more pain because they had no other choice. Today, they do. And whether you go with a four-man or five-man rotation, it's economics of the game that play a huge role in how pitchers are handled.
That said, I do think the Rangers have been a little too cautious with some of their pitchers. Not suggesting that they push guys to 130 or 140 pitches. But their pitchers ought to be good for 105-115 pitches nightly, unless of course, they reach that count in the third or fourth inning. And they ought to be able to go between 115 and 125 a couple of times a year.
Q: I've read several different things in different places about Gerald Laird's defense. Laird seems to have a reputation for having good defense, with a plus arm, but I've read lately (notably in a study on the Beyond the Box Score blog) that he's terrible at framing pitches and blocking pitches in the dirt. What do the Rangers and other teams around the league really think of Laird's defensive game?
Ben Morris
GRANT: Laird is considered an exceptional athlete behind the plate. His throwing arm is as good as there is in baseball. But throwing alone does not make a catcher a strong defensive player. Pudge Rodriguez has won a lot of Gold Gloves based on his throwing, but if you talk to scouts, they would tell you he is deficient in a lot of defensive areas.
Laird has good defensive skills but can be inconsistent. He does fall into a habit of "boxing" pitches, where he kind of reaches out and stabs at them, and that can make it difficult to frame them for the umpire. There are occasions when his footwork gets a little sloppy behind the plate and you see some borderline wild pitches. Overall, I'd say Laird is a middle of the road catcher. He's got some defensive deficiencies, but he does have a strong throwing arm. Offensively, he ranked 13th of 25 qualifying catchers – the statistical median – in OPS.
Q: When will Milton Bradley be ready to play the outfield? His defense would be a real upgrade over Frank Catalanotto in the outfield.
Lynn Foster, West Hollywood, Calif.
GRANT: Going into Tuesday night, Bradley has started five games in the outfield, but none on consecutive days. Lately, he's been bothered by some hamstring soreness, perhaps a lingering effect from just running the bases on the artificial turf in Toronto. The Rangers' plan had been for him to start playing the outfield regularly by the end of April. I think the hamstring situation complicates that. I think it will be another month before he's ready to play four or five days in a row in the field.
Q: The Rangers' problem is mental more than anything. I see that as their biggest hurdle, just believing that they can compete. Hey, if you played for an organization that had losing seasons regularly, something has to happen for you to start believing. I believe mental is the hurdle. I believe they have the talent to compete.
GRANT: I think the psychology of being a Ranger and the psychology of being a Rangers fan is a fascinating subject. Not much more you can say about it. It's hard to believe that you are going to win when your franchise hasn't won anything in 35 years. Hard as the lack of tradition may be on the players, though, I think it's harder on fans, because a lot of fans have been here for all 35 years. The players not so much.
Where it does come back on the players is in this regard: The minute things start going bad for the club, the fans immediately believe the worst, and that gets filtered down to players through us in the media, talk shows and now on blogs. A player who pays any attention to that stuff can get beaten down pretty quickly.
Q: What are the records of Chris Young, John Danks and Edinson Volquez? What players do we still have from the above three pitcher trades, where are they playing and what are their records, i.e. batting averages or pitcher stats?
Ed Williams, McKinney, Texas
GRANT: I'll give you these stats, but I think this speaks to the issue of what we addressed in the question above. Fans want to immediately think the worst. Yes, the Young and Danks trades haven't worked out particularly well to this point. But those aren't the only trades that have been made. Again, the set of trades made at last year's deadline with Atlanta (which brought the Rangers Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison, Beau Jones, Neftali Feliz and shortstop phenom Elvis Andrus), Cleveland (which brought hard-hitting Max Ramirez) and Boston (which brought Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre) hold the potential to drastically overshadow any of the other trades.
That said: Young, Danks, Volquez and Armando Galarraga (traded to Detroit) are a combined 9-4 with a 2.46 ERA in 106 innings as of Tuesday afternoon. They had allowed 47 walks and struck out 93 hitters.
For Volquez (and Danny Ray Herrera), the Rangers have Josh Hamilton, who entered Tuesday leading the major leagues with 27 RBIs. He was also hitting .333. For Danks (and Nick Masset), the Rangers have Brandon McCarthy, who is currently on the disabled list with a forearm issue. For Chris Young (and Adrian Gonzalez), the Rangers have nothing left of significance. They received Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. Eaton left as a free agent following 2006; Otsuka was not tendered a contract last December after undergoing Tommy John surgery.