I am just
going to throw this out there right now. People in Texas that are calling for
Ron Washington to be fired are complete knee jerk idiots and you deserve to go
blind and never be able to watch baseball again. There, I got that off of my
chest and I feel better.
People say Ron Washington is a choke artist
manager because of the last two World Series' and this season. I didn't know
that in 2010 he was responsible for the great pitching performances by the
Giants. Who by the way are one of the best pitching staffs in the majors. I didn’t
know Ron Washington was responsible for Cliff Lee having a subpar World Series
in 2010 either. Or for Josh going AWOL. The Rangers were beaten by a better
team in 2010. Wash was runner up for AL Manager of the year.
In the 2011 World Series I guess Wash was responsible for Neftali
Feliz giving up that triple to Freese in the bottom of the 9th. Or was he
responsible for Neli Cruz misplaying that same Freese triple when it could have
been a running catch?
I guess in 2012 when the Rangers rotation was riddled with
injuries for the first time in two years and Wash had to hold together a team
that was struggling at the plate and not to mention their star player (Hamilton)
was AWOL for two months, I guess that was all because of Wash and the 93 wins
had nothing to do with him.
I always hear that the Rangers win in spite of Washington. Sorry
folks but, no team gets that far year after year in spite of the manager. That
is utter foolishness. Yet, if the Rangers win it is because of Nolan Ryan, or
Jon Daniels, or Mike Maddux. It is never Ron Washington. But, if they
lose...FIRE HIM! He makes too many bad decisions! He is awful!
Let me enlighten you on how "awful" Ron Washington
really is, ok?
Before Washington got to the Rangers they had one winning season
in the 2000's. That was 2004 with Showalter (He was fired in 06). They had only
made the playoffs 3 times and had never won a playoff series. They were known
as a homerun hitting team that had to out hit a team to beat them because the
pitching was nonexistent. The Texas Rangers had a culture of losing before
Ron Washington arrived. Do you know what he has done since he came to Texas?
Washington
is already the 2nd in managerial wins in Texas Rangers history with
520. He will become 1st next year when he passes Bobby Valentine who
has 581.
Washington
is 68 games over .500 for his career as Rangers manger. 30 more wins than the
next guy (Billy Hunter) who only managed 2 seasons.
Washington’s
teams have gotten better in wins every season he has managed with the exception
of this season. But, this year he has his second highest wins total (93). 3
games below his record high in 2011 with (96).
The
Ranger’s 96 wins in 2011 were the most in team history.
Managerial
Stats
Glossary · SHARE · Embed · CSV · PRE · LINK · ?
Rk
|
Year
|
Age
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
|
G
|
W
|
L
|
W-L%
|
Finish
|
|
1
|
|
55
|
|
|
|
162
|
75
|
87
|
.463
|
4
|
|
2
|
|
56
|
|
|
|
162
|
79
|
83
|
.488
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
57
|
|
|
|
162
|
87
|
75
|
.537
|
2
|
|
4
|
|
58
|
|
|
|
162
|
90
|
72
|
.556
|
1
|
AL
Pennant
|
5
|
|
59
|
|
|
|
162
|
96
|
66
|
.593
|
1
|
AL
Pennant
|
6
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
162
|
93
|
69
|
.574
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 years
|
972
|
520
|
452
|
.535
|
2.0
|
2 Pennants
|
Washington
has 2 American League pennants and 4 playoff series victories. Before Wash, the
Rangers had 0.
Washington’s
Rangers teams have also played better fundamental baseball since he took
charge.
You also
cannot say that Washington inherited a good team in a good situation. The
Rangers were still saddled by the bad front office decisions to sign high price
free agents like A-Rod and Chan Ho Park. Though these players were long gone,
then owner Tom Hicks was in a payroll cutting mode and there was nearly no
chance at the time to acquire any free agents of value. Thankfully Jon Daniels
arrived and hired Wash and the Rangers received some help by trading away veteran
players and stocking the farm system with talented young players such as: Elvis
Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, David Murphy, and others who would be the
corner stone for the future success of the club. And, before you say that was
all Jon Daniels work, I will agree with you. But, it is the manager’s job to
cultivate that talent. And I think Ron did a great job at that. The results
speak for themselves.
There is
also the team filing bankruptcy in 2009 and being sold in 2010. The Rangers
never should have been as good as they were in 2010. Especially during such
organizational turmoil but, again Ron amazingly held them together.
And yes I
will also mention Ron’s dark time with the team. His cocaine abuse. I think it
speaks volumes for the players, the coaches, and the front office to rally
around Ron during this time and support him rather than fire him. He should
have been fired. I will admit that. But, Nolan Ryan felt it was important to
keep Ron. To support him. And, it paid off.
So here
we are, Oct 5th, 2012. The Rangers have just been beaten 5-1 by the
Orioles in the Wild Card game and their season is now over. People who wanted
relief from the heartbreak of Game 6 are not going to get it this year. The
Rangers had an epic collapse. They lost the AL West to the Oakland A’s on the
last game of the season. They lost a 4 game lead with 6 games to go. It hurts.
It hurts bad. But, take a breath, cool down and realize that though he may talk
funny, He may drive you crazy with some unorthodox managerial decisions, Heck,
you may not even like his dugout dance. Know this though. Ron Washington is a
special manager who has this team under control.
He has not delivered a World
Series title to the DFW Metroplex but he has gotten so much closer than anyone
before him. Just remember how bad Rangers baseball used to be and how good it
is now. Take a step back, and breathe. The Rangers are one of the best teams in
MLB. Not in spite of the manager but, because of him. Do you remember the 1991
Atlanta Braves? They lost the 91 World Series to the Twins in 7 games. They got
back to the World Series the next year only to lose to the Blue Jays. The year
after that? They didn’t get to the World Series in 1993. The season was
canceled in 1994 due to the baseball strike. But, in 1995 the Atlanta Braves
won the World Series. 4 years after the heartbreak of 91. 3 years after the
misery of 92. Their manager was a guy named Bobby Cox. I bet you have heard of
him. He is the best manager the Atlanta Braves have ever had. He took a last
place team in 1990 and turned them into a World Series team the next year. They
did not win a World Series until 4 years later. Imagine if the Braves had fired
Bobby Cox for being a “Choke Artist” back in 1993 after failing to get to a
World Series for a 3rd straight year. Now imagine the Rangers doing
that with Ron Washington.
Have
patience people. The Rangers are in a good place for a long time to come. Even
with pending free agent departures. It stings now but, a knee jerk firing will
solve nothing.
…Until
next year.