Nolan Ryan was a childhood hero of mine. There are great men, and then there was Nolan Ryan. He was the best Texas Ranger to ever put a uniform on, and he was at the end of his career. He made the Rangers half way legitimate. He was a bad ass player and the man was from the great state of TEXAS. There couldn't of been a better marriage. Nolan was brought in to be the President of the team, he was technically in charge of business aspects of the ball club. The upgrades around the ball park were Nolan Ryan's doing. He should be commended because I believe they really enhanced the experience at the ballpark (especially for people who really don't enjoy baseball).
Ryan then bought the team and saved everyone from the Hicks era. We all had such optimism. That was in 2010. The team was formed by JD and his staff and Nolan was still in charge of the business side of the Rangers. Nolan after the 2010 World Series seemed to be more involved in player personnel. It was pretty prevalent during the offseason he was pushing hard to get Cliff Lee (unsuccessfully I remind you) and he apparently had some input in acquiring Adrian Beltre (which he should be credited with along with JD). Great! Nolan also deserves a lot of credit for extending the pitchers and making them push through when before they were treating pitchers with kid gloves. I wanted to see the starters go longer to save the bullpen.
After that, what has Nolan done? I think his contributions have been highly overrated by the public. Nolan Ryan was not in charge of scouting and he did not have any input in drafting players. Jon Daniels was your man. The Teixeria trade. Hamilton Trade. And many other signings. Yes he had a little learning curve. We remember the Adam Eaton/Akinori Otsuka trade which sent Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez. Name me a GM that hasn't made a questionable move. But for those 2010 and 2011 teams, that was JD's baby. You want to talk about the last two years and call that a complete disaster, I would absolutely disagree.
Have the season's been disappointing? Of course they have. Disaster. There are a lot of teams in the league that would love to be this "BAD". Its not that long ago we were out by late July, early August. All I want for my team is to do one thing...COMPETE. The Rangers have for the last four years have been in hunt. I'm not going to be the entitled fan who is disappointed if my team doesn't go deep in the playoffs or win the World Series. Its stupid. Not everyone can go. Is Jon Daniels perfect? No way. But he has shown to he can build World Series caliber teams and I believe with a few additions, we have one with this current team.
So Jon Daniels has been branded the man who drove Nolan Ryan out of town. I'm gonna leave you with this, Nolan wanted the control of team and the owners didn't believe Nolan was the future and that Jon Daniels was. Jon Daniels has the 1 year, 5 year plans. He is the man who knows the guys on the farm that will be developed for future. JD has also had great success internationally. Yu Darvish will not be the last Japanese import and Leonys Martin won't be the last Cuban import. JD has built this team to be successful for many years to come.
Before I wrap this up I want to address a really interesting debate I've had with sports media legend Chuck Cooperstein (on twitter, Its not like he and Randy Galloway come over on the weekends). He has had a problem with the way Jon Daniels has treated Ron Washington. That JD should just acquire the players and let Ron take care of the rest. I completely disagree. Wash has to be accountable like anyone else and also should learn & progress. There some techniques in baseball that were used years ago that still work today and there are some that don't. Wash is so great with dealing with a clubhouse and I think he really motivates his very rich ball players to play to their full ability. But in one very important aspect I believe Wash has done a very poor job of game management. (I also believe that was a combination of bad advice from Jackie Moore, but that's a post for another day) JD put together a team and has the right to want those players be utilized to their full potential and correctly. Bunting Elvis the amount of times Wash did was unacceptable. Trusting aging or regressing players. Bullpen decisions. Wash will make mistakes and I won't sit here on my couch criticizing him. One thing we can question is his philosophy. Can that be changed? I doubt it but I guess anything is possible.
Texas Rangers and their fans should feel good about the future of their team. This team isn't going to be in the ALCS every year. They might not make the playoffs. But they will compete, and thats all you can ask of your team. They will in late September have a chance to be a playoff team. Big time free agents, they will have a chance. Big time player that is available before the trade deadline, they will have a chance. Instead of sellers, they are buyers. For as long as I could remember, that's all I've wanted. If you want your Rangers to win or hell attend the World Series, you are going to be disappointed a lot. If you enjoy the ride and enjoy the success, you will still be disappointed but you will have a sense of pride for your team like I do. JUST COMPETE!
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