It’s hard to believe that at one point in the Texas Rangers’ recently completed homestand, the most newsworthy figure was Jeff the Larry Bird.
So it’s not every day that a pigeon lands near first base midway through the inning, followed by a four-run Rangers rally. A legend was born.
Was the front office worried Jeff was stealing Thunder? If so, they took care of that quickly.
By the end of the homestand, manager Chris Woodward was out and interim manager Tony Beasley entered. With team president John Daniels absent, general manager Chris Young took over all baseball-related matters.
To be honest, Woodward’s firing was sudden. At some point during Monday’s press conference, both Daniels and Young were asked if Woodward would get his fair shake as director. After a sometimes half-hearted start to the season, the Rangers decided to pursue a complete rebuild last season.
Instead, Woodward got a head start on the job search. Daniels admitted that Woodward had a challenging hand, but had no complaints about it.
“I don’t know how to characterize it, but I think he made the most of what he had to work with,” Daniels said.
Still, the pair fired him. Daniels talked about the team not “overdoing”. It’s a bizarre trope for a franchise that has made it clear they aren’t ready to fight this season. We also talked about “little things”. Woodward’s dismissal really seemed to boil down to preparation — they didn’t believe Woodward was preparing the team the right way every day.
They said things were “loose” without getting far beyond vague elaboration.
“It’s not necessarily the content of the preparation, it’s how we use it,” Daniels said. Together, they create a structure tuned to win games every day.”
If that’s to be believed, all of this contributed to the Rangers’ slide, not necessarily in wins or losses, but in quality of play. There have been several times in the past six weeks when the Rangers lost and it looked bad.
The Rangers promoted Beasley because of his respect throughout the clubhouse and the belief that eight years as a minor league manager can improve his preparation and discipline.
one piece dallas morning news On Wednesday, we detailed how quickly Beasley made small adjustments. Everyone on the team wore the same color warm-up his shirt during batting practice. The pitchers spent time in fielding practice at spring training camp. Beasley also shortened certain pre-match meetings but made them mandatory.
The most interesting development was that the team’s highest-paid player, shortstop Corey Seager, was on the field during batting practice. During that time he usually does his batting and prep in an indoor cage.
That was the point Young made on Monday. Baseball is a blend of individual and team preparation, and the Rangers need to find a balance. It’s Beasley’s job to change that, at least in the short term.
Longer term, it’s Young’s job to make the Rangers the frontrunners again.
Daniels’ firing was almost a surprise. At least the timing was great. Daniels’ contract is set to expire at the end of the year and there were no rumors that it might not be renewed. For some Rangers fans, it’s been a long time coming. It took months for the team’s main owner, Ray Davies, to get there.
He didn’t move on Monday. He waited 48 hours because, in his own words, he “didn’t want to tie the two together.”
seriously? Can’t you connect here? Really?
Daniels ultimately faced responsibility for six seasons of losing. It was a degree of accountability that he discussed when asked in person on Monday. Daniels struggled to separate “accountability and responsibility.” whatever that means.
“I have a lot of responsibility for my performance over the last six years,” Daniels said. “And we weren’t good enough.”
He later said that his “personal accountability” could be addressed “in the future.”
He definitely didn’t expect “soon” to be 48 hours later.
“He was taken aback,” Davis said when asked about Daniels’ reaction to his dismissal.
If Daniels was surprised, Young was, in Davis’s words, “shocked.” Young did not speak to the media that day. Less than two years after his initial GM job, which was envisioned as a full partnership with Daniels, he was now operating solo.
“I don’t feel like celebrating, so to speak,” Young told reporters on Thursday.
Daniels has been with the Rangers for over 20 years and was hired at the age of 28 to succeed John Hurt. It was a time when young baseball players were all the rage. He survived Chuck Greenberg. He survived Nolan Ryan (much to the chagrin of many Rangers fans). He survived Ron Washington, Jeff Bannister and Woodward.
But ultimately, accountability catches everyone up. If Woodward didn’t survive his four seasons of losing, Daniels certainly wouldn’t survive his six. Even “God’s Coach,” Tom Landry, got a pink slip.
The timing of all this is, well, interesting. The end of the season is not far away. Rangers are not fighting for nothing. What, what, seven, eight weeks?
Apparently, it was tough for Daniels and Young on Monday. Apparently it was too much for Davis on Wednesday.
Everyone justified the move as wanting to jump start in 2023.
If so, mark your calendars. This was the week the franchise got off to a jump start and was overshadowed by a bird named Jeff.
And if Rangers fans finally get the parade Daniels said they deserved, Jeff should get the ring, right?
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