Of the New Deal, Runners in Scoring Position and a Great Game

TR...You mentioned "runners in scoring position" and "defense" but how about this one....."baserunning miscues." Goodness Those are just fundamental baseball.

Rangers win and are fastly approaching Washingtons winning percentage during his second season .437 thats in capitals folks. Why are we surprised? A 50 + year old man is what he is he doesn't change. In all fairness for those who like to point out that the manager doesn't field, throw or hit but he is RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCT THAT IS PUT ONTO THE FIELD. HIS ROLE IS TO PUT PEOPLE INTO POSITION TO SUCCEED. Why was BOTTS taken out of that game last night? Isn't he a switch hitter? Is Broussards' defense really that much better than Botts? I am glad we won, but that game should have been over in 9 innings. Our vaunted bullpen blew that game and cost Gabbard a victory. Why take Gabbard out after 6? Was he out of gas? Did he not want to go out there? To expect anything other than a .437 winning percentage from Washington well is shocking. He seems to be a nice fellow very positive. But at this point, i want him to rip this team a new donkey. Get on them, tell them what is at stake. Motivate, lead and direct them to play the game the right way. If they don't then sit their booty on the bench. Oh by the way i thought defense from the second baseman was why we got rid of Soriano. Yet Kinsler lead the league last year in errors and is fastly approaching it this year. Hey Kinsler do you want to play left field? Bring on Duran.

“Why was BOTTS taken out of that game last night? Isn't he a switch hitter? Is Broussards' defense really that much better than Botts?” – I’m with you on that one.

“Why take Gabbard out after 6?” - Young pitcher, history of arm trouble, he’d thrown 94 pitches in 6 innings. If his pitch count had been 84 he’d been back out there. Nothing controversial here.

“To expect anything other than a .437 winning percentage from Washington well is shocking.” – His win% was higher than that last year. This may be your lamest argument of all time and that’s saying something. What was your man crush Mike Hargrove’s winning% his first year as a ML manager?

“Oh by the way i thought defense from the second baseman was why we got rid of Soriano.” – How can you get this so wrong so many times? His impending free agency combined with the fact that there was a viable replacement for him already in the organization was why we got rid of Soriano. Defense from a second baseman is the reason that the 2 organizations he’s been with since have tried to hide him in LF. Did you see that he may have to go on the DL after hurting himself doing the cute little hop he does after catching routine fly balls? Worth every penny of that 136 million.

“Yet Kinsler lead the league last year in errors and is fastly approaching it this year.” – He was also in the top 10 in zone rating among all ML second basemen last year, 2 spots below AL Gold Glove winner Placido Palanco and 2 spots ahead of NL Gold Glover Orlando Hudson.

“Hey Kinsler do you want to play left field?” – Not a bad idea considering Michael is going to need to be moved soon.

“Bring on Duran.” – Duran made the exact same number of errors as Ian did last year while turning about 30 fewer double plays.

Padilla needs to go 7 strong tonight. Hope he didn’t stay up too late celebrating that extra inning victory.

The defense was playing well enough until Broussard air mailed that throw in the 8th. Lets take little victories where we can. Maybe the guys will take some inspiration from Wes Littleton on how to stay with it, even if it rips the glove off your hand.

Hank is a concern. Fox.com kind of implies his back has been bothering him for a while. If that is the case, and he is hitting .300 with a bad back, lets get him some time off and get him better. His RBI totals are not what they should be but if guys are baserunning in front of him like they are in little league then RBI get tough to come by. We need him to play, especially today would be nice since he appears to hit Hallady well enough.

Just a random thought: Move MY to 3B, Hank to LF, Bring up Duran or Arias and platoon him at SS with Vasquez. MY has enough arm for third and won't need to cover as much ground. LF will take a lot of stress off of Hank's back.

Bringing up Duran woud require a roster move and that one might not be pretty...

Hey hefe, i don't disagree with you about Soriano, however it is what they said. We need more defense from our second baseman. If that is the case then why is it any different for Kinsler. We need defense from our second baseman, regardless of what his name is, how much money he is making. While i am not naive enough to think that major league players don't make errors, they need to be kept at a minimum. We are at the maximum. It is about the pitching and the defense. Ronald is highly touted as being responsible for the A's defense in Oakland during his tenure. READ HIS BIO, you will also find his managerial stats there, not pretty. Pretty consistent with what we are seeing from him at the Major League Level. And Hefe and i am growing WEARY of you throwing stuff back that i wrote. Why don't you learn how to cut and paste and just reprint my musings. The bottom line is Ron is a nice guy, but he doesn't have any control over this team. I would like to see one game where we play a complete game. Good pitching, timely hit, good defense and no stupid mental errors. If the manager can't lead the team to that, then we need a new one who can, regardless of what his name is. How about Hillman? Seems to be doing pretty well, with inferior players. Too bad Daniels didn't like him, because he thought he was too controlling like Buck. Who is Washington like??????????Bozo The Clown, thats who.

Washington's rep as a top infield coach is taking a massive hit every time this team takes the field. There's no doubt about that. There lack of preparation and focus is reflecting extremely poorly on him. I was at Saturday's game vs. the Blue Jays and it looked like the Bad News Bears out there. I had to play the Walter Mathau part by getting hammered. The horrible defense sent me to the beer stand for more Guinness and Smithwick's time after time................... hey, Hicks might be on to something here. I spent much more on beer while the defense was bad compared to Sunday afternoon when they played relatively well. It wasn't til after that game was over and we'd left the tying run stranded at third after getting him there to lead off the inning that I felt like I needed a drink. Maybe if they'd booted more balls I'd have had to drink more on Sunday.

I think I'm going to have to agree with dwidregod for one of the first times. I don't buy into the junk that managers don't win or lose games. Washington lost the 11 inning game in Texas against the Jays and almost lost last nights game as well. I don't understand some of the decisions. Why take out Botts when he is finally having a great game? And why are we taking out Broussard when he has bases loaded? I think if you look at his stats you will see he is pretty dang good in that department. The one thing that blows my mind is that in the 11 inning loss to the Jays, there are men on second and third with 1 out and instead of walking the 8th place batter to get to the 9th place batter and setting up a double play. We instead play it straight up and give up the go ahead run. What's the logic behind that? Wash is a good guy but that doesn't win ball games.

Looks like dgod is on fire today. Duran is getting called up, but it's to play 3b, not 2nd.

I agree Wash has made just as many errors as the guys on the field. The bullpen moves, taking guys out who seem to be getting hot or at least having a good day. I said it a couple of days ago, lets just settle on a lineup and get guys going instead of making changes for what seems to be the sake of making changes. He seems to be over managing and it may be showing in the defense the most. Is Art Howe not offering any advice or is it falling on deaf ears? And boy, I thought Buck had his favorites...

Interesting roster moves to get Duran here. Byrd didn't look like he was limping to me...a slow start for sure but did they get some guy to pull a Tonya Harding Special on him in the tunnel?

I agree wholeheartedly with TR and said it myself as well, this team needs Bradley in the field as much as possible. His performance as a DH has been great but the way this roster is constructed the DH AB's need to go elsewhere. I still really question the integrity of his knee. Mine has scars from the ortho as well so I might have a bit of insight...lets get him out there if there are no real issues.

The manager loses games? Come off it you guys. These grown men in the field are losing the games with poor base running, sloppy defense and absence of clutch hitting. What do you want a manager to do...yeall at them like their little leaguers? How would you respond to that? I wonder if at least one of you even believes the nonsense he's spouting.
Let's take the Hillman issue. This guy is such a hot manager he did how many years in Japan???? 5...naw....10....naw....look it up d'god.

And who the heck said once you're 50 you loose the ability to manage...that'sridiculous that it should be struck from the blog!

Last but not least Botts is not on this team as a starter...he's a role player...ya need those on a team. He's litterally the 25th guy. The reason he doesn't play everyday (as much as I like him and don't want to lose him) is that there are 12 other guys who do it better.

We're not even through 2 dozen games yet and the orthopedic specialists are out in number! Slow down on the knee jerks fellows and root for the team but cut the crybaby attitude. Could of, should of, would oof is for little league. I don't like the way these guys are playing but you have to hope pride and professionalism kick in and they start playing well.

Whoops...that was how many years in the bigs? H9ow many years in the minors and how many years in Japan? See what happens when you guys get me mad???

Who is calling who a clown? How is it that when someone quotes stats that do not support some peoples garbage then they are attacked for the way the person uses his computer? Sean, good posts at least you sound like a Ranger fan.

Great game today. Padilla was doing his Millwood of late impersonation. the ultimate bend but don't break. If these guys can do that over a full season the offense will be greatly embarrassed if this team is not in the hunt late.

Herr Batts, Thanks. My young son and I were at the playoff game that was interrupted by tornado warnings against the Yankees and I'd like to see another in peace... I really do try to look for positives and it is such a long season so I'll take 'em where they come. Winning each series as it comes is far more important than other short term metrics. Lets imagine our status if we take 2 0f 3 or split every series this year.

This team really does have a lot of potential we ( the coaching staff) just need to find a way to get it to come out as much as possible every night. I don't know if the guys are having fun yet. Any job sucks if it is no fun to go to work.

I never said a 50 year old couldn't manage. What i said was that a 50 year old man is what he is, he ain't gonna change. Washington STATISTICAL RECORD, even limited, shows what he is. Everyone on this blog knew and knows how important it was for us to get off to a good start, yet it doesn't happen. Yes these players are grown children, but, IT IS THE MANAGERS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE. Billy Martin set the tone, Earl Weaver set the tone. ARE MANAGERS LEADERS? If the answer is yes, then he or they are accountable for fielding, hitting, throwing, running and anything else that goes on even if they are sitting in the dugout. If this team doesn't start playing consistently better, then Washington and a lot of other people on this web site are going to learn that quickly enough, but not fast enough for me. Hillman is a manager, i don't care if he managed in Timbuktu. He was in the Yankee organization for a number of years, was highly sought after. He went to Japan to get the opportunity to manage, something i admire. The guy won in Japan, his record clearly dictates that he is a winner. He has started off well, it is just a matter of time. What irks me is he should have been hired here and he would have if Daniels didn't have some type of inferiority complex. You surround yourself with great employees and managers and you reap the rewards. When you start making decisions over money and or the fact that the manager is too controlling then to me that is a joke. Hillman was rejected because he was too much like Buck and wanted the same amount of money that he was getting in Japan. A little inside of information, HILLMAN said that he knew that he wasn't getting the Rangers job before he interviewed. So what does that tell you? Washington was turned to because he was excited for the opportunity took a 2 year deal for low ball money. It was sold that he would bring defense, count working. Well it hasn't happened. So what do you do? Who is going to replace him? How about HOWE?

So far i am glad to be wrong about Padilla and Millwood. Looks like that i should have bought some Pyrite, "fools gold". Padilla looks like a pitcher, and has clearly lost some weight. Millwood should be 3-0. The bats will come around. Botts had the best clutch hit on Wednesday and promptly gets taken out? That guy looked like he had taken the next step he gets one more at bat after that double and then pulled? It seems that Washington is doing everything that he can to see that Botts fails. I probably sit him against Halladay, though too tough of a pitcher. The defense should come around. Happy to see Duran up, would like to see him at second base. Duran is scrappy and talented a Paschal Panther graduate i do believe. How is this for a future lineup: C Salty, 1B Davis, 2B Duran, 3B Metcalf, SS Andrus, LF Kinsler, CF Hamilton, RF Murphy DH Botts. Things definitely are looking up people. Boy do i love David Murphy. He will not sit down, Washington has to play this guy. He is going to be an all-star if he continues to do what he does and stays healthy. Are the Red Sox that loaded in their farm system that they can give that guy to us? I bet you 20 bucks he could have played first base for them or us. I have one word for the Red Sox Nation, BAGWELL. Washington got to me and i am feeling positive. No really it was an all around performance last night, i want us to win, but if we can play like that, be competitive, leave everything on the table, then i will be satisified. We aren't that far off if we could just put it together.

What statistical record D'god. You saying so doesn't make it so. Just what record are you talking about? You talking about Washington's 10 years big league carreer as a player with a 261 ba and in every position but catcher a 961 FA? You talking about his 2 years as a minor league manager? You talking about 11 seasons as an Oakland coach He saw some baseball! How about Hillman? Trot out his stats.... How about the teams w/l after the all-star game when they got how many players back off the DL? Trot that out.

D'god you just plain are a trouble maker. You can't possibly believe the unsupported "facts" you're spouting.

How about just enjoying the game? I think the manager knows more than you do about baseball...And if it does come time to part with Ron Washington, Nolan Ryan (and around here we don't call him the "beef king"...we call lhim Mr. Ryan...which he richly deserves) who also has a lot more baseball than you do will make the decision in conjunction with the owner and general manager (who I don't like near as well)

Sorry to inflict myself to you "guys" again but I want to lay this Hillman thing to rest so we don't see it anymore. D'god doesn't have the stats but I do. Hillman's finishes in his years as a "minor" league manager. a 10th, a 9th, an 8th, a 7th, 2 sixth's , 2 fifths, a fourth and 3 firsts (all lost in the first round of the playoff's.) His Japan League baseball 2 fifth's, a third, a second and 2 firsts (one of which almost got him hung for losing the series and the other a series winner). Only twice did his teams win more than 80 games in a season compairable to a ML season. Add all this to his Mendoza BA and you got a guy who's been around baseball a lot longer than I....But tell me how is he better than Ron Washington? How does that on it's face show a better manager than Ron Washington.

Time will tell who is a better manager. I think the consensus is that Hillman is better than Washington. Just an opinion. We will see when the two teams go head to head. I just want to see Washingtons so called strengths in action, working the count, defensive play. Does anyone on here not agree that this is what he allegedly was brought here for? If that is what he was brought here for, then lets see it. Other than Jason Jennings, the starters have been lights out and our record is 6-9? Wow? Why is it so, poor baserunning another alleged strength and a lack of clutch hitting. That falls more onto Jaramillo, another vaunted one. The bottom line is it doesn't appear that these players are ready to play, make mental mistakes. While the manager doesn't field, hit or run it is his job to lead, direct and oversee. I am not a trouble maker, just a stater of the factoids. When a team lacks consistency in play this falls on the manager. These are their handpicked players. So when they fail to perform it is the manager who has to go. How much longer before someone realizes that Washington is what he is? A nice guy with a minor league record that is EERILY SIMILAR to what is happening in his first and probably only major league managerial job. How many more games and or losses this season before he is let go? Hey "Beef King" i will buy you a margarita at Del Friscos if you will just fire Daniels and Washington. It is ok to be positive, but when it goes south up lift my mind, body and soul. Give me hope for a future, give me a manager that can manage a game. Good Bye Washington, take Daniels with you since he loves you so much. Grover where are you? I bet he could have Padilla speed up the game. Ha Ha.

Hillman Japanese World Series winner. Highly sought after, interviewed for multiple managerial jobs wanted as manager by other teams. Washington, no one, not even his current team at the time wanted him as manager. A team he had been with for 11 years. They knew him the best. Hey even the Mets got rid of him after his horrid minor league record. It is all about the wins and the losses. Unfortunately when the team doesn't win, the manager gets fired. If Washington keeps losing, or even makes .500 this year HE IS GETTING FIRED.....END OF STORY, not my choice. Just the way it is. I like him personally but does anyone else disagree that this will happen?????