Monday Morning Manager...In the Ohio River Valley
To get to Weirton, West Virginia, you take Highway 22 east from Pittsburgh and the road cuts through the rugged forested hills of eastern Pennsylvania. Imbedded into the side of one hill appears to be an abandoned coal mine.
The town is located at the very tip of the West Virginia panhandle - five miles across - along the Ohio River and just before you cross the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Steubenville, you exit right and into downtown Weirton.
Downtown is sparse on a Labor Sunday as you pass the VFW, Elks, Moose and American Legion Halls, the taverns, coffee shops, antique and resale furnitire stores. There are cafes where they have legalized video poker for a town of about 20,000 people. On one side street leading away from the main drag, there are six houses in a row boarded up with large DANGER RAT POISON signs posted.
The steel mill is at the north end of Main Street, an enormous sprawling complex on both sides of the street, huge brick buildings, towering smokestacks and thick gas pipes running everywhere.
The steel mill is still open but the complex that once employed 12,000 at the height of the American steel industry now only has 1,200 workers. It is owned by a company based in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg???
Actually ArcelorMittal is 28th on the Global Fortune 500 but in Weirton the factory is only used for tin-plating. Word is though the plant is still one of the largest tin-platers in the country.
Parts of the movie The Deerhunter were filmed in Weirton.
Once you cross the Ohio, you head north along Highway 7 that passes on the west side of the river. This is the Ohio River Scenic Byway and it is scenic in an American way. The river is alive on Labor Day weekend with jet-skis, speedboats and water-skiers. The barges are also trolling the river, carrying massive amounts of what appears to be coal down from Pittsburgh.
You go through Empire, Stratten and Toronto, which was the childhood home of actor Robert Urich. Hills and limestone bluffs tower above the river and the trees are turning color as autumn approaches and there are massive factories up and down both sides of the river, some still alive and some a distant memory in America's rust belt. The Homer Laughlin China Factory is alive and well apparently, commanding a position of prominence a bluff across the river in West Virginia.
East Liverpool, Ohio - hometown of Lou Holtz - proclaims itself the Pottery Capital of the World and there are still three major potteries still in operation in this picturesque village of 13,000. The historic downtown has been restored, one street is lined with brick-and-stone Eastern European style churches and for 75 cents, you can take the rickety steel Newell Toll Bridge across the Ohio to Newell West Virginia and the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, where they have slot machines and the West Virginia Derby.
It is at East Liverpool where the highway breaks west away from the river.
It is maybe 25 miles from Weirton to East Liverpool. It is an awe-inspiring drive, just from the natural beauty of the area that still exists and the industrial might of what it once was. You drive away wondering what the future holds for such an area, and whether it will be great once again.
Kind of like the Rangers in a roundabout way, with their great hitters shut down and some of their pitchers starting to hit a wall. They have been great all year, but like in the Ohio Valley, things are getting tough. The team is for sale and the treasury is low. The Rangers are the Ohio Valley of Major League teams right now.
1. How big of a loss has Michael Young been?
2. How has this season changed your view of Josh Hamilton?
3. Who do the Rangers have a better chance of catching...Angels or the Red Sox.
4. What suggestions do you have for manager Ron Washington?
5. Who is the best team in baseball right now.
1. How big of a loss has Michael Young been?
M.Y is the leader of the Rangers and the only one on the roster who hits consistently. Without his presence on the field, the team has suffered.
2. How has this season changed your view of Josh Hamilton?
Hamilton had an unusually good year last year but plagued with personal problems and injuries this year, has taken its toll. I doubt seriously that he will play again this season. And I doubt seriously that the Ranger will try to sign him to a long term contract. Unfortunate as it is, I beleive Hamilton will always be on and off the DL. That will not benefit the organization nor his team mates. I am not sure Hamilton will match what he did last year, in any years to come.
3. Who do the Rangers have a better chance of catching...Angels or the Red Sox.
Realistically, neither. This past series in Baltimore was very important and losing two of three was their down fall. I do not see the Ranger sweeping the Angels in the last seven games remaining between these two teams, and it would take that for the Rangers to win the West. Of course there is the possibility that the Angels could lose to New York and Boston, which would help the Rangers cause. Boston, down the stretch is not going to fold. Like many, I have waited 10 years to see this team make the playoffs and it is disheartening to see the lifelessness that I saw in Baltimore. In the past ten games, playing teams who are under .500, they are now 5-5. The Twins may have been just over .500 when we played them, don't remember. But, anyway, if you are down to the wire in a pennant race in September, .500 ball is not gonna cut it. It has been a fun year to watch the Rangers for the most part, but they are not there yet. If the team performs in Cleveland like they did in Baltimore, one will not have to worry about what they do in future games this season.
4. What suggestions do you have for manager Ron Washington?
Prepare for next year. Millwood, is NOT your ACE. He gave ya a few extra innings in the beginning but has paid for it the second half of the season. For him to just say, "I just did not get it done", is very true but sure does not help the team win games. He's 2-2 in eight starts since the break. For 12.8 M, one should expect more. With the team having financial problems and little hope to sign some of their own FAs, I don't see a vast improvement over this year.
5. Who is the best team in baseball right now.
Well, if you consider just the record, it would be the Yankees.
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1. Huge. At this moment this young team is lacking an everyday solid, dependable, “professional hitter” – that guy is Michael Young – there is no one else who has stepped up to that role (Marlon Byrd ought to – wish Pudge still had it).
2.Let’s remember something about Josh Hamilton- since 2006 when he returned to baseball – he played only 26 games in the minor leagues before being called up to the majors, and since then has only had 1 season that he’s played 100 (or more) games. Baseball is a grind, a very long, hard grind that Josh has not experienced in the minors. Unlike most of his younger teammates he has not been through several long minor league season where you learn how to pace yourself, avoid injuries and wearing down. Couple that with whatever unknown problems could arise from his past (self-inflicted) travails – I’m still going to cut him a little slack. Much like his younger teammates Josh is still learning on the job – his 2008 season set a very high standard for him to reach – I’m chalking up 2009 to a “sophomore slump” – I’d rather wait and see and then form an opinion next season.
3. I think that a question better answered next Monday since the Angels are playing the Red Sox three times this week – of course it doesn’t mean anything if the Rangers continue losing 2 out of 3 games to teams that might finish with 100 losses.
4. Call up Buck Showalter and talk to him about when to make a pitching change. Of all the Rangers managers I’ve watched, Buck knew when to change pitchers - Ron Washington hasn’t figured that out yet (if he ever will).
5. The Yankees – yuck. I guess Paul McCartney was wrong - money can buy you love.
I am a child of the rust belt. Grew up in Toledo Ohio, went to college in Cleveland and as name rust belt implies moved to Texas due to lack of prospects in northern Ohio. Today’s introduction to the Monday Morning Manager went straight to my heart, or maybe I should say my tear ducts. If you’ve lived there and left your heart there – then you will know what I mean. This is a terrific piece of writing TR, thank you. It’s sad that that the only thing this country seems to manufacture these days are credit default swaps and obsessive celebrity worship.
http://emcmlb.blogspot.com/
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Okay Rangers, here is a GIFT, as Boston and LAA both lost. Don't blow it now, please......................After losing two of three to a team 26 games under .500, maybe you can redeem yourself and sweep a team 16 games under .500. I'd say, going 15 innings with scoring, things have to improve. GO RANGERS
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1. Michael Young has had this entire offense strapped to his back since the All-Star break, so loosing him is ginormous.
2. This season has made me cheer for the guy harder.
3. Angels
4. Ron should put me in the lineup and the rotation. If he wre to do that, we'd go undefeated
5. The Texas Rangers baby - YEAH!!!
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1. MY is a huge loss. Like Maddon said, he was carrying this team on his back. Without his back, whose are they on?
2. I'm still rooting for Josh. Let's see what happens next year before we judge his future. He's still young, he's honest, he's talented, and he plays hard. I want him to succeed HERE.
3. I think they still have a chance at the Angels AND Boston. I know it's getting late in the season, but this team refuses to get down as quick as some of us do. Baltimore was a let down, but it is not over yet.
4. Don't let their highs get too high or their lows get too low.
5. I think the Angels are the best team right now. Look what they've overcome. This season reminds me of 1978 when the Rangers won 95 and finished behind the Royals who were awesome that year.
Now is NOT the time to get discouraged. We've been with them this long so let's see it through until the end. Isn't that what we ask our team to do?
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1. How big of a loss has Michael Young been?
On a scale of 10, with 10 being huge and 1 being irrelevant, I’d say 8. On one hand, he is our only consistent hitter. On the other, we have no legitimate replacement.
2. How has this season changed your view of Josh Hamilton?
2008 was magical. He has been, at best, hot and cold. He has never really had a BIG tear, save for a game or two here or there. So, my view is, he is not God - he is mortal. Was last year a flash in the pan, or a reasonable yardstick for who he really is? At the beginning of this year, I thought he was the real deal. Now, seeing his production and fragility, I’m not so sure. He may end up being a solid player, but not a HOFer.
3. Who do the Rangers have a better chance of catching...Angels or the Red Sox.
The Angels - we control our own destiny with them.
4. What suggestions do you have for manager Ron Washington?
Get a better handle on when to pull pitchers, when to leave them in. For the most part, IMHO, he has WAY too quick of a hook.
5. Who is the best team in baseball right now.
Oh, please, come on. The Yankees.
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Kind of like the Rangers in a roundabout way. Let's hope. Those of us who could not get out of the Ohio River Valley fast enough, know what we left behind. Diminished expectations, a (less than) handful of friends who stayed and made good, and a larger population that is either too young to leave or nearer the end of their journey (http://www.prb.org/Articles/2003/WhichUSStatesAretheOldest.aspx). This was not my recipe for success.
Yet I dare not write them off. Each of the last two years back visiting, I have noticed a better spirit and this year I saw real growth. They made the best from what they have and where they are, without complaint. The steel mills, once the financial backbone of the area, were replaced by new financial engines. I wonder which will find wild acclaim and grand success first?
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Come on TR....You have to know East from West!
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1) The guy is a third baseman, how big could it be? He ain't Mike Schmidt, and should be playing second base.
2) Josh proved my point. I want him to succeed, but he has to realize he can't have that one drink. Take Jesus to the bar with you next time Josh.
3) Angels, we have head to head games that i have tickets for.
4) Ole Wash is kicking butt. Get a raise and another extension. This guy has battled through adversity and hung in there. The players evidently like the guy, but don't underestimated Maddox and Moores influence. But hey it is a team effort.
5) The Yankees. Sorry Ranger fans, even if we make the playoffs, we will see the Yankees and they just stomp the h e double hockey sticks out of us. It will be great to watch Texiera kill us.
Where did Stengel go?????
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What is the over and under on how many former Ranger players will play vital roles on different teams in this years playoffs? DVD, DVD, DVD. Hey if you are going to market something to sell tickets, don't you think you should keep those players at least until they develop into what you are touting them to be? At this point, Volquez is hurt, but everytime Danks pitches a game, it just makes me sick......
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1. It's huge. He's been a stabalizing force in the line up. No prolonged slumps, just really consistent production. It's a much better lineup with him in it.
2. Not really. He's probably going to be more injury prone than the average player just because of past abuses, but this season has been like a perfect storm of injuries.
3. The Angels. We play them 7 more times.
4. Don't live in the past when filling out a line up card. It's better to go with the guy who's playing well than the guy with the most all-star appearances. I know you want seven innings out of your starters. Every manager does, but when the 6th inning rolls around and they start missing up in the strike zone it means they're tired. For the most part, keep up the good work. They defense looks great and the guys genuinely seem to like playing for you.
5. The Cardinals. Carpenter has been lights out this summer, Wainwright is a second ace and their offense is now a legitimate threat with the addition of Holiday.
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1. How big of a loss has Michael Young been?
Huge, if is more than a couple of weeks. He's our unofficial Captain.
2. How has this season changed your view of Josh Hamilton?
I'm really concerned about the nagging injuries. I hope the coaching staff or someone in the offseason can do something to get him in better shape(if that's even the problem) or whatever trainers do to help players avoid injuries.
3. Who do the Rangers have a better chance of catching...Angels or the Red Sox.
Well, the schedule says the Angels(they have a brutal September), but given our boys propensity to say, drop 2 of 3 to the likes of Baltimore, who the heck knows.
4. What suggestions do you have for manager Ron Washington?
Stop managaing "by the book" so much. Righty vs. righty/lefty vs. lefty isn't always the best matchup...go with your gut sometimes (then I'll rag on you for NOT managing by the book if things go horribly wrong...lol)
5. Who is the best team in baseball right now.
The Yankees, unquestionably. I hate to say it, but I think they'll see championship number 27 this year.
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1] Loss of Young? The Team is DEEP. Offense moved right into gear without Mikey. It changed the dynamics, with Kins in middle Borbon in lineup. I'd hate to lose Young more than two weeks. He's replaceable, but only on a short term. He's money.
2] NOW view of Josh? Nothings changed, including his talent. Tough year for his input. Again, team is DEEP. They picked up the slack and moved on. I'm looking for him in 2010. Reality is: Josh opened the door for Borbon's input to offense, which is huge and dynamic.
3] Best chance to catch LAA or BoSox? We'll catch both Boston & LAA. Thanx to their head2head and ours with LAA. Playing at the Temple will be heaven during play-offs, as Division Champs.
4] Suggestions for Wash? Lead off Borbon w/RHP and Andrus against LHP... Borbon to 9th. Contact hitters, speed, with good defense. Pitching will prevail in strength.
5] Best Team in Baseball? The Road to the World Series leads through the New York Yankees. I like our chances meeting in the ALCS.
2009 Season has been so memorable ~ onward Rangers
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I enjoyed the scenic nostalgic trip down The Mighty Ohio but I can't get the connection.
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