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Curious that the GM would decline comment.
I'm interested to see what Washington can do, but unless Daniels and company bother to acquire some rotation arms, Washington is likely to meet the same fate as his predecessors.
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have picked Oakland Athletics third-base coach Ron Washington as their new manager.
Washington will be introduced as the 17th full-time manager in club history at a 5:30 CT news conference Monday at Ameriquest Field in Arlington.
He replaces Buck Showalter, who was let go at the end of the season after the Rangers finished with a record of 80-82.
Washington was given the job after a Sunday afternoon interview with Rangers owner Tom Hicks and general manager Jon Daniels. He had previously interviewed with Daniels, assistant general manager Thad Levine and A.J. Preller.
"He was very impressive," Hicks said. "He's a real winner."
General manager Jon Daniels declined comment.
"I feel great," Washington said late Sunday night. "It's an opportunity I've been looking forward to. Mr. Hicks, Jon Daniels, Thad Levine, and A.J. Preller, those are the guys I met and they were very nice. They really made me feel welcome. I'm looking forward to working with them."
Washington, 54, has spent the last 11 seasons on the Oakland Athletics coaching staff and has two years of Minor League managerial experience in the New York Mets system.
"The Rangers have a very good nucleus," Washington said. "With the nucleus they have, they are very capable of taking it to the next level and with the guys in charge, I think I can help them take that to the next level. They are right on the edge."
Washington was selected over four other candidates, including Don Wakamatsu, who was the Rangers' bench coach over the past four years. The Rangers also interviewed Mets third-base coach Manny Acta, Phillies Triple-A manager John Russell and Trey Hillman, who managed the Nippon Ham Fighters to the Japan Series championship last month.
Washington spent parts of 10 seasons as a player in the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros. He finished his career in the Rangers organization as an infielder at Triple-A Oklahoma in 1990.
He began his coaching career in 1991 with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Tidewater. He managed the Class A Columbia Bombers in 1993-94 with a record of 123-153 before returning to Tidewater as a coach in 1995. He was hired by the Oakland Athletics in 1996. He was their first-base coach for one year before moving over to third base.
He has also been working with the Athletics' infielders, and third baseman Eric Chavez credited Washington with turning him into a five-time Gold Glove winner.
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061105&content_id=1733731&vkey=n ews_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex
I like what I have read about him so far.. sounds like the anti-Buck. There is also something very satisfying about a stealing a well-liked member of a divisional rival's staff and bringing him here.
Curious that the GM would decline comment.
I'm interested to see what Washington can do, but unless Daniels and company bother to acquire some rotation arms, Washington is likely to meet the same fate as his predecessors.
Will be same story: handcuffed by GM's tight pockets and will do the best he can with what little he is given. Oakland continues to be a farm team for the rest of the MLB.
I don't think Hicks has tight pockets - the problem is persuading quality pitchers to come to a place where not many pitchers have ever succeeded. He seems to be a good fit - let's see what he can do.
I liked whottt's idea of Felipe Alou. Going with an unknown means another year of rebuilding.
Thanks...I think Alou would have been a great choice as he is a proven winner.
The Rangers have a long history of taking unknowns and..................training them to be good managers for other teams.
Been there and done this with:
Bobby Valentine
Toby Harrah
Keven Kennedy
Jerry Narron
Amazing the best seasons in Rangers history have all come when they had hired established managers...
Billy Martin
Johnny Oates
Doug Rader
IMO, Buck did a pretty good job without having much of a pitching staff to work with, an experienced and proven winner would have been my call here, to take what Buck did a step further...kinda like that Torre guy did with Buck's Yankees.
It's not hard to see...
The two teams in the WS this year had proven winners as coaches...
Most of the dynasty teams of the past decade had proven and experienced managers as well...like Torre and Bobby Cox etc.
The Rangers continue to tread water...and not get it.
And I have a heard time believing that the team that gave Chan Ho Park a 65 mil contract has actually found a diamond in the rough....
A few Rangers notes from today, lotsa stuff:
Howe likely to be bench coach
By KAT O'BRIEN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
ART HOWERon Washington appears close to making his first move as the Rangers' new manager -- hiring Art Howe as bench coach.
The Rangers interviewed Howe on Tuesday, and Rangers general manager Jon Daniels confirmed via e-mail Tuesday night that Howe is likely to join the Rangers, though it is not official yet.
Howe was the Oakland A's manager with Washington as his third-base coach from 1996-2002.
On Monday, Washington said of Howe: "Art's a guy who I can really rely on, who's experienced and has no agendas."
Washington said having a former major league manager such as Howe alongside him would be a huge asset. Howe was a Rangers coach from 1985-88, then managed the Houston Astros from 1989-93.
Hiring Howe might make it difficult to keep Don Wakamatsu, the Rangers' bench coach under Buck Showalter for four years.
Wakamatsu, a finalist with for the managerial position, is under contract for 2007, but it could be awkward to bring him back in a lesser role to work beneath the man picked to manage instead of him.
Howe left Oakland to manage the New York Mets before the 2003 season but was fired after two years. He was recently hired as Philadelphia's third-base coach, but Phillies general manager Pat Gillick granted permission for the Rangers to interview Howe.
Matsuzaka results today
The Rangers, and other interested teams, will learn who has won the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes sometime after 4 p.m. today.
The Rangers planned to bid on the top Japanese right-handed pitcher, who was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA for the Seibu Lions this year.
The major league team with the highest sealed bid will win the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka, 26, through his agent, Scott Boras.
Rangers owner Tom Hicks acknowledged Monday that the team would bid on Matsuzaka and said so again Tuesday on ESPN/103.3 FM.
There will be stiff compe ion, however, with the New York Yankees and Mets, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs among the possible suitors.
Looking at Bonds?
Tom Hicks also did not rule out the possibility of signing Barry Bonds.
Though Bonds can be a lightning rod, Ron Washington knows him and believes he could be a huge impact player.
In a "down year" this season, Bonds hit 26 homers and had a .999 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Though he hit .249 before the All-Star break, he batted .292 after it; his slugging percentage was .497 before the break and .596 afterward.
Briefly
Trey Hillman, who was a finalist for the Rangers' managerial job, is one of three finalists for the San Diego Padres' opening, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The other finalists are Dusty Baker and Bud Black.
Rangers right-hander Kip Wells has filed for free agency.
Ron Washington plans to visit with fourth-graders at J. Erik Jonsson Community School in Dallas this morning.
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I wonder if they went after joe girrade?
he is kind of new but proven he can manage
rangers must think they do not need to sell tickets with a name coach
I think Felipe Alou is retiring, so that wouldn't have worked.
Bringing in a good coach like Howe will help alot.
Its a wait and see what the Rangers do with pitching winter, like it has been the last god knows how many years.
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