Rangers Should Hire _______

For just the third time in Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels tenure, he will be hiring full-time manager. For us die-hard fans, shouldn’t we have our opinion of who he should hire? Yes?

Great! Here is my choice from the recliner.

Emotions can sometimes cause a person to make a move that really isn’t what is best for the team. I am sure I’m not alone in thinking that Adrian Beltre or Michael Young would be the shot in the arm that a team like this needs going into a new stadium in 2020. But is it smart to hire someone for name recognition with no managerial experience at all? Not with a team that has this many young players. Talent alone doesn’t win.

Daniels is said to be narrowing down his choices from 40 to around 5 or 8 he will actually interview. Of those names being floated, a fair weather fan will be unimpressed. But a nerd like myself has a bit of sports erection for a few of them.

Who are the contenders? Look for names like Mark Derosa, Rod Barajas and Jayce Tingler as former players who might be considered. (Tingler never made the show, but did play in the Rangers system.) From the retread barrel there is Don Wakamatsu, John Gibbons, Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi (who has already interviewed) or Mike Sciosia. (Although Sciocia would be a long shot and is a bit of a hot head with management I hear.)

Longshots that nobody is talking about? Would the Rangers bring back the only manager to win a playoff series and lead them to a World Series? I doubt Ron Washington will sit on the top step again. Well………. there might be a way. But I will get to that later.
There is also talk of a bilingual candidate like Omar Vizquel, Raul Ibanez or Sandy Alomar Jr.
That is a lot to digest for a fan who doesn’t pay attention to this club unless they are in the playoffs. So it’s time for the nerd faction to make the choice…

Here is my fantasy dream phone call with Daniels
ME: Hey JD, I know you have been waiting for me to call and give you the final verdict on who you should hire.
JD: DUDE!!! Where have you been? I have called like 100 times and you aren’t picking up.
ME: Calm down man, I have a family and baseball isn’t my life. Now take a breath and tell me where you are leaning.
JD: Well I love analytics. But I also like experience. With this young of a team it can be crucial to have an ex player or someone to look up to……. Oh hell…… I don’t know.
ME: CALM DOWN!! So far you are hitting on some great points. You also have to consider the fans. They need to get on board.
JD: Fans want Michael or Belts!! I already asked….. that’s out of the question. Belts might play and Mike is saying no right now.
ME: I knew that wasn’t going to happen. But I think I have a solution. You need a young guy who knows the analytics of the game, but also played. He can relate to the team and will garner some repsect.
JD: But what about experiance?
ME: Bench Coach!
JD: What?
ME: Your bench coach needs to be the name that makes a splash.
JD: Do you have an idea of who that is?
ME: Yes! In fact I have the names of your next manager and bench coach.
JD: Lay it on me.
ME: The Rangers should hire…………… Jayce Tingler as manager and Ron Washington as bench coach.
CLICK
ME: Hello?……… Hello?