Rangers give up on Botts, I give up on the Rangers

I've just about had it with the Texas Rangers.

In my mind, there's a noose around GM Jon Daniels' neck and it's out of slack. Hell, I'm a forgiving fan. I get mistakes. I've made a couple. Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, Alfonso Soriano. OK, bad moves. Let's move on.

But on April 15, Jason Botts had four at bats. He ended with 38 at bats and a .158 average ... and pretty much the geniuses with the Texas Rangers know for a fact that he's a waste because they designated him for assignment.

38 at bats! The way I see it, if Tom Hicks would give Daniels and manager Ron Washington the same leeway, they would've been fired a long, long time ago. 38 at bats! Ridiculous! There is no possible way that you can come to any conclusion on a player. It's insane.

You know who the Rangers' brass dumped Botts for?

Chris fuckin' Shelton. What has that son of a bitch ever done in his dumb career to deserve more of a look than Botts. Shit, he is Botts. It was the Detroit Tigers' Botts until they hoodwinked Daniels into taking him for at least a halfways decent, speedy centerfield quasi-prospect. Chris Shelton. I guess they had to clear out all those at bats for Shelton and Ben Broussard. I heard the Rangers are trying to break a strikeout record. Geez.

Furthermore, I do not want to see Botts again. Trade him for junk. Trade him for a couple of boxes of popcorn. Who cares?! But he needs to be gone to a team that maybe will give him ... 100 at bats. Maybe 200 at bats in one season.

Botts had 282 total at bats in five seasons. That's insane. No wonder these young guys (Carlos Pena, Gonzalez, Young) prosper elsewhere -- they never get a true shot in Texas. Botts'll probably win the Triple Crown with the Devil Rays or someone.

The fact is, I'm getting worked up over a guy that may not have anything in the tank. He's probably the Quadruple A guy we all think he is. Who knows? It's the Rangers responsibility, their goal to find out, once and for all, if Botts is any good. Frankly, the only people who put less effort into their job is the U.S. government. That's right: Jason Botts is like the war in Iraq.

By the way, the Rangers lost.