Ron Washington still has a job

Onward and upward

I was convinced that I would wake up this morning and find that Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington had been fired.

No real reason for it. Certainly, the Rangers would be the laughingstock of the league should they fire their second-year manager in April (at press time, the franchise is a mere punchline). But a four-game sweep in Boston, which featured two bullpen meltdowns, two very inept pitching performances (Luis Mendoza, Dustin Nippert), errors galore and flaccid clutch hitting.

No matter who's fault it really is, all this falls at the feet of the manager.

Washington's going to get fired. Sooner probably than later. Barring a two-month winning streak, he will be gone.

Frankly, it doesn't help that the Rangers are really bad at the things (fielding, stealing bases, manufacturing runs, focus, hard play) that Washington is known for, but, furthermore, it's pretty clear that Washington seems completely overwhelmed by the job. He's not cut out for it. I'm sure he's a great third-base coach, a great guy to have around the team, running drills. But when it comes to be the skipper, he can't do it. In his body language and the sound of his voice in interviews, it's clear that he's in over his head.

Which is sad because he's a nice guy, but probably too nice and he probably sees baseball as too much of a game and not a multi-billion dollar business. He's a field mouse in a rat race.

So, say a special prayer for Washington and those Rangers as they battle the other bad team in the American League, the Detroit Tigers.

By the way, why isn't Nippert DFAd yet?