The Rangers have made a much-needed change. I have very mixed emotions on the topic. On one hand, I think Jon Daniels is very bright and very talented. I think that John Hart was as bad as one could be with building a relationship with a community and a fan base. I think the moves made were nowhere near acceptable for the most part. I cannot tell you how crazy it makes me to see Travis Hafner and Doug Davis elsewhere. I think enough was enough.
On the other hand, I wonder if the real problem remains that Tom Hicks laughs at spending money. I think that Buck Showalter was in charge, and now he still is. I think Jon Daniels is going to have a hard time having control of this thing. I think without the resources you cannot win. I think that too much has been invested in the hopes that DVD are Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz.
I will keep an open mind. I want it to succeed. I want Jon Daniels and Chuck Morgan to spearhead the rebuilding of a relationship with DFW and its fans. I think that much is going to happen. Can they win in Texas with Tom Hicks owning the team and with $55 million dollars put in the payroll?
Star Rangers seem pretty cool with the change …
Michael Young and Mark Teixeira were not stunned by the news that Hart would step down and assistant Jon Daniels would be the replacement.
"I've never even talked to him," said Teixeira, with whom the Rangers will investigate a long-term contract this winter. "I can't have much issue with a guy I've never even talked to."
But I can say this: We haven't won as much as we'd like to in the last few years, so maybe a change was needed."
"I have no thoughts on it," said Young, whom Hart tried to trade following the 2002 season. "I had no relationship with John Hart."
Fraley seems less than convinced …
Daniels takes over as the youngest and least-experienced general manager in baseball history.
Daniels is two months past his 28th birthday. His baseball experience consists of one year in an intern program with Colorado and four seasons of numbers-crunching and contract negotiations for the Rangers.
He has never run a draft or directed a player-development system, which previously had been considered absolute prerequisites for a general manager.
Thanks to Adam Morris for reminding me about Jon Daniels Q&A with Baseball Prospectus from last February.
In other news, Carlos Almanzar suspended for steroids …
I know on opening freaking night you would expect more from me on Hockey. Sorry, I am way behind this morning. But the post game show returns tonight.
ESPN’s NHL Preview page …
The Dallas Stars preview … which should be ignored since they are pondering how the Stars will overcome these losses:
Picking up Martin Skoula from the Ducks will bolster a defense that has become thin in the absence of Derian Hatcher and Teppo Numminen.
???? Teppo????
Longhorns decide
talking is the best idea …I disagree…
"Definitely, we can do that," defensive tackle Rod Wright said. "We have the talent. We have the smarts ... [If] we execute the game plan, yeah, we will win the game."
Wright, however, envisions more than merely breaking a five-game losing streak against Oklahoma. He wants No. 2 Texas (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) to dominate the unranked Sooners (2-2, 1-0), thereby silencing critics who question the Longhorns' mental toughness.
"If you want to be the No. 1 team, you have to make a statement every week and shock the world," Wright said. "What I'm thinking is, 'How is the world going to feel if they turn on ESPN to see that Texas just totally goes out there and dominates OU?' That'll shock the world. That'll make a statement. That'll look like the No. 2 team in the nation trying to get to No. 1."
Because the Sooners' lineup features freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar and lots of fresh faces in both lines and throughout the receiver corps, Texas enters Saturday's game with an edge in experience at most positions. OU will enter with its worst record since 1998, when the Sooners also took a 2-2 mark to Dallas.
Asked if the Longhorns "smell blood in the water" because of the Sooners' slow start, Texas offensive tackle Justin Blalock said: "It would be hard not to."
Free safety Michael Griffin said Texas' advantage in personnel and experience is pronounced enough that the Longhorns could win without playing their best game. Asked if Texas could win Saturday by operating at 85 percent efficiency, Griffin said: "I would think so."
My NFL Notes of 3 games I reviewed last night:
Houston 10 at Cincinnati 16
TJ Houshmandzadeh seems like the Reggie Wayne of this offense; after Peyton, Edgerin, and Harrison, there is not a lot of ink left, and the same applies to Chad Johnson, Carson Palmer, and Rudi, but TJ is really a weapon…Not sure what the new offensive coordinator has done to the game plan of the Texans, but they continue to have one of the least impressive OL’s in the game, and unless they address that, their scheme will not be terribly important…Slowly but surely, former Michigan RB Chris Perry is getting more and more involved behind Rudi Johnson for the Bengals…Another week, another week of thinking Odell Thurman is a stud for Cin…I can never put my finger on how exactly I feel about David Carr. I really like his attitude, and his look of fearlessness. However, the Texans never let him throw a ball further than 10 yards, and most of the passes are on simple underneath stuff. By the way, the “fumble” call was a tremendous joke of a replay call. Wow…Houston had a good chance to win this game.
Jets 3 at Baltimore 13
John Abraham is in the Baltimore backfield all day…Curtis Martin doesn’t have a chance to run the ball with Brooks Bollinger at QB. Needless to say, the Ravens don’t seem to respect the arm of Brooks who had 0 yards passing in the 1st Q…Derrick Mason is sure helping the Ravens, despite the QB issues…They can’t keep this poor kid Bollinger playing QB much longer. Jets had 37 yards in the 1st half total offense. Vinny awaits…Jets recover a fumble, run it back to the 1, and the offense still cannot get 7 points…Jamal Lewis doesn’t look like the best RB in football anymore, but he still made some key runs to put the game away…Terrell Suggs hit Martin so hard I was hurt…Perhaps the worst game so far this season.
Seattle 20 at Washington 23
The Redskins, who are playing their first game since MNF in Texas, have their OL looking pretty lame. Brunell got pounded on most passing situations as Seattle saw the blitzing success of Dallas…Washington held the ball for 13:11 in the 1Q alone…Every week I watch the Seahawks, and every week I wonder why Bobby Engram is not more famous. He is a very consistent WR in this league…Chris Cooley makes plays for Washington every single time I see them play…Never ceases to amaze me how many open seats can be seen at a Redskins game…Shaun Alexander was quiet all day, but came through big when it counted…Brunell with a brutal INT with 1:00 to play, but bailed out when Seattle missed the FG…I still don’t know what to make of the Seahawks or Redskins, really…The winning Washington drive? Big scramble of 25 yards for Brunell and a big downfield catch for Santana Moss. Sound familiar?
Today on the show, Jon Daniels at 12:10 and Heisman winner Jason White at 12:50.
24 comments:
hopefully jon daniels can get it done. if anything, i think he will help to reconnect the organization with the fans which will go a long ways in restoring credibility.
i agree, if theres one thing he will do, its get the fans and community back. maybe we will see a return of the winter carnival and player accesability
Three things I think that I think:
1. Young saying he had no relationship with Hart says it all. That Hart was here just to collect a paycheck, how can you be a GM for more than 6 months and not have some sort of relationship with one of your team's faces of the franchise/best hitters/leaders of the locker.
2. Do not be afraid of Daniels' inexperience. The Rangers' player development and minor league system is firmly in place so it's not like he has to put them together from scratch and he will have plenty of help in that department.
3. But... Is the hiring of Daniels Hicks way of continueing to run the team on the cheap. I think Daniels could be a good hire, but I'm sure Tommy Boy didn't want to "go out and overpay for a GM" and he "learned his lesson about overpaying GMs from his John Hart experience." This being similar to Hicks experience with the Ho.
I'm not sure about John Daniels. It's great that he seems ready to be open with the community and the media, but his inexperience is a red flag. I believe that Tom Hicks wanted someone who he could keep on a leash--someone who'd be grateful for the opportunity and who'd stick to the Tom Hicks vision of mediocrity and profitability.
I'm sure there were better baseball people available, and I'm sure that Hicks knew better than to approach someone who would reject his snake oil sales pitch out to halfcourt.
I hope that Daniels is the right man for the job, and I hope that I can eat my words and be proven wrong in a short time.
Anon. #1 -- the Winter Carnival is in fact coming back.
Hart was only half the problem. Once they fire the owner, THEN they'll be getting somewhere. Until then, nothing will really change. If I ever see Hicks on the street, I'm gonna kick him right in the nuts. And like Sturm said, I'll be sure to roll tape on it.
As far as you t-sips go, that's a lot of big talk with that thousand pound gorilla on your back and Coach February at the helm. We'll see how far that gets you.
Ranger talk.....zzzzzzzzzzzz. Wake me up in February and then I'll see what the roster looks like to determine if season tickets are in order.
With all the pressure, Mack Brown has to feel like that little girl in the movie where her daddy is standing on a chair and she has to shoot the rope to keep him from hanging...if Mack misses, UT nation collectively dies.
Conversely, if Tech gets spanked in Lincoln, oh well. We're used to 8-4 or 7-5 on a yearly basis...hello Alamo bowl!!!
On a side note, Big Mac has almost turned into a caricature of himself, with his "I don't care" attititude about his sports teams. Very sad to see indeed.
damnit, so the hardlines already stealing daniels from bad radio?
OUCH!!
The Jon Daniels gives BaD Radio the Heisman tradition begins early today. Chuckle.
I'm an idiot and I hate the P1
I'd love to know if it was management or the hardline itself that put the kibosh on the JD on Bad radio thing, Bob. Can you comment on that?
Hmmm...Bob's explanation sounds alot like the "It's not you, it's me" breakup line...or maybe, "I just want to be friends", "Let's see other people and make sure that we're right for each other", or "You're too good for me".
The next day, she's dating your buddy...the $%#@&
seems the hardline didnt want to have anything to do with daniels until he is gm, it wouldnt surprise me if rhyner pulled his weight, but it was probably management
Did Rheiner really ixnay the Daniels interview? Geesh. How many shows does that guy need to bring down to feel satisfied with himself?
If it weren't for the Snake, the Hardline would be completely unlistenable.
Maybe it was Greggo telling Bob and Dan to do two segments about Jon Daniels, so he has more opinions, interesting angles and wrinkles to choose from when he decides what to steal at 3:20.
Damn, in just one week, Rhyner has put a knife in Big Dick's back and now today in BaD Radio's back. The old man is on a psychotic tear.
yes, rock and roll part 2 is indeed a huge beating, it sucks the life out of every goal scored.
any of you bastards having any issues listening online today? i cant get the little box to load up.
Perhaps you should try marital counseling.
I listened to the Hard Line with Daniels, and I have 2 impressions:
1) Can Greggo talk about ANYTHING related to the Rangers without getting a Rusty-Boner? "You need to bring Rusty back in the front office, man." "You need a hitter who's a tough out...it sounds like you need Rusty Greer in his prime, buddy."
2) It excites me as a lifelong fan of the Ranger to have a GM who seems to actually care about the team. Hart sucked the life out of the entire organization and the fan base. Although he is inexperienced, Daniels at least sounded like this was a job he wanted. He sounds comitted to bringing the fans back, and he's going to come up with something better than a retarded horse-mascot. It might be fun to be a Ranger fan again.
With V Tech creepin up in the rearview mirror (and the Big 12 sucking so much ass this year), Texas is forced to blow every team out to hang onto the number 2 spot.
If Texas would have played a game like SC played last weekend, they might have got jumped by 1 or 2 teams in the standings.
Not likely because the pollsters and a national TV audience (unlike you perhaps) watched Texas beat Ohio State in Columbus only 4 weeks ago. And Ohio State is currently ranked #6 despite having lost that game to Texas at home. If Texas wins out, they'll be in the Rose Bowl no matter what VA Tech does, even if they squeak by in a couple of games.
WTF is up with having to pay to read the hockey blog?
I believe some BCS projections have VaTech #2
"By the way, the “fumble” call was a tremendous joke of a replay call. Wow…Houston had a good chance to win this game."
Exactly. I couldn't believe they missed that replay so horribly. I'm not sure what the ref was watching in the replay monitor...but it couldn't have been the play.
Anyone ever get a vision of Greggo sitting in a salon getting a manicure when he talks? Maybe it's just me but sometimes he sounds like he's just one of the girls in the salon yukking it up. Like when they were in training camp, talking about the weather out there and he said something like '...and when the wind comes up you almost need a sweater'. He's turning into such a man-girl.
Also, PH Dan Paul. Whoever gave a rat's arse as to what he had to say anyway. He's such an f'ng moron and brings nothing to the show.
And you know that "here he is, the Cobra..." drop? Nothing but Dan Paul self promotion. Run it into the ground. Every time that drop is played, I put the .45 to my temple.
Rhyner's getting too big for his britches.
The entire Hardline show is getting stale.
BaD needs to take over afternoon drive.
...or maybe it's the ether...
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