What is credibility and what does it mean to a major league baseball team? As bad as we all hate to admit it the New York Yankees carry a hundred years of history and success. Maybe not every single year, but over a decade the team will be more successful than many others. It is just who they are, and with that prestige, comes the want of many young players to play for who they consider the best team in baseball. The Dodgers fit that bill too, even though they had fallen under poor management for several years, so do the Red Sox and Cardinals. Kids want to play for those teams because they know they have a chance to win a World Series, or maybe a three or four during their career.
The Rangers have seen the departure of Nolan Ryan, and now this week the loss of A.J. Preller as the new GM for the Padres, it appears a full-blown exodus is occurring in Arlington. Let’s not forget the firings last offseason either of Jackie Moore. Those guys are highly respected by other GM’s, and players around the league. Their loss is an instant loss of credibility. In Prellar’s case a huge blow to scouting and player development.
A solid argument can be made that free agents will not want to come to Texas unless overpaid, just like they used to do for many years. This was a pitching hole of which there was no return for a couple of decades. Let’s not forget this is the same Rangers team branded as the steroid capital of all of sports in the 1990’s.
The hiring of Nolan Ryan instantly moved the Rangers to a top-tier franchise. Suddenly players wanted to be in Arlington, they wanted to help build a winner, and they could see the script it was easy to see this team was something special.
Then came the Daniels trades to try to build a winner, then the spectacular injury parade of this year. The bashing of the team by Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and a little bit by CJ Wilson. All those players are still going too, and not playing here.
My fear is that the fair-haired boy John Daniels just does not bring anything but a book of numbers to the table. Numbers are great, but players want to feel the love, they want to know that they are cared for, and it is not just about the money although that figures into it. They want to win, they are competitors, and they want to be with a franchise who can do it all!
Credibility is about knowing that this team has a realistic chance of winning it all, and doing so on a year in/out basis. Players trust the organization, they like each other, it builds chemistry and much more. All those little intangible things that make players who are hurt play through it, as they have a strong desire to not let the other players or their franchise and fan base down.
Have the Rangers lost that? That is not known right now, but there are certainly signs. The proof, to most will be to see if the Rangers can attract any good free agents, or players asking for a trades out of Texas. Can they continue to sign their own players. After all, selling the Texas heat is hard, and there had better be more than a paycheck in it for most. Those players can go live on the coast, and enjoy the sea breezes for the same money. Intangibles are hard to quantify, but if you look up and the team is 20-games back at the break next year, you can put this in 3″ headlines: Heads Will Roll In Arlington!