Wash

Readers of Minor League Ball weigh in on the Ron Washington bullet point.

Kudos from Ed Coffin,

Washington is a refreshing change from the prototypical fire and ice MLB manager. He doesn't oil up his pregame and postgame commentary, it seems to come straight from the shoulder. To which his head is attached.

Not sure I'd be qualified to judge or grade him, but these impressions stand out. He is an expert at the conduct of the game, and the conduct of playing the game, and is a teacher. He is less than expert (as yet) at situational and tactical calling of shots, yet seldom 'appears' to be theoretically wrong. He may need more depth of knowledge (or better advice) about deployment of pitching. In the case of the 2007 Rangers, I suspect just about anybody would have some indecision about pitching, though.

Some negatives from peanut,

If there is one big thing that worries me about Washington, though, it's his tendency to engage in a couple of old manager foibles, such as going with a player who had a hot spring training over someone with a track record or who otherwise shows more potential for long-term success. Using Jamey Wright and Matt Kata in April are good examples.

I think, too, that he likes players who remind him of himself when he played - a scrappy, good at fundamentals player not good enough to be a starter - and this leads to some of his questionable lineup/roster decisions (Hairston, for example).

Since my Newberg/Washington post on 8/4 the Rangers have put up a solid 10-10 record with a lineup full of youngsters. Some are speculating that Washington could be gone at the end of the year but barring a 4-25 September he'll be back for at least another year. This team is rebuilding and even if '08 is tough he'll stick around if he doesn't lose the clubhouse.