2014 Offseason

[saddles]

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Steve Buechele did not land the Rangers managerial job, but it is looking more and more like he will wind up in the dugout nonetheless.

Buechele, who spent last season as the manager of Triple-A Round Rock, has emerged as a leading contender to be the bench coach for new Rangers manager Jeff Banister.

I would love to see that happen.

 

[saddles]

John Hart, former Rangers GM, hired to run Braves' baseball operations | Dallas Morning News

The Atlanta Braves have named John Hart as president of baseball operations.

 

[saddles]

Rangers' 12-hour marathon meeting gives Jeff Banister chance to fix flaw in organization | Dallas Morning News

"One of the assets Daniels sought in a new manager was a desire to re-marry the major league clubhouse with scouting and player development. If there was “fault” to be ascribed to former manager Ron Washington’s style as his tenure with the Rangers evolved, it was that the major league clubhouse tended to operate on an insulated island from the rest of the organization.When Washington arrived in 2007, the club was still in a growth stage and there really was no choice but to use whatever came from the minor leagues with little reservations. As the Rangers became more successful and the roster more established, it seemed as if prospects got less opportunity when they were added and less chance to grow.

The danger in that, though, is that at some point, the scouts and player development staff can start to feel their work and evaluations are not trusted, and then it bleeds over to the players themselves. Soon, you’ve got a full-scale organizational collapse, which is a pretty good way of describing what happened with the Rangers’ 2014 season.

One thing that kept leading the Rangers back to Banister during the interview process was his passion for inclusion. On Tuesday, he went to work explaining exactly what that meant."

 

[romeo212000]

That makes so much sense.

 

[jaar01]

Magadan returns as hitting coach. I didn't realize Banister was stupid. Good to know.

 

[romeo212000]

Magadan returns as hitting coach. I didn't realize Banister was stupid. Good to know.

Go away, douche.

 

[jta4437]

Magadan returns as hitting coach. I didn't realize Banister was stupid. Good to know.

I agree with the assessment that it's a mistake but I'm not willing to damn the decision outright bc there is a chance his failure had extenuating circumstances, we shall see

 

[Justinkm83]

My concern is that Maddux is still undecided while Magadan has been settled.

 

[Bmurph]

My concern is that Maddux is still undecided while Magadan has been settled.

I still think Mike may end up in Houston

 

[donaldson79]

Today's DMN:

The next issue for the Rangers would be to resolve the future for pitching coach Mike Maddux, whose contract is set to expire in a week. Maddux and Banister have spoken on several occasions, but the next step would be for the club to put together a contract proposal. Maddux, however, is not currently talking with any other organizations about a position. If Maddux returns, it’s likely that Andy Hawkins would remain in the role of bullpen coach.

The one other definitive opening on the staff is for a third base and base running instructor to replace Gary Pettis. While the Rangers have agreed not to take anybody from the Pittsburgh organization, with which Banister spent the last 29 seasons, it’s possible he could still draw upon his Pirate roots.

One name to consider is Tony Beasley, who spent much of his minor league playing career in the Pittsburgh organization and has coached third base for Pittsburgh and Washington. He spent the 2014 season as the Nationals minor league field coordinator.

 

[donaldson79]

The Rangers have agreed not to take anybody from the Pittsburgh organization, with which Banister spent the last 29 seasons.

This really seems like the Pirate organization didn't do right by a guy who spent 29 years with them. I think they should definitely put some ceiling or restrictions on raiding them. But not be allowed to take a single soul seems grossly unfair to Bannister and us IMO.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

John Hart, former Rangers GM, hired to run Braves' baseball operations | Dallas Morning News

The Atlanta Braves have named John Hart as president of baseball operations.

I understand what he did for Cleveland was really great and all but Atlanta wanting anything to do with Jon Hart is beyond me.

 

[saddles]

I wonder if Magadan didn't have another year left if they would have re-signed him. Are they simply too cheap to eat his salary?

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Magadan returns as hitting coach. I didn't realize Banister was stupid. Good to know.

 

[donaldson79]

I wonder if Magadan didn't have another year left if they would have re-signed him. Are they simply too cheap to eat his salary?

What's Magadan making? A million?

Do you really think a franchise with a $135 mil in player commitments, and several more million in coaches, is pondering keeping a person in a key position for what would amount to about 1/2 a percent point of the overall major league budget? Really?

 

[saddles]

What's Magadan making? A million?

Do you really think a franchise with a $135 mil in player commitments, and several more million in coaches, is pondering keeping a person in a key position for what would amount to about 1/2 a percent point of the overall major league budget? Really?

I don't know what kind of shape the owners are in financially. I do know that a year ago the national TV revenue increased significantly for all teams and this coming season the local TV revenue is increasing significantly and yet the team plans on keeping about the same budget as they had in 2013. That seems to indicate that things aren't that great financially with the team.

The decision to keep Magadan may not have anything to do with finances, but this team does appear to be having some difficulties financially. I am not saying that they would keep a coach that they think is awful, but it could tip the scales when the difference in what they have and what they could get is not overwhelming in their eyes. In other words on a scale of 1 to 10 if they think they have a 4 and think they could find a 7 they may not be willing to spend the extra money. Yet, if they felt they had a 2 and could get an 8 they might not blink an eye at eating his salary.

I do know that most on here thought Magadan wasn't worth much at all and wanted him replaced so I am not alone in thinking he should have been replaced. There is no reason to change my mind simply because the Rangers are keeping him. The Rangers let him talk to other teams even after Banister was hired so it appeared they didn't care if he left. Now that he isn't leaving on his own they have changed course with him. That does bring the question I asked to my mind. There is no way to know, but it does make me wonder.

 

[romeo212000]

I don't know what kind of shape the owners are in financially. I do know that a year ago the national TV revenue increased significantly for all teams and this coming season the local TV revenue is increasing significantly and yet the team plans on keeping about the same budget as they had in 2013. That seems to indicate that things aren't that great financially with the team.

The decision to keep Magadan may not have anything to do with finances, but this team does appear to be having some difficulties financially. I am not saying that they would keep a coach that they think is awful, but it could tip the scales when the difference in what they have and what they could get is not overwhelming in their eyes. In other words on a scale of 1 to 10 if they think they have a 4 and think they could find a 7 they may not be willing to spend the extra money. Yet, if they felt they had a 2 and could get an 8 they might not blink an eye at eating his salary.

I do know that most on here thought Magadan wasn't worth much at all and wanted him replaced so I am not alone in thinking he should have been replaced. There is no reason to change my mind simply because the Rangers are keeping him. The Rangers let him talk to other teams even after Banister was hired so it appeared they didn't care if he left. Now that he isn't leaving on his own they have changed course with him. That does bring the question I asked to my mind. There is no way to know, but it does make me wonder.

I think you're looking for a reason to be worried.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I have looked over Boston and Texas stats while Magadan was hitting coach. Boston had a great 2008 then tailed off in 2009. For me it is difficult to evaluate Texas because RW had a habit of taking the bat out of hitters hand quite often. Plus we had guys like Berkman in the lineup in 2013 and injuries this year. Once RW left it seemed our offense purked up some because guys were not giving those bats up as often. Hopefully we get a good read on things this year. I am not a fan of Magadan but we are stuck with him and I hope that a different offensive philosophy will help.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

By the way that was one of the things I liked about Bogar in that he seemed to have a good handle on when to make pitching changes and he only bunted when it truly made sense. The rest of the time he trusted his players to make something happen.

 

[romeo212000]

By the way that was one of the things I liked about Bogar in that he seemed to have a good handle on when to make pitching changes and he only bunted when it truly made sense. The rest of the time he trusted his players to make something happen.

Hopefully Bannister doesn't like bunting too much being an NL guy.