Has Jon Daniels Knocked Out Nolan Ryan?
ARLINGTON (105.3 THE FAN) -- Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy reported Friday morning on 105.3 The Fan that Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan had a disagreement that almost got physical on Tuesday. Whether it was just verbal or physical, the most important takes from this are, Nolan and JD can't stand each other and Daniels can do whatever he wants.
The argument was supposedly over the firing of bench coach Jackie Moore. Nolan has had three major hires in the Rangers organization: pitching coach Mike Maddox, bench coach Jackie Moore, and farm director Tim Purpura.
Moore was let go on Wednesday and Purpura was reassigned in late September to most likely selling hotdogs or dragging the infield in-between innings in 2014. The Rangers won 91 games because of the pitching, so it would seem almost impossible Daniels would get rid of pitching coach Mike Maddox.
Nolan Ryan is the face of the Texas Rangers and until he leaves, that will never change. Ryan was upset before spring training started and hinted that he was going to leave the organization, but the ownership was able to convince Ryan to stay aboard right before the 2013 season started. Who knows what was said to Nolan in that meeting because one thing has become clear in Arlington -- Nolan Ryan has no veto power, no hiring power, and no voice on what should happen to the on-field product.
Jon Daniels has won the battle of new school vs old school. The Rangers will be run by computer programs. It works in Oakland, but the main difference in Oakland is Billy Beane, who has a baseball players background. I don't believe you had to play the game to be a general manager in baseball, but you better surround yourself with guys who did play.
The Rangers had a perfect mix of Jon Daniels the computer genius who can supply a team with stats out the wazoo. Daniels staff can erase some of the error by the trained baseball eye. They also have one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history in Nolan Ryan who sits right next to the dugout and can tell you exactly why a pitch sequence worked or failed, or why a certain hitter can be a success or failure because of his approach.
After all of this has happened, I don't understand why Nolan Ryan would stick around for this. The only reason Nolan is staying in my opinion is money. He gets approximately $6 million in salary and gets to sell his meat products. Ryan has made a lot money in his life and that is why I have a hard time believing money is keeping him in a bad situation.
For the Texas Rangers and Jon Daniels, its needs to be JD's organization with total support from everyone. That is why I hope Nolan Ryan and his staff leave the organization. All praise and all the blame should be on one man in 2014 -- Jon Daniels.
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