The LEB Sports
Dallas Sports News & OpinionsTo Whom It May Concern
Texas Rangers
Attn: Tom Hicks
1000 Ballpark Way
Arlington, TX 76011
Re: General Manager Position
What defines the perfect job? Making good money? Being in a high profile position? A relatively stress-less job? I think a combination of each of these would give Greggo the answer he was looking for when he asked Dallas Chief of Police David Kunkle the famous, “Do you like this gig?”
If we gagree with the criteria previously stated does John Daniels not currently hold the most coveted job in Dallas? Without a doubt running any professional sports franchise is demanding, but “I personally believe” that the GM position with the Texas Rangers is by far the least stressful, less scrutinized of the top three professional franchises in Dallas. For those who aren’t baseball minds it’s easy to think that evaluating all the talent scattered across the country and even across our borders would be very difficult (understand I’m looking at this relative to the same position Jerry Jones and Donnie Nelson are in). It’s far easier for the sports fan to see the development of a basketball or football athlete following high school and because of this we think scouting the less known baseball player is more difficult; for Daniels, no. But with this assumption, and the lack of baseball interest in general, the Dallas sports fan tends to cut John Daniels more slack than he deserves.
Plenty has been made of his trade giving up RHP Chris Young and 1B Adrian Gonzalez for RHP Adam Eaton. I won’t dog pile on the many that have Daniels in a “Robin Ventura-lock” because of deals like this, but will focus on two recent trades he’s made that would without a doubt invoke a come to Jesus meeting with the Dallas media had he been running either the Cowboys or Mavericks.
Let’s pretend we’re back in the summer of 2005. The Cowboys, coming off another 6-10 disaster, are right in the middle of another hopeful off-season. After the hiring of Bill Parcels two seasons before, owner and General Manager Jerry Jones had openly discussed the teams 3-4 year plan with their new coach to build through the draft and develop young talent. They had a young Tony Romo they picked up in free agency following the 2003 draft whom the coaching staff had fallen in love with and saw as a real “prospect” but agreed he needed some time to mature. Also on the roster was Andre Gurode, a smaller lineman drafted in the second round of the 2002 draft who was still progressing but was taking longer to get on the field than they had envisioned.
Flash forward to the present and both these players are pro-bowlers and a huge part of the NFC East 2007 Championship team.
Now, let say that summer Jerry gets a call from the Houston Texans with a proposed trade involving David Carr and Tony Romo. David Carr had all the tools to become a franchise quarterback and while still being young did have quite a bit of experience playing in the National Football League, where Tony Romo had no real experience. Jerry, wanting a younger alternative to Vinny Testaverte and/or Drew Bledsoe, and not ready to put an inexperienced Romo on the field, pulls the trigger on this move, trading away a potential gem for a more experienced
possible starting QB.
Also, the Seattle Seahawks call inquiring about the rights to Gurode, who they see as being able step in and start at center from day one. Jerry, having just dealt one of his young talents asks for their budding star safety Ken Hamlin in return. The Seahawks agree, figuring it’s easier to find a useful safety than it is to find a starting center.
Do these trades sound familiar?
Does the term DVD when associated with Texas Rangers baseball sound familiar?
How many tortuous years did we as Ranger’s fans hear about the DVD trio that would be the foundation of a pitching staff that haunting the great Billy Beane for years to come?
In December 2006 as recorded by Dallasnews.com:
The Rangers sent top pitching prospect John Danks, their top pick in 2003, along with reliever Nick Masset and 20-year-old right-hander Jacob Rasner to the Chicago White Sox for 23-year-old right-hander Brandon McCarthy. They also received minor league outfielder David Paisano.
McCarthy already has 151 innings of major league experience and would be under Texas’ control through at least 2011. He spent most of last season as an apprentice in the White Sox’s bullpen. He was 4-7 last season with a 4.68 ERA with 51 of his 53 appearances in relief.
The Rangers view him as a more advanced version of Danks, who is 21. McCarthy is only 18 months older, and his advancement through the minors parallels Danks’. Both reached Triple-A by 21, but McCarthy was 37-21 with a 3.38 ERA and an average of 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 470 2/3 minor league innings. Danks is 21-30 with a 4.20 ERA and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 426 innings.
Nearly one year later as recorded by Dallasnews.com
The Texas Rangers spent most of 2007 trying to build up the starting pitching depth in the organization.
Friday, they put that depth to use.
Strange as it may sound, the Rangers reached into their inventory of young starters and used one, Edinson Volquez, to address one of their more pressing needs, the outfield. For Volquez and diminutive lefty Danny Ray Herrera, the Rangers got power-hitting center fielder Josh Hamilton from Cincinnati.
No, we don’t know if Danks or Volquez are future all-stars and we’ve seen the hope that Josh Hamilton gives this current Rangers team, but I still think both moves were made by losing focus on the long-term plans. History suggests that having at least a set of three dominate starting pitchers bodes well for a late summer/early fall playoff push. Very rarely can even a five-tool player such as Hamilton lead a team to the playoffs by himself. While the Rangers are currently going through a stretch that by some would be considered “a great success” time will tell whether or not this lasts. And if it doesn’t, Daniels won’t be able to hide behind DVD talk. My point is this, had Jerry Jones traded Tony Romo for a more experienced David Carr and Andre Gurode for a possible pro-bowl safety in Ken Hamlin Cowboys fans wouldn’t be able to forgive him; but they give Daniels a pass because they just don’t care.
That’s why, Mr. Hicks, I’m applying for the General Manager position with your company. I would appreciate it if I could have a chance to sit down with you and talk about our future. Thank you for this opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
MRH said on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 17:37
Your right, currently Ranger baseball has taken a backseat in Dallas sports. Similarly, in the early 1990’s, most of the Maverick’s moves went unnoticed. For baseball, I feel sometimes that I am carrying the torch, but that is a different talk for a different day.
There is only one component of DVD left, and Thomas Diamond still has not fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. There certainly have been some trades that are deemed horrendous during Daniel’s tenure. Personally, I am a fan of the Hamilton for Volquez trade simply because centerfield has been a revolving door since the beginning of the franchise. But I also think that if Hamilton were injured or had not produced and Volquez performed the way he has, Daniel’s and Washington would both be gone.
mpp1 said on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 20:05
I agree, if Hamilton doesn’t turn out the way he did, they would both be gone and should be. But on the flip side, maybe they saw something in Hamilton and predicted this? I choose not to believe that b/c I have no confidence in the guys running that team…..
mpp1