More on What May Have Led Ron Washington to Resign

Updated: According to Jamie Kelly of the Scoop, it wasn’t the differences and the argument between Wash and JD, it was due to legal issues.  Read more here

Ron Washington’s resignation on Friday has left everyone in shock, and many questions. Last night I reported that, via a source close to the situation, that Wash resigned due to an argument with Texas Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels.

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The argument was reportedly over Daniels making the decision to shut down Yu Darvish for the rest of the season.

However, I believe that this is a storm that has been brewing for a while now and the latest fallout was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Jon Daniels fired Texas Rangers’ longtime bench coach Jackie Moore on September 30, 2013, after the Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in one-game playoff. Moore was with the Texas Rangers for five years and close friends with Nolan Ryan and Ron Washington.

Shortly after Moore was fired there were reports of Ryan and JD had a physical altercation that had to broken up by Ron Washington. Only Jon Daniels ever commented on the situation.

JD went on “The Ben and Skin Show” on 105.3 The Fan shortly afterwards and stated that

That’s like Hollywood paparazzi b.s.-type stuff. That’s embarrassing, honestly, that somebody on your radio station would say that … That couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s insulting.”

However, Daniels has never given an account of what happened or how this particular incident could have been misconstrued. It is difficult to believe that several people would report the same information if it never happened.

Reportedly, this is the starting point at which Ron Washington and Jon Daniels began butting heads.

Nolan Ryan and Washington are both extremely loyal people. They are loyal to their ball club, to the players and coaches.

Ryan brought in Moore to be Wash’s bench coach. Jackie Moore was the person who gave Ron Washington his chance back with the Oakland Athletics. Moore was with Wash during the Texas Rangers playoff runs. According to the reports after Moore was fired Nolan and Wash felt that someone had to be blamed and that was person was Jackie Moore.

This was the icing on the cake for Nolan Ryan. Ryan announced his retirement from the Texas Rangers on October 17, 2013 and would be effective October 31, 2013.

Not only did Ryan “retire” from the club, he also sold his part of the ownership. This was devastating for the fans. Moreover, it was devastating to those that had developed respect and a close bond with Nolan Ryan.

Nolan Ryan gained Wash’s trust and loyalty when he refused to accept his resignation after he tested positive for cocaine. Ryan was the person that talked to Ron Washington about not giving up and was there for him anytime Wash needed him. Again, according to a source close to these situations the firing of Jackie Moore and Nolan Ryan leaving angered and hurt Ron Washington in different ways.

However, Ron Washington is a loyal person. Wash didn’t want to leave the team he’d helped develop and loved. Even without having a contract throughout the offseason and many in the media stating that this could be a huge issue this season if Daniels didn’t extend Wash’s contract before the season began.

In public, Ron Washington would only say that he’s not concerned about the contract, his main focus was getting the team ready for the 2014 season and getting back to title contention. And time after time Jon Daniels would merely say “I don’t discuss contract negotiations in public.”

Now, look at everything that happened BEFORE the season even began:

• Jon Daniels fired Jackie Moore.
• Nolan Ryan left the organization after the firing of Moore and the altercation with JD.
• JD traded Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder without notifying Kinsler.
• JD finally extends Ron Washington’s contract through 2015 right before the season began.

During the season, besides all of the injuries, the Texas Rangers lost AJ Preller, who accepted a GM position with the San Diego Padres. Preller took Rangers’ long-time scout, Don Welke.

Now, just think of the season the Texas Rangers have had. Ron Washington and Jon Daniels have both been outspoken on the subject. Wash has put in hard work, dedication and everything he can to help develop the rookies who shouldn’t even be in The Show right now.

We all know that Wash would do anything for his team. He cares about his team, not only as a player but as a person. He would never do anything to jeopardize the health of the players.

Yu Darvish was experiencing soreness in his right elbow. He was almost immediately placed on the 15-day disabled list. On Wednesday the Texas Rangers stated that he would be reevaluated on Thursday.

We waited for the doctor’s reevaluation and Darvish’s fate for the remainder of the season. However, we were told instead that Yu Darvish would be examined on Thursday night. The doctor’s report never made its way to the media or the fans.

Prior to this, as David Cash wrote, Ron Washington and Jon Daniels had very different views on what Darvish should/should not do. Wash stated on August 23 that

Well, I think it would just be the fact he doesn’t quit on his teammates, that’s all there is to me,” Washington said on ESPN 103.3 FM (Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.com)

JD had a different view on August 25 during an interview on KRLD-FM/105.3 “The Fan” 

We’re all kind of the same mindset, the doctors and MRI clearly indicate there was an issue, ” Daniels added. “Secondly, the obvious, just where we are in the standings. If we were fighting for a playoff spot, I think he and we might view it a bit differently.” (Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News)

And that led to Wash having to back peddle on his previous statement.

We’ve been through 2013 postseason, 2014 preseason and things that led up to the reported “screaming match between Ron Washington and Jon Daniels over JD’s decision to shut down Darvish for the remainder of the season without talking to the skipper.”

That leads us back to Friday.

During the press conference, Daniels did an extremely good job deflecting any questions about what exactly made Ron Washington resign. He did state that “Ron did give us the OK to state that his departure had absolutely nothing to do with drugs.” Which is 100% factual.

According to my source, Wash is still under MLB’s drug and alcohol program and “he gets tested three times a week for both drugs and alcohol. He can’t even have a drink! So, if it were due to that MLB would have to release a statement saying that Washington had failed a test, even if he resigned.”

The very first question asked in the press conference was “What is the timeline of when you were made aware of the situation?” Jon Daniels response was “Recently. But just today the final decision was made. But made aware recently.”

Jon Daniels first response was recently, NOT weeks. The first time he was asked if a leave of absence was an option, and once again JD did a good job of “talking around the question.”

If you take into account all of these events over the past year or so and the frustration that has been building up, the argument that occurred, again according to a source close to the situation, truly was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”