Hey Texas, Keep Scott Coolbaugh

Friday evening I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed when I stumbled upon a page that left me disgruntled. The page, titled “Hey Texas, Fire Scott Coolbaugh,” was calling for the dismissal of Rangers’ hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh.

Now, I understand where the people are coming from, but hold your horses for a minute. The page has just been made, so it only has a handful of “likes,” but I don’t want to see this getting out of hand.

Is it really the best idea to fire the hitting coach of the AL West’s first place team a month and a half before the playoffs start? I know the team is underperforming as of late, but the Rangers still own one of the best offenses in the Major Leagues. The club ranks first in runs, hits, and average so far this season.

True, July was a rough month for Texas hitting. In fact, it was one of the worst months in the past couple of years. The Rangers ranked in the bottom for all offensive categories for the month, but is one bad month enough to toss aside a hitting coach that has been in the organization since 2008?

August has already begun to look up for the Rangers. Sure, the team has not produced offensively like it had in the early months of the season, but things have already improved  from July. The team is fifth in runs scored and RBI, sixth in average, and seventh in hits and OPS. That doesn’t sound “fireable” to me, no matter how used to seeing outlandish offensive output the fans are.

Some people may be thinking, “What about last year when the Rangers fired hitting coach Thad Bosley and replaced him with Coolbaugh?” Well, that is a very, very different scenario.

First off, Bosley was fired on June 8, 2011, which is a much different point of the season than the team is in now. This is mid-August in the middle of a pennant race. Secondly, Bosley was fired mainly for the reason that there was a lack of communication with the players. According to an ESPN Dallas article released the day of the firing, Josh Hamilton said, “He just didn’t fit with us.” Simple as that. There was no complaint about his credentials or anything of that matter, he just “didn’t fit.” There has been no such complaint with Coolbaugh.

Look, the main point I want to get across is that this is not the proper time to release the hitting coach. Keep in mind that the Rangers are five games ahead of the A’s in the West, and, barring a 2011-Red-Sox-esque collapse, will make the playoffs again this season.

The firing of Coolbaugh could cause an even further drop in offensive production, not to mention what it could do to the team morale. If the team fails to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, maybe then I’ll consider “liking” the page.

A link to the Facebook page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hey-Texas-Fire-Scott Coolbaugh/474712092546972.