Will this be the last year for Ron Washington

July 14, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington (38) in the dugout during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Ron Washington is in the last year in his contract as the manager for the Texas Rangers.  At the end of the season when the Texas Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in game 163, the do or die game for the playoffs, many questioned if Ron Washington would return as the general manager for the 2014 season.

Shortly after the season ended, Jon Daniels reassured Ranger Nation that Ron Washington would be returning.   When questioned about his return in 2014 he said the following.

“That would be my preference,” Daniels said. “I’ve been as supportive as anybody, and we’re going to handle that behind the scenes. Wash and I haven’t talked about it yet. I haven’t talked to ownership about it yet. We will have that conversation internally.” (Jeff Wilson – Star-Telegram.com)

The main reason is that Jon Daniels doesn’t want Ron Washington to be a lame duck manager for the 2014 season.

But we are just 45 days from pitchers and catchers reporting and there hasn’t been any news of a contract extension.  Just because Jon Daniels said he wants to do the extension doesn’t mean it will happen prior to the season.

In my opinion, Daniels should wait until the end of the season before they even talk about a new contract.  After back-to-back years of collapsing late in the season and effectively missing the playoffs, Daniels should at least see what happens again in September before determining if he deserves another year at the helm.

Last season in September, the Texas Rangers were on a pace to set a franchise history for most losses in a  month, which would have followed the most win for the of August (20 wins).  Somehow the team put enough together in the final 2 weeks to make it to the play in game.  That was probably enough to secure his spot for 2014.

With the new high dollar and powered offense, if the Texas Rangers start out stumbling and don’t manage to recover, Daniels should start to look for a new manager.

Maybe Ron Washington will have another great season like he did in 2010 and 2011.  But both of those seasons were filled with questionable decisions and some that lead the Texas Rangers to be without a World Series ring.

Daniels does an excellent job at picking players, I hope in 2014, he’ll use those talents for picking the right manager.  Maybe it will be Ron maybe it won’t be.  I say wait until October, then make the decision.

Notes:

Manager since 2007

3 playoff appearances with Ron Washington (2 World Series and 1 Wild Card Play-in game)

4 straight seasons of 90 or more wins.   (First time in franchise history)

Finished 2nd in voting for the AL manager of the year and 3rd in 2011

Washington has a record of 611-514 (.538 winning percentage)

Year by year record

• 2007: 75-87
• 2008: 79-83
• 2009: 87-75
• 2010: 90-72
• 2011: 96-66
• 2012: 93-69
• 2013: 91-72