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Sep 30, 2008 7:22 am US/Central
Analysis: Ryan's Image Needs To Be On Field
ARLINGTON (AP) ―
Nolan Ryan's image fills Rangers Ballpark in Arlington -- the entry-way statue, banners hanging in the concourse, his retired number on the left-field facade and his beef brand served in the concession stands.
The Hall of Fame pitcher and first-year Texas Rangers president himself even sat in the front row most nights, watching games and evaluating the team.
Now it's time for Ryan to put his stamp where it counts the most: on the team taking the field, especially on the mound.
When hired as president less than two weeks before the start of spring training, Ryan said he wanted to do a long-term evaluation of the organization before making changes. Too bad for the Rangers the career strikeout leader isn't still in his heyday as a pitcher.
What Ryan saw was pretty much a repeat performance for the Rangers (79-83), who did manage to finish second in the AL West -- 21 games behind the Los Angeles Angels. Texas had the highest-scoring offensive in the majors (901 runs, .283 average) along with the worst pitching staff (967 runs, 5.37 ERA) to finish with its eighth losing record in nine seasons.
"That's the area that our focus needs to go to, our pitching," Ryan said.
Ryan certainly had to know that in February, but the process of settling into his new job kept him more involved in the business side of the organization than working with pitchers throughout the organization. That will change this offseason.
"I'm going to try to help in the area of pitching, which I feel like is obviously the strength I have, and hope that I can have a positive influence on that," said Ryan, who Monday was already headed to Arizona to work with up to 30 pitchers in the instructional league.
To improve pitching, Ryan expects to stick to the organization's previous plan to improve from within rather than getting involved in the big-spending sweepstakes for expected free agents like CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.
"It goes away from what our program is," Ryan said. "I don't see that really fitting into our long-range plans."
The Rangers used 30 pitchers this season, seven of them who made their major league debuts.
Consider that Brandon McCarthy, Kason Gabbard and Jason Jennings combined for a 3-9 record in 23 starts after being in the opening day rotation. Vicente Padilla (14-8) and Kevin Millwood (9-10) both had lingering injuries and disabled list stints.
Matt Harrison (9-3, 5.49 ERA)2 became the only Rangers rookie left-hander ever to win nine games even though he wasn't called up until early July. Scott Feldman (6-8, 5.29) logged 151 1-3 innings, exceeded only by Padilla and Millwood, and showed some promise.
After the instructional league, Ryan is already making plans to the offseason conditioning program and plans new conditioning programs in spring training, when pitchers will throw more.
"It's things we've been talking about, getting more innings out of our starters, and maybe using our bullpen for multiple innings," Ryan said.
Texas relievers threw a majors-high 572 2-3 innings and allowed 360 runs after the starters averaged only a 5 1-3 innings an outing. Pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti were fired Aug. 1.
Andy Hawkins, who replaced Connor on an interim basis, will be a candidate to keep the job though general manager Jon Daniels said Monday that other people would be interviewed. Jim Colborn, who took over for Chiti, will return to his role as the team's director of Pacific Rim operations.
Ryan has said that he expects manager Ron Washington to return next season. But the pitching coaches will not be the only changes to the manager's staff. Daniels said bench coach Art Howe and third base coach Matt Walbeck won't be back in 2009.
Washington, 154-170 in his two seasons, kept the job after the Rangers got off to a 7-16 record. The team responded by winning seven straight series and got to six games over .500 in early August before a 19-29 finish.
"If we get pitching that can keep us in ball games, I think we're very close," Washington said.
The Rangers, as always, seem to have the necessary offense if they can just hold other teams down.
Second baseman Ian Kinsler excelled as a leadoff hitter, earning his first All-Star nod, before his season was cut short in mid-August because of a sports hernia. He hit .319, fourth in the AL, with 18 home runs, 71 RBIs and 26 stolen bases in 121 games.
Milton Bradley, who can become a free agent and wants a multiyear deal, led the AL with a .436 on-base percentage and was third in the league with a .321 batting average. But 100 of his 126 games were as a designated hitter instead of an outfielder because of lingering health issues.
Josh Hamilton, despite long droughts without a homer or an RBI in September, finished his breakout season hitting .304 with 32 homers and an AL-high 130 RBIs.
Michael Young played the final month with a broken ring finger, but never missed more than two consecutive games. The All-Star shortstop's streak of 200-hit seasons ended at five in a row, but he still hit .284 and scored 102 runs.
"Not being in this position before and not being familiar with our organization, I was truly surprised by our offensive input," Ryan said. "I knew coming out of spring training, I felt like we were going to score runs, but didn't feel like we had that kind of offensive club."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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