The Rangers have just destroyed the Astros twice in every facet of the game on the field. But in the clubhouse, it’s hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns.
According to Levi Weaver’s latest article on The Athletic—the wonderful new on-line sports daily that has collected some of the country’s best baseball writers like Jason Stark, Peter Gammons and that ilk—last week’s decision to demote Delino DeShields was not popular with many Rangers.
While the reasoning had merit—that the Rangers bullpen was left ragged after the Cleveland series and needed fresh arms, and DeShields was lost at the plate—what seemed to anger the players, writes Weaver, is the “inconsistency in decisions, real or perceived.” It has rankled some in the clubhouse.
While DeShields was, indeed, struggling, it was no worse than Rougned Odor had done the entire 2017 season. Yet, not only was Odor not sent down, he wasn’t even sat down. He played every single game.
Seems some Rangers are wondering what the front office is doing.
He wrote, “It’s not nothing that one player called the moves ‘bullshit,’ and suggested that the moves the front office has been making are not creating a winning culture, but a culture of complacency, later suggesting that he no longer wanted to be a part of it.”
Yikes. Mayday, mayday.
“Baseball players,” he continues, “even in a losing season, want to win games, and with all due respect to Carlos Tocci, he does not give the team a better chance to win on any given day than DeShields.”
DeShields was sent down to work on things. But, just as suddenly as he was jettisoned to Triple-A, he was called back up, rejoining the Rangers yesterday when the team put Ryan Rua on the D.L. for back spasms.
DeShields had no time to work on anything, so whatever hitting demon has taken up residence in his head is going to have to be exorcised at the major league level.
The demon that seems to have taken up residence in the Rangers clubhouse is dissention.
The trade deadline might be a welcome ticket out for some.
*****
TODAY’S GAME:
Mike Minor (6-6, 4.83) vs. Lance McCullers (10-5, 4.01)
Game time: 1:10
How the Rangers hit against McCullers.
How the Astros hit against Minor.