[情報] Daniels discusses Showalter decision

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Daniels discusses Showalter decision Rangers general manager defends move to dismiss skipper By Ken Daley / Special to MLB.com ARLINGTON -- If there was any doubt who bears the burden of the most momentous decision of general manager Jon Daniels' young career, it was erased when Daniels stood alone at a podium on Wednesday at Ameriquest Field to announce the dismissal of manager Buck Showalter. "This was a very tough decision, one that I don't take lightly, one that we as an organization don't take lightly," Daniels said. "But ultimately, this business, this industry, this game and this organization are and need to be about winning. And candidly, in the last few years, we haven't gotten the job done. "That doesn't fall exclusively at Buck's feet. There's a shared responsibility there." Responsibility was also shared for ending Showalter's four-year run in Texas, despite the fact that he had $5.1 million remaining on a contract that extended through 2009. The Rangers were 319-329 during Showalter's term, and never finished higher than third place. That lack of performance, along with growing questions about Showalter's ability to connect with his players in the wake of this year's 80-82 season, ultimately led to the decision to let the 2004 American League Manager of the Year go. But Rangers owner Tom Hicks' absence from Wednesday's news conference indicates that responsibility for the team's immediate future sits squarely on Daniels' plate. Baseball's youngest general manager, at 29, Daniels didn't flinch. "I was cautioned ... that this would possibly put me under more public scrutiny," Daniels said. "First of all, that's my job. And second, if you make decisions with the interest of self-preservation in mind, you're destined to fail, in my mind. We're not going to be cautious when we think a decision is the right thing. "From a business and baseball standpoint, I'm very confident that we made the right decision. On a personal level, it's very different. I have tremendous respect for Buck and what he's accomplished in this game. It was a difficult decision to come to, a difficult message to deliver and, I'm sure, an even more difficult message for him to receive." Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of Daniels replacing John Hart as the Rangers' general manager. His first year included such big decisions as trading Alfonso Soriano, spending $60 million of Hicks' money on starting pitcher Kevin Millwood and taking a stab at the postseason by acquiring slugger Carlos Lee shortly before the July 31 trade deadline. But none of those decisions carried the weight of convincing Hicks before a Tuesday night dinner that his franchise would be better off without Showalter. "It was a tough call," Hicks said on Wednesday when reached by phone. "I asked J.D. to give it a good review a few weeks ago and give me his recommendation. We talked about it a week ago. We went back and forth. It was a tough decision, but we made the final decision [on Tuesday] afternoon before we talked to Buck." Daniels said last month that he was not planning to change managers "at this time." But before the club completed its 11-16 final month, it was clear the issue was being contemplated. "There was a dialogue [with Hicks]," Daniels said. "We talked about it and walked through the decision-making process, and he challenged me on the plan going forward. I was prepared for that. "I think Tom feels strongly about Buck as a manager and as a person. I think this was an emotional decision for him, as well. But ultimately, he agreed with my recommendation that it was best in the interests of the team going forward." Showalter was informed he would not be returning during a dinner meeting on Tuesday night at Hicks' Dallas mansion. Daniels said that resigning was "not something he was interested in," so the decision was made to dismiss Showalter, even at the expense of paying the full balance of his contract. "I'm kind of numb right now," said Showalter, who was previously dismissed after four seasons managing the New York Yankees (1992-95) and three managing the Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000). "It happens to everybody, one way or the other. They made a decision, I'm moving on. It will be a distant memory here in a short while." Daniels said that Showalter was not offered another role in the organization, as the GM felt Showalter's continued presence would be unfair to the new manager. He said delivering the news to Showalter was difficult but that the meeting was "not very" acrimonious. "I thought that all involved, particularly Buck, handled it as professionally as you can," he said. "It was a tough situation. It was more emotional than anything else." The reasons for Showalter's dismissal were left somewhat vague, though Daniels insisted it was not because the players had expressed their growing discontent. "I'm not sure there's any one reason to point to, other than we have not achieved our goal of winning," Daniels said. "When you take a step back and look at avenues to improve the club, I do feel a lot of that improvement is going to have to come internally. And I think a change of leadership, perhaps, gives us a better opportunity to move forward and achieve those goals." Showalter was unsure what prompted the move. "They really didn't give me a reason," he said of the meeting with Hicks and Daniels. "They talked about a different direction, a different voice, having been here four years. "When I came here, Tom Hicks was losing $30 million or $40 million a year. He wanted to back it down, not lose money and become competitive. We are competitive. Now they don't want to go big with the payroll or back it down. What are they going to do?" When Showalter took over for the dismissed Jerry Narron in October 2002, he inherited a team that featured Alex Rodriguez and a $103 million payroll. By 2006, the Rangers' payroll had been reduced to approximately $70 million. "I don't believe that payroll is a fair excuse for anybody, whether in my position or the manager's position," Daniels said. "There are teams in the playoffs right now with lower payrolls than what we had, so I don't think that's a fair criticism. "A better question is [whether he had] the resources he needed to win from a player standpoint. ... I felt we were better than an 80-82 team this season." This year's finish was not the sole deciding factor for Daniels. The Rangers have not reached the postseason for seven years, and the GM determined that the streak was not likely to end under Showalter's continued stewardship. "This decision was not based exclusively on the '06 season and our lack of accomplishing our goals there," Daniels said. "It was more about looking forward, and what gives us the best chance to achieve our goals of bringing a championship to the [Dallas-Fort Worth] Metroplex. "When Buck came here in '03, we were transitioning and rebuilding to a degree. We had a good year in '04, and it was a younger team. As we're moving forward at this point, and this is not any sort of slight to Buck for what he's done for us. I think we needed a change." Bench coach Don Wakamatsu, who accompanied Showalter from Arizona, is perhaps the leading candidate to replace his mentor. Other candidates could be former Rangers first base coach DeMarlo Hale, hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo, former Rangers farm director Trey Hillman (currently managing in Japan) and former Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer, who joined the club's front office earlier this year. Other experienced managers currently available are Lou Piniella, Jim Fregosi, Dusty Baker, Frank Robinson, Felipe Alou and Joe Girardi, a front-runner for this year's National League Manager of the Year Award who was dismissed on Tuesday by the Florida Marlins. Angels pitching coach Bud Black also is considered one of the top managerial prospects in the game. Daniels declined to name candidates on Wednesday or set a timetable for his search. He was even reluctant to discuss some of the qualities he wants in a new skipper, although he hinted that the ability to nurture young players could be a factor. "I think there are some attributes in a manager that we're going to look for, and those are not necessarily exclusive of Buck's skills and abilities," he said. "I don't want to go into specifics, but there are some things I feel Buck does that he's excellent at, and I hope some of those traits are in the new manager. "I think there's some things where we'll be looking for something new, and individuality. And in general I'm looking for a communicator, somebody who communicates both good and bad news. We're going to be bringing along some contributing young players through our system. Not necessarily a tryout camp, but you're looking for some continued development at the Major League level. You want to foster an environment conducive to success." Four of the Rangers' current coaches are under contract for at least one more season, and Daniels indicated that the new manager would likely be encouraged to inherit that group. Daniels said he also would encourage the new hire to retain third base coach Steve Smith and first base coach Bobby Jones, whose contracts have expired. And though Daniels said the managerial change "is about giving our organization a fresh perspective," he said that none of the team's coaches would be ruled out as managerial candidates simply because they were loyal to Showalter. "I don't want to get too much into who we're going to consider or who we're not, other than to say that that will not be a negative, in regards to considering guys from the current staff," he said. "There are some candidates that we know we'll likely speak to, but until I've spoken to them and put our arms around it a little more, I'm not going to talk about when and whom we're going to talk to." Since Hicks dismissed general manager Doug Melvin after the 2001 season, the Rangers will have had two GMs and three managers, traded the game's highest-paid player (Rodriguez), and phased out former stars Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez, and still averaged 84 losses per season. Daniels said that he hopes his new manager will steer the franchise into smoother waters. "I think the great organizations, teams that win on a consistent basis, have a level of stability," he said. "And that's something that we want going forward, clearly. That's something that we strive for." Ken Daley is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 67.11.142.50