Seems a Common Way to Go, Get Out and Row

Congratulations to Mr. Joseph R. Halbert for correctly naming "Sunken Treasure" by Wilco as the Sunday Song of the Day

An Open Letter to Ron Washington from One Texas Rangers Fan

Ron, Mr. Washington, Our Fearless Leader,

Welcome to the Texas Rangers. We are really looking forward to you being the new manager, but before you move to Arlington, there are probably a few things you should know. Well, to begin with, we have never won the World Series. Not even that, we have never won a playoff series. Wait, don't leave now. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that, but please do not get discouraged.

There's a lot of cynicism surrounding the franchise that you are coming to next year. I mentioned that you had been hired today to someone in class and all he could say was three words: "It won't matter." That seems like the rational thing to say after you have been watching our team for long enough, but Ron (if I may call you that), I think good things are on the horizon. You are inheriting a team with a great nucleus. Mark Teixiera, Michael Young, Hank Blalock, Gary Matthews, Jr., Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Mark DeRosa, and Ian Kinsler are the kind of players that can take the Rangers to a place that the franchise has never been before, but two things have been missing in the last few years: pitching and a great manager.

Now, I know it might be a lot of pressure on you to say that we expect you to be a great manager, but we just need some new blood after Buck. Hey, Buck's departure may not be all that bad after all. If you doubt me, just look at what happened to the last two teams he managed in the year after he left town. In 1996, the Yankees broke the longest World Series drought in their history, and in 2001 the Diamondbacks took home the title in their 4th year of existence. I'm not saying it's a given next year, but in my limited experience as a first year law student, I will say that the available precedent is favorable to our position.

We Rangers fans really want to know what it feels like to be glued to the TV on September/October nights as we watch our team. I want to know what it is like to scrounge and scheme in order to get tickets to a playoff game at The Ballpark in Arlington. (Oh yes, I should tell you that I don't refer to the stadium with the name of the mortgage company who paid for the rights. ) Mostly, we want two things. We want to win our first World Series before the Astros win their first and before the Yankees win their next. That's really all we ask.

Thanks for listening Ron. Make us proud.

With hope,

Justin