Back on Sept. 5 when the Texas Rangers' all-time leader in managerial wins, Ron Washington, abruptly and unexpectedly resigned due to an infidelity issue in his marriage, the Rangers were thrust into a tricky situation.
The team had two previous managerial candidates on staff and had to choose one to take over in the interim. Daniels went with bench coach Tim Bogar over pitching coach Mike Maddux, and the results spoke for themselves, as Bogar went 14-8 since taking over for Washington.
Now, Daniels has to figure out who he wants to hire to replace Washington for the long term. On Sunday, he announced that he would be conducting interviews with Bogar, Maddux and Triple-A Round Rock manager/former Rangers player Steve Buechele, along with four or five other external candidates.
It would seem Bogar is the odds-on favorite to land the job, and not because of his 22-game stint as the team's interim manager that saw the Rangers play better baseball than they did at any point this season under Washington. He's a knowledgeable guy and has been around some of the top managers in the game in Terry Francona, Joe Maddon and yes, even Washington. Say what you want about Washington's managerial skills, but he obviously did a few things right around here, and Bogar was able to soak some of that in.
But it would be silly for Daniels to just give the job to Bogar, and he could only benefit from seeing what else is out there and comparing Bogar to some of the other candidates.
Either way, and whoever he selects, Daniels has already said he wants to have a manager in place before the end of the World Series.
