The Texas Rangers are getting ready to finish another season in which they failed to make the playoffs, but the end of the season for the players will mark the beginning of the 2009 season for Nolan Ryan. Nolan took over the job as King of the Rangers before the season started, but for the most part this year, he kind of stayed in the shadows observing what he had to work with.
That all should change once the season ends, as apparently Nolan didn't like what he saw all that much, and he plans on making some changes this offseason.
For those of us who think it also should be firing time in Texas, all Ryan would say Thursday was, "I'm currently formulating a plan for next season, and once the final decision has been made, we will move forward from that."
"I can guarantee one thing. We are going to change the way things have been done around here."
That can't sound too comforting for both general manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington. If Nolan wants to start building the Rangers in his own image, he's probably going to want to bring in his own general manager and manager, and Daniels and Washington aren't those guys.