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Posted on Thu, Apr. 10, 2008

Texas Rangers GM Daniels takes his lumps, does his job

By RANDY GALLOWAY

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

ARLINGTON -- For those of us in the media who constantly criticize the work of Rangers general manager Jon Daniels -- and mainly, that's just from here -- he never fails to help me do mine.

I mean that in a good way, not because of the botched trades on Daniels' watch providing constant fodder.

First, he still speaks to me, anytime, anywhere. Under reversed circumstances, I wouldn't speak to me.

Rule No. 1 for anyone in Daniels' high-pressure line of work is never allow the media to rattle you. Jon Boy doesn't, rather remarkable for such a youngster. Wade Phillips should take lessons. John Hart flunked that same lesson long ago.

In this area, Daniels reminds me of a Jerry Jones starter kit. And that's high praise. No matter what, Jones never hides or becomes media-sensitive.

Personally, you also have to like anybody who can poke fun at himself, including his Ivy League education.

As the improbable hire for the GM job at age 28 in the fall of 2005, the current homestand in Arlington signals the start of Daniels' third season on the job, a tenure highlighted, or low-lighted, by his boldness in making deals.

"When I was hired," Daniels said, standing in an empty corridor at The Ballpark, "you guys were writing I was smart, but did I have guts? Now, you are writing I have guts, but am I smart?"

Actually, I wish I had thought of that line on my own, yet it's even better coming from Daniels.

But the bottom line is the GM's boldness must soon produce positive results. Real soon, which doesn't mean this season, but certainly beyond this one.

Nolan Ryan, the new sheriff, is watching closely. He's taking notes on the entire organization, from the executive level to the popcorn sellers.

But mainly, his focus has to be on the baseball stuff. That is Daniels' domain.

"People ask me what it's like having Nolan looking over my shoulder," Daniels said. "But he's not. Not at all. We talk face-to-face. In dealing with Nolan, he's right there in front of me at all times, not peering over my shoulder.

"I've told my staff I have no insecurities at all about Nolan being here. It's just the opposite. I'm energized because Nolan is here."

But watching Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez in San Diego, watching John Danks' first start of the season with the White Sox last week, those would have to be insecurities for anyone who traded them for what currently is nothing in return.

"Sure, I noticed," said Daniels, sheepishly, when asked if he took note of Danks' performance against the Indians. "But actually, this kind of stuff wore on me a lot more last season. Now that we're making moves for the long term, and have a definite plan in place, I'm more focused on what's ahead, not what's behind."

Easy to say now, of course, but trading Danks, his top pitching prospect, for Brandon McCarthy, currently on the 60-day disabled list, was incredibly bold, yet seemed to go far off-course on what Daniels' primary objective was all about.

And the boldness backfired badly as McCarthy has struggled with both health and his pitching.

But it's Daniels' deal of two years ago, involving Young and Gonzalez, that gets the most negative reviews, and rightfully so.

Let it be noted that before that trade, the GM got exactly nothing in his trade of Alfonso Soriano, Daniels' first major move as GM. That deal, I hated from the start. But Young and Gonzalez?

My reaction was Young would be missed, and Gonzalez was a marginal major league hitter. Right, on Young being missed. But very wrong on Gonzalez.

Because Daniels got two veteran pitchers in return, I thought it was a good deal, overall. Extremely wrong, of course, on my part.

But then again, I don't have to be right. Daniels must be right at least some of the time, and thus far, well...

His bailout, as we all know, may have come last summer when, under pressure, he dealt Mark Teixeira to Atlanta and Eric Gagné to Boston.

The collection of players and prospects who ended up here can save Daniels' job, not to mention his sanity. Or at least that's what trusted baseball people tell me. They really liked Daniels' work on those trades.

What started my Tuesday conversation with Daniels was how well 19-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus was hitting to open the season for Class AA Frisco.

He came over in the Tex deal with Atlanta and is considered top-shelf. It was Andrus who caught the eye immediately of Nolan Ryan in spring training.

The question on Elvis was how long it would take for his bat to come around. The other skills are there, but the jump from Class A to the Texas League is a huge leap that often separates prospects in a hurry. So far, however, so good.

Daniels, meanwhile, totally ignored what could have been a brief gloat moment. On Andrus, he spent several minutes stressing patience, which, of course, is the wise observation.

"I like what we might be, as a team, for the future," he finally said. "Trying to project what might be our major league pieces, and feeling good about our prospects, is the fun part of this job. I am having fun with that."

A chorus of groans from what's left of a frustrated fandom will certainly be the response to the "having fun" comment.

But Daniels, now all of 30, doesn't seem to take any criticism personally. He plugs on, boldly and hopefully smarter, in attempting to prove us all wrong.

Randy Galloway can be heard on Galloway & Co. 3-6 p.m. weekdays on ESPN/103.3 FM.