Rangers fire 2 coaches in wake of play-in game loss

Less than 48 hours after the Texas Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention with a play-in game loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, they’ve chosen to do a small house-cleaning with regard to their coaching staff.

The organization announced the firing of two coaches on Tuesday, and they were bench coach Jackie Moore and 1st base coach Dave Anderson. This isn’t exactly a shocking move, as the Rangers collapsed a bit down the stretch, and manager Ron Washington was reported to be on the hot seat for the duration of September.

Normally, a move like this is the last stitch effort to avoid firing a manager, so it appears as if Washington’s job is safe for now, but the writing is now on the wall. There is at least one report that the 74-year-old Jackie Moore will retire from baseball after the move, but you have to feel for both guys, as neither job is high-profile enough to directly affect the outcome of the games in September.

It wasn’t a disastrous season for Texas, as they won 90+ games for the 4th year in a row, but expectations are now significantly higher in Arlington. It’ll be an interesting off-season for the Rangers as they overhaul the roster with some major decisions (Nelson Cruz and Matt Garza, to name two), but the first shoe has dropped.