MLB World Series 2011: Rangers Winning Despite Ron Washington's Horrid Managing

The Texas Rangers are one win away from capturing the first World Series title in franchise history. Yet the team has actually been succeeding despite manager Ron Washington's best attempts to hold the team down. 

Washington has never been a great tactical or situational manager, but the team is talented enough to be able to win in spite of his shortcomings. His approach to running this team has been awful in the World Series. 

For example, Mike Napoli has been the Rangers' best hitter for the last four months. He has hit .378 with 20 home runs since July 1. Napoli's average over that span was the best in baseball during that time period. 

In Washington's infinite wisdom, he decides to move Napoli down to the No. 8 spot in the lineup starting in Game 4.

Fans will argue that Napoli got the game-winning hit in Game 5, so Washington is a genius.

That is completely wrong.

His idiocy happened to work out, but if Napoli is hitting higher in the lineup it probably doesn't even come down to that at-bat in the eighth inning. 

ESPN baseball analyst and sarcasm aficionado Keith Law was interacting with a reader and had this to say about Washington's brilliance. 

Another example is his constant need to hit Josh Hamilton, who has been fighting through a groin injury that has drained him of any power, and Michael Young in the No. 3 and 4 spots in the lineup. 

If Hamilton says that he is healthy enough to play, that is fine. Him at 60 percent is worth more with the bat than Craig Gentry at 100 percent. But don't put him in the No. 3 spot in the lineup. It's painful to watch him swing the bat, so you can only imagine how much pain he is feeling. 

Young has been a disaster in the postseason, but because he is a "pro's pro" we have to be nice to him and keep him in the cleanup spot. 

The Rangers' best hitters—Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Napoli—are in the No. 5, 6 and 8 spots in the lineup. That has likely cost the team at least one run per game, if not more. 

But because Washington is one victory away from winning a World Series, he is pushing all the right buttons and making this team better with his unconventional style. That is sad because it's wrong. He is getting extremely lucky.