ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Texas manager Ron Washington said Friday he is not worrying about his job even though the Rangers have already set a team record for April losses.
But general manager Jon Daniels, when asked whether Washington’s job was in jeopardy, did not provide a direct answer.
Daniels said he would not assign blame to one person but passed on chances to put to rest mounting questions about Washington’s job security.
“When a team struggles, I think typically you look to the leadership of the team, whether it’s on the field or off the field, to turn this around,” Daniels said. “I think the expectation from ownership is that we do need to turn this around.”
The Rangers went into Friday night tied with the Washington Nationals for the worst record in baseball at 7-16. The record equals the Rangers’ worst since moving to Texas in 1972.
Daniel met for several hours Friday with owner Tom Hicks and team president Nolan Ryan after the Rangers returned from a 2-9 road trip, which ended with seven straight losses and Detroit outscoring Texas 37-10 in a three-game sweep.
Daniels said he planned to meet later with Washington, who has the Rangers off to another horrendous start in his second season as a major league manager.
Texas is off to a worse start than last season, when the Rangers lost 15 games in April before a 20-loss May.
“I’m the manager of the Texas Rangers, we’re not doing very well and that’s when the heat flies,” Washington said. “I’ve been in the game a long time. I’m going to keep my head in the air and I’m going to stand strong.”
The Rangers had an AL-worst 23 errors, leading to 17 unearned runs. Their 5.54 ERA was the worst in the AL and they had scored only four runs per game, ranked 12th in the AL.
Daniels said he felt Hicks was patient with the bad start. The Rangers were already seven games behind the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland in the AL West.
Asked if there was anything he could tell Washington to convey that his job was not in jeopardy, Daniels said, “Go get ’em tonight, skip.”
“I don’t get a nightly call from Tom saying here is the status of your job situation. That’s not how it works,” Daniels said. “We all have a job to do and we need to go out and get it done.”
Texas shortstop Michael Young said players were trying not to dwell on the mounting losses.
“It’s a tough time for everybody in here,” Young said. “It’s not easy to go out and lose. It’s tough for everybody, manager included.”
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Associated Press Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report in Irving, Texas.
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