Ron Washington Tests Positive for Cocaine
Certainly not the way I expected my Wednesday to go. SI’s Jon Heyman reported today that Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season.
My first reaction was uh-oh. This means a lot of reporters crawling over the complex, distracting everybody with all these questions. I know somebody who certainly didn’t need this is Josh Hamilton.
As I write this, C.J. Wilson just made a great point about Wash’s job security: If the Rangers were going to fire him, they would have done it when Ron went to the team last year.
Follow the jump for more.
Other quick thoughts:
- There are a lot of people around the Metroplex who will be calling for the Rangers to get rid of Wash now. I don’t think that’s the right move, or what will happen. If we are to take Ron at his word, this was a one-time transgression that Ron admitted to the commissioner’s office and the team as soon as he took the drug test.
- All of that said: What in the world was Ron Washington thinking? This deserves its own topic on SNL’s Really!?
- I believe the drug test would have been around the time the Rangers fell out of first place in the second week of July. Perhaps Ron was just nervous about his team falling out of the division lead. If so, that’s not exactly the best reaction you want to see out of your manager.
- How do the players respond to this? Do they rally around him? (I believe they will.) Are they blindsided by this story? (I can’t believe they would be.) Does this distract them going into the season? (I hope not.) Will their play be affected? (Again, let’s hope not.)
- Will attendance be affected? Let’s face it, this is HORRIBLE press. There are those who believe that no press is bad press, but this is the definition of bad press. People need to be able to trust this team, and this does not help. At all.
- The Rangers have stood by Ron, but how far do they keep that stance? Will there be calls for the team to reverse field and let Ron Washington go? Does Steve Buechele come up from AA at that point to become the manager of the Texas Rangers?
- How long has Ron been using? Was this REALLY a one-time thing for Ron Washington to use cocaine for the first time at 57 years old? (Just asking.)
This is a bizarre story – lot of ins, lot of outs – and one that will be monitored for some time. At the very least, spring training just got A LOT more interesting.
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