Texas Rangers fire pitching, bullpen coaches

by PegNews wire

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers fire their pitching and bullpen coaches today, just 45 minutes after their 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The move came with Texas last in the majors with a team ERA of 5.24.

Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti were not given much to work with this season, admittedly, due to an incredible rash of injuries to their planned starting rotation. Of the five starters penciled in for opening day, not a single one has escaped the DL at some point this season, with several going on the disabled list multiple times, and others lost of the entire season.

Still, the highest-scoring team in the league needed every run it could get just to win double-digit slugfests on a regular basis, and Rangers GM Jon Daniels thought it was time for a change. Connor and Chiti were replaced by Andy Hawkins, who had been the pitching coach at Triple-A Oklahoma since 2006, and Jim Colborn, formerly the director of Pacific Rim operations, as the new bullpen coach.

Posted by Todd M.