The Texas Rangers lost the division and a playoff spot on the last day of the season to the Houston Astros. This was a very winnable division. The Rangers' final two series were very winnable series, however, just like we have seen the last two seasons, the offense didn't show up.

To be fair, the Rangers were doomed from the start of the season. Why? Because the Rangers ownership did not care if this team was competitive or not. The Rangers' owner, Ray Davis has a major seat for the owners when it comes to labor negotiations. Very little money was spent on roster upgrades in the offseason.

When the trade deadline rolled around this season, the Rangers were ready to blow it up. The Rangers were only competing for a playoff spot at the end of the season, because Jacob deGrom said "NO". That and a terrible division.

For the record, I respect what Jacob deGrom did.

Back to the issue at hand. The Rangers chose to keep Justin Viele around as hitting coach. There was absolutely zero reason to keep anyone associated with last seasons' offense around. GM ego kept Justin Viele around. Just like I'd be willing to bet that GM ego, and a push for more analytics is ultimately what sent Mike Maddux to the Angels.

Justin Viele should have been fired after the first month of the season. It didn't happen. He should have been fired after the Rangers were no hit and embarrassed by the Astros 9-0 on 05/25.

No hitters happen, but how about the next night? The Rangers scored 8 runs in the first inning against the Astros' Jason Alexander, then let the foot off the gas and allowed him to stick around for six innings and save the Astros bullpen for the next two games of a 4-game series.

Shocker, the Astros won those next two games. The Rangers were 6-21 in that series with runners in scoring position. Five of those runs were in game 2 of the series. If you don't think games in May matter, well those games and others like them are the difference between the Rangers being in the playoffs and sitting at home.

At the end of July, the Rangers went on the road versus the Tampa Rays and the Astros. During that road trip, they went 6-41 with runners in scoring position. Shocker they were swept by the Astros at the end of the road trip. That should have been the end of Justin Viele. It wasn't. Instead, the Rangers wanted to blow up the team to shed payroll. Again, deGrom said "NO" and derailed the Rangers's plan.

When Skip Schumaker was hired, all the talk was player development. That's what coaches are supposed to do, develop players It's Justin Viele's job to find ways to get the best out of hitters. Prime example, Wyatt Langford: He is still the same player he was in his last year as a Florida Gator. He swings hard and rarely makes adjustments.

In 2025, Langford hit for a .175 AVG in September. This year he hit .189 in August and coming into Sunday was hitting .182. There was preseason MVP talk with Wyatt. It sounds so ridiculous now.

I'd like to think a strong non-analytical coach could have helped Wyatt. If Wyatt isn't coachable, well that's another issue.

I don't think Chris Young, or Skip Schumaker or the analytics department are going anywhere. I don't see how you bring Justin Viele back. Maybe this time when the Rangers go looking for a hitting coach they will look inside an organization that actually develops players like Tampa, Milwaukee, or Cleveland.

By the way, if you didn't know the Astros fired their GM with a month left in the season and all but told the manager he wouldn't be back. The Rangers wouldn't fire a hitting coach. Now the Astros are going to the playoffs, and the Rangers are sitting at home.