That's the way baseball go, sure. But baseball go where baseball players take it, and only with a manager they trust and respect can they take it to the heights the Rangers have in recent years. Ron Washington is that manager. He's the consummate players' coach, rarely uttering a word in public that doesn't support his guys, and resisting the urge to tinker, whether with lineups or the flow of the game. With a roster like the one he's armed with, this is the only viable strategy, and he sticks by it through thick and thin. Which is why, with the Rangers, there's been a lot of thick for three years running.