Clint Hurdle got canned early in the season as the Colorado Rockies' manager. That didn't stop the team from rolling to 92 wins and the wild card before getting stopped by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round of the playoffs.

Now it's looking like Hurdle may join the Texas Rangers as the hitting coach, according to MLB.com. Hurdle had the same job with the Rockies from 1997 to 2001. The Rockies were at the front of the National League pack in runs scored for three of those seasons and only two runs off the lead during the other two. Hurdle also helped guide Larry Walker to the 1997 Most Valuable Player Award. Walker, Vinny Castilla(notes), and Todd Helton(notes) also won Silver Sluggers under his watchful eye.

So the Rangers appear to want a little bit of that magic. First thing they might want to do is find a way to thin out the air at their stadium.

Will be interesting to see if Hurdle has any interest in bringing Milton Bradley(notes) back to the Rangers, which some team execs supposedly would like to do since the Chicago Cubs want to unload him and the Rangers lacked a certain punch without Bradley in the lineup this past season.

Source: MLB.com

A month ago, the Texas Rangers scoffed at the notion that it could bring back outfielder Milton Bradley(notes), but now it's looking like the idea is gaining some steam in the executive suites, according to MLB.com

Bradley was with the team in 2008 when he had a .321 average and led the American League in OPS (on base plus slugging). The loss of Bradley to the Chicago Cubs is part of the reason the Rangers scored 115 fewer runs in 2009 than in 2008.

He's got two more years and about $20 million left on his deal with the Cubs but they want to unload Bradley. Who wouldn't want a guy who injured himself while trying to go after a first baseman after he had gotten on base, confronted a television announcer in the press box for comparing him to Josh Hamilton(notes), and complained of the "negativity" in Chicago.

Source: MLB.com

The Texas Rangers need a new hitting instructor and it appears that the guy who has the second-highest on-base percentage in the team's history is in the running for the job, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Rusty Greer spent more than a decade with the team and had a .301 career batting average. He's apparently discussed the possibility of becoming the team's hitting instructor with general manager Jon Daniels in recent days.
Greer has been out of the majors for a few years, giving hitting instruction privately and with the Texas Collegiate League.

The Rangers are apparently expected to have its list of finalists for the gig pared down by week's end.

Source: Dallas Morning News