Ian Kinsler plans to keep an eye on his old teammates in Texas – and hopes to see them lose as much as possible.
The former Rangers second baseman, dealt to the Tigers in the offseason as part of the blockbuster Prince Fielder trade, ripped Texas general manager Jon Daniels in an interview with ESPN the Magazine.
Kinsler said Daniels was the last person to contact him when news of the trade came out, saying he found out when a member of the media asked him his reaction to being traded.
“Daniels is a sleazeball,” Kinsler said. “He got in good with the owners and straight pushed [Nolan] Ryan out. He thought all the things he should get credit for, Ryan got credit for. It’s just ego. Once we went to the World Series, everybody’s ego got huge, except for Nolan’s.”
Daniels said he was on an airplane to Tucson when the trade was announced and he left Kinsler a voicemail after landing. Daniels also said he emailed assistant GM Thad Levine while on the plane, asking him to reach Kinsler and Kinsler’s agent.
“It’s not worth defending,” Daniels said. “I’m really proud of the group we’ve got here, the decisions we’ve made, the people we have in place and what we’re building. Based on how he feels, the trade is probably a good thing for all parties involved.
“It’s a fresh start for him and a fresh start for Prince [Fielder] and us and Detroit, so we’ll move on. Name calling and stuff like that, what are you going to do about that? Just take it in stride and move on.”
Kinsler said he is still close with some of his former teammates on the Rangers, but he wants to see the organization fail miserably.
“To be honest with you, I hope they go 0-162,” the 31-year-old infielder said. “I got friends, and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their ass.”
“There was no remorse from the Rangers,” Kinsler said of the trade. “They did not care.”
On Tuesday at Tigers camp in Lakeland, Fla., Kinsler somewhat predictably said some of his remarks were taken out of context and the magazine piece was “written for drama.”