Some Offensive Thoughts…

I don’t know about y’all, but it bugs me to see that the offense has reverted back to being extremely frustrating again and I want to air some of my frustration and maybe open up the comments for others to chime in. Thanks in advance for sticking with me here. Ok, here goes…

I’m tired of seeing Ian Kinsler’s slumped shoulders and impending slow trot down the line every time an at bat doesn’t go his way. It makes me mad to see him basically telegraph his emotions to the entire world. I was a moody teen aged girl once, and know a thing or two about projecting emotion; it’s not funny and is really just flat out embarrassing. That stuff can’t keep happening, especially if he wants the opposing fielders to actually be concerned about him legging out a play at first. I wish he would go back and observe what Gentry did to make Colon look absolutely silly last time in Oakland. Even if the play isn’t close, the fans want to see that you care enough to try. I’m not an expert in swing mechanics, but I’m curious: why the slashing motion that leads to the pop ups? Is he just swinging too hard to get any finesse out of his swing?

I’m a Christian, just like Josh, and can say that no two people embrace the faith the exact same way. That being said… I was mad when it was revealed that he felt God himself was intervening and punishing him because of cheating in his effort to quit dipping. He took all of the accountability away from himself and made his slump all about divine retribution. That also made me mad because he was still hurting himself. If you’ve ever directly quit a substance or known someone who has, you know that your body changes when you quit. When your job depends on you being focused and alert, it doesn’t help to put your body through withdrawals and then feed the craving and then withdrawing again. I know it was easy at the beginning of the year to say, “Um, J.D.? Give him money. Now!” These days, though, he is playing a little lax in the field and is still prone to very bad at bats and it’s frustrating when we’ve seen what he’s  like when locked in in all aspects.

Nelson Cruz is an enigma to me. I asked a friend after the season last year what he thought of Cruz. He said he felt he was an ok defender and a very streaky offensive hitter who was protected in our line up. I have to agree. His October performance last year was legendary, but there’s a reason it took everyone by surprise. That stint was what many felt he was capable of doing year round offensively and it was pleasantly shocking to see him deliver. Defensively, he is ok. He does have a cannon for an arm, but I get left wondering if he knows how to spot a ball consistently when it’s in any direction other than directly at him. Same with the bat. Sometimes it just looks like he’s swinging just to say he tried and he seems to have trouble staying locked in consistently. I hate to admit it, but I feel there is a reason he was only covered through his arbitration time with his extension. Unless he gets his kinks worked out, I don’t anticipate him being a Ranger long term.

To end on a positive note: I’m thankful for Adrian Beltre. Peter Gammons said it best around this time last year on Twitter: “Adrian Beltre begged the Angels to sign him, lives 30 minutes from park. Instead, they traded Napoli for Wells. Beltre (+ Napoli) = division.”

So now, I ask you the readers/fans: What concerns you about the Rangers and what would you like to see done about it?