Joe Sheehan with some Ian Kinsler love

by Adam J. Morris on Jan 15, 2008 2:56 PM CST in News

Joe Sheehan offers up some breakout candidates for 2008, and includes one of my favorite Rangers on the list:

Ian Kinsler: Starting with McLouth, we get into players who aren't quite as strong candidates. Kinsler made small improvements across the board in '07, hitting more fly balls, walking a bit more, stealing more bases at a better rate and playing better defense. Given a full season--Kinsler has missed 74 games in two seasons--he could put up Dan Uggla's numbers, with much better defense and a higher OBP.

Jump on the Kinsler bandwagon, while there's still time!

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I'm already on

He just needs to stay healthy and he should be an All-Star.

by kentbenfer on Jan 15, 2008 3:06 PM CST reply actions

Hitting RHP would be nice, too

Also he seems to be way better at home than on the road.

But those things should come with time.

He certainly has an All-Star season or two in him if he can stay on the field.

"God plays by his own rules, folks. And HGH is f***ing legal as hell up in heaven." -Andy Pettitte

by thedirkatron on Jan 15, 2008 7:04 PM CST up reply actions

Hopefully,

we can get him locked up long-term soon.

"Therapy can be a good thing; it can be therapeutic." -- Alex Rodriguez on the benefits of seeing a, well, therapist

by Joseph Mama on Jan 15, 2008 3:10 PM CST reply actions

Well

He's not exactly falling out of his chair for the guy...

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Jan 15, 2008 3:16 PM CST reply actions

Here's the problem

I like Kinsler a lot. But two seasons ago the Girl and I were watching a game and after a HR they showed Kinsler in the dugout doing the whole "raise the roof" thing and he said "holla." So now everytime she sees him, she says "holla," and it makes me cringe.

"When I was a pup, we got spanked by presidents 'til the cows came home! Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occasions!" LBrooks

by WyoRanger on Jan 15, 2008 3:19 PM CST reply actions

I was watching a game

And they had one of those features where another player announces the lineup and gives a little tidbit about everybody. He said something about Kinsler's nickname being 'lettuce wraps' because when he came up, he had so much hair growing out of his ears that it looked like he was growing lettuce in there.

So there's that. And now I usually think of ear hair when Kinsler is mentioned. Wierd, I know, I wish it was just 'holla'.

Juevos Daniels: biggest stones in the business.

by tricer on Jan 15, 2008 3:28 PM CST up reply actions

Even

though my wife is in love with him, I was on the bandwagon 2 years ago. He will be a great player when he stays healthy.

The Texas Rangers rounded the bases at a dizzying pace

by fsujon on Jan 15, 2008 3:50 PM CST reply actions

I'd love to see it.

You can't help but love a kid that came out of nowhere to become a major league regular.

Maybe he'll play so well I'll have to concede he's better than Mike Young (it really is possible).

by Athos on Jan 15, 2008 4:56 PM CST reply actions

Now that was a great trade

Darwin Cubillian and Loiaza for MY. A trade that worked out in our favor.

Must read. "Only the Ball was White" Boomer Sooner!

by boomer1 on Jan 15, 2008 5:07 PM CST up reply actions

Loaiza for Cubillan and MY

by Adam J. Morris on Jan 15, 2008 7:06 PM CST up reply actions

Thanks Adam

that is what I meant.

Must read. "Only the Ball was White" Boomer Sooner!

by boomer1 on Jan 15, 2008 9:27 PM CST up reply actions

But even that wasn't our decision

He was our third choice behind Felipe Lopez and Cesar Izturis.

The Jays didn't want to give up either of those studley muffins, so we had to settle for old Franchise Face.

"God plays by his own rules, folks. And HGH is f***ing legal as hell up in heaven." -Andy Pettitte

by thedirkatron on Jan 15, 2008 7:07 PM CST up reply actions

Melvin

said he had his choice between Izturis and MY.

Must read. "Only the Ball was White" Boomer Sooner!

by boomer1 on Jan 15, 2008 9:28 PM CST up reply actions

KInsler

Dan Uggla? 83 extra-base hits last year Dan Uggla? That's quite a prediction. I'll take it.

by biff pocoroba on Jan 15, 2008 5:56 PM CST reply actions

Of course Dan Uggla isn't really a 2b

at least, not a passable one.

If I was a Marlins pitcher and had Hanley and Uggla up the middle behind me, I'd just say F it and try to strike everybody out, cause anything hit on the ground up the middle is at least a single.

"God plays by his own rules, folks. And HGH is f***ing legal as hell up in heaven." -Andy Pettitte

by thedirkatron on Jan 15, 2008 7:18 PM CST up reply actions

The glass is always half empty w/ you

Sigh...

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 15, 2008 8:04 PM CST up reply actions

Stop trolling, Mr. Troll

"God plays by his own rules, folks. And HGH is f***ing legal as hell up in heaven." -Andy Pettitte

by thedirkatron on Jan 16, 2008 12:23 AM CST up reply actions

There you go again

Come on, Dirk. Be a fountain, not a drain.

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 16, 2008 8:08 AM CST up reply actions

Perhaps Rex Hudler needs to pay you a visit

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 15, 2008 8:06 PM CST up reply actions

That shit is funny...

but also true. You can't really call them "strong" up the middle on D.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jan 15, 2008 9:03 PM CST up reply actions

The only thing I'm concerned about

is getting him locked up in a long-term deal. So far the Rangers refuse to pay this kid what he's worth (surprise, surprise) so I sure hope he doesn't become the next great talent to walk out of Texas, and THEN become an All-Star.

As far as his ability as a player, goes though, I think he's gonna make Dan Uggla look like a little leaguer by the time his career is over.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 6:41 PM CST reply actions

Not sure what you mean

The Rangers refuse to pay him what he's worth?

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 15, 2008 8:05 PM CST up reply actions

The Rangers have been trying

since spring training last year to lock up Kinsler to a long term deal. Nobody seems to know the specifics, but Kinsler's camp apparently wants more money than what they've been offered, and the Rangers (in other words TOM HICKS) aren't willing to give it to them. Fortunately, he's not a free agent for awhile yet, but based on the difficulty they've had so far in negoatiating with him, things could get even worse when he does get close to free agency.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 8:25 PM CST up reply actions

Bah

FA is eons away for Lettuce Head.

Way too early to gong the alarms.

And do we know he's being lowballed?

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 15, 2008 9:33 PM CST up reply actions

Tom Hicks

Lowballs everybody.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 10:01 PM CST up reply actions

That's a lame blanket statement.

Did he lowball Young? Chan Ho? Millwood? Padilla? He offered Teixeira $140M. LAA offered Hunter $15M more than any other team, and no way is he worth it. Who exactly has he lowballed?

hurlerhurley has to drink a 6 pack just to have one for each of his usernames.

by t ball on Jan 15, 2008 10:51 PM CST up reply actions

Hicks may pay to keep the star players

as a fan attraction, but the team he fields around them is consistently cheap, sub-par junk.

We keep signing cheap, stopgap players like Richard Hidalgo, Gary Matthews Jr, David Delluci, Sammy Sosa, Kenny Lofton, Marlon Byrd, and most recently Mitlon Bradley off the trash heap to fill out our team, in hope they have good year instead of actually going out and addressing the problems at those positions, or letting our young players develop there. Why? Because Hicks just wants to sell as many tickets as he can, while fielding the cheapest team possible, instead of truly committing to any rebuilding movement. Hicks won't even utter the word "rebuilding" becuase he knows it will scare off the season ticket holders. Hicks sees just one thing, thats $$$ signs. Heck, ask the fans of his precious FC Liverpool soccer team, they will tell you the same thing.

The only reason things are looking up for us right now is because #1, we've finally got a GM who's figured out how to take advantage of the cycle of trash heap signings, and #2, we had an extremely disgruntled star player all but but force a trade, and we got half of Atlanta's farm system in return. If it weren't for that, we'd still be in the same positon we where in prior to last year. One can only hope that Hicks will let JD stay on as GM, and see his youth movement through, while maybe prying open his checkbook just a little more to keep guys like Kinsler here. If he doesn't, this team isn't going to go anywhere until he gots bored with us one day, and sells the team to his golf buddy at the country club.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 11:44 PM CST up reply actions

That's right

The trade Kinsler drumbeat starts here. "Cant lock him up", etc.

In case you guys weren't aware of the pattern you followed for at least 400 previous players. Teixeira being one of the last, but before that Pudge, Juan, Kenny Rogers, Soriano, and any and all above average players the Rangers either considered acquiring or had on the team, numbering easily in the hundreds.

"The Democrats want change, they want the change in your pockets"-Rudy Giuliani on "change".

by Sharky on Jan 16, 2008 12:03 AM CST up reply actions

That is a very surfacy, knee-jerk view of Hicks.

For one thing, it doesn't prove your original assertion, that he lowballs people. Is there a player you think the Rangers should have signed that Hicks "lowballed?"

Any player they've bid on recently they have made reasonable offers to. If a team like SF wants to come in and offer an absolutely ridiculous contract to Zito do you really want the Rangers to outbid them? They paid Gagne very well last year for someone coming off major injuries, then flipped him for a significant return. How is that lowballing? They let GMJ go after a freak career year and LAA gave him a stupid contract that they would now love to dump, just one year later. Are you saying they should have kept him at any cost?

What specific examples can you offer of the Rangers offering too little money? Spending a shitload of money is not nearly as important as who you spend it on. Smart GMs sign players cheaply to fill out rosters no matter what size their payroll is. Big contracts simply hamstring the organization in the future.

Again I ask, what specific examples do you have when they have offered an unreasonably low contract?

hurlerhurley has to drink a 6 pack just to have one for each of his usernames.

by t ball on Jan 16, 2008 12:12 AM CST up reply actions

I'm not saying we should sign a bunch of FA's

to high-dollar contracts, or that we should have kept every player that ever had a good year here - what I'm saying is that we should develop the young guys, and then resign the good ones when the time comes. Not that we've had enough talent come up through the system lately to leave - but we still just go after cheap talent to fill the holes, or worse yet, trade our young players for it. Remember Carlos Lee? We traded for him with the supposed intent of resigning him. Who did we wind up signing? Frank Catalanotto. Don't you think Lee would look pretty good on this team right now at 1st base or DH?

Maybe Tom Hicks hasn't "lowballed" any particular player, but he has lowballed the fans, by failing to put together a decent team. Now, we finally have a chance to develop the first decent team we've had since the 90's - I just don't want to see Hicks screw it up because he's too cheap to resign anybody. If that's looking too far down the road, or making too many negative assumptions, well so be it - I don't trust Hicks. That's point, and that's my opinion.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 16, 2008 12:34 AM CST up reply actions

Hicks

Is officially dead to me.

To anyone here who told me that Hicks would find a way to screw up Liverpool: I apologize for ever doubting you. Thankfully, he's having enough financial problems with the club that the bankers may run him out of town on a rail, if the Scousers don't do it first...

"I dont care to debate with a troll." - Sharky

by RCCook on Jan 16, 2008 1:04 AM CST up reply actions

Do I think Lee would look good at DH?

No, not 100 million dollars good.

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 16, 2008 8:11 AM CST up reply actions

As Brian says above,

Lee is simply not worth the money he got, and that's my point. All the players who have "gotten away" in the last couple years weren't worth the money they ended up getting from other teams.

Don't forget that the Rangers received draft pick compensation for not re-signing Lee and GMJ (and even DeRosa). I'd rather have Beavan and Borbon + $100 mil than Lee. I'd rather have Main and Ramirez + $55 mil than GMJ. It's not a zero sum game.

Your mistrust is warranted given the lengthy learning curve Hicks has had. I'm hopeful, though, that he's learned from those years and continues to let Daniels do his job.

hurlerhurley has to drink a 6 pack just to have one for each of his usernames.

by t ball on Jan 16, 2008 9:31 AM CST up reply actions

Kinsler...

in '08 = Beast

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jan 15, 2008 7:08 PM CST reply actions

Sell high if you ask me,

See if Duran is the real thing and trade Kinsler. He could bring back a good bounty, imo. Then again if Duran has another steller year he could be had for the right price.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 15, 2008 8:28 PM CST reply actions

No...

Hell no. You would not be selling high on Kinsler right now. He has only scratched the surface of what he is capable of. He is as close to untouchable as the Rangers have.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jan 15, 2008 9:05 PM CST up reply actions

If he could bring back a good bounty,

then do it. Maybe a frontline starter perhaps. Or a young power 1st baseman. I'm sure in a year when his value is high we should at least explore that option. And believe me, I have nothing against Kinsler. I love having him on this team. But it should still be explored.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 15, 2008 9:59 PM CST up reply actions

Why would a team

trade a frontline starter for Ian Kinsler?

by jparks77 on Jan 15, 2008 10:23 PM CST up reply actions

Kinsler is just a few years away from

all star caliber. It seems like that's how he is viewed in most eyes around here. If you could trade him alone for a top pitcher or player, sure, you do it. A viable replacement is waiting in the wings. If you could package him with a prospect or two to get a true number one in this rotation or a power hitting first baseman, then you do it. Kinsler in no way should be untouchable.
I would hate to see him go because he is one of my favorites. However, Duran in a year needs a full time spot, not a utility role. He is just a bright spot as Kinsler is. If you keep Kinsler then build Duran for a trade. This is just my opinion, I'm not saying someone is going to trade for him, but he is a valuable trading chip.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 16, 2008 8:30 AM CST up reply actions

Trading Kinsler now

would be an extrordanaraly bad move. He's got the potential to be a 5-tool 2nd baseman - you have to let that develop a little more if you want to sell high, and even then... why would trade your 5-tool 2nd baseman? The only way Kinsler gets traded is if the Rangers cannot resign him to a long-term deal when the time comes. Until then, he is ours to develop and enjoy.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 9:11 PM CST up reply actions

re: Ian Kinsler, 1 balla, 5 tools

Not really.

Arm strength is one of those 5, as is speed.

And bro, not to be a dick, but let's not go the hooked on phonics route. The word is spelled extraordinarily.

NYTXFAN is clenching his fists as he reads this...

Rex Hudler is in demand as a motivational speaker.

by Brian Thomas on Jan 15, 2008 9:31 PM CST up reply actions

You almost got it right,

I'm pulling my hair out actually. But really in a year why not either try and package one of Kinsler/Duran for a suitable piece to our team's puzzle.
If Kinsler and Duran both shine this year, then we have a big predicament. Who to keep and who to package. Obviously any team wanting a 2nd baseman is going to want Kinsler out of the two. And we would have a viable replacement in Duran. But of course, I'm looking way to far ahead at this point.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 15, 2008 9:57 PM CST up reply actions

Why not keep Duran as an offensive utility player?

I don't see him as TOO valuable a trade chip to be "wasted" in a 300 PA role.

by AZranger on Jan 15, 2008 10:41 PM CST up reply actions

Concur

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jan 15, 2008 10:45 PM CST up reply actions

I don't know about you,

but when I'm tossing off a quick post, I don't spend 15 minutes going through Websters, and agonizing over the spelling. I may have used the redneck spelling of "extraordinarily" but I'm sure everybody knows what I meant.

It does look kind of funny, though, doesn't it? What can I say, spelling isn't something I do real well off the top of my head.

As for Kinsler, he has speed - 20/20 last year, remember? And he's just gonna get better as he learns the art of baserunning. As for his arm, I haven't detected any real inadequacy there - he may not have a cannon, but from what I've seen, he does just fine with what he's got.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 15, 2008 9:59 PM CST up reply actions

Dont sweat it

They are called the Grammar Nazis around here. And If you don't place a comma in the right place or spell a word right, they will let you know. It sucks. You would think they know what you mean and I'm sure they do, but they have to point it out so you don't fuck up next time. Just the way it is.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 15, 2008 10:04 PM CST up reply actions

I suck at spelling and grammer...

I certainly wasn't a English major. However I don't take it personally when someone corrects me. I really have no problem with it. Don't take it personally and you will be ok.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jan 15, 2008 10:40 PM CST up reply actions

Im trying

baby steps my friend, baby steps.

""I love GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLD" blueglovelefty

by NYTXFAN on Jan 16, 2008 8:24 AM CST up reply actions

You've been much better lately

And I think your posts have been better for it.

Just one man's opinion.

by AZranger on Jan 15, 2008 10:42 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah

Jump on the trade Ian Kinsler bandwagon, more like.

This is LSB.

Kinsler is the next target after Blalock. Or possibly Hamilton, whichever. Whatever player is above average.

"The Democrats want change, they want the change in your pockets"-Rudy Giuliani on "change".

by Sharky on Jan 16, 2008 12:00 AM CST reply actions

Tired

Your trade everyone shtick is just so tired. Get a new act already.

hurlerhurley has to drink a 6 pack just to have one for each of his usernames.

by t ball on Jan 16, 2008 12:13 AM CST up reply actions

You know, there's a poster over at TR

Sullivan's blog, "dwidregod", who pumps out the same "trade the whole team" stuff over and over. And then there's "Habib" over on the DMN Seamheads blog. I wonder if those two and Sharky have some kind of a club or something.

"The most important things in life are the things that are the least important" - Yogi Berra

by LSJ on Jan 16, 2008 12:39 AM CST up reply actions