Wednesday: Kinsler Down, Murphy Up

Ian Kinsler, who indubitably has a large ego, has looked embarrassed every time he comes up empty at the plate these past few weeks. The Rangers’ second baseman, who got off to a brilliant start, has gone off track to the point where we don’t believe he’ll come through each at bat anymore. Now of course we know Kinsler will snap out of it, but for now, with his average all the way down to 283, Ian is not a lot of fun to watch.

Last year Kinsler remained pretty consistent up until his injury. His recent struggles are bringing back memories to the 2007 season, when Kinsler had a few weeks in May and June where he looked like he was caught in a fog. That's reminiscent to how Kinsler looks now, too. I mentioned a few posts ago about how the Rangers are winning so many games despite their struggling offense. It’s because of the pitching, which right now has the AL’s lowest ERA for the month. It’s interesting how when the pitching is good, a struggling offense is often overlooked. I myself didn’t really notice Kinsler’s struggles until last week, when his average dipped below 300. Even now, as long as the Rangers keep winning, his slump isn’t a major concern.

The psychology of a struggling player is intriguing. When I was in Little League and I’d go in a slump, my coach would bench me so I could relax and take my mind off the game. To miss a game is like an ordeal, but when that ordeal is over, the reward of playing again is great. The situation for a slumping big leaguer is exactly the same. They don’t want to sit out. After all, how could sitting around sitting on the bench or playing video games in the clubhouse help improve the player’s game? The answer is easy: mind rest. It’s what everyone needs during hard times. Kinsler had one for himself on Saturday, and he hit a homerun on Sunday. Of course he’s still not hitting to ball to his fullest potential, but the rest still helped him in some way or another.

Ian Kinsler is undoubtedly one of the top five talents in all of baseball, an assertion that has been made by countless other beside myself. He has been highly touted by esteemed experts in the game, meaning that we really have nothing to worry about, especially if the good pitching continues.

The bad times of Ian Kinsler have been matched by the good times of David Murphy, who, since his 0-23 start to the season, is looking like the David Murphy we cherish. His average is only at 226, but if you consider the fact that it was at 0 for most of April, then it seems more like he's hitting 326. I also like the fact that Murphy is showing patience at the plate. In only 84 at bats, Murphy already has 14 walks (but it’s not as impressive as Andruw Jones, who has 18 walks in 69 at bats) where as Ian Kinsler, who in over 100 more at bats, only has taken 19 free passes. I’m still disappointed that Murphy isn’t getting a lot of playing time (though it’s increased greatly since he found his swing), but I also understand Ron Washington’s situation in that he wants to get Jones and Byrd as much playing time as possible. In David’s mind, he just needs to think that he’ll be getting much more playing time in 2010 because both Byrd and Jones will be free agents. There have been talks that Murphy could be used as trade bait during July. This is based off of his early slump and the success of Byrd and Jones. But since both Byrd and Jones will indeed be free agents next year, then dealing Murphy would be a major mistake (though I would like to see what Julio Borbon can bring to the table). Trade debates aside, right now we just need to be glad that Murphy is actually hitting the ball with authority again. Pretty soon we’ll be saying the same about Ian Kinsler, too.