He batted .193 in Rangers spring training. Odor, though, says, 'I'm ready to go'
Spring wins and losses don't matter, or so it is said, and neither do springtime stats.
That alone should give the Texas Rangers a boost as they charge toward Opening Day.
The Rangers finished their Cactus League schedule with nine consecutive losses and an 0-10-1 mark in their final 11 games. Perhaps in this case a tie isn't like kissing their sister.
After their spring record went belly up, the Rangers were wheels-up for Arlington and a day off Sunday. They did so confident in what their main contributors provided, with many games lost once the regulars hit the showers early.
Among those confident heading into the 2018 lid-lifter, Thursday against the Houston Astros, is second baseman Rougned Odor. Coming off a season in which he batted .204, the second baseman swung a .193 bat over 57 spring at-bats.
Confidence-inspiring indeed (insert eye roll here).
But he was serious when asked about the state of his swing and his chances at a rebound season. He used spring training to piece together an approach that will have him hitting like it's 2016, or maybe even better.
The key won't necessarily be his swing as much as what's going on between those ears and his ability to leave 2017 behind. If he can't, more trouble will be lurking.
After his spring showing, Odor remains the Rangers' biggest offensive question.
"I don't remember anything about last year," Odor said. "I don't want to remember last year. As soon as the last day finished last year, I was ready to start the next year."
Who came blame him?
The averaged he carried was second-lowest in the majors among qualifying hitters, a point better than Jose Bautista but not quite as big of a punch as the one he landed in 2016.
Odor looked every bit the part of a .204 hitter, swinging wildly at pitchers' pitches and drawing few walks. The Rangers' goal for him is to know the pitches he hits well and the ones he doesn't.
They don't want him to take away his aggressiveness, but he can't be the easy out he was.
He hasn't set any individual goals for himself, and he's saying all the right things when asked if 2017 has had any carryover effect or if he felt pressure to produce in light of the six-year, $49.5 million contract he signed just before last season.
"I was playing in spring training to be ready for the season, and I think right now I'm ready to open the season," Odor said. "I've been working on everything, like hit my pitch, have good at-bats, compete."
If he was building up for Opening Day, his final two weeks were encouraging. Behind the scenes, he did well in live batting practice on the back fields and connected for his only two home runs in back-to-back games Thursday and Friday.
Manager Jeff Banister did his best to not scoff at a question about Jurickson Profar taking time away from Odor.
"Rougned Odor is going to be our second baseman," Banister said.
Odor turned 24 on Feb. 4. He and his girlfriend are expecting a daughter next month. His life is about to change.
Maybe that will help him put things in perspective. Maybe that will help him move on from last season once and for all.
Odor is confident he has done that and is on the verge of a rebound season. His spring stats say otherwise.
"I don't worry about what I do in spring training," he said. "I'm feeling pretty good at the plate. I'm ready. I'm ready to go."
This story was originally published March 25, 2018 at 1:00 PM with the headline "He batted .193 in Rangers spring training. Odor, though, says, 'I'm ready to go'."