Is it time to panic about Rangers' offense?
Just look at some of the batting averages Texas Rangers players carried into Monday night at Oakland:
And kicker about the best one of that group is it isn't even that good. Odor was 1 for 1 to start the season and 0 for 11 since.
Blow up the lineup, or at least those three plus the hitless Carlos Tocci (four at-bats). Throw in Drew Robinson, even though his one hit in six at-bats (.167 average) was a homer.
Jurickson Profar (three at-bats) was hitless, too, but he's a former No. 1 prospect. Get him in there immediately.
Blow it up.
"No, no, no, no, no," manager Jeff Banister said. "Uhn-uh."
The Rangers, coaches and hitters, aren't panicking after a 1-3 start in which they batted .202 and struck out 40 times. They know they can be better, even against the four Houston Astros studs who pitched in the season-opening series.
And, they say, nothing needs to be blown up.
"We just faced good pitching," shortstop Elvis Andrus said. "We know as a team that might happen when you face many of the best pitchers of the league. We knew it was going to be tough.
"I don't think we're in a funk or anything. We've turned the page from that series and moved onto this one. Even if we didn't face a rotation like that, four games, especially starting the season, there's no reason to panic or put our offense in a box right away."
The lineup has been blown up some with the injury to leadoff man Delino DeShields. He underwent surgery on his left hand Monday in Dallas to remove the broken hamate bone that will keep him out four to six weeks.
Andrus was atop the lineup Saturday and Sunday, but Shin-Soo Choo batted there Monday to open a four-game series against the Oakland A's. Robinson was the center fielder as Banister looks for the right outfield combination.
The Rangers will peruse the market to see if there are any upgrades available, but chances are they will stick with players already on the team or in the organization. Rua could get his chance in center field in this series.
"We talked about being committed to these young guys we have in-house," Banister said. "That's my mind-set right now."
But he turned back to Choo to jump-start the offense. He, not DeShields, is the Rangers' best at getting on-base, and Banister wanted Choo there ahead of Joey Gallo and Andrus, the club's best hitter with a .538 average.
Choo batted sixth the first two games and fifth in the third before a day off Sunday.
"With Delino out, he's back in that mode of getting on base and being a run scorer," Banister said. "Not everybody has the capability of being able to move up and down the lineup to do that. That's a special quality for a special hitter."
Choo always says, and said so again Monday, that he doesn't care where he bats in the lineup as long as he's in the lineup.
However, batting first gives him an extra at-bat and an extra chance to help the team. Even if that extra at-bat comes against Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr. and Gerrit Cole — the Astros foursome that went 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA against the Rangers.
"Maybe it's better to see the top pitchers early, to make it easier when we face other pitchers," said Choo, who had a .364 average and a .417 on-base percentage. "They're at least good enough to be everybody's No. 2 or No. 1 starter."
That's not to say the Rangers felt defeated heading into the series, Banister said, and he knows the Rangers need to score more runs.
The manager and hitters, though, aren't panicking.
"Everybody is relaxed," Andrus said. "We know we've still got a long way to go."
This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Is it time to panic about Rangers' offense?."