Texas Rangers hitters say trying to do too much is leading to too much futility
With only 60 games ahead of them last month, the Texas Rangers spoke of how their 2020 season was a sprint instead of the usual 162-game marathon and that there was a premium on getting off to a quick start.
No one would be on a long leash. A slow start could result in a loss of playing time to whoever was holding the hot hand.
After their 10th game Wednesday, the Rangers had too many slow-starting players to replace.
One of the problems, particularly on offense, has been the sense of urgency that they brought into the season.
The hitters have been trying to do too much in certain situations, falling into a mindset that takes them out of their normal approach and leads to more outs than winning at-bats. The urgency increases the longer the offense slumps.
It sounds like an excuse, but it’s what the hitters are telling themselves as the losses mount and their postseason chances begin to fade only two weeks into the season.
“Everybody is doing something like, ‘I want to be a hero. I want to do something in this situation,’” veteran Shin-Soo Choo said. “We need to relax a little bit, everybody trust our lineup and trust the next hitters, and then it should be fine. This year is very weird and tough.”
The only hero on offense has been Joey Gallo, though the Oakland A’s slowed his fast start this week in a three-game sweep at Oakland Coliseum. Todd Frazier and Choo have shown some power, but not consistently enough.
Right-hander Lance Lynn has been one of the best pitchers in the American League, Kyle Gibson has been decent in his two starts, and Jonathan Hernandez has emerged as a potential late-inning relief force.
And that’s pretty much the end of the list of productive Rangers players.
Among the unproductive is left-hander Mike Minor, a 2019 All-Star who allowed five runs in five innings in a 6-4 loss Thursday in the finale against the A’s. Second baseman Rougned Odor is off to a slow start for a fourth consecutive season, and he hasn’t played since Saturday.
He might be available as soon as Friday after the tightness in his right oblique improved Wednesday, and the Rangers continue to believe that Odor can be a key cog in their offense.
But he, too, has been a victim of pressing at the plate.
“There was a few games where I saw, maybe a little bit of desperation, trying to do too much, because he saw the way the team was playing and we weren’t hitting and so he was trying to create something out of nothing,” manager Chris Woodward said. “But I think overall his mindset is much better.”
Odor needs to produce, Woodward said, no matter how well he’s feeling mentally. That goes for every Rangers hitter.
“Every guy has to take ownership of this and just scratch and claw and fight any way we can, however ugly it may be,” Woodward said. “Once we get things sorted out and we’re on a little bit of a roll, then it’s a different story.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
