After Thursday's 3-0 victory over Boston, the Rangers announced the promotion of Justin Smoak from Triple-A Oklahoma City. As a result, first baseman Chris Davis will be sent down to the minors.
I like it.
Look, what's the worst that can happen? At age 24, it's not too early to bring Smoak to Arlington. Plus, Davis was hitting .188 with no home runs, one RBI and 17 strikeouts. It's not like we were getting any offensive production from that spot.
I realize Davis is well above average defensively, but Smoak is supposed to be gifted in that area as well.
What this offense needs is some spark. Some pop. Anything. Maybe bringing Smoak up will inject some life into the offense. Maybe Julio Borbon will wake up a bit in the 9 spot. Perhaps Ian Kinsler's return will bolster the lineup a bit. Getting Jarrod Saltalamacchia back will be a big upgrade offensively over Taylor Teagarden, who can't hit anything right now. Matt Treanor deserves to stay on as a backup catcher.
When everyone returns, the lineup could look like this:
1. Andrus
2. Young
3. Hamilton
4. Guerrero
5. Cruz
6. Kinsler
7. Smoak
8. Saltalamacchia
9. Borbon
Not nearly as many holes as in previous weeks. At least that's the hope.
I also like the idea that Smoak is a switch hitter. I felt like every time Davis stepped to the plate against a lefty, it was an automatic out. I felt like every time Teagarden steps to the plate, it's an automatic out. In fact, he's now 0-for-22 on the season, so that's literally true.
Thursday night's victory in Boston salvaged a miserable road trip. The Red Sox don't appear to be a solid team this year, and we quite honestly could have swept them.
6-9 isn't the end of the world. C.J. Wilson looked terrific. The bullpen pitched better. We must continue getting quality starts. The last thing I want right now is a worn out bullpen from a group that isn't spectacular to begin with.
We begin a four-game series Friday against Detroit, and avoid Justin Verlander during that stretch.
Let's make something happen.
If nothing else, Smoak is going to give us a lot more quality at-bats. This offense is still stuck in the same rut they got caught in during the second half last year. Offense, good and bad, is contagious, and I agree that Smoak will be a spark.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really want to see is a team that isn't so clueless against lefties. Right now they look like a little league team seeing a left-handed pitcher for the first time.