Manager Ron Washington recently announced that Ian Kinsler would move into the leadoff role, Elvis Andrus would hit second, and Michael Young would bat sixth.
It came as a little bit of a surprise, given the fact that the Rangers went all the way to the World Series with Andrus hitting leadoff the majority of the year. Andrus, still only 22, hit for a .265 average, sported a .342 on-base percentage, stole 32 bases and scored 88 runs in 2010. Hardly numbers that jump off the page, but for a 22-year-old leadoff guy, they were more than serviceable.
My first thought after hearing about the new order was, if Andrus continues to mature as a hitter, where does his future project in the lineup? I thought it was leadoff, as long as he still has that blazing speed. At 22, he won't be losing his step any time soon. Maybe his several basepath blunders last year were enough to prompt the switch at the top of the order. Perhaps management feels Kinsler is a smarter runner who can still get on base, steal some bags and provide extra power at the same time.
In limited duty last year, Kinsler posted a career high .382 on-base percentage in 103 games. Better than Andrus' .342. OBP. Maybe that's what management looked at. I'm starting to come around to the new lineup, which should look like this on Opening Day 2011:
1. Ian Kinsler
2. Elvis Andrus
3. Josh Hamilton
4. Adrian Beltre
5. Nelson Cruz
6. Michael Young
7. Mitch Moreland
8. Yorvit Torrealba
9. Julio Borbon
• Speaking of Opening Day, I received a package in the mail on Monday that helped me get in spring training mode. The weather is getting better and it's officially March. Time to start thinking baseball again:
MLB.com had a President's Day sale going on last weekend: Buy one item, get an additional item of equal or lesser value at 40 percent off. So I went with a polyester/spandex workout shirt to the right, and a Nolan Ryan throwback powder blue jersey. I shy at the idea of spending big bucks on jerseys because of the contemporary age of free agency and trades. Can't go wrong with a jersey of the Rangers president, though. And it was $60. Jerseys these days seem to go for $80-100. That's my first actual Rangers jersey, surprisingly enough. I have Kinsler and Hamilton shirt-jerseys, but most of my Rangers gear consists of team shirts.
• The more and more I think about the Rangers' rotation heading into 2011, the more I think Neftali Feliz should start. If he's ready. And if Alexi Ogando is ready to close. Think about how much more dangerous the team was last year with a dominating starter in Cliff Lee. Feliz could be that guy. That's not to say he should immediately jump into the No. 1 slot. I'm just thinking off the top of my head, but what's wrong with a C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Feliz, Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland opening day rotation? It appears Brandon Webb may not be ready for the start of the season. Starting pitching is always top priority. That's why I'm thinking it may be more beneficial to get 6-7 innings from Feliz every fifth day, as opposed to one inning to close out games. Closers seem to be more replaceable than starters. Worth a thought.
• The Rangers have started Cactus League 1-1 with a split against the Royals in Surprise, Ariz. Wish I could be out there at this time of the year. I've taken one trip to spring training — March 2006, when I was in college on spring break. Best trip I ever took. Hopefully, one of these days, I'll get back out there for some spring training action.
• Exactly one month until Opening Day. Let the countdown begin.
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