Batting 7th and 8th numbers were better than I expected. Just goes to show you that most of the AL has bad numbers in those 2 positions.
Over the last 3 years, Marwin has an .830 OPS against LHP. (.348 OBP) Over the last 3 years, Valbuena has an .803 OPS against RHP. (.340 OBP) 3rd base is fine if we platoon those 2 and stick to it. Having to play one of them over at 1st base is the issue. I really think we need to go ahead and call up Reed. I really like Marwin as a player, he's as good a utility hand as you could hope for. But as a 1B he is merely a patch job, and simply not good enough. Him and Valbuena would make an awesome 3rd base platoon, and that's all they should be. The unknown is always better than the known when the known isn't good enough, and Marwin doesn't hit RHP enough to be any more than a platoon starter and utility guy.
What needs to be done? Apparently not much. No big trades. No massive influx of minor league prospects. No manager change.
I see people complain about AJ Hinch - but to me, he's been damn good and it's all about his demeanor/calming influence on players. It would have been easy to lose the club this year given the start. You never saw him rattled. He didn't give up on players (no matter how much I wanted him to give up on Gomez - and it sure looks like I was wrong), didn't push for major shakeups - just tinkered with the lineup and kept things positive.
To me, there are the 20% at the top, the 60% in the middle, and the bottom 20% when it comes to managers. Only the the top and bottom ones have a significant affect in the win/loss column. I view Hinch in the 60%.
Don't be blinded by an easy June schedule. We need continued better play and better players... if we even have a shot at catching Rangers. And for WC? Yeah, Red Sox and Royals own those spots right now and I don't believe we are better at the moment.
We went 2-0 against the Cardinals and 3-0 against the Orioles. We took 2 of 3 from Seattle, Cleveland, & White Sox. We played very well against the Red Sox and probably should have gotten out of there with a split or even taking 3 of 4. Only terrible teams we've really played are Cincy and Oakland. This team is good, except when they play the Rangers.
https://medium.com/@InsideEdgeScout/the-little-things-luck-80c8796676cd#.3kdl1dovt According the the link, Rangers lead baseball in lucky/unlucky play differential with +44 Astros are at the bottom with a -68 play differential with the next lowest being -40
I suppose the good thing is the Rangers have no where to go but down, and the Astros up. Would be interesting to see historical data.
