An Ian Kinsler breakthrough?
As little confidence as I had in Ian Kinsler all night, I promise you: I thought to myself as he stepped in against R.A. Dickey in the 12th, this could work out very well. As a prospect Kinsler exploded through the Rangers system on the strength of a solid all-around game, with one freakish tool: maybe the fastest hands of any hitter developed by this organization in two decades. With Dickey summoned to face Kinsler, I didn't expect a home run. But I envisioned a single down the left field line that would end the game, bringing Jarrod Saltalamacchia in from second and an entire team out of the dugout. Kinsler hasn't been seeing the ball well, and hasn't been in a mechanical rhythm at all for a long time now. But with a knuckleballer on the hill, he'd have no choice but to adjust his approach, to read the ball, to drill it down to basics. To trust his hands. I thought we were going to get a rope to left, the kind that he collected about two or three times a night in his storybook 2004 with Clinton and Frisco. And I thought it would be the kind of hit, the kind of moment, that might unlock something in Kinsler going forward. We got more than that. And hopefully we're going to start getting a lot more of it. Watch the replay. Watch how quiet the swing mechanics are on the game-winner. He let those plus plus hands do the work. Awesome work by the bullpen tonight (eight shutout innings, two hits, two walks, nine strikeouts), highlighted by C.J. Wilson bringing closer stuff to the mound, Doug Mathis looking very sharp in bridging things from Derek Holland to the back third of the game, and Dustin Nippert digging deep. For what it's worth, neither Willie Eyre nor Warner Madrigal nor Neftali Feliz pitched for Oklahoma City tonight, and it's conceivable that Mathis goes out for one of them to give the bullpen a fresh arm for the Boston opener Monday night. If it's Feliz, it will require not only that Mathis (in all likelihood) be optioned, but also that a spot on the 40-man roster be cleared. Shouldn't be a huge problem – the club certainly has an idea of how that spot will be cleared for Feliz eventually. But don't be surprised if it's Eyre or Madrigal who gets the call for now. And don't be surprised, if my non-sabermetric hunch has any legs, if Kinsler starts to look like Ian Kinsler again. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net