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Ian Kinsler had himself a bad day yesterday, and in my mind he totally deserves it.
You only have to have a few smarts in your brain to realize that something wasn’t right in Texas for the last few years in how that team handled the Nolan Ryan situation – and some treatment of some of the departing players.
Kinsler was interviewed by a reporter and spoke that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is a “sleazeball” – and that he was wrong in the treatment in Michael Young and also in the handling of his own affairs, citing the request for a position trade, and the eventual trade to Detroit that happened over this past winter.
Okay, blasting Daniels is not very wise to do this to begin with, but you can almost understand that theory, because other players have left the franchise recently with much aghast.
Ian Kinsler was Drafted in 2003 by the Texas Rangers – and saw parts of 8 years with the franchise before being traded for Prince Fielder this offseason. The 31 Year Old sounded off recently about being disrespected by the Rangers GM Jon Daniels. There are about 28 other teams who would have gladly pulled off the deal to acquire Fielder just the same. The Second Baseman also made selfish comments that put him a negative light that were totally unnecessary and self inflicted. All he had to do was say nothing. Instead he has angered the Rangers fanbase, provided bulletin board material for his former club, and all he should be thinking about is how to make his new team better. While Daniels may be proven to some of the allegations alleged by Kinsler, how does coming forward with this info help him or his new Tigers teammates?
He took it to far though.. Kinsler then wished his old teammates would go 0 – 162 in the current season. Seriously man?
You have just provided bulletin boar material for every contest the Rangers will play the Tigers as long as he resides in a Detroit jersey..
The former Rangers player in not helping the cause with his brethren in Motown either.
This also goes for Robinson Cano, and any other guy who is taking shots at their previous or current team, “keep your mouth shut.”
The last comment I accentuated about Cano, is much like what Robert Deniro says in the movie ‘Goodfellas’ to Ray Liotta. The same could be said for the Tigers new 2B… But I digress.
Back to Kinsler, furthermore he blamed the Rangers brass for asking him to move to 1B from 2B to make room for Jurickson Profar. (note the Rangers only asked him to move, and when he rejected, they backed off).
In addition, Kinsler was perturbed by the team asking him to take on a leadership role after Michael Young left in December of 2012.
The man originally from Tucson, AZ also explained that players have to earn their position on the field, yet Profar was the #1 rated prospect in baseball last year, and the request was definitely not unwarranted.
This guy is something. As a veteran on a contending team, how about you listen to how the Boston Red Sox go about their business with their older players like David Ross and David Ortiz.
The XM Radio interviews these man provided in the last 24 hours, have shown a huge reason why the Boston Red Sox were able to win the World Series Title last year,
The skinny of the interviews were: these are players that made road trips with Boston last season, even though they were hurt at times, just to be there to field and answer questions from the younger players.
Winning ball clubs make any sacrifices necessary for the good of the team, are available for the young guys in mentoring.
Sure you can win without older players taking young guys under their tutelage, but it makes for a smoother path when you have someone to show you the ropes.
To quote Kinsler ” I was only worried about my performance.” Again, a clear case the Texas franchise did the right thing to trade the disgruntled 9 year RHB.
These are words from an extremely jealous dude.
If anything, Kinsler should have adhered to the lead from Nolan Ryan taking the ‘high road’ when he had every ample opportunity to lay down the thunder on Jon Daniels on his way out of Texas.
Way to go man. You have pissed off the fanbase that cheered for you during the last 8 years. They will boo you harshly every chance they can for the rest of your career.
You have turned up the radar for Detroit’s inner circle of media and fans alike. You are now a conversation piece around the city and nation, so a slow start will be amplified.
I never thought someone would be not liked as much as Josh Hamilton in Arlington, TX, but you have made the grade.
To recap this, Kinsler just should have pleaded the 5th on the whole thing. Give a generic answer, do not add fuel to the fire, and let this thing die. Instead, Texas will be amped up to play him every single time they meet.
Just for the record, the Rangers should look pretty awesome for the Prince Fielder/Ian Kinsler trade after a few seasons are complete.
While Kinsler may be mad that he was booted out of Texas, he should at least be thankful he was jettisoned to a franchise that is nowhere close to the World Series title like Detroit is.
This all adds up to sour grapes from a former player. Even if he is telling the truth in all facets, sometimes it is just wiser to say nothing at all.
For the record, trading Michael Young was the right move – as he is retired because the game has past him by. Letting Josh Hamilton walk for the 5 YRs/$133 MIL he signed with the Angels would have crippled Texas.
Lets us also point out that the Rangers have accumulated 370 wins over the last 4 seasons, and made the Fall Classic in both the 2010 and 2011 campaigns.
Even in the last few years (2012 – 2013), the team has won 90+ games two years in a row.
The last several players the Rangers have invested in have panned out, like Yu Darvish, Adrian Beltre, in contrast letting Hamilton walk was swift, and not overpaying for C.J. Wilson also had helped the team bring in other players for financial reasons.
The team also acquired Shin-Soo Choo in Free Agency, and pulled off the trade for Prince Fielder with the aforementioned Kinsler.
Many experts predict the Rangers to be the AL West Winners again.
Kinsler should be more worried about how he is going to fare in Detroit. That team is expected to win the World Series, and a great season from him could certainly help out a lot.
Talk about your own team buddy. You are going to be compared to Fielder whether you like or not from this point forward. Maybe you should go back to worrying about your own skills again.
Ian Kinsler joining the Detroit Tigers is going to have a huge impact on their season in either direction. With his comments harboring a negative scope about his presence, the spotlight will burn hotter on the new Tigers Infielder. Kinsler has a career OPS of .804, although he has put up seasons of only .749 and .757 respectively. His career 3 slash is ,273/.349/.454 and averages about 26 SB. It will be hard for him to duplicate these numbers with 81 games at Comerica Park this campaign.
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A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Chief Writer‘ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured article. Hunter is a Baseball Writer for MLB reports.
Hunter grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia and played baseball with Sheldon Bream (Sid Bream‘s son) at Liberty University in the NCAA.
His favorite player is Brian Wilson (how could you guess?), and he hates when people can’t think outside the box!
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Tagged: adrian beltre, boston red sox, c.j. wilson, david ortiz, david ross, detroit tigers, ian kinsler, jon daniels, josh hamilton, jurickson profar, michael young, nelson cruz, nolan ryan, prince fielder, robinson cano, shin-soo choo, texas rangers, the ballpark in arlington, yu darvish
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