Rob Neyer makes the call–David Murphy should play right field tonight for the Rangers, not our boy Vlad:
Is Murphy a great hitter? No. He is adequate. He’s got a career .288/.354/.487 line against right-handed pitchers. Which (again) isn’t great.
It’s not nearly as good as Vladimir Guerrero’s, which shouldn’t be a surprise.
But Guerrero is old. Well, actually he’s middle-aged. It’s his knees that are old. Whichever parts of his body you prefer, he simply isn’t the hitter he once was. Guerrero’s got a .301/.349/.501 line against righties over the past three seasons. Toss in Guerrero’s 35 birthdays (compared to 29 for Murphy), and it’s very, very, very difficult to convincingly argue that Guerrero, right now, is a measurably better hitter than Murphy.
From here on out, I suggest we call him David "Ball Four" Murphy
No doubt Vlad is through as an outfielder. Wow, did he look terrible last night or what?
Hitting involves much more than knee health.
How did Vlad look w/ the bat yesterday?
I hope for RN's sake that he has more convincing arguments beyond three 'very's.
Time to impale Vlad!
He's a better hitter, just not a better fielder.