Ian Kinsler may not have made the All-Star Team this year, but he did do something that Dustin Pedroia and Aaron Hill have never done - and probably never will do. For the 2nd time in his short career, Kinsler has had a 20/20 season.Tonight against the Red Sox, he was 1-4 with 1 double (his 20th), 1 run scored, and 1 stolen base. The only other JML to have a 20/20 season is Shawn Green; as a matter of fact, he had 4 of them in a row. One of those was a 30/30 season (35/35 to be exact).
Kinsler will need 8 more HRs and 10 more stolen bases the rest of the way to equal the feat. It's not out of the realm of possibility...
Kevin Youkilis was 1-4 with 1 double (his 24th) and 1 RBI against the Rangers.
Ryan Braun was 1-5 against the Pirates. Speaking of 20/20 seasons, Braun is a guy who is certainly capable of doing it. He had 15 stolen bases in 2007 and 14 last year. He has 9 this season.
Gabe Kapler was 1-3 against the White Sox. Continuing with the 20/20 theme, Kapler got fairly close back in 2001 for the Rangers; he hit 17 HRs and had 23 stolen bases.
Josh Whitesell drew 1 BB in a pinch-hit AB against the Rockies.
John Grabow pitched 1/3 of an inning against the Brewers. He gave up 1 hit and and had 1 K. His ERA is now 3.14.
Ryan Sadowski got roughed up in his 4th career start. He pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up 8 runs on 8 hits, 3 BBs, and 2 Ks against the Braves.
Sam Fuld was sent down to Triple-A Iowa a few days ago. He posted a .981 OPS in 22 plate appearances this year. Ah, the Cubs. A century of front office futility and still going strong.
3 comments:
Agree about the Cubs. Fuld should have been given a shot.
With more than two months to go, I can't see how Kinsler won't get those eight homers and 10 steals he needs for 30/30, barring an injury. He's already had four two-HR games.
Kinsler can be streaky, though. In 2007, he hit 9 HRs in April and only 11 the rest of the season. And he's never played more than 130 games in a season, so staying healthy is an issue, as well as fatigue down the stretch. But I'm with you. I think he'll do it.
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