Washington Not Concerned About Kinsler's Baserunning Gaffes

Rangers’ second baseman Ian Kinsler has seen his share of struggles on the basepath this season, but Manager Ron Washington isn’t planning on doing anything drastic, which could alter the way the Texas leadoff man approaches baserunning.

That said, it has gotten pretty bad for Kinsler in this department. After being picked off one time each in games on Monday and Tuesday, Kinsler’s been picked off five (count ‘em, five) times this season, which puts him in a tie with Otis Nixon for the dubious record for most times picked off in a single Rangers’ season. Nixon did it back in 1995.

“The one [Tuesday] was a mental mistake,” Washington said, per the Dallas Morning News. “Yesterday, he saw something, thought he had read something and was going. That’s part of his game. The pitcher just held the ball longer than he had in the first three times. You steal bases based on reads. Sometimes you are right, sometimes you aren’t.”

Kinsler was in no mood to elaborate on the issue this week. He responded to a question of whether anything could be done to ensure his baserunning improved down the stretch, Kinsler simply said, “No.”