This is an odd analogy, but we're going to make it work here.
When your dog gets too old, is going blind and deaf and has trouble getting around comfortably, the humane thing to do is to put ol' Scrappy out to pasture. It's hard, but deep down, you know it's right.
Watching Shin-Soo Choo play baseball from about May 10 on this season has been pretty much the same thing. It started when Choo rolled his ankle and missed a week before returning to the lineup instead of taking an extended break and hitting the disabled list. Since then, his numbers were putrid.
In fact, on May 10, Choo was hitting .336 with a .471 on-base percentage. In his 92 games since then, 89 of which have been starts, Choo is hitting .213 with a .294 on-base percentage — not why the Rangers gave him a seven-year, $130 million deal this winter in free agency.
That's part of the problem with Choo. By all accounts, he's so concerned with earning his check and satisfying the organization and fans, he was staunchly against going to the DL with his ailing, nagging ankle injury. Recently, he's developed an elbow problem, as well, and now that bone spur is finally doing him in with about 30 games to play.
You have to respect Choo for wanting to earn his keep, which is a really large keep, but a long time ago it was evident he wasn't helping himself or the team by continuing to play. With that said, Choo saw all of his teammates dropping like flies, and probably felt like he could offer more than what the Rangers had to play in his place.
Again, it was respectable, but the fact Choo has finally been shut down is a welcomed sight. It was a long time coming, and long overdue.
