David Murphy has reportedly won a full-time job as the Rangersβ left fielder.
On Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported that manager Ron Washington went ahead and put any doubt of the move to bed, saying that he planned on starting Murphy regularly, regardless of whether the opposing starter was a right- or left-hander. Previously, Murphy had primarily been used against righties.
βMurphy is going to get the bulk of [playing time] until he proves me wrong,β Washington said. βIβm going on what he is doing right now. When I went to him and told him I planned to play him against lefties, he was hitting and we were struggling. I wanted to get as much offense as possible in the lineup. Iβm going to put our best guys out there and not worry about matchup stuff.β
Certainly, in the relatively few at-bats heβs seen against southpaws this season, Murphy has proved that the lefty vs. lefty match-ups donβt bother him much: He currently sports a .381 average against left-handers, and is slugging .452.
βI think, more than anything, Iβve been in the league long enough to do know what Iβm capable of,β Murphy said. βI think it was just a matter of using my take a more controlled approach offensively and defensively. And by the grace of God, I have.β
Streaking David Murphy Named Starting Left Fielder
Manager Ron Washington made the move official on Wednesday
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