TEMPE, Ariz. _ Shin-Soo Choo played his third game of this spring-training season and _ fantastic news _ The Choo Choo train is still on the track and not on the disabled list.
With Choo, we are conditioned to wait for the other shoe to drop. Or the hamstring to pop. Or the ankle to roll.
On Wednesday, Choo played right field and finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout looking in four innings of a fake game against the California Angels. This is the start of him establishing himself as a player for this franchise or the beginning of his end here.
Hope for the former, prepare for the latter.
Before Wednesday, the last time we saw Choo was Game 1 of the Rangers' ALDS series against the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not play in Games 2 or 3 _ kinda like his teammates.
This is what we need to accept about Choo: He's a wonderful hitter that manager Jeff Banister can't rely on as a consistent member of his lineup. Choo is an injury-prone 34-year-old the Rangers stupidly overpaid for, a guy whose best years were behind him.
Right now he is the team's Opening Day right fielder, but this is only slightly sturdier than Josh Hamilton's knees.
Few guys in this town have been more well-meaning and cursed than The Choo.
I asked Banister what the team can do this spring, if anything, in an effort to preserve their talented hitter.
"We can ask the other pitchers not to hit him on the wrist," Banister said.
At this point why not?
Choo went on the DL for a fourth time last August when he was hit on the wrist by A's reliever Ross Detwiler.
The horrendous seven-year, $130 million contract the Rangers gave him is not his fault, yet history says he will not be here long enough to see the end of the deal with this team. We are blessed with sports owners who will flush guys if they aren't worth it.
Choo is locked in a death battle with former Rangers pitcher Chan Ho Park for The Worst Contract in DFW this century.
Coincidentally, they are both from South Korea. Not coincidentally, they are both represented by Mr. Mephistopheles, who is more commonly referred to by his stage name: Scott Boras.
In three seasons with the Rangers, Choo has appeared in 320 games and batted .258. I don't care what his WAR is _ his numbers ain't good and are not worth it.
The only time the Rangers saw the player they signed was during the second half of the 2015 season, when he was the best hitter in the American League. In that stretch he batted .343 with an on-base percentage of .455, 11 home runs and 44 RBIs. He was a fantasy player's fantasy.
He's a good pro and he cares, but as a Ranger he's been mostly fantasy tease and his deal a GM nightmare. Choo is now an Executive Platinum member of the Rangers Disabled List; he's been on it five times in three years.
Between the cash, the contract and the numbers, his deal is as bad as, or worse than, some of the very worst our town has ever seen.
