Give Murphy an extension, one of the true Rangers I love watching play along with Elvis and Beltre.

I doubt the Rangers extend Murphy. Murphy isn't the type of player you extend, older and limited. He had a very good year for him. I suspect Murphy plays out the string this year and then goes off into FA unless he signs a very friendly deal, which he shouldn't.

I expect that the book on Murphy going into 2012 was the he was a high-ball hitter who murdered two-seam fastballs but couldn't do all that much with anything off-speed; I remember seeing something on the BaseballAnalytics blog to that effect. Like Josh, Murphy saw an abnormally high percentage of pitches tailing low and outside this season (though not a foot off the plate nearly as often), and Murphy adjusted his swing by closing his stance more, straightening his right arm slightly, and leaning a little farther out over the plate. Although BABIP would suggest he was more lucky than good, he was creating a lot of his own luck by taking what pitchers gave him, controlling his swing, and flaring balls thrown away from him out to the opposite field. Unlike Josh, Murphy can keep a defense honest, and that is a huge asset in a league where defensive shifts are growing more common every year. I'm curious to see how pitchers adapt to his new stance and swing and to see to Murph responds. If he has success in 2013 despite having to make another significant adjustment, his offensive versatility would probably warrant an extension, because that kind of versatility helps slow down the effects of aging.