Desert Ball....Wes Littleton
Tracking the Rangers on a daily basis in Spring Training...
The Rangers may have just two openings in the bullpen rather than three. We know Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka are on the team. We know that Ron Mahay and C.J. Wilson have jobs as left-handed setup relievers.
That leaves three spots and manager Ron Washington suggested that Wes Littleton has one of those spots. Or rather, it was his job to lose.
"He's not pitching to win a spot, he's pitching to lose a spot," Washington said.
Littleton pitched in 33 games for the Rangers last year and was 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA. It's the lowest ERA by a reliever in Rangers history.
That would leave just two spots in the bullpen.
I would give Francisco a chance to get one of those spots considering he was lights out in 2005. The last spot is a tough call...feldman or benoit would sound reasonable or one of the candidates for the fifth spot. I would like Rupe as our 5th man, but if one of the veterans can step up, Rupe can be a solid bullpen guy. There seems to be alot of options out there, and I hope it falls into place, and we can finally maximize our potential under Ron Washington's tutelage.
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I would have a darned hard time choosing between Feldman, Rupe, Francisco, and Benoit. Benoit is about as steady as a rocking chair on the San Andreas fault, so with him, you can never be sure. I hope Chen can win the 5th spot and pitch well, because, to me, Rupe was lights out in the spot starter/mop-up/long-relief role. If Chen falters and Rupe wins the 5th spot, we gotta keep Feldman, love to get a healthy Francisco back, and Kameron Loe is great once through the order. Benoit is too much a rollercoster to me to count on or keep. Is Mahay any more reliable? I don't think he is, but I don't know anyone else to fill the spot. Hey Eric Gunderson, are you still pitching?
Either way, this year, Washington will have more options than Buck did, so I hope he uses them to their fullest. I guess it really depends on Gagne, all the way down the pen.
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