Verducci on Feliz as Starter

Basically, it’s twice as easy to find a guy to save 30 games as it is to find a frontline starter.

I think that is vastly understating how much more difficult it is to find someone to pitch at that level for 200 innings. Reaching the 30-save plateau just means you had a warm body in the same role for a decent team, not that you had a good closer. Closers do not increase a team’s chance at winning very much. If your closer goes down for some reason, someone else can get 3 outs. But a starter pitching 200 quality innings is much, much more difficult to find.

so much as Feliz showed up looking ready to take advantage of the opportunity.

he didn’t necessarily shine either but it was pretty much the same situation where you just had to read between the lines to know that there was a big push to make Wilson a starter, regardless of what was going to happen

those last inning losses take years off my life.

We also should temper our expectations accordingly with Feliz starting the first year. A #4 starter is all we need out of him, with occasional flashes of greatness and conditioning to develop into an ace over the next several years.

I can completely picture how Reynolds and Williams would talk about such nonsense.

But I would have if I’d spoken on the subject.

You can flog me in their stead if the don’t show up.

I didn’t think it was very likely.

that people not jump to conclusions about his long term future if he was not in the rotation this year. I figured if they re-signed Lee there was no chance Feliz would be in the rotation this year, but still might move there next year.

And would love to be wrong but still think even if he is in the rotation he would be more valuable to the 2011 Rangers as their closer

that the Maddux/Wash/JD/Ryan would pick whoever they were going to pick, and it wasn’t worth getting upset if Feliz stayed in the bullpen or if other pitchers started in AAA.

if he’s talking about Wash’ point of view. It helps to set up his point about how overvalued saves are.

My biggest concern is that we would have to wait until 2013 to see Feliz in the rotation. That it seems more likely than not that Feliz is starting by 2012 is incredibly exciting.

As long as he’s not flat out awful or (knock on wood) 3 bullpen guys don’t get hurt you have to like his chances of making the roto.

Lets say that Feliz and Holland make the rotation out of spring and Bush accepts going to the minors. If Holland is performing at or above replacement level in his first 5 starts and Feliz is performing below replacement level; do you stick with Feliz’s upside or send him down or back to the bullpen in exchange for what Bush will provide? In my opinion, if you are going to make this move, you have to stick with him.