In the stands last night, I was listening to people bitch about Ron Washington for leaving Scott Feldman in too long.
The problem, though, is that he didn't have much of a choice, and was trying to get as much out of Feldman as he could to try to keep from being backed into a corner today.
Feldman's inability to throw strikes, though, combined with the extra inning game, have created a problem, and the Rangers may have to make a move today to get a fresh arm up.
Wes Littleton won't be available today -- he threw 55 pitches yesterday.
Frankie Francisco probably won't be available today -- he's thrown two nights in a row, and the Rangers have avoided using him three days in a row.
Warner Madrigal and Josh Rupe are iffy -- they threw 48 and 40 pitches, respectively, on Wednesday, and aren't likely to be pushed more than an inning or so if they do come in.
Dustin Nippert is questionable -- he threw over 100 pitches on Monday.
Your pen is likely C.J. Wilson (who threw 30 pitches yesterday), Eddie Guardado (who pitched yesterday and isn't going to go more than an inning in any case), and Jamey Wright (who has gone the last two days).
Nippert, of course, had to throw over 100 pitches on Monday because Luis Mendoza, today's starter, was so awful on Monday. But if Mendoza has another early meltdown tonight, I don't know that the Rangers will be able to do much other than leave him out there and let him take a beating.
The only other option would seem to be to send Wes Littleton down and call up Derek Lee or Elizardo Ramirez or someone like that as an emergency long man.
Except, of course, Lee and Ramirez both pitched last night, meaning neither is available tonight.