T.R. Sullivan has a new Inbox column up, and there's some interesting items in there...
The first three questions all deal with the possibility of the Rangers trading for a pitcher, be it Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, or Ryan Dempster (with Dempster, I think, being irrelevant because I can't imagine why the Rangers would trade for him). Sullivan's take, interestingly enough, is that a healthy Neftali Feliz could end up 1) forcing Roy Oswalt out of the rotation by month's end, and 2) "being as dominating as any pitcher the Rangers acquire from the outside."
I've just assumed that Oswalt's spot is safe, barring a trade for Hamels or Greinke, and that Feliz will be going to the bullpen once he returns...but if Sullivan is right, and Oswalt's spot is in danger if he doesn't pitch better in his next three starts, then...well, I don't know what, then. I'd be really interested in seeing how that plays out, though, given that 1) Oswalt is Nolan Ryan's guy, to the point that Ryan personally handled the contract negotiations and signing, and 2) Feliz to the rotation was, supposedly, not something Ryan was all that fired up about.
This column also includes the greatest question ever run in the Inbox column:
Why do our batters just let the good balls go by and strike at the outside-the-box balls? Like Ian Kinsler, Mike Napoli, and a few others, that's the reason why we can't win a lot of the games. Do they ever check out the ballplayers on other teams? They need to practice hitting the balls, most of them are the first pitch.
-- Ruth S., Cedar Hill, Texas
I'm betting Ruth in Cedar Hill has sent Tom Grieve cookies.