Neftali Feliz was one of the best closers in baseball in 2010 as a rookie.
He had some struggles at times last season, but down the stretch he was back to that form in 2011 up until the point he couldn't get one final strike in Game 6 of the World Series.
The Texas Rangers bullpen will take on a different look in 2012 as the Rangers have brought in veteran closer Joe Nathan to replace Feliz in the back of the bullpen as Feliz will make a move to the starting rotation.
There's also a fairly strong chance that Alexi Ogando, despite his stellar debut as a starter in 2011, could move back to the bullpen where he was so effective in 2010 and in this past postseason.
So where do the likes of Nathan, Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, possibly Darren Oliver, possibly Alexi Ogando and company stand in the eyes of the national media?
ESPN's Buster Olney ranked the top bullpens in MLB and the Rangers checked in at No. 10a, ahead of No. 10b Philadelphia and No. 10c Cincinnati.
Being in the top 10 is good, but it's kind of disappointing when you look back at the trade deadline last season when the Rangers acquired Uehara and Adams and seemed to place themselves at the very top of any conversation regarding bullpen rankings. Both of those guys, however, turned out to be disappointments — Uehara moreso than Adams. They'll have a chance at redemption though and if they can pitch like they did before the trade deadline last season, the bullpen will be in business, especially if Ogando moves back to an eighth-inning role and pushes Adams up to the seventh.
