With Neftali Feliz's history of injury and velocity problems since Tommy John surgery, you'd think the Texas Rangers and their new manager Jeff Banister would be awfully conscious of that fact and tread very lightly when it comes to Feliz's workload.
Yet, on Sunday, the Rangers sat and watched with one eye covered as Feliz threw nearly 50 pitches in a what they hoped would be a five-out save — crazy in itself — and what ended up being a blown save and a loss.
Here's the thing about Feliz on Sunday, as far as velocity goes, it was through the roof and the best it's been since Feliz's arm surgery. But throwing hard doesn't necessarily mean good, and his command wasn't the best, especially in the ninth inning when he ended up giving up the game-winning RBI single to Nelson Cruz.
Here's the other thing about Feliz, his 47 pitches means he'll almost certainly be out not only for Monday's scheduled day off but also for Tuesday's series opener in Arizona. You have to realize, 47 pitches might be a workload equal to possibly three good outings for the closer.
Who's going to close Tuesday in a save situation? Who knows. Maybe Shawn Tolleson. But more importantly, who's going to close for the long term if Feliz's arm is shot? That's a trickier question.
