Neftali Feliz nailed down his 23rd save of the season on Sunday — not really close to his 2010 pace when he set a rookie record with 40 saves and earned AL Rookie of the Year honors.
But that's OK, because it seems like Feliz is starting to figure out how to fix whatever has been wrong with him this year, as he's blown six saves already and has 46 strikeouts with 29 walks, which is a really troubling ratio for a closer.
But that ratio has gotten better over the past couple of outings.
It could be because of the 23-year-old closer's conversation with former catcher Bengie Molina in which Molina stressed the importance using his off-speed stuff more and relying on his fastball less. Or it could just be a change of attitude or sort of "improvement through osmosis" as the Rangers acquired two stud relievers at the trade deadline in Baltimore's Koji Uehara and San Diego's Mike Adams.
Remember when Cliff Lee was acquired at midseason last year and it helped change the attitude of the Rangers' starting pitchers? Well, maybe the same thing has happened with Feliz.
If he has in fact turned things for the better (no hits, two walks and five strikeouts in his last four innings of work), the Rangers bullpen instantly becomes one of, if not the best in baseball.
