In case you missed it last night, The Texas Ranger’s 21-year-old pitcher Neftali Feliz made his debut in the 6th inning of last night’s loss to the Effin’ A’s. Feliz, the organization’s top prospect, according to Baseball America, didn’t disappoint. He pitched two perfect innings, striking out four, and didn’t walk anyone. That line alone would be cause for Ranger-pants to go crazy, but the kid’s velocity was nothing short of unfair. His fastball ranged from 97-101 mph, and he located his breaking stuff pretty well. He has what scouts call “easy velocity,” meaning his throwing motion is effortless. And his demeanor was that of a guy who, to paraphrase the great Tom Landry, had been there before.
Now the A’s aren’t exactly the ’61 Yankees, but they’re still major league hitters who looked lost at the plate, as Feliz whizzed fastball after fastball by them. The only negative about last night’s performance by Feliz is that now the hoards of bandwagoners who haven’t played the game since little-league, and usually can’t be bothered to watch a game, especially now that Cowboy training camp has started, will jump back onto talk radio and sports blogs with their “expert” opinions. Cue the Randy Galloway parrots.
Feliz was also the topic of trade discussions, as the Rangers pursued Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays. I think we can safely put up the pitch-forks and torches, Feliz is here to stay. Repent.
The Rangers sucked then, they suck now, they will suck in the future, because they suck.