FORT WORTH, Texas — Thanks for asking, and thanks for your concern.
But the answer is no.
I will not “move on” from Game 6, and will not accept the many offers of an intervention. I’d rather suffer than forget.
But for those who claim that a week later they are now at peace, for those who claim that 2012 has become the only priority….
More importantly, the Rangers do hope that young Neftali Feliz can move on. Or even Nelson Cruz, who did not — and this has been a ridiculous charge against Nellie — “Buckner” that line drive in right field.
He should have caught it, yes. But that ball wasn’t exactly an infield dribbler between the legs. When you’ve come as far as Nellie — given up on by four organizations, including once by the Rangers — no one should question the mental toughness.
Cruz will be fine.
But Feliz? For all the national and local second-guessing on why Ron Washington and Mike Maddux didn’t run Nefty back to the mound in the 10th inning of Game 6, the answer comes from those in the dugout.
And only those in the dugout saw Feliz’s demeanor and the look in his eyes as he trudged off the mound following the disastrous blown save in the bottom of the ninth.
“The kid had totally unraveled mentally after that inning,” said one guy. “There was no way he was ready to pitch again. If you saw him, you knew that. If you weren’t in the dugout to see that, you shouldn’t even be commenting.”
I separately talked to four members of the Rangers who were in the dugout. They all said the same thing, and none of those four was named Washington or Maddux.
Is Feliz mentally tough enough at age 22 to be directly involved in the biggest World Series disaster of all time, and bounce back?
That answer is still to come.
But a week after the infamous Game 6 Gag, it’s really not Cruz, nor Feliz, nor Darren Oliver, nor Michael Young, with his two misplays at first base, who stir the pot of discontent at the mere mention of a name.
It’s C.J. Wilson, who was never on the mound that Game 6 night in St. Louis.
The second-guessers aim heavily at Washington, most of that second-guessing being of the stupid variety, but if you want to stir up anger, nothing comes close to the mention of Wilson and his free agency the Rangers have to deal with over the next couple of months.
By my estimate, Wilson is suddenly the second most polarizing member of the local jock kingdom community. Second only to Tony Romo. It’s been suggested Dez Bryant might nose out Wilson for second place, and, admittedly, that’s a valid debate.
Regardless, the opinion from here:
Don’t hate on C.J.
Next up, all the e-mails of disagreement this morning, and probably a few mentions of that rip job from this space after the ball hit the third base bag in Detroit, and Wilson’s meltdown that followed.
OK, I hated on C.J. that game.
But if you want to look ahead, you have to first look past Wilson’s dismal postseason performance, and even the obvious truth he’s not a true No. 1 starting pitcher, or maybe even a No. 2.
Yet the schedule never changes. There will be 162 games to be played in 2012, and a team has to have success over the course of the season, and a team has to have a pitcher who can be successful over 30-plus starts before you can even contend for a postseason berth.
In Arlington, of course, there are other factors to consider. Can a pitcher handle the blast furnace of summer? Can he handle the dreaded jet stream?
Not many can, but C.J. can. In the regular season, at least.
Nobody around here should be saying they don’t want C.J. back. The Rangers certainly aren’t saying that.
Will he be back?
No. Or at least, I’d make it 50-to-1 against.
Some team, or teams, will go crazy for Wilson in the free-agency market because some team always does in the baseball wintertime.
Best guess, that team will go at least $80 million crazy.
But the Rangers have their own opinion of Wilson’s worth. Right or wrong, it’s not anywhere near $80 million. Maybe that could change, but I doubt it.
If the Rangers have a $50 million contract in mind, would they go $60 million, or higher? I don’t know what Wilson’s “hometown” discount is, and he’s said on local radio this week he will have a hometown discount, but it’s certainly not $20 mil worth of discount.
It’s not about the club being willing to spend money; it’s about an opinion on market value. The Rangers thought Cliff Lee was worth $125 million, even after he blew it in the World Series a year ago. Shouldn’t C.J. be worth half that, and even if he is, would he even return here for half of Lee’s worth?
No, I now wouldn’t go $80 million, even if in August I wrote that the Rangers should. Then, however, I saw Wilson in the postseason. At the moment, C.J.’s worth will have to be determined by another team or teams.
If the Rangers don’t agree with that worth, then what are the alternatives? Roy Oswalt with his injury issues? Mark Buehrle? Definitely on Buehrle, but how high does that money go? The other alternative would be a major pitching trade, but those are always long-shot possibilities.
The Rangers need Wilson back, even if he’s probably not coming back.
But whatever happens next, there’s no reason to hate on C.J.
Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?&articleid=1378315&format=&page=1&listingType=sco#articleFull
