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The chief concern among questions submitted to the Rangers’ Mailbag this week involved the durability and affordability of right-hander Kevin Millwood.
He’s still considered the staff ace, even by Scott Feldman, but Millwood’s numbers have declined since the All-Star break. That shouldn’t come as a total shock after a terrific start to the season, and none of the other four starters have the same ability as Millwood to get outs without their best stuff.He’s not logging the same number of innings, but his innings total keeps growing and appears almost certain to hit the magic number of 180. He’ll get there with eight more innings, so probably two starts, at which point his $12 million contract for next year automatically kicks in.That’s a hit owner Tom Hicks would rather avoid, and there are probably some in the organization who would like to use that Millwood money elsewhere for next season.Bob from Plano believes the Rangers have more pressing needs than Millwood and wants to know if the Rangers can do anything to keep him from 180.“What are the Rangers’ options here?” Bob wrote. “Any chance they disable or shut Millwood down for the year to ensure he doesn’t earn that $12 million payoff? Has Millwood been checked out by the Rangers medical staff lately?”Sure, the Rangers could send him to the bullpen or take him out of their pitching plans. That would go over like a lead balloon in the clubhouse and probably wouldn’t be very well-received by the players’ association, which would almost certainly speak up.Millwood stands as the Rangers’ most playoff-seasoned pitcher, and though it’s been a while since he toiled for Atlanta in the postseason, he knows what it takes in October and how to get there.Even with the strides made this season by the young starting pitchers, they still have much to learn. The Rangers needed a veteran to lead the staff in 2010, and Millwood is a good fit.The thought here is that Millwood reaching 180 innings is a good thing. That should happen Wednesday against Oakland.My question is pretty simple this time: Do you truly trust Ron Washington, and if you do, what specifically has he done to earn that trust? — Patrick, Haltom CityPatrick, a regular to the Mailbag and quite the Rangers fan, offered the chance to chop down the essay he filed, and it has been. The gist, though, was he doesn’t believe Washington can handle a pitching staff and can’t put together a lineup. Other than that, it seems Washington is just fine in Patrick’s eyes.Here’s the deal, which has been repeated in previous editions of the Mailbag: Washington doesn’t act alone. He listens to his coaches and doesn’t make pitching decisions without first consulting pitching coach Mike Maddux. That includes game situations.As for the lineup, Washington communicates with his players to see if they are able to go. Just because a player is in the lineup every day, like Marlon Byrd, doesn’t mean he is 100 percent healthy. Others aren’t always available when needed. It’s a good thing ice is free, because neither Tom Hicks or any other owner would want to flip the bill for the amount of ice the Rangers go through each day to take care of aches, pains and swollen parts.
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