Monday, November 21, 2011

Neftali Feliz's role in starting rotation cemented with signing of Joe Nathan

With the game on the line, Neftali Feliz will never have to stare into the opposing batter's eyes in the ninth inning any longer.

Unless he is going for the complete game.

In case you missed it, the Texas Rangers have quietly signed closer Joe Nathan to a two-year deal. Nathan, who has spent most of his career with the Minnesota Twins, has been a consistent closer. He missed the entire 2010 season with Tommy John surgery. He is the Twins' all time saves leader with 255. While at the old age of 37, Nathan should have a couple of good years left in him.

This means that Feliz will move to the starting rotation, barring any crazy spring training setback. Feliz flirted with the possibility of joining the rotation last season. However, a sub-par performance kept him out of it, paving the way for Alexi Ogando to join the rotation, which worked out well.

Feliz was a starting pitcher for most of his minor league career. When he was called up to the big leagues, it was mainly for relief appearances. He soon found himself in the closer's role, where he started a dominant stretch as the ninth inning guy.

But now, Feliz expects to be in the starting rotation for the 2012 season. I'm sure he will enjoy it, as long as he never has to close out a game again, especially after the Game 6 meltdown in the World Series. Adding that with a slightly disappointing 2011 campaign should allow Feliz to relish the role of a starter. Texas should need it, as CJ Wilson is not expected to re-sign with the Rangers.

But does that mean he will excel when the time comes?

We all know he has the velocity. Feliz regularly threw in the upper 90's, occasionally eclipsing 100 MPH. But what he will need to work on is his off-speed and breaking pitches. Sure, velocity is nice to have, but if you are going to be successful as a starter, you must throw the off-speed with precision. Case in point, Justin Verlander. He's got a cannon for an arm, and a variety of pitches to have a strong repertiore at his disposal. I may be wrong, but that may be why he won both the Cy Young and MVP.

Does Feliz have the ability to be the next Verlander? At this point, I can reply with a hell no. Verlander can get guys out with power and finesse. Most of the time, Feliz has to hope the opposition swings and misses, and when they swing and connect, it is usually trouble. Hash tag Game 6 heartbreak.

Feliz is and will be a work in progress for a while. But being in the starting rotation gives Feliz the chance to begin anew. This should help erase the pain of the blown save in the World Series, and help him have a new goal in mind: To accumulate wins and put the Texas Rangers in the best position possible to win.

That's the starter's creed, and hopefully, Feliz will live by that creed.

All opinions are solely those of Dustin McWilliams. McWilliams is a sports writer at the Denton Record-Chronicle. If you have any questions or feedback, please message McWilliams at dmcwilliams82@gmail.com

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Penn State issue - a truly despicable act in sports

Not much can be said regarding the Penn State sexual abuse scandal, other than negative expletives. It is a heinous act of a terrible man. Not only that, his terrible acts against children were covered up.

The punishment for Jerry Sandusky should be swift, vicious, and powerful. He should never be allowed to set foot in our society ever again. I believe his punishment should be worse than that, but this is a sports blog, not my political opinion.

But what about the highly respected Penn State head coach Joe Paterno? His shine in the coaching spotlight seems to be waning, and it seems his position as coach will be taken from him. But does he deserve more?

Paterno knew about this. Yet, it was never reported. Why? Why the hell was this not reported? It's possible, but not confirmed, that Sandusky had been doing this for far longer than the 90's. But it still went unreported. Ugh, it's sad that Paterno, or any other coach on the athletic staff, didn't say anything about this. The state of the children ranks way higher than the prestige of a college football tradition.

Can you punish an elderly man like Paterno, who has been highly respected throughout the decades? That's the question. I believe the answer is yes, but in the form of monetary contributions to charities. Covering up this situation was wrong and despicable. What Paterno can do in this ordeal is to give back. Help those that have came forth and charities of the like with money. Maybe it isn't the extent of true justice, but prison wouldn't do anything for a man like JoePa, who could pass away the first day of incarceration.

As for Penn State itself, the NCAA will know what to do. Is the dreaded death penalty in order? Doubtful, because this didn't directly correlate to recruiting or cheating. Jerry Sandusky was a man who created a foundation (Second Mile) to prey on young children. That in itself had nothing to do with Nittany Lion football. The fact that it was covered up by the athletic department, however, is the real issue. Can the NCAA punish that? Sure. But I don't know if just taking away scholarships is the right idea. Penn State should contribute to charities as well for their punishment.

Let's hope a controversy like this never happens again.

All opinions are solely those of Dustin McWilliams. McWilliams is a sports writer at the Denton Record-Chronicle. If you have any questions or feedback, please message McWilliams at dmcwilliams82@gmail.com

Monday, November 7, 2011

DeMarco Murray - The True Future of the Cowboys

Boy, it's been a while. Lots of changes to my life. A new living location, a strong commitment to my woman, and a continuous desire to write after a blah period of months.

But it's time to get right back into the saddle of things. Let's talk Cowboys!

Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seattle Seahawks 23-13. Sure, they could have done better. Bad red zone play along with a surprisingly mediocre rush defense, which used to be their strength, was seen on the television. Sure, we can pick apart their flaws. But what mattered most is they won. This isn't the BCS, where a bad win against a bad team will cost you down the road. No, a win is a win in the NFL, and now the Cowboys are 4-4 with a good Buffalo Bills team coming into town next week for a showdown at Jerry World.

And who do we have to thank for this victory over the Seahawks. Well, let's look into the revived Cowboy rushing attack. More specifically, the rise of DeMarco Murray. A spectacular Oklahoma product, Murray has had three straight running games of positive repute. He had another 100 yard rushing game, taking 22 carries for 139 yards against a decent Seahawk defense. He also caught four passes for 47 yards. Has there been a more versatile threat in Cowboy land in a while? I think not.

DeMarco Murray's speed, vision, and intelligence has been on display the past three weeks. His ability to cutback when a hole closes, his tenacity to plow over defenders, and his stout consistency to always fall forward has been vital in the emergence of the Cowboys rushing attack. Sure, plenty of running backs have these abilities, but what makes this so important to the Cowboys in general?

The answer, my friends, is that it makes Tony Romo better. It makes the offensive line better. It even makes the defense better, in the fact that they aren't on the field as much. And I won't deny that Felix Jones is a good player, but he is not as COMPLETE a runner as DeMarco Murray. He's a compliment back, and he should get back into that role once he returns from his high ankle sprain. Murray should start, and he should lead this team to greater things.

Of course, time will tell. It has only been three games. And let's try to forget that Philadelphia game (Murray played great in that game as well, but Dallas was so far behind so early, that they had to abandon the running game just to attempt to get back in it). But there is no doubt in my mind that if Murray shoulders the load at the RB position and stays healthy, this Cowboys team will win. Or at least, stay consistent in one facet of the offense.

All opinions are solely those of Dustin McWilliams. McWilliams is a sports writer at the Denton Record-Chronicle. If you have any questions or feedback, please message McWilliams at dmcwilliams82@gmail.com