Darren Oliver getting the job done as a setup man for the Texas Rangers
Darren Oliver is turning out to have one of the best seasons with the Texas Rangers. Going up against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, the eighth inning reliever went on to pitch a scoreless inning. The growing set up man was instrumental in the Texans march to victory at Comerica Park. The player remained upbeat, despite the confusion in the reading that depicted an 86 miles per hour fastball pitch, which struck out Alex Avila.
The relief pitcher advocated the radar gun must have been slow that night. In his opinion, the ball was thrown at a speed of either 88 or 89 miles per hour. The hurler explained that it was cold that night, which could mean he was not loose during his eighth inning stint. Nevertheless, Oliver did not deny the reading on the gun entirely but maintained it was slow.
Whether he is slow or not, Oliver is an amazing player in the Rangers’ line up and is succeeding Alexi Ogando well on the setup man position. The player has been a revelation so far and has been giving the club a lot of breathing past.
"Right now, he's the one getting it," manager Ron Washington said. "A lot depends on his availability. If he's available, he'll be there. If he's not, we'll go with somebody else. But Ollie has been good for me in the eighth."
The Texans, however, have an underlying issue of what many players are supposed to do in the bullpen. Stars like Mark Lowe, Pedro Strop, and Mason Tobin have no well defined roles and that is something that usually gets worked out at the end of the first month in the major league season.
"I've got to figure out how to get Lowe, Strop and Tobin in the [mix], so I don't have to use [Darren] O'Day, Ollie and [Arthur] Rhodes every night," Washington said. "It will shake out when I know where Strop, Lowe and Tobin fit. If I don't, Ollie will be in 80 games before the All-Star break."
Nevertheless, with a 9 – 2 start to the season, the manager can take it easy and let everyone in the bullpen work the innings and the role out.
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