Rangers can't afford to lose Darvish

The season begins in five days, and the Texas Rangers do not even know who their opening day starter. This should be enough to show that is the worst training the Rangers have had since Jon Daniels became the CEO in 2006 spring.

"It was a disaster. Blaming injuries.

The Rangers announced Tuesday that Yu Darvish is not healthy enough to start the opening day and reliever Neftali Feliz, 2010 Rookie of the Year , will start the season in Triple -A. On Sunday, the club announced the second baseman Jurickson Profar miss 10-12 weeks with a small muscle tear in his shoulder. Catcher Monday, the Rangers have announced Geovany Soto have lost 10 to 12 weeks with a torn meniscus.

Just so you know , Happy is not bad, just can not get hitters these days. In nine spring training games, batters hit .310 against him and his 91 straight hovered motionless . As a relief, his fastball has never averaged less than 96 mph. The Rangers expect Feliz, who returned from Tommy John surgery in September, will use the time in Triple -A to build his arm strength, which will improve your speed and control.

But the news on Darvish trumps everything else - and not just because it is the third day the Rangers have received bad news with respect to a key player. The results of the meeting with the specialist Darvish back to Drew Dossett will have the biggest impact on the season for the Rangers.

Remember that the number of Darvish began Friday, when he awoke with a stiff neck and the Rangers said it was a big problem. Four days later, he flies to Dallas for you to see a specialist in the back.

See how quickly circumstances can change? Darvish was the only pitcher in the rotation without giant question mark next to his name. We have no idea if Martin Perez can match the performance of his rookie year or if the body Tanner Scheppers ' able to withstand the rigors of starting every five days. Remember, Alexi Ogando and Feliz converted relievers. Everyone has had trouble with his arm. And if Robbie Ross wins a spot in the rotation, it will become another reliever rotation.

Daniels is putting a strong public face - even violate the occasional joke - but behind the scenes there to shake my head, wondering which of the baseball gods made him angry."It is what it is," he said. “I can not sugarcoat it.

"We're not the only ones dealing with injuries. We add a bit of a challenge. Did you know that was coming? Simply do not expect it to be anything at this point of the season. "

Darvish is the key to the whole rotation. If he misses a start or two, no big deal. He went 13-9 with a 2.83 ERA and 277 strikeouts in stacked 209 2/3 innings to finish second in the CY Young voting last season. Most importantly, gave the Rangers loot. In the shooting days, the Rangers know their chances of winning increase dramatically. And you never know when you are going to do something special, whether they came within one out of a perfect game or erasing 14 batters, the second, a feat he accomplished five times.

“If we have to go back through the opening day and give it a couple of days is not the end of the world," Daniels said this weekend. “A week later, no one will remember. This is the reality of it. My biggest concern is how we can guarantee this guy makes 32-35 starts? "

There is nothing worse than a total of spring training accidents and contingency plans. This fall , Daniels and the Rangers season spent $ 130 million left defender Shin - Soo Choo, Prince Fielder and acquired his $ 138 million and made some other changes here and there to put together a roster that could end a two-year reign Oakland in the AL West . Well, looks like it will happen this year.

No team never use injuries as an excuse for losing , but a team can only support so many injuries before they affect your ability to win .

The Rangers run of four consecutive 90- win seasons will end this year. At this point, even 85 wins seems uncertain. A third seems likely. Daniels will not agree, and manager Ron Washington to curse out if you talk about the possibility of losing him for the season.

"It's not always the best team that wins is the team that plays the best that day," Washington said. "We still have people in the club that can win ball games for us. We have to come together and celebrate together until we have all our pieces. Let's show on March 31, and begins to play, and when it happens, but I'll get to all the confidence in the world. Hopefully my players to feel that too. "

Okay, but all the confidence in the world no matter if Darvish is out for an extended period of time.