Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions

1. I'm assuming everyone is at least moderately alarmed by Neftali Feliz's DL-necessitating rotator cuff soreness (a DL assignment which the Rangers, for their part, insist was merely precautionary), so I'll skip to the logical next question: Between Pedro Strop, Darren Oliver, Arthur Rhodes, and Darren O'Day, who do you want to see getting the most save opportunities over the duration of Feliz's absence? Or do you not care, so long as the dugout takes the context of each save chance into account and brings in the pitcher that matches up best with the upcoming hitters?

2. Julio Borbon is in the midst of a 3-for-25 slump and has been parked on the bench since Wednesday, and even though Ron Washington says he'll get Borbon "back in there soon," I have to ask: How much more leash are you willing to extend Borbon? Should he get one more solid month of playing time to give the bat a chance to come around, or should Endy Chavez (.339/.355/.508 at Round Rock) or Craig Gentry (.239/.333/.333 at RR) be summoned forth, or should Texas -- gulp -- keep running David Murphy out there in center field?

3. A gun-to-your-head hypothetical: Let's assume for the sake of argument that the trade deadline is nearing, and the barely-in-first-place Rangers still have issues in center field, a bullpen that's still iffy in the later innings, and now a rotation that only goes five-deep without a reliable No. 6 starter. You can add two of (a) a defensively competent center fielder with slightly below league-average hitting, (b) a legitimate shutdown eighth-inning man, or (c) a No. 4-caliber starter, but not all three. Assume that all three would be free agents after the season. Which two do you take for the stretch run and a possible playoff run?

4. A purely optional question intended for the vast contingent of multi-sport fans around here: Was the Dallas Mavericks' fourth-quarter meltdown yesterday after leading Portland by 23 points the single worst collapse you've ever seen in a post-season game in any sport? And if Dallas doesn't yet salvage this series, is there any way that Rick Carlisle isn't fired immediately?

5. Gaze into your crystal ball, perhaps dream a little bit and answer this question however you see fit: "On August 1st, the Rangers' five-man starting rotation will include __________."