Monday Morning Open Thread: Four Questions

1. Almost every meaningful position on the Rangers' Opening Day roster has already been assigned, and while center field figures to remain a fluid situation through at least the first leg of the regular season, the roster battle for what is likely only a single lefty bullpen spot has been whittled down to Michael Kirkman (more experienced and already in possession of a 40-man roster spot, but inconsistent this spring) vs. Robbie Ross (impressive this spring, but not in possession of a 40-man roster spot and just 38 career innings above A-ball). Who is going to grab the spot ... or will both earn the nod, with one of Mark Lowe, Koji Uehara, or Yoshinori Tateyama taking the fall?

2. I've mentioned this enough times this winter that I've lost track of the number of responses, but let's take a stab at it just one more time: With the rekindling of talks between the Rangers and Ian Kinsler's agent on a possible long-term contract extension, how far would you go as of this moment in order to lock him up? (As a reminder, Kinsler's now well below-market deal disburses $7 million this season and $10 million next season, after which he can take his free agency headed into the 2013-14 off-season).

3. How many wins above replacement do you believe each of the Rangers' projected five starting pitchers -- Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, and Neftali Feliz -- will post in 2012? If you're not entirely comfortable with the WAR framework, rank those five pitchers in terms of who you believe will contribute the most value during this coming regular season.

[Here's a useful reference point for the forgetful or the non-sabermetrically obsessed among us: Last season, C.J. Wilson posted 5.9 fWAR, Matt Harrison posted 4.2 fWAR, Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando each posted 3.6 fWAR, and Colby Lewis posted 2.3 fWAR]

4. What one thing is going to happen during the first six weeks of the season -- as far as the Rangers are concerned, that is -- that few to no people are expecting? Let your imagination run wild and unencumbered.