Monday Morning Open Thread: Four Questions

1. Do the recent struggles of the Rangers' starting rotation -- notwithstanding Yu Darvish, or Colby Lewis during yesterday's effort, given that he nearly delivered a shutout -- have you spooked enough to lend any kind of new consideration to that Roy Oswalt idea? Or do you still view Oswalt as the same superfluous/redundant pitcher that didn't figure into the rotation mix before the season, and, despite still being monitored by the Rangers, doesn't figure into the rotation mix now either?

2. In light of all of this hullabaloo that's surrounded Ron Washington over the last week or two, I wanted to throw this question out there for the masses. Using a basic 1-10 scale, where 1 is significantly below average (bad), 10 is significantly above average (good), and 5 is roughly league average relative to all other major league managers, assign grades between 1-10 for Ron Washington in these three areas:

In-game management (lineups, pitching changes *, defensive subs, pinch hits, etc.)
Out-of-game management (clubhouse chemistry, maximizing his players' production, etc.)
Overall (combining any and all relevant factors in the objective evaluation of a manager)

[* On the basis of several past published reports, I'm going to continue to argue that Mike Maddux is primarily responsible for the management of the bullpen, and not Washington. Many, though, are of the belief that Washington is still ultimately accountable for what goes right and what goes awry as far as in-game bullpen movements, so just be aware that there's more than one way to look at this.]

That's three different grades, all of which are relative to what you believe a league-average manager is capable of doing from a management standpoint. So, in other words, if you think Washington is a terrible tactician but an inspirational leader of men, those first two grades are going to be quite disparate in nature -- and the third grade comes down to, well, your gut.

3. Let's say that you could have either of Yu Darvish or Felix Hernandez from 2012-16 at a standardized salary -- call it $10 million per year. In other words, you could have either one at the same salary over the same period. Hernandez just turned 26 last month; Darvish doesn't turn 26 until August. Which pitcher would you take over that 2012-16 window, and why?

4. Finish this open-ended sentence however you see fit: "On June 15th, ________ will be ________.