When the clock hit 7:08 p.m. Friday and the plate ump pointed to the mound at Globe Life Park, right-hander Doug Fister threw the first of the 3,000 or so pitches he expects to throw this season for the Texas Rangers.
Many fans were expecting to cringe at each one of them, and the same goes for the thousands of pitches left-handers Matt Moore and Mike Minor are planning to throw as well.
With Fister's first delivery (a strike, by the way) the Rangers entered into their biggest area of uncertainty — the three pitchers behind Cole Hamels who are trying to recapture their best days while being counted on to keep the Rangers from sinking to their worst.