Roy Oswalt's second stint in the state of Texas hasn't gone so well. Once an All-Star and perennial Cy Young candidate with the Houston Astros, Oswalt has failed miserably as a member of the Texas Rangers, so much so that he's been demoted to the bullpen -- much to Oswalt's chagrin.
Over the offseason, Oswalt made two things pretty clear: that he wanted to pitch either for the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, and that he did not want to pitch out of the bullpen.
After a slew of mediocre starts mixed in with three disastrous starts, Oswalt was demoted to the bullpen by manager Ron Washington. As you'd expect, Oswalt doesn't appear to be OK with that.
And that's fine, there's an easy solution for the Rangers: cut Roy Oswalt.
Oswalt reportedly declined to pitch a third inning in relief for the Rangers on Sunday, when the Rangers lost to the Royals in extra innings. Oswalt pitched a spotless seventh and eighth inning, needing just 30 pitches to get through the two frames while striking out four, without allowing a runner.
Certainly, 30 pitches is nothing for somebody that's used to starting, and certainly Oswalt was on.
That he declined to pitch another inning in relief is telling. He doesn't care about what is best for the Texas Rangers, he cares about what is best for Roy Oswalt. Maybe he's injured, in which case, I retract my comments -- but only to an extent. If Oswalt is hurt, he shouldn't be pitching at all, and he's doing both the Rangers and himself a disservice.
Either way, it's clear that Oswalt isn't buying what the Rangers are selling. Oswalt has mostly been a disaster as a member of the Rangers, allowing a staggering 56 hits in 38 and 2/3 innings. The Rangers have other, better pitchers to come out of the bullpen, even in garbage time.
There's no doubt that the Rangers have looked flat lately. Cutting Oswalt could potentially get rid of a clubhouse cloud, and send a message to the other Rangers to get on board with the team being the most important thing, or get out.
Regardless, Oswalt hasn't helped the Rangers, and isn't helping them with his attitude. It's time to cut their losses and move on.