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Will the real Derek Holland please step forward? And, will the real Derek Holland please be the one who dominated last night? Those questions and others remain unanswered after last nights complete game shutout against the A’s, but I think we have a better idea of the consistency of Derek Holland. He has none. Holland is an extreme talent who, in my humble opinion, got called up to the majors too early in his career. And when a pitcher gets called up too early, this is the sort of thing that is going to happen to him. Derek has shown moments of pure brilliance, and then he has been pulled in the 1st inning. He has also been great out of the pen, but, also terrible out of the pen. So what should the Rangers do with this young man? I am of the opinion (an remember, this is just my opinion) that the Rangers should keep doing the same thing with him. The Rangers are still in 1st place, and most likely will be at the all star break, and Holland has a winning record (in case you forgot, his record is 7-4, and his ERA is 4.68). If the Rangers offense can produce on a regular basis, Holland can become an ace in a rather short amount of time. I know it is hard for people to remember, but Cliff Lee was sent back to the minors the season before he won the Cy Young. He was older than Derek Holland is right now when that happened. Does Derek need to get better? Yes. Does Derek need to be more consistent? Yes. Does Derek have concentration problems sometimes? Yes. Should the Rangers keep him in the starting rotation. Absolutely. Guys like Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando and even Matt Harrison to an extent are the future of this franchise. They need to be given as many chances as it takes to get it right, as long as it is not killing the Rangers playoff chances. If the Rangers drop to second or third, I say then it is time to re-evaluate. But for now, I say its Holland time. Agree? Disagree? Let me know and thanks for reading.
