In an effort to coddle their struggling young starter Kumar Rocker and exact some sort of value out of him, the Rangers employed the rare two-opener strategy yesterday. Not the usual opener who goes the first inning then bring in Rocker, they went with an opener for the first inning, a second opener for the second inning, then Rocker.

The strategy is employed as some sort of training wheels for pitchers who always seem to give up runs in the first inning against the best part of the opposing team’s lineup. Nothing says we don’t believe in you but we are stuck with you in our rotation quite like the opener, or the double opener. 

The strategy backfired. Rather than giving up runs in the first inning, which is his custom, Rocker simply gave up a run in his first inning, which was the third inning, then another in his second inning, which was the game’s fourth inning, and then four more in his third inning, which was the game’s fifth inning.

It’s complicated math, this business of openers. When the first inning isn’t the first inning, and you’re trying to trick your pitcher into not knowing what inning it actually is. 

Since the two-opener strategy failed, maybe the Rangers should experiment with the nine-opener strategy. Have Kumar wink-wink “start” the game in the tenth. It will work, as long as the game doesn’t go into extra innings. 

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