Scott Feldman, the Rangers' 2009 pitcher of the year as selected by the BBWAA and a guy that managed to become the club's most reliable starter despite not beginning the season in the rotation, now has his contract signed and is ready to go. He has started his throwing program and he gets prepared for the 2010 season.

Q: Anything different about your approach this offseason as opposed to last?

A: I've pretty much been following my same program and sticking with that. I've been in here every day with a lot of these guys, getting stronger and make sure I'm in position to build up during spring training and be completely ready for the season. There's always things in your mechanics you can do to stay sound. I'm hammering that out. I'm starting to throw changeups and breaking balls, but nothing off the mound yet.

Q: Was there anything from last year in particular that you wanted to work on for 2010?

A: Yes, my breaking ball. It started getting better near the end of the year. But it's going to be an important pitch for me this year. When I can throw that where I want to consistently, that will help me get some more strikeouts and get ahead early in the count. It was just a matter of throwing it more, working on it in the bullpen and getting more comfortable. I've got my cutter, curve ball and changeup that I'm working on too. When I change speeds, sometimes I throw what looks like a slider.

Q: Talk about where your confidence is and I would imagine you go into this season feeling differently than you did in 2009?

A: It's just nice to see that you can actually succeed at this level. But you can't change anything as far as preparing. Everything is the same as far as that. It's nice to gain a little confidence.