ARLINGTON, Texas -- It hasn't been the Scott Feldman the Rangers expected so far this season. The 2009 version, who won 17 games and became a true road warrior with 12 wins away from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, hasn't had the same movement on his sinker. He hasn't had the same ability to get the key ground ball he needs. He hasn't been able to protect leads.

"I expected to do better than this," Feldman said after Sunday's 5-3 loss in which he gave up five runs for the third consecutive start. "I'm going to keep working hard and try to figure out why things aren't going my way right now."

Things are a struggle for Feldman so far this season. Some numbers:

* Opponents were batting .315 against him coming into Sunday's game, the second-highest mark in the AL.

* He allowed eight hits, putting him at 132. That's now tops in the AL, one ahead of former teammate Kevin Millwood.

* He's given up four or more earned runs in nine of his 12 starts since the beginning of May. He's had just two quality starts in that stretch.

* He's struggling despite a run support average of 6.14, seventh-highest in the AL.

* In his last two starts, Feldman is 0-for-5 in shutdown innings, giving back leads every time.

We know that Colby Lewis, C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hunter are locks in this rotation as the second half begins (barring injuries, of course). But what happens to the other two spots when both Derek Holland and Rich Harden are healthy? (Both are expected back some time shortly after the All-Star break and both are progressing.) Would you leave Omar Beltre in the rotation or send him back to Triple-A for some more seasoning? I would think the Rangers prefer to let him get some more experience in the minors. So Harden or Holland would go in for him. After that, does the other one take Feldman's spot in the rotation? That would put Feldman in the bullpen. Of course, this is all based on internal options. Who knows, maybe a bigger name -- like a Cliff Lee -- gets a spot once the trade deadline comes and goes. We'll just have to see.

Judging by my inbox, many of you are ready to ship Feldman to the pen. That could certainly happen, though not right now with the injury situation.

But remember: This was the club's Opening Day starter. And someone the organization put some money into just before the season began. The contract: $2.425 million this season, $4.4 million in 2011 and $6.5 million in 2012. It's a buyout of $600,000 for 2013 or a salary of $9.25 million.

However, I don't think the terms of the deal will dictate that the Rangers stick with Feldman no matter what. By the same token, they need Feldman to get things figured out. There were some better signs on Sunday. He got 10 ground-ball outs and his sinker had more movement on it than it has much of this season. He still made mistakes and the White Sox made him pay, but he could begin to show more incremental improvement. We'll see in his next start.

But this is also a bottom-line business. Feldman is allowing too many runs (5.51 ERA) and he's not holding leads.

So what would you do if you were Jon Daniels, Ron Washington and the Rangers?

Who is on your rotation behind Lewis, Wilson and Hunter to start the second half? Do you stay patient with Feldman or make a change?