ARLINGTON – The elder statesman of the Rangers' bullpen might not have to work two jobs again this season, though Eddie Guardado said he won't mind if he has to pitch and teach as much as he did in 2008.

The seven pitchers who will toil in relief to start the 2009 season – which begins Monday – are a different crew this year, even though their faces are largely the same.

"If there's one word we've got to go by, I'd say it's experience," said Guardado, who made his big league debut in 1993. "The situations that we're going to come across during the year, these guys have been there."

Guardado included Scott Feldman and Jason Jennings – starters last season – in that group. Jennings and Feldman, along with Josh Rupe, bring an ability to pitch multiple innings, and a third long man last season would have made a difference for a bullpen that tossed a major league-leading 572 2/3 innings.

"I wouldn't fit into the bullpen if I was as a one-inning guy," Jennings said. "I think it makes us pretty strong. We really don't have any holes."

The long relievers will bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. Guardado, Warner Madrigal and C.J. Wilson will work the late innings, and Frank Francisco will start the season as the closer.

Wilson, the closer last season before being shut down for elbow surgery, had the best spring of any Rangers pitcher, allowing only one unearned run in 8 1/3 innings.

"He's fun to watch, really fun to watch," pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "Extremely talented. He can do things with a ball that most people can't. It'll be nice to have a guy who can douse a fire in the seventh."

Maddux, though, said he won't have a feel for the staff until there's a game that counts. His philosophy – pound the strike zone – is one that Guardado tried to instill last season.

Guardado believes it's the key to a successful year for the bullpen.

"We've got to pound the zone and see what happens," he said. "The guys in that bullpen, I wouldn't be afraid to go to war with. That's how we all have to look at it. "

Rangers end spring with loss: Kris Benson allowed three runs (one earned) in five innings Saturday in his final spring tuneup. But Madrigal gave up another run in relief as Kansas City beat the Rangers, 5-4, in the last exhibition game of the spring.

Marlon Byrd hit a two-run homer in the second inning. Benson said his slider was sharper than it had been all spring and could be a key pitch during the season.

Hicks seeks to reassure fans: Owner Tom Hicks reiterated that fans should have no concerns about the state of the Rangers as he attempts to renegotiate $525 million in loans to Hicks Sports Group.

"I'm prepared to personally give the baseball team everything it needs," he said. "That's all that matters."

Briefly: No. 2 starter Vicente Padilla apparently felt no lingering stiffness in his right forearm, because he didn't talk to trainer Jamie Reed after Friday's game and didn't stop in the training room Saturday morning. He is scheduled to start Wednesday. ... Dustin Nippert (back muscle) is scheduled to throw two innings today in a minor league game in Surprise, Ariz. Willie Eyre (right groin) threw an eight-minute bullpen session Friday. Both are expected to start the season on the disabled list.