The Rangers spent seven weeks in the desert trying to figure out the composition of their bullpen and didn’t come to any conclusions until the final days when they decided that both Jason Jennings and Scott Feldman belonged in middle relief. The crucial back end of their bullpen never caused such concerns. The Rangers went into Spring Training with Frank Francisco as their closer and C.J. Wilson as their primary setup reliever and that never changed. The Rangers left Arizona feeling good about both. The head-to-head competition for the closer’s role never really took hold but the Rangers like what they see in the spring from the back of the bullpen. “I’m very happy with what I saw from them,” manager Ron Washington said. The Rangers need both. In an era in which starters are commended for going six innings, teams need more than one effective reliever at the back end of a game. Last year’s A.L. playoff teams showed that. Francisco led Rangers relievers with a 3.13 ERA last year. The Angels won the division with four pitchers with a lower ERA than that: Jose Arrendondo, Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields and Darren Oliver. The Rays and the Red Sox — 1-2 in the A.L. East — had three each with a better ERA than Francisco. The White Sox, winners of the Central, had two. It’s still an intriguing situation. Francisco has the job because of what he did at the end of last season. He took over as closer when Eddie Guardado was traded to the Twins on Aug 25 and was 5-for-5 in save opportunities down the stretch while not allowing an earned run in his last 11 innings. The Rangers saw enough where they did not consider other options for the closer this winter. He is the closer and on an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. This will be the first time he has ever run to the foul line with a Major League team on Opening Day. “It means a lot,” Francisco said. “It’s what I’ve been working for the past four years. I’m going to go out, do my best, give it 100 percent and see what happens.” Francisco has gone through much since being the Rangers Rookie of the Year in 2004 when he was 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA. Back then he threw hard and had a great split-finger fastball. Then came both Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and he lost much of the effectiveness of his split. He missed almost two years because of the surgery and took even longer to regain the feel of his split. He doesn’t throw quite as hard but he has better command, the split is back and he finally has an effective breaking ball pitcher. He is a three-pitch pitcher now. The Rangers have also pushed him hard to learn to field his position and control the running game. Both have been weak points. “This guy is willing to learn,” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “That’s the big thing. He’s got a little mound moxie. He has more than good stuff and throws hard. He has pitchability.” Wilson has always had three or more pitches in his arsenal. He just needs health and command. He had the closer’s job last year but the elbow was bothering him from spring training. He had a 6.02 ERA and was averaging 5.2 walks per nine innings before he finally had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips and a bone spur in August. Any concerns about him this spring were dispelled quickly. Despite a blister problem in the middle, Wilson breezed through the spring, almost without working up a sweat. He made eight appearances, did not allow an earned run, gave up two hits and three walks and struck out eight. “I think it’s pretty obvious,” Wilson said. “When I’m healthy and not healthy, there’s a big difference. I wish I could perform at a high level all the time but obviously I have to be healthy to pitch well. You can’t have a monkey wrench in the works and expect it to work. Obviously the result speaks for itself.”  His 2008 season ended on a sour note. He was widely criticized for flipping the ball to Washington when he was taken out in the last game he pitched. There was some unknown about his future role on the team.  It’s clear this spring as the Rangers go into the season that he will be counted on as an integral member of the bullpen. Has last season been forgotten? No. But the Rangers will rely on him heavily this season. “He’s fun to watch,” said Maddux, who kept an open mind with all his pitchers. “He’s real fun to watch. He’s extremely talented. He can do things with a ball that other can’t and has pretty good command.” Wilson still wants to close again. Or start. Neither will happen anytime soon. He also knows that’s not going to happen if he doesn’t handle the role assigned to him this season, which is basically the seventh and eighth innings. “I don’t know what kind of person I would be if I didn’t want to close or start,” Wilson said. “If you want to be able to pitch in the seventh, you have to want to be a closer. It’s still a competitive environment. The seventh and eighth innings are vital.”  The Rangers figured that out last year. They lost 14 games despite having a lead after six innings. Only two were lost in the ninth inning. “The game can be lost in any inning,” Maddux said. “You need to have somebody douse the fire in the seventh or eighth so you can get to the closer.”