Josh Hamilton

After losing four games in a row, Rangers fans are fearing the worst. It's all too familiar of a scenario for a Rangers fan. The trend usually involves the Rangers battling for first place until around the All-Star break, and then a slow and painful collapse ensues.

WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is a statistic often used to determine the value of a player based on their position, offensive production, and defense. Here are the Major League's 10 Most Valuable Players based on the WAR they have produced.

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Spending a week on a cruise ship tends to take you out of the sports loop.

That was my situation last week as I tuned into ESPN in my cabin and caught the hosts of "Baseball Tonight" talking about Texas Ranger's outfielder Josh Hamilton.

I didn't catch the beginning, but what I heard was something like, "If Hamilton didn't get messed up with drugs at the beginning of his career, he might be on his way to the Hall of Fame."

In a recent CNNSI.com column, Tom Verducci posits that Josh Hamilton is now the best player in baseball. The premise for this supposition is laid out nicely in the following passage from Verducci's column:

With the playoff races heating up, and everything starting to take shape, I am here to put in my opinion on who will win each MLB division, who will win each pennant, and who will win the Fall Classic.

The only division in the MLB right now with possibly a clear outlook is the AL West, but anything can happen.

I'll keep it short and sweet, so here we go.

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A very eventful week around the majors. A brawl ensued in the Queen City after Reds 2B Brandon Phillips used some not-so-kind words to describe the rival Cardinals.

The pushing match that landed a seven game suspension for Johnny Cueto and a shouting match between both managers was pretty interesting considering  there are six former Reds on the Cards and five former Cards on the Reds.

As the baseball season nears its end, and the playoff races begin to heat up, everybody is debating about who will make the playoffs and who won't.

Well, I am here to talk about the AL MVP race and who I think will win it.

As of right now, the two main candidates for the AL MVP are obviously Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. They are both having outstanding season for the teams which are both in playoff races.

Alot of people think it's all about the batting statistics that determines the Most Valuable Player, but that is not true.

On December 21, 2007, news broke that Josh Hamilton had been traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.  

At the time, it was a fairly big trade; Hamilton had hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in just 298 ABs for the Reds, while Volquez was a top prospect in the Rangers organization.  Herrera was not a top prospect, but he has gone on to be a solid bullpen arm.  

But we all know what became of Hamilton and Volquez.  

Let's call the American League West for what it is, over. Pull out the white flag, hook it up, and raise it to the top of the flag pole and let it fly proudly.

That's the note that I would write to the front office of both the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It's time for these two teams to call it a season, pack it in, and start planning their off season capabilities.

In the mile-high city, there is an outfielder having the best baseball season you haven't heard about. 

His name is Carlos Gonzalez, and he has been a menace to National League pitching this season.

Carlos Gonzalez, 24, is a tall, lean lefty with a sweet swing. 

Originally from Venezuela, Gonzalez is in his second full year with the Colorado Rockies.  He came to the Rockies in the Winter of 2008 when the Rockies dealt Matt Holliday to the Oakland A's.