Josh Hamilton

A few weeks tardy, but here are my thoughts and analysis on the season that lies ahead. Thus far in the young season, there have been some big surprises. The Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals are a combined 23-11, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets trail their respective divisions. Okay, the Mets' early woes aren't much of a shock.

In professional baseball, knowing how to run the bases is something that is taken for granted.  It is assumed that anyone can figure out how to run around the diamond-shaped path on a baseball field's infield.  

So, when players make mistakes on the basepaths, they stand out more than things like errors, or wild pitches, or other mistakes because everyone watching knows that even they could do that.  Sometimes these base running blunders are laughable, but sometimes they can change the course of baseball history.

July 14, 2008. A night for the history books.

A night for redemption.

This spring, were you one of the many who drafted a top flight pitcher like Adam Wainwright or Zack Greinke, only to have him hit the DL before the season even began? Like always, there are a bunch of high quality players who are out of commission at the moment, and because injuries always happen, most fantasy baseball owners at this point should be looking for injury updates and upgrades. Do you have an injured star on your roster? Want to find out the scoop on him?

It's been a little over a day since Josh Hamilton was injured, and I've had time to think about how his absence in the lineup will affect the Rangers. There is no more "knee-jerk reaction" in this article.

Let's face it. Texas lost its reigning AL MVP after he carried them to the World Series.

Or did they?

There is a lot of talk in the media about Josh Hamilton's latest injury.  For those who somehow missed it today, Hamilton broke a bone in his arm trying to tag up on a foul pop up.  The catcher had left the plate uncovered, and it would take perfect execution to get him out.  It was a foot race to the plate.

The Texas Rangers' impressive offense took a major step backwards Tuesday when reigning American League MVP Josh Hamilton injured his right shoulder sliding into home plate.

Hamilton, who had tripled to reach third base, slid headfirst into home in an attempt to score. Detroit Tigers catcher Victor Martinez made a great play to tag Hamilton out.

The Texas Rangers have a chance to prove something. 

They will be without reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton for six to eight weeks after he broke his upper right arm sliding into home plate in the first inning of Tuesday's loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Fans who follow Josh Hamilton know he is going to get hurt at some time during the season.

No one expected it to be during Game 11 of the young 2011 MLB season.

As I reported earlier in the 5-4 loss to the Tigers, in the second inning, a foul ball was hit and Hamilton was told to head home because no one was covering home plate.

Baseball writers and fans often argued that had New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle been able to stay healthy, he may have been the greatest baseball player to ever play.

Someday, people may argue the same about Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.