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Texas Rangers
Did any of you have Josh Hamilton on your fantasy teams last night? Congratulations -- you can take the rest of the week off. No need to worry about matchups or injuries or any of that. Hamilton gave you (and the Rangers) a week's worth of production with a four-homer game in Baltimore on Tuesday night. Hamilton is the first American League player to go 5-for-5 with four home runs in a game, and the first to total 18 bases in one contest. He actually came close to hitting five homers, but he narrowly missed a hanging curveball in his third at-bat. That would have been unprecedented -- no major leaguer has reached the five-homer plateau in a game.
Hamilton the MVP?
Hamilton is leading in all kinds of offensive categories. Hilariously, he has more home runs this season (14) than the entire San Diego Padres roster (12).
Home run total?
Hamilton's career high in home runs is 32; he did that in 2008 and 2010. Right now, he's almost halfway there ... and May has just started.
Hamilton or Humber?
Four-homer games are slightly rarer than perfect games, although there's no doubt that a perfecto carries with it a significantly higher element of tension.
Stay in Texas?
Hamilton seems to enjoy it in Texas, but he's a free agent after this season, and bidding for his services will likely be fierce.
In just his fifth multi-homer game, Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in one outing. It's the first four-home-run game baseball has seen since 2003. Who are the other 15 men to have hit a quartet of homers in a single game? Take our quiz now!
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Seeing as they're all major league hitters, the Mariners can be expected to score runs in bunches from time to time. Just not all that often, and certainly not in the debut of the Rangers' marquee offseason pitching acquisition. Yu Darvish struggled mightily in his first start in the majors, giving up four runs in the first inning to an anemic Seattle offense, but he settled down later on, which could suggest that it was just nerves. Can Darvish handle MLB?
A worrisome sign?
The Rangers expected Darvish to be an ace, but aces aren't in the habit of putting their teams behind four runs in the first inning.
Darvish's future?
Darvish's adjustment period could have ended after that disastrous first inning, or it could never truly end. We'll have to wait and see in his next few starts.
Tigers or Rangers?
Both the Rangers and Tigers have been winning big in the opening stages of the season.
Opening Day -- well, Opening Night, really, and we technically already had one of those in Japan, but who's counting? -- is finally here, as the Cardinals will take on the Marlins tonight in the first stateside regular-season MLB game. It's bound to be an exciting season with so many players having changed teams, but has the power structure been altered significantly?
Vote: Pick each division and pennant, and the winner of the World Series
Rank: Baseball's best teams? | Top players in the game?
World Series repeat?
The Cardinals prevailed over the Rangers in the 2011 World Series, but St. Louis lost its biggest gun this past offseason ...
Best player?
... which is a pretty big loss, considering he might be one of the best players of all time.
Odd one out?
The Red Sox missed the playoffs last season after an epic September collapse. Will they be on the outside looking in once again?
AL's best?
Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols were probably the two biggest additions to teams in the American League, meaning the balance of power could shift.
NL's best?
Likewise, the addition of Jose Reyes to the Marlins could give the team a huge upgrade -- offensively with new third baseman Hanley Ramirez, and defensively at shortstop.
C.J. Wilson tweeted Mike Napoli's phone number, and Napoli's not happy about it. Was Wilson's prank harmless or out of line?
- carloshobbs: "Way too serious Rangers fans! Wow! Let it go and just let them take care of it when they face each other."
- Pylon Phaneuf: "who cares, Napoli is a millionaire. Just buy a new phone."
- PS_28: "Wilson has secured his place as the next Barry Zito. The baseball gods usually keep to the diamond but even they do not approve of this level of off the field lameness."
- CheckPlease7777: "Good job, CJ! I thought it was funny and Napoli just acting like a baby. (please don't apologize)"
- CompDiddy: "CJ will play great all year for them since they won't make the playoffs. He should stick to what he does best; brag about irrelevant nonsense, quote samurai proverbs, and race go carts."
- Clark_and_Addison99: "Wilson's "joke" is a text book example of using poor judgement. I hope Napoli can light Wilson up at the plate this season. "
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Can Hamilton bounce back?
Josh Hamilton's continuing recovery from drug and alcohol abuse took a wrong turn recently, as the Rangers outfielder had a relapse earlier this month. Hamilton says he's undergoing a personal makeover, but will this incident affect his play?
Who's the best hitter on the Rangers?
Hamilton has had some exceptional years at the plate despite his extended career interruption, but the Rangers have built a murderers' row around him -- Nelson Cruz, Adrian Beltre, and others. Is he still the top dog?
Will Texas be back in contention?
The Rangers added Yu Darvish to replace C.J. Wilson, along with moving Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation. Will this be enough to send them back to the Fall Classic?
Darvish's future?
The Texas Rangers signed Yu Darvish shortly before the 4 p.m. CT deadline, meaning he'll be in a Rangers uniform and pitching in the States to start this season.
Best in the West?
The Rangers may have needed to sign Darvish just to keep up with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who signed Albert Pujols in the offseason ...
Wilson or Darvish?
... and also stole ace C.J. Wilson from Texas. Wilson is a proven commodity in the majors, but Darvish's potential is thought to be nearly limitless.
Power struggle?
The AL East has been the home of baseball's model franchises over the past decade, but the Pujols and Wilson deals, plus the Darvish signing, could signal a changing of the guard.
Darvish or Dice-K?
The Rangers have won the right to negotiate with Japanese phenom Yu Darvish, posting the highest bid out of several teams. He's not the first ace to go through this process, but will his career exceed that of Daisuke Matsuzaka?
Position players or pitchers?
More and more Japanese players are choosing to sign with MLB teams, which means that not every player who comes over is up to the caliber of an Ichiro Suzuki.
Big-market Rangers?
The Rangers have showed themselves to be major hot stove players with their pursuit of Darvish. Are they one of MLB's marquee teams?
Will Darvish sign?
Of course, it all could be for naught -- if Darvish doesn't sign with the Rangers, he'll be back in Japan next season, likely ready to try again in a year or so.
From the ridiculous (bullpen phones) to the sublime (a pair of last-strike rallies followed by a game-winning home run in Game 6), this World Series has all the ingredients for greatness. We'll let the Rangers and Cardinals play out the final act before we pass final judgment, but what kind of history are they competing against?
- "I'm a St. Louis resident and I can tell you people were screaming in the streets out here! (I woke my wife up out of her sleep with my obscenity-laced cheering from the living room also!) Epic game and looking forward to Game 7 tonight!" -- SN commenter WBunch1996
- "Forget the errors. Forget the base running. Forget the everything except for the fact that two teams did everything they could to win a single baseball game. ... A great game doesn't always have to be the "best played" game." -- SN commenter lilJknows
Best Game 6 in a World Series?
We can already include the current Fall Classic in this discussion, but does it compare with Carlton Fisk's body language in 1975?
Best World Series to go the distance?
There are plenty of other options for the list, but it's tough to argue classics like the 1955 World Series, complete with Jackie Robinson stealing home, don't belong.
Best final act in a Fall Classic?
Not every Game 7 is a classic, but sometimes they live up to the billing. Does anything top Luis Gonzalez getting to Mariano Rivera?
How do you define a great game?
What makes a World Series game great? Game 6 between the Cardinals and Rangers featured five errors and so-so pitching, but does that matter?
David Freese or Kirby Puckett?
"We will see you tomorrow night." So said Joe Buck as David Freese's home run cleared the fence, reminding everyone of a certain call by his dad on Kirby Puckett's 1991 winner.
Was that even Freese's best?
Had Freese failed in the 11th, the game would have continued. Not so for his two-run triple that tied the game two innings earlier.
Was Game 6 won or lost?
The Rangers were a strike away from a championship on two occasions. Did they give it away, or did the Cardinals take it?
Anyone for best of nine?
Game 6 was a pretty good World Series all by itself, but as we head to Game 7 for the first time since 2002, are we in the midst of an all-time Fall Classic?
Who is left for Friday night?
We'll be talking about Game 6 for a long time, but there is Game 7. Ron Washington said he's starting Matt Harrison. Tony La Russa didn't say, but most assume it will be Chris Carpenter.
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