The Return Of The Natural

Believe this -- Hambone is back.

Sssshhhhh...

Don't look now, but Josh Hamilton is back.

.313/.367/.577, 15 HR, 47 RBI should put anybody at the top of All-Star voting, and Hamilton is out to prove that he is in fact, worthy of it.

Yes, he got out to a rough start, one that made me worry that he would never revert to his 2008 ways, in which he became bigger than the game of baseball itself.

The pessimists came out in droves, worrying that 2008 was a fluke. While the 72 RBI's in 67 games may be unattainable again, the fact of the matter is simple. Stop worrying, he's back.

The man has been completely raking the ball since mid-May, and after ditching his "toe-tap" timing mechanism, has found that beautiful swing that made him the No. 1 draft pick in 1999.

He's hitting .412/.444/.863 in June, and he doesn't even hit third. He doesn't even hit cleanup.

The Rangers are two games ahead of the Angels (always awesome to see) and Josh Hamilton hits fifth in a lineup that still lacks it's other Home Run Derby finalist, Nelson Cruz.

Once Nelson comes back and Smoak's line drives stop getting robbed, this lineup gives me the chills with thoughts of returning to 2008 form, the year they scored a franchise-record 901 runs.

Combine that offensive production with a rotation not spear-headed by 5.00-ERA's and you're starting to see how this team can be scary good.

In fact, go ahead and check them out now, because scary good is becoming more and more of a reality.

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This is so much more enjoyable in Spanish. Well, it's always enjoyable when a non-Yankee's name is chanted in Yankee Stadium. Beautiful.