Josh Hamilton is full of weird bits, as we all know from the odd ending to his first Rangers tenure, which featured too much Red Bull and dry eyes, and he's long said his blue eyes make it hard for him to play in day games.
Knowing all of that, it would seem pretty unlikely Hamilton will play his third game of his second Rangers tenure when the Rangers finish up a nine-game road trip in Cleveland with an 11:10 a.m. first pitch. There is also a more logical, believable reason that Hamilton likely won't be in the lineup, and that's the fact that his legs are still adjusting after just more than a dozen "spring training" games and he's probably really sore after starting the last two nights.
Hamilton is still hitless, but he did smoke a screaming liner down the first-base line in his final at-bat in Tuesday's 4-3 Rangers win, it just happened to be right at the Indians first baseman.
We're not saying Hamilton is going to replicate his glory days numbers from 2009-2011 and the first half of 2012, but don't let his first two games of fruitless at-bats be discouraging. You have to remember, the guy hasn't played in the bigs since October, and he didn't have a spring training. It's going to take a bit.
A day off on Wednesday could be a good chance for him to refresh and get his mind right before his home debut on Thursday against the Red Sox.
