Hamilton Fighting To Stay Off DL

After straining his left ribcage in an April 21 game in Toronto, Hamilton has struggled to stay off the disabled list, a goal he has achieved for the past week or so; the only trouble is, Hamilton isn’t on the field, either.

 

Manager Ron Washington has balked at the idea of sending Hamilton to the disabled list with good reason.

 

If Texas is forced to send the slugger to the DL, he will be out until May 12, at the earliest.

 

Coming into the weekend, it was generally thought that Hamilton would resume baseball activities on Friday and, possibly, make his return to the lineup sometime this weekend.

 

However, after daily meetings with Rangers’ team doctor Keith Meister, it seems that this was a misguided case of wishful thinking.

 

"Probably not," Hamilton said on Thursday. "It's getting better ... not doing any baseball activities; I'm probably feeling 60 percent better. That doesn't mean that if I started swinging the bat, I wouldn't go back to where I was before."

 

Hamilton hasn’t started since last Saturday. He hasn’t seen the lineup since he pinch hit last Sunday.

 

Although Hamilton has struggled early, somewhat (he is hitting .242, with 15 strike outs and only 3 walks), there’s little doubt that the Rangers want, and perhaps ultimately need, a healthy Josh Hamilton in the lineup.

 

And despite his struggles at the plate, Hamilton has never slipped with respect to defense; and, in all likelihood, the sooner he gets back in the lineup, the sooner he’ll start swinging the bat like the Herculean beast we saw in 2008.

 

For now, it’s a good thing Texas had a surplus of outfielders when they broke camp a month ago. Andruw Jones, who has replaced Hamilton in the lineup, has proven solid thus far, as has Marlon Byrd, who has taken on centerfield duties.

 

Hamilton hopes to resume swinging a bat on Friday.

 

The earliest he will be back in the lineup, most likely, is on Monday in Seattle.