Josh Hamilton hits one of his four (AP). On Tuesday evening in Baltimore, the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton went 5-for-5 with a double and four home runs. Whenever a batter hits four in a game, I always flash back to a time when baseball was smarter and such rare feats were even rarer. Specifically, I think ...

Earle Combs in Cooperstown I always wonder how many readers actually care about the Yankees past this year, or the last few years, with the cutoff on their interest always moving forward, day by day. I know my traffic reinforces this pattern. If I write about the impact of a minor injury (hence today’s ...

Albert Pujols' three home runs on Saturday night put Mr. October back in the news. Games Three and Four of the World Series games could hardly have been any more different. Saturday night’s slugfest, won 16-7 by the Cardinals, featured a record-setting offensive performance by Albert Pujols, ...

The World Series kicks off tonight, and as with last year, the Yankees will be keeping a particularly close eye on the lefthander starting for the Rangers because he’s a pending free agent this winter. C.J. Wilson doesn’t get the acclaim that Cliff Lee did, nor will he command a top-of-the-market ...

Don Mattingly: the RBI percentage king. (AP) As you know, Curtis Granderson leads the American League in RBIs with 95. Now, RBIs are contextual; no matter how good a season a batter is having, he can’t drive in runners that aren’t on base. That sounds obvious, but given the emphasis on RBIs in things ...

The Yankees haven't had to contend with Josh Hamilton yet this season, but will in this series (AP) The Yankees finish their season set with the Rangers with a three-game set this week (weather permitting, of course), having previously taken two of three from Texas both at home and in Arlington. ...

The Rangers will get Neftali Feliz back from the disabled list tonight. The Yankees are getting Ramiro Peña. (AP) The Rangers opened the season 6-0 and 9-1, but have gone just 8-14 since, winning just one series, a three-game sweep of the Royals, since that opening run. Included early in that skid ...

Russell Martin is enjoying the AL East's bandboxes. (AP) Scrubbing my initial plans to attend Saturday’s wet affair, I spent Sunday night in the Yankee Stadium press box, and watched the Bronx Bombers do two things they’ve done countless times in the past: wait out an inexperienced starter, ...

Adrian Beltre will make a larger impact on the Rangers' fortunes with his glove than with his bat. (AP) When making my pre-season picks for SI.com during the final week of Spring Training, the easiest call for me to make was choosing the Rangers to win the American League West. That has something ...

Michael Young is going to miss hitting in Texas far more than he realizes. (AP) The news coming out of Texas about Michael Young’s request for a trade isn’t terribly relevant to the Yankees, even though they’re one of the eight teams to which he’ll reportedly allow one. The Yanks ...

The Yankees were saved by their own worst impulses yesterday when lefty Cliff Lee opted to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies in return for a five-year contract, leaving more lucrative, longer-lasting offers from the Yankees on the table. Even very smart people can fit themselves with blinders and operate ...

Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world by opting to return to the Phillies instead of the Yankees or Rangers (AP). Over the past few days, as the Cliff Lee chase grew quiet on the eastern front, word of a third “mystery team” besides the Yanks and Rangers bidding on the lefty was generally ...