Joshua Holt Hamilton Did It Again.

Hamilton's stat line from the Rangers 16-8 win over the Astros: 5-5, 2 HR, 3B, 5 RBI, 4 R. He's now on pace for 188 RBI. Somewhere, Hack Wilson is nervous.

Upon hearing of Josh Hamilton's monstrous night, I went to great lengths to watch Baseball Tonight. This turned out to be a great idea, but not just for the obvious reasons. I watched the highlights, I drooled, I missed my Joshy, blah, blah. blah. And then Tim Kurkijan relayed a quick conversation he had with a scout during Spring Training, as Hamilton was murdering the ball on a daily basis.

Tim Kurkijan to scout: "He reminds me of Larry Walker."

Scout to Kurkijan: "Oh, he's better than Larry Walker."

This is funny because the player Jay Bruce is most often compared to...

Larry Walker. Of course.

(Jay Bruce, by the way, went 0-3 Friday, proving that he's simply not ready for Major League Baseball.)

But anyway, this Josh Hamilton-Edinson Volquez duel reminds me of a tennis match between two incredible servers playing the best game of their respective careers. Seemingly every time Hamilton or Volquez have had their opportunities, they've responded with an ace.

Volquez's next serve is Sunday against Cliff Lee and the Indians. I just hope he responds with another ace, or else it will be a long week for those of us who remain obsessed with Josh Hamilton.

-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
5/17/08