This month, Josh Hamilton is the best baseball player in the world

and 2nd place is not even close. During June, Hamilton has been Barry-Bonds-on-steroids good. 2 weeks ago, Hamilton was co-player of the week. Last week, Hamilton hit for a .583 batting average - with power, and finished second in player of the week voting to Carl Crawford's .381 batting average?! What?! Hamilton is so scorching hot the Player of the Week people have to ignore him just to give someone else a chance. Hamilton's June numbers: 19 games, .476 batting average, 8 HRs, 26 RBIs.

Also, Hamilton's production has been in key situations, i.e. he hasn't feasted on a weak pitcher and collected 6 RBI in a game or anything. Time and again, Hamilton has delivered key hits. The Rangers have won 9 in a row (8 on the road). Hamilton has carried the offense like Juan Gonzalez in his heyday. Or, actually, better than Juan in his heyday - which is no knock on Juan, who was, for a few seasons, an awesome offensive force.

Josh Hamilton goes 5 for 6 in Sunday's 10 inning 5-4 comeback victory in Houston. Hamilton got an RBI in the 9th to tie the game 4-4; then got the winning RBI in the 10th inning of the 5-4 victory.

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Yesterday, the complicated bankruptcy and potential sale of the Rangers' franchise took one tiny yet definite step forward.

If the Rangers sale to the Nolan Ryan group is not completed before the late July MLB trade deadline, it increases the chances the Rangers will hold on to their high ceiling prospects this season, as opposed to tossing those high ceiling prospects into trades for rent-a-players.

Veteran DFW sports media - Randy Galloway being the worst offender - are loudly campaigning for the Rangers to ditch their prospects and go for the World Series this year. This is exactly the level of thinking which brought Lee Mazzilli to Arlington in exchange for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell; exactly the level of thinking which brought Harold Baines to Arlington in exchange for Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alvarez; exactly the level of thinking which tried to give away Kinsler for 2 months of a fat and ancient Larry Walker; exactly the level of thinking which gave away Chris Young and Adrian Gonzales for nothing; exactly the level of thinking which gave away Danks for Brandon McCarthy; exactly the level of thinking - by the Atlanta Braves - which allowed the Rangers to bring in Andrus and Feliz and Harrison and Saltalamacchia in exchange for Teixeira and Ron Mahay. Veteran DFW sports media have been in Arlington for all those trades, yet apparently have learned nothing. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me in 6 separate seasons, and I must be veteran DFW sports media.

If the Rangers find the right deal(s) this season, then it's okay to go for the World Series this season. A good trade is always a good trade. However, it's also okay for the Rangers to make progress step by step and year by year, i.e. it's okay for the Rangers to make the playoffs this season and yet fail to win the World Series.

Galloway acts as if year by year progress would be a huge disgrace. Galloway wants to immediately jump from perennial also ran to world champion, and anything less is travesty. Galloway shouts: "Prospects are currency!!", w/o having any apparent appreciation for the onfield value which prospects Holland, Scheppers, Strop, Beltre, Beavan, Martin Perez, Saltalamacchia, Chris Davis, and Mitch Moreland will soon provide; w/o having apparent appreciation for the role which former prospects Borbon, Cruz, Andrus, Kinsler, Smoak, Feldman, Hunter, Feliz, Ogando, O'Day, and Harrison are playing in getting the Rangers to their current level of excellence as a baseball team; w/o having apparent appreciation for the 8 year or so run of baseball excellence upon which the Rangers franchise is about to embark (if the franchise does not toss away it's high ceiling prospects). Galloway and friends cannot conceive of a multi year run of Texas Rangers baseball dominance. Galloway quotes Earl Weaver: "do what you must to win this year; worry about next year next year." Galloway is a brittle extremist. Even Earl Weaver would not throw away the Rangers future for a crap-shoot run at a title this season. Earl Weaver, irascible and impatient as he was, was nevertheless a baseball man: Earl Weaver would not have lightly tossed away the future of the franchise. Randy Galloway and his controversy-seeking friends are simultaneously small minded, foolish, and full of Shiite.