As sad as it is, the NBA season will be over shortly. With both Dallas and Miami rocking 3-1 leads going into Game 5, a few weeks stand between now and the day a champion is crowned. With basketball gone, the MLB season will kick into high gear. A baseball fan knows that summer is close when interleague play begins, and with the first interleague series already in the books, I'm excited to see what the summer has for us. Will the Yankees and Red Sox continue to ameliorate and get back to the top of the league as we approach the middle of the season? Will some of the league's best players such as Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford redeem themselves as the season goes on? What will happen with Jose Reyes and the Mets? These are all questions that will be answered as we come closer to September. In recent news, two of the league's best players returned on Monday. Josh Hamilton and Chase Utley both came back from injuries two days ago. Both Texas and Philadelphia have been waiting for this day for weeks, and especially the Phillies, who have been without their All Star second baseman since the season began.
Could these players be what these teams need to make another run in the postseason? For the Rangers, it very well may be the case. The Rangers were 9-1 before Hamilton went down, and his injury exacerbated the squad in a big way: after his injury, Texas went 15-22 and lost six of their first eight without him. In his return (as well as OF Nelson Cruz's), Hamilton went 2-4 with a home run in his first at bat, and went 3-5 yesterday. Manager Ron Washington said the reigning AL MVP could return to the outfield by this Saturday, meaning that he's ready to lead this team back into the playoffs. The Rangers got the best of both worlds with Cruz returning as well (Cruz had 7 home runs in his first 30 games), and the Rangers will need these sluggers if they want to get back in the Top 10 in home runs.
Then there's Utley. While the Rangers badly needed Hamilton to return, Utley seems like the last ingredient for the Phillies' success. Their 29-19 now, but have just two everyday players hitting above .265 for the year. They have their power hitter in Ryan Howard. They have Placido Polanco hitting .332, 4th in the NL. But Utley brings back to the ball club an all-around player who can do it all on offense. The pitching staff has had so much hype coming into the season but they need the hitting to back it up, and Utley's return could spark an energy in the Phillies bats. He's started off slow this year, just one for nine in his first two games, but I know he'll come around sooner or later. No matter how long it takes for him to get hot, mark my word: he will get hot and help Philadelphia stay in contention this year.
It's tough to say who will have more of an impact on their team this year. It's easy to say Utley brings the balance to the Phillies offense, but one could say the same about Hamilton (led the league in batting average with .359 in 2010). These two All Stars are motivated to lead their teams back into the playoffs, and let's face it: both Utley and Hamilton will be vital if the past two World Series losers want to go one step further and win a ring.
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