Weekend Buzz: Texas' dream season becoming injury nightmare

The Weekend Buzz while you were working toward not laboring on Labor Day. ...

1. Texas' troublesome two-step: Not a good weekend for manager Ron Washington's club. Outfielder and leading AL MVP candidate Josh Hamilton bruised his left rib cage in Minnesota during a collision with a Target Field wall, and would-be ace Cliff Lee took an injection in his sore back and will miss a second start on Tuesday.

Cliff Lee hasn't been too good with the Rangers, but they would still love to have him available. (AP)

Oh, and shortstop/defensive whiz Elvis Andrus will miss a few days with a tight hamstring.

You can almost hear that lonesome prairie music they play in movies right before the final showdown gun battle on a dusty main street lined with saloons.

The Rangers have now lost seven of 10 games (and 11 of their past 15 on the road), Hamilton's injury looks bad enough that he's expected to miss significant time and Lee is 2-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 11 starts with the Rangers.

What does all of this mean?

Depends on whether Hamilton and Lee are quick healers.

All along, Texas' October hopes have been tied to Hamilton. This is not to discount the importance of Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero, Neftali Feliz or anybody else. But Hamilton is the one guy who can carry a team on his back. And he is the one guy who is irreplaceable come October.

Mid-summer, the Rangers hit a stretch where they looked like the best team in the American League. They still can get back there. The good thing about the injuries to Hamilton and Lee is that it's only Labor Day Weekend. Each can still be full strength by October.

In fact, Hamilton suffered a similar injury a year ago when he ran into a wall in Toronto (hey, those highlight reel catches/efforts aren't all they're cracked up to be). He missed 13 games then.

"The last time it happened, I felt a lot better after a week," Hamilton told longtime Rangers beat man T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com Sunday. "It's hard to put a time frame on it."

As long as the time frame is before, say, the last week of September. ...

2. Padres don't pad lead in NL West: Do you like a little salsa and guacamole with your meltdowns? It's panic time in San Diego as Bud Black's club hits its longest losing streak since May, 1994. Suddenly, the Giants (one game back after Sunday night's win over the Dodgers) have life. For all the talk about Adrian Gonzalez and David Eckstein, the Padres now are 0-10 since Jerry Hairston Jr. landed on the disabled list. Just sayin'. (It also doesn't help that Ryan Ludwick was hitting .211 through Sunday in a Padres uniform). Oh, and they're also 0-2 since holding a players only meeting on Saturday.

3 to watch

Danny Knobler Last Friday, the Padres had a seven-game losing streak, and we told you that it was all right, because five of the last 10 teams to make the World Series had a seven-game losing streak. Read More >>

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3. Who needs A-Rod? Apparently not the Yankees, who won eight consecutive games while he was away with a calf injury. Then he returned to the lineup on Sunday and Joe Girardi's club was picked apart by the Blue Jays. So, who needs A-Rod? Apparently not agent Scott Boras, who seems to be doing just fine after A-Rod parted ways with him earlier this year. So, who needs A-Rod? Stop it, that's enough.

4. Who needs Manny Ramirez? While the White Sox (and what a win in Boston on Sunday) are still test-driving their new slugger, the Twins' Jim Thome clubbed career home runs 583 and 584 in swatting away Texas and moving past Mark McGwire into ninth place on the all-time homers list.

"He never ceases to amaze us," Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire told reporters. "He's just going up and whacking the ball. It's Babe Ruth all over again."

5. Ryne Sandberg named Pacific Coast League manager of the year: If the Cubs don't promote him to the major-league manager's chair now, Sandberg is going to have to look elsewhere. But it's going to be a hard decision for general manager Jim Hendry, because more than any other managerial hire, his future in the Cubs' gig will be tied directly to this one.

6. Dustin Pedroia will have screw placed in foot during surgery: It's the screw that's been loose in his head all these years. (And I bet Sox manager Terry Francona would tell you the same thing, while laughing as I am, so lighten up).

7. Nyjer Morgan suspended for eight games: With another seven-game suspension already on the books pending appeal, the dude is more in hock than the McCourts. Maybe he'll own the Dodgers next.

8. The McCourts divorce trial: Had no idea how much Frank McCourt and I had in common until his testimony in court. I, too, am a devoted husband who would balk at $250 million for wife's personal use.

9. Manny Ramirez apologizes for actions leading to his Boston departure: Nice. I'm thinking of calling my fourth grade teacher to apologize for mailing it in that year.

10. Pirates dedicate Bill Mazeroski statue: This was very cool. Nice to see good baseball moments in Pittsburgh, they happen so infrequently. And the emotional Mazeroski got all teary again. Of course, that guy, he's capable of crying at the beauty of simply opening a box of Kleen-ex, or of roasting a marshmallow for S'mores. Still.