Josh Hamilton “not recovering quickly” from bruised rib cage

According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com “the situation is not good” with Josh Hamilton’s bruised left rib cage and the MVP candidate “is not close to returning” from the injury suffered while crashing into the outfield wall Saturday. X-rays showed no structural damage, but Hamilton has yet to swing a bat and told Sullivan that any kind of movement remains painful. Thanks to their 7.5-game cushion in the AL West the Rangers can afford to be very cautious with Hamilton, particularly since they no longer have much chance to claim homefield advantage in the ALDS. Hamilton leads the league with a .361 batting average and .635 slugging percentage while ranking second to only Miguel Cabrera in both on-base percentage (.414) and OPS (1.049).