Josh Hamilton

Spring training is rapidly approaching and Opening Day is on the horizon. Teams will begin flocking to their respective training camps with a clear mind and with hopes of winning their respective divisions and make a deep push into October.

The San Francisco Giants’ Cinderella-like postseason run that was capped by their second World Series championship in three seasons will forever be cemented in franchise history.

The Giants proved they could compete and be successful with far inferior talent than their opposition. The Giants were the best team during the 2012 playoffs for one reason; they had a solid nucleus of veteran leadership that never weakened.

The 2012-13 MLB offseason has had its share of surprises.

One of the biggest surprises this offseason was the Los Angeles Angels signing of Josh Hamilton to a five-year, $125 million contract.

Surprising because, it seemed the Angels were relegated to bystander status after spending a combined $317 million on the Albert Pujois and C.J. Wilson contracts during the 2011 offseason.

Surprising because, the Texas Rangers allowed Hamilton to leave the club and join an AL West rival.

Josh Hamilton is off the market and I'm OK with that, but not everyone feels the same way.

In fact, based on the response from most of the people I've spoken to and read, the Mariners' whiffing on Hamilton is a bit of a problem.

Upon hearing the news, a good friend and long-time M's fan sighed, "It's going to be a long winter and summer at the rate things are going."

Let me begin by saying this is never an article I envisioned I would ever have to write.

There are times in the world where we, the fans, lose sight of what is important in the world. We become so obsessed with free-agency signings, poor performances, wins, losses and lockouts that we forget that the games we become so obsessed with our merely that: games.

After missing out on essentially every big-name free-agent signing and failing to execute a trade for Justin Upton before the Arizona Diamondbacks addressed their shortstop situation, Texas Rangers’ general manager Jon Daniels’ failure to sign Josh Hamilton may have caused irreparable damage.

If the Boston Red Sox are still looking to make a big splash and add star power to their roster, there is one player still left on the free-agent market who fits that description.

Technically, open season on MLB free agents does not begin until the sixth day after the World Series concludes.

But you could forgive most fans for feeling like free agent season really began Friday night, with Josh Hamilton being booed off the field in his last two at-bats as the Texas Rangers bowed quietly to the Baltimore Orioles in the one-game playoff between the two American League wild cards.

The Texas Rangers completed their late-season collapse by losing 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild-Card Game Friday night.  They now have a decision to make that will alter the course of the franchise.

Are they better off with or without Josh Hamilton?

Once MLB free agency begins this winter, a number of teams will be going after Josh Hamilton. He is the crown jewel of the 2013 MLB free agent market, and Hamilton will draw an incredible amount of attention.

Hamilton has been to the MLB All-Star Game in each of the past five season, and he has not disappointed with his production in 2012. There are few players in baseball that have the offensive abilities that Hamilton possesses.