Daniels backs Hamilton's WBC decision

Josh Hamilton told Sport Illustrated's Tom Verducci here http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/12/14/wbc.hamilton/index.html that he would decline an invitation to participate in the World Baseball Classic. I e-mailed Rangers GM Jon Daniels about Hamilton's choice and he didn't seem to mind that Hamilton wanted to spend his entire spring with the Rangers. "We support Josh's decision," Daniels wrote. "It's a great honor to be selected, but it's nice that he wants to focus 100 percent on preparing for our season. If he continues producing like he's capable, there will be plenty of other opportunities down the road."

- Anthony Andro