Vladimir Guerrero will be returning to Angel Stadium

An All-Star?Come on down

The Texas Rangers come to Anaheim this week, for the first time this season but the second time this year. The Rangers came in January too, not to Angel Stadium but to a private home in Anaheim Hills.

Vladimir Guerrero lives there. The Rangers needed a designated hitter, but they wanted to see Guerrero before they signed him.

They didn’t work him out. He can hit in his sleep. They just wondered whether he might hold up. He had played in fewer games in each of his last four years with the Angels, from 156 in 2006 to 100 last year.

“We could see he was moving around a lot more easily,” said General Manager Jon Daniels, who led the Rangers’ delegation to Guerrero’s home. “He just looked to be in physical shape.

“We knew there was going to be some risk. There’s risk involved with any player. In this winter’s market, the upside with Vlad was certainly bigger than the other candidates.”

Guerrero almost certainly will be the American League’s starting designated hitter in the All-Star game at Angel Stadium, ahead of the player who replaced him in the Angels lineup, Hideki Matsui.

Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera is the leader in the MVP race, but Guerrero is in the field, with teammate Josh Hamilton, Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, Boston’s Kevin Youkilis and the Yankees’ Robinson Cano

Guerrero is batting .326 with 15 home runs, second in the major leagues with 60 runs batted in. He always loved to hit in Texas, and this season is no different. He’s batting .373 in Texas, .259 on the road.

The Rangers didn’t sign him solely on his ability to hit in their ballpark, but they noticed.

“It’s hard to ignore,” Daniels said. “It’s so overwhelming, the dominance there. But, up until a couple of years ago, we didn’t exactly have one of the best staffs.”

An All-Star?Not so fast

A player vote determines most of the pitchers in the All-Star game, so we canvassed the Dodgers clubhouse to see who would vote for phenom-of-the-century Stephen Strasburg. Of the six players we asked, none said he would.

“He hasn’t been around long enough,” Matt Kemp said.

“It’s just a little too soon for me,” Jamey Carroll said. “There’s other guys out there doing some good things, and they’ve done it for a whole year.”

None of the players doubted Strasburg’s talent, or the likelihood that he would appear in multiple All-Star games during his career, but then again none had seen him pitch in person. National League players vote for their NL peers based on seeing them play, or so the concept goes, but Strasburg has started only one game against an NL team.

NL Manager Charlie Manuel will fill out the pitching staff, in consultation with the commissioner’s office.

“If Strasburg gives the National League the best shot to win the game, and to win home-field advantage in the World Series, the manager will make that choice,” Andre Ethier said

If not for the influence of television, of course, the All-Star game would not determine home-field advantage in the World Series. That led one Dodgers player to suggest Fox might whisper to Bud Selig about the promise of higher ratings if Strasburg pitches.

“If TV wants him,” the player said, “they’ll get him.”

— Bill Shaikin