Josh Hamilton has a point about the 'Baseball town' thing

ARLINGTON, Texas - Hate to say this, but Josh Hamilton was not so wrong.

That's not true - I don't hate to say this because I never thought Hamilton was incorrect when he said Arlington was not a "baseball town".

It's a football town with a great baseball team and plenty of good baseball fans. There just aren't enough of them.

These two pictures were taken in the second inning of the highly anticipated game between the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers on Thursday night at Rangers Ballpark. More to the point, it featured two first-place teams and the two best starting pitchers in the American League, Yu Darvish and Justin Verlander.

If you can't sell this out, or fill it up, you can't be a Baseball Town.

It can't be "Fireworks Night" every game.

You can't blame the weather - it was mild with a slight breeze and limited humidity. School night? OK, that one always works. Maybe it should have been Free Beer Night.

You can't blame the Rangers. The team is good, the park is wonderful, the guys are pros.

The last time the Rangers hosted a regular season game featuring a pitching matchup this big was April 30, 1989 when Nolan Ryan faced Boston's Roger Clemens. 

That was Ryan's first year with the Rangers, and the game matched the hyped. Ryan pitched eight innings and allowed three hits, one run and whiffed 11. Clemens pitched eight innings, allowed six hits and two runs and struckout six but took the loss.

Rafael Palmeiro hit a two-run home run off Clemens in the bottom of the eighth for a 2-1 win in front of an announced crowd of 40,429 at Arlington Stadium.

On Thursday night, the announced crowd was 39,778.

Neither Verlander nor Yu were dominant. Verlander was awful, allowing eight runs on six hits in 2.2 innings. This is how bad Verlander was - he gave up a three-run home run to catcher Geovany Soto, who was hitting about .167 at the time of his at bat.

Yu was better, pitching into the seventh for another win.

Still a great night at the Ballpark, even in a non-baseball town.

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Video: Galloway & Big Mac don't miss Josh Hamilton

 

 

 

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'13 LA Angels looking a lot like the '01 Texas Rangers

If baseball's postseason began today, which I wish it did, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim would not be in the playoffs.

The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles keep losing. They are going to lose a series against the Double A Houston Astros, regardless of what happens in their three-game series finale tonight in Houston.

Continuing their season o' crap, starting ace Jared Weaver is not expected back from his non-pitching elbow ouchy for at least another two weeks.

Will manager Mike Scioscia be around by then?

There have been other high-dollar teams that flop around early, but the one that continues to spring to mind locally are the 2001 Texas Rangers, with one giant difference.

You may remember in '01 the Rangers brought in Alex Rodriguez, (10 years, $252 mil), as well as veterans Ken Caminiti, Andres Galarraga to complement a lineup that already had Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez. 

The team mascot was a giant syringe with a MLBPA logo.

On May 9, 2001 the Rangers lost at Detroit to drop to 12-21, and 12 games behind first-place Seattle.
The Rangers would eventually fall 44 games behind the Mariners that season, and just missed the playoffs.

It's May 9, 2013 and the Angels are 11-22, and 9.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers.

That '01 season, the Rangers had a team payroll of $88.5 million - so more than 25 percent of that went to one player. That worked out well. The Rangers ranked 7th in team payroll that season.

This season, the Angels' team payroll of $127.8 million ranks sixth. Three players comprise roughly one-third of their payroll: Josh Hamilton $17.4 million; Albert Pujols $16 million, Jared Weaver $16.2 million.

Now look at their production:
Hamilton: .205, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 132 AB, 40 K
Pujols: .240, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 125 AB
Weaver: 0-1, 4.91 ERA, 2 starts, 9 hits, 11 innings

Why the 2013 Angels are better off than the 2001 Rangers:
The Angels can still pitch. The '01 Rangers had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball.
Weaver injured his non-throwing elbow, and his return should make an immediate difference to a team that needs a stopper.

The Angels can't continue to screw around and lose any series against the Astros, or they do risk falling too far behind to catch anybody.

When you're best players are all at least 30 and older, you just never know when they are going to get hurt again.

The inclusion of more wildcards, and the fact this team is loaded with established pros on offense on the mound gives reason to believe they aren't going to suck this bad for the entire season.

 

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This is what Josh Hamilton wanted all along

Not sure if you have seen this, but a pair of former Texas Rangers have their own TV spot.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson and outfielder Josh Hamilton are the centerpiece of a new ad campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo. So is Josh's wife, Katie.

This seems about right.

 

 

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Adrian Beltre knows the Josh Hamilton/Mike Napoli feeling

ARLINGTON, Texas - In the span of about one month a pair of former beloved Texas Rangers have returned to town with completely opposite circumstances.

Josh Hamilton returned as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Rangers fans let him have it. Who cares what he ever did for the team? 

When Mike Napoli returns tonight as a member of the Boston Red Sox, Rangers fans will cheer him. Who cares if his production was nowhere what Josh did?

These two are a case study of how to leave your former team, city, and the weight of expectations generated by money. 

Josh had never really done this before, and as a result he completely screwed it up. Yes, he had been traded by the Reds to the Rangers but that was before he blew up. As to be expected, he is bombing so far with the Angels after he signed a five-year, $125 million deal. Hamilton is batting .216 with 2 homers and 19 RBI.

Napoli had been dealt before, and had an idea what to do. He sent out a nice Twitter message to the Rangers fans on his way to Boston. He is batting .283 with 15 doubles, 6 home runs and 15 RBI in Boston.

This happens all the time in free agency and player movement. The guy who goes to the new team with the massive contract struggles in the first year. 

"It happened to me in Seattle," Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre told me. 

In 2004, Beltre batted .334 with 48 home runs with 121 RBI for the L.A. Dodgers.

He signed with the Mariners that offseason for five years at $64 million. In his first year in Seattle, he hit .255 with 19 home runs and 87 RBI.

"I was trying to prove I was worth that contract all the time," Beltre said.

In his next three seasons he posted solid power numbers, averaging around 22 home runs and 80 RBI. His last season in Seattle he was limited to just 111 games and  hit 8 home runs.

He signed with Boston for the '10 season, where he batted .321 with 49 doubles, 28 home runs and 102 RBI.

"I had been through it before and I knew what to expect," Beltre said. "It's never easy."

He came to the Rangers in 2011 for a six-year, $96 million deal. He has averaged over .300, 33 doubles, 34 home runs and 103 RBI in his first two full years.

He knew how to do it.

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Ha! Josh Hamilton is awful*

The Twitter deal and all of social media nearly broke itself on Monday night with the news that Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton is simply awful.

In case you missed it, in a 19-inning loss at Oakland on Monday night, Josh went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. On the good side, he did knock in an RBI to snap a streak of 12 consecutive games Hamilton went without a run batted in.

Right now, Hamilton is batting an impressive .219 with two homers and 8 RBI. At his current rate, he is projected to bat .202 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI this season.

The reality is $25 million a year just doesn't buy what it used to.
The other reality is that you can't expect his garbage first month as an Angel to hold forever. 

Free agents, especially a guy like Josh, need time to get used to their new life and new surroundings before the production takes off.

Part of my obligation as a journalist/columnist/blogger/big mouth/self righteous judge of all things life is to do this: Just prepare that Josh Hamilton's numbers will come around to reflect Josh Hamilton type numbers.

He is a career .300 hitter who averages around 24 home runs and 80-plus RBI per season. Expect that again.

I went back to review a handful of the big-time offseason free agents who changed teams to see how Josh's first month as an Angel compared to others. Here is the earth-shattering information I found:

Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers, 2001: .312, 7 HR, 21 RBI. Finished season .318, 52 HR, 135 RBI

Albert Pujols, LA Angels, 2012: .217, 0 HR, 4 RBI. Finished season .285, 30 HR, 105 RBI

Carlos Beltran, NY Mets, 2005. .284, 3 HR, 12 RBI. Finished season .266, 16 HR, 78 RBI

Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, 2009. .200, 3 HR, 10 RBI. Finished season .292, 39 HR, 122 RBI

Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals, 2011. .221, 4 HR, 7 RBI. Finished season .232, 20 HR, 58 RBI

Jose Reyes, Miami Marlins, 2012. .220, 0 HR, 3 RBI. Finished season .287, 11 HR, 57 RBI

Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers, 2012. .309, 3 HR, 11 RBI. Finished season .313, 30 HR, 108 RBI

 

What does it mean? Give this some time before saying Josh Hamilton is a bust.

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Yu is Japanese for Cy

It simply is never too early to hand out regular season baseball awards, especially in a sport that features a mere 162 games to garner said hardware.

Alas, the way Texas Rangers right handed pitcher Yu Darvish is pitching thus far in the 2013 Major League Baseball season it's time fire up the Yu for Cy campaign.

Against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, Yu was again over powering and made hitters look like fools.

In five starts this season, Yu is 4-1 with a 1.65 ERA. He has pitched 32 2/3 innings and allowed 16 hits with a league-leading 49 strikeouts. He is drawing comparisons to an in-his-prime Pedro Martinez, who during his time with the Boston Red Sox was arguably the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Or one of three.

Right now Yu is projected to go 31-8 with 378 strikeouts this year. That would be a fairly decent season, and would just maybe, probably win the American League Cy Young.

If you are wondering, no Texas Rangers pitcher has ever won this award.

The closest was Fergie Jenkins, who finished second in 1974 to Catfish Hunter of the A's.
That season, Jenkins went 25-12 with a 2.89 ERA and 29 complete games. He threw 328 1/3 innings that season. And he didn't win.

The only other times the Rangers had pitchers garner votes in the Cy Young balloting were:
Jenkins (1978, 2 votes)
Jim Kern (1979, 25 votes)
Nolan Ryan (1989, 5 votes)
Kevin Brown (1992, 9 votes)
Ken Hill (1996, 1 vote)
Aaron Sele (1999, 4 votes)
John Wetteland (1999, 3 votes)
C.J. Wilson (2011, 9 votes)
Matt Harrison (2012, 2 votes)
Yu Darvish (2012, 1 vote) 

As you can see, not exactly a pitching factory in Arlington. Yu is not only becoming a celebrity No. 1 hammer ace, but he is this franchise's best shot at a Cy Young winner since Fergie Jenkins.

 

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It's better that Josh Hamilton not play in a "true, true baseball town"

You may miss former Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton's ability to hit monster home runs, but I will miss this man's candor. The edit button on his mouth didn't work all the time.

Now with the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles, that same edit button still doesn't. God bless him for that.

Take for instance his interview with Gina Miller (@ThatSportsGirl) of CBS 11 that aired Sunday night. In Gina's behind-the-scenes to the interview she noted that Hamilton is keeping his family in north Texas. He wanted to buy house in Newport Beach, Calif. but didn't because the price of real estate is too expensive.

It's depressing to think a man who recently signed a five-year, $125 million contract can't afford a home near where he works.

He did notice that the Texas Rangers' fans quickly got spoiled by the team's consecutive World Series appearances. 

“Texas, especially Dallas, has always been a football town. They’re supportive, but they also got a little spoiled at the same time, pretty quickly," he told Gina Miller. 

He also added: "It's not a true baseball town."

It is better for Josh Hamilton that he not play in a true baseball town. If Josh thought the criticism directed his way for his play late last season was harsh, go to Boston. Or go to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Not Anaheim. The Angels may be a successful franchise, but neither that fan base nor that media market is going to roast him if his production slides because he can't see through his right eyelid. As much as I personally like Josh, some of the drama that he generated is going to play better in certain markets.

The smartest move Josh made was to go to a place where not only can he win, but that he has protection in the lineup and plays in a market that does not have the scrutiny of a Yankees, Mets or a Cubs. He's going to receive praise and criticism wherever he plays because he's Josh Hamilton, but the intensity will not be as intense in a place like Anaheim.

Josh is right in that FW/d is not a true baseball town. This area feels a Week 3 Dallas Cowboys loss almost with the same intensity as that Rangers' loss in Game 6 against th Cardinals.

In a way, that worked to his benefit here and it should in Anaheim.

Click here for to play the interview.

 

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NOW HIRING - Outfielder for Texas Rangers ... inquire within

According to Yelp, BioGenesis of America in Coral Gables, Florida is a clinic that focused on weight loss. According to its Facebook page, BioGenesis of America, LLC. was a spa, beauty and personal care center.

Notice there is NO MENTION that this place supplied performance enhancing drugs, steroids or HGH to clients. That should just about clear up any idea that this new report from the Miami New Times is correct in that there are scores of big league ballplayers, and other high profile athletes, who obtained PEDs from this place.

What more evidence could both you and Major League Baseball possibly require? If it's not on the door, it's not inside. Who goes to a pizza place or a barber shop and expects to acquire a bag of marijuana, or possibly wager on a few football games? No one. You go to the marijuana store for weed, and a Las Vegas sports book because that's the legal way to do things in this country. 

People don't break laws, certainly not big league ballplayers.

News that Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz has been linked to a "clinic" in Miami that provided booster shots to its seven-figure clients is not good for a team that just lost Josh Hamilton in free agency. Nelson, this is not a good way to start your free agent year.

If MLB finds that this report is accurate, and that Cruz possibly failed a drug test, he would likely be suspended the first 50 games of the 2013 season. The good news is that the suspension is not 51 games. It would be a total surprise if, however, Cruz hurts his hamstring while he is suspended. 

That could mean the Texas Rangers' opening day lineup would be without the combined 67 home runs and 218 RBIs that Hamilton and Cruz combined to produce in 2012.

Other than David Murphy, whose presence in the lineup has always been better suited as the fourth outfielder, the candidates will be:

* Mike Olt (best candidate, hands down)
* Julio Borbon (done)
* Gentry (not awful)
* Leonys Martin (who knows?)
* Engel Beltre (total winner; great first name)

 

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Was it God or the $125 mil' that told Josh Hamilton to sign with the Angels?

I like Josh Hamilton, and I always respected his candor when last season he made no bones about his desire and intent to sign with the highest bidder when he became a free agent.

He offered any tired cliches about anything other than intending to go to the place that offered him the best deal, i.e. money. He never pretended free agency was going to be anything other than a cash grab. 

Professional sports careers are short, and the opportunity to make this type of money - five years, $125 million - can't be taken lightly. You get what you can while you can. Plus, he goes to a competitive team in an area that has a good quality of life, which he will be able to afford.

No one should doubt Hamilton's sincere commitment to his faith, but it felt just so insincere when he conveyed that it was God who gave him the OK on the Angels.

"When you pray about something and God gives you peace about a decision, more than likely that's His will for you," Hamilton said. "When you don't have peace about it, it's not. I prayed a lot about it and understand I had such a great time in Texas. ... A lot of time God likes to take us out of our comfort zone so, one, you can grow spiritually, and two, we can affect people in different places."

I like the last sentence, a lot.

I also have no problem with the truth, either. It's pro sports, and these days there is simply no shame in saying what Josh said all along - it was about the best deal.

For so long Josh said it was going to be about the best contract offer, and now after signing it's about God's will?

God wants you to be a good dude and live a decent life, and He does not care if he hits home runs for the Angels, Rangers or Phillies.

 

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