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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Curtis Granderson nailed the decreasing number of blacks in baseball

It's Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball, the perfect time to bring up the staggering decrease of blacks in baseball these days. The number of blacks in MLB is down to 7.7 percent.

The numbers are so low that baseball boss Bud Selig has created a task force to address this issue. That's great. Good luck.

Two years ago I wrote a story on this decline and interviewed high school coaches, college coaches and a handful of major leaguers for their opinions on why this trend has not been reversed.

New York Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson offered the best, and most real, insight:

"I know it's expensive, but I've gone to places and there are fields. You can easily get equipment donated. I don't know how you fight this one. I've heard a lot of kids just say, 'I don't want to.' That's not a black/white thing, that's a kid thing. So they play on their computer, and they say, 'I want to just stay right where I am. I'm not getting into any trouble so you can't force me.'"

Here is the problem not just for young black kids who want to play sports - baseball can be boring. This generation thrives on constant stimulation and that has never been baseball's strength. A Major League game is 3 hours, six or seven times a week, 162 times a year. That is an enormous time investment.

This is not a race issue, this is a time issue. And no sport takes its time any more than Major League Baseball.

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Video: Galloway & Big Mac try to be hopeful about the Texas Rangers

 

 

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Something that never happened in Texas: A-Rod is benched & further clouds his legacy

Had Alex Rodriguez remained with the Texas Rangers after he agreed to his 10-year, $252 million deal in December of 2000 he would have been a free agent after the 2010 season. But, trades and hemorraging owners happen.

Now at 37, age is clearly catching A-Rod. He batted .272 this season with 18 homers and a career-worst 57 RBI.

Today in a game that decides if a team's season is over or continues the manager is saying someone else is better than Alex Rodriguez.

Heading into Game 5 of the Orioles/Yankees series, A-Rod has been so bad it appears as if Yankees manager Joe Girardi is going with someone else.

According to ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney's twitter account, all signs point to A-Rod starting Game 5 on the pine. Olney wrote: 'I think this is a good guess on what the Yankees will do: Chavez at third and Ibanez in the lineup, either at DH or LF."

In Game 3 of the ALDS against the Orioles, A-Rod was taken out in the ninth inning to give way to a pinch hitter, Raul Ibanez, who just so happened to tie the game with a solo homer and win it a few innings later with another jack.

A-Rod is 2-for-16 in this series with zero extra base hits and nine strikeouts.

This move continues to muddy what 10 years ago looked like a legacy that would be one of baseball's greatest. Nothing can take away from the numbers, or his immense talent, but the way this story is moving A-Rod will leave the game as a guy who was a series of empty numbers.

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For the Texas Rangers this postseason, it has to be about Yu

Count me among the masses who assumed for months the Texas Rangers would be in the postseason, and anything leading up to the Game 1 of the ALDS was not necessary. As Bugs Bunney said, "For shame, Doc'."

Things are interesting into the final three games of the regular season with the Rangers having clinched a third consecutive postseason berth but not quite another AL West title. The Rangers could be awarded the World Series trophy tomorrow afternoon, or watch as the Bud Selig accepts all postseason revenues and just hands the Yankees the title, as he wants to do.

The point is we must trust no one for nothing is certain in this, the 2012 Major League Baseball playoffs. Chaos is order! And why? Because the Baltimore Orioles, and the AL West turned out to be a rather large Mitch.

The Rangers vs. the AL West this season:
v. Angels 9-10
v. A's 8-8
v. Mariners 10-9

As much as I did not like the big-cash addition of Japanese free agent pitcher Yu Darvish because the money was crazy high, if the Rangers are going to win the World Series he has to be the difference.

There are two Texas Rangers' starting pitchers with sub 4 ERAs - Yu and Matt Harrison. Derek Holland has great stuff, but it's still not there. Ryan Dempster should be able to get you six innings in the playoffs, but he has serious blowup potential. Maybe in the playoffs Holland will find his dominant self. It is there.

No one on this staff has celebrity ace stuff like Yu. If he is on the Rangers can win every time he pitches. What he did against the Angels (6 2/3, 9 hits, 3 runs, 7 Ks) on Saturday proved he is through the second-go-around blues that so many MLB rookies face.

Yu has to be good for seven or eight innings of dominant ball for the Rangers to get through this all the way to the end. He can't expect to throw 117 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, such as he did against LAA, and make it eight innings.

As the Rangers saw first-hand against the Giants (Matt Cain) and the Cardinals (Chris Carpenter) in the World Series in each of the last two years at some point they need a consistent shutdown from their starter. 
If the Rangers can finally win the World Series, it's going to be Yu that does it.

 

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What a shock: Report says Red Sox players want Bobby Valentine out

Hope you weren't one of those who fell for the Bobby Valentine love letters from the many members of the FW/d and national media who expressed their love of this man after the Red Sox hired him.

As a media dork, it's hard not to like former Texas Rangers manager Bobby Valentine. He is affable, decent, approachable, professional, and good copy.

He is also a horrid fit for Boston, Mass.

According to this story by Yahoo baseball writer Jeff Passan, many of the Red Sox players have confronted team ownership about Bobby V and want him out.

The Red Sox are 57-59, and 11.5 games back of first place New York in the AL East. God knows it can't be the players' fault.

When the team hired him back in November I wrote this was a bad decision.

The Red Sox were ripe for a slide, and a guy like Bobby V was not the right fit. He wasn't the right fit for that clubhouse, and certainly not that market. In his defense, there may not be a manager alive right now who could survive that team in its present state. The Red Sox may be a harder job than the Yankees.

He is yet another manager being scapegoated by underachieving players. Bobby V can be charming, but with that charm comes a caustic tongue and a serious sharp wit that can be cutting.

These qualities don't make Bobby V a bad guy or a bad manager. He is a bad fit.

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This is fun: Numbers from TCU's epic 9th inning against San Diego State

Most people don't much care about college baseball (sorry, they don't), but every now and then the game provides some moments that even the most casual non-fan has to take notice.

For instance, TCU's 9th inning against San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday, played in front of approximately 50 people. 

Click here for Stefan Stevenson's story from the game, which TCU rallied to win to post one of the biggest "Thank God's" in the program's history.

TCU led 14-4 going into the top of the 9th inning before all hell broke loose. Literally.

* SDSU scored 11 runs in the 9th inning to take a 15-14 lead. TCU gave up 11 runs in a game twice during the entire season.

* SDSU hit two home runs in the inning, and four extra base hits.

* This could have been a lot worse. SDSU scored 9 of its 11 runs with one out. It had the bases loaded with one out before the final two batters were retired consecutively.

* TCU had one error, threw two wild pitches, issued two walks, and hit two batters in the top of the 9th.

* With TCU scoring a pair of runs in the 9th to win, the inning saw a combined  13 runs and 12 hits.

* The game combined for 376 pitches.

* Time of the game was three hours and 47 minutes ... or about the average length of a Yankees/Red Sox game.

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Former Grand Prairie star Kerry Wood set to retire from the Cubs

Kerry Wood will be forever remembered for his 20-strikeout performance as a rookie for the Chicago Cubs in '98, and electric stuff, but it was injuries that prevented him from becoming the celebrity ace his talent said he had.

The former star of Grand Prairie high school is scheduled to retire after a disappointing start to the season as a reliever for the Cubs.

In 8 1/3 innings this season with the Cubs, Wood had an 8.64 ERA with 11 walks and 5 stirkeouts. He will finish his career with an 86-75 record and 3.67 ERA in 13 big league seasons.

Solid. Not spectacular. And a bit too bad considering his immense talent.

Along with Mark Prior, Wood was a starter for the last good Cubs team; the one that reached the NLCS against the Marlins and led that series 3-2 before "Bartman" happened. Wood hit a home run in Game 7 of that series, but was the losing pitcher of record.

As good as Wood was, watching him retire inspires thoughts of what should have been. When Wood was right he was over powering. But he wasn't right very often, which was why he became a full-time reliever in 2006, and why he is retiring now.

 

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New York media has fun with Yu Darvish sticking it to the Yankees

Since this does not happen every day, better take advantage while you can.

Texas Rangers' right hander Yu Darvish's dominating performance of the New York Yankees was only memorable for about a dozen factors, but it even prompted the NYC media to show love for an outsider.

The New York Post sported the headline, "How Do Yu Like That!" Darvish aces test vs. Kuroda, Yanks

The New York Daily News wrote "Yu Can't Touch This".

New York Newsday went with the bland, "Darvish outpitches Rangers past Yankees".

The Bergen Record in New Jersey really went bland with, "Yankees fall to Rangers, Darvish 2-0"

The Newark Star-Ledger wrote, "How Yu Darvish shut down the Yankees' potent lineup".

The New York Times wrote, "Two Japanese Starters: One Good, One Great".

And the lead banner on YesNetwork.com/Yankees is, "Yankees make incredible Fenway comeback". 

 

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