I loved Mookie Betts’ heads-up play to take third after a steal of second (when he noticed that no National was in a position to cover third because they were playing the Ortiz shift).
Teams have let Josh Hamilton play the poor little me and my disease card too long. That’s why I support Moreno calling Josh out on his latest round of nonsense. The contract does suck. Pujols and Wilson also have lousy contracts but at least they seem to try to play ball. It’s not just the drugging and drinking that’s annoying about Hamilton. I still wonder if he delayed his surgery until the last possible minute so he could party during the offseason. He looked like hot garbage at the end of last season and something clearly wasn’t right with him.
To be fair, it’s not like the Angels had no idea that Josh Hamilton could be a high maintenance guy. That’s why, at least according to Moreno, they’ve got a relapse clause in his contract. If they were going to execute that, I think they should have done so by now.
And who is the only team with a two game lead in their division?
Why, your 2015 Atlanta Braves!
Go figure.
Moreno’s a fool for hiring an addict and then complaining he’s addicted. If Arte Moreno doesn’t know a junkie is always a junkie, he’s got to be the last adult in the Western world to realize it. He should have the stones to use the relapse clause if he’s so upset, and if he wants to mouth off in public, at least take some blame for handing $125 million to a guy who wasn’t worth it even if he wasn’t a pill monkey. Even after the 2012 season he was signed off of I thought he was clearly on the verge of decline; his mobility and defense were atrocious and his strikeouts were ballooning to an extent that should have sounded alarm bells. It was common knowledge Hamilton was stupid, addicted, and weak. I don’t know how one can be disappointed by an event that one should have anticipated.
I’m not absolving Hamilton of personal blame for his failures, he’s an adult and has to accept blame for them, but Moreno’s actions are unprofessional and petulant. Release him or don’t.
Yanks will be a challenge this year and an area that should be strong for them has been dismal so far. Where is the fielding they were suppose to have? I think the AL East is pretty much wide open though. None of the teams seem to be all that strong.
Heard a rumor that the Yanks were scouting braves 2B/SS prospect Jose Peraza, and that the Braves were looking for OF prospects in return.
I’m not sure if I buy that, as Peraza is supposed to be tried out in CF a bit this year to see if he can hack it, and that he is supposedly the 2b of the future in Atlanta. I suppose he could switch back to SS and replace Grigorius?
Yeah it kind of reminds me of when a 40 year old woman bitches that the guy she is going out with, who has cheated on every other wife/girlfriend he has ever had, is cheating on her. “But it was supposed to be different with meeeeee”. Shut up, you knew he was a piece of shit when you started this, you have no one to blame, and no one cares.
This is a bit much. Hamilton did realize his talents to the point of, in fact, reaching the major leagues and landing some big contracts. He is an addict forever, sure, but he did struggle out of its depths, for the sake of baseball, at least three times. That takes some kind of strength.
Moreno thought he was buying a World Series or two, with money he could afford. An investment being “worth it” doesn’t mean quite the same thing to a sports owner that it does to regular people. It isn’t a simple financial calculation, or even an objective one. What is winning it all “worth”?
Sure, he regrets paying the money now that it hasn’t paid off with a trophy and parade, just like all the other players he’s bought for the same reason haven’t paid off. Hamilton has wasted his talent once again and in hindsight was a bad investment, but wouldn’t he have made it all over again knowing what he knew then? Wouldn’t *you *have?
When are the Phillies going to finally release Ryan Howard? He’s utterly useless, putting up Dan Uggla type numbers. The contract sucks but it’s time to eat it and part ways. The Phillies are going nowhere this year, why not try give some prospects a chance ?
I think the lineup is suprisingly great. It was my big worry coming into the season, but a top of the order that goes Rollins, Puig, Gonzalez, Kendrick, Van Slyke/Crawford, Uribe/Guerro, Peterson/Grandal, Ellis/Peterson, Pitcher…that’s a strong flipping lineup once you see it start to work. Joc has been everything I could have hopped for in a rookie, I am already in love with Grandal behind the plate, the bench is strong, the top of the order is scary when it’s clicking. My only real complain is Rollins seems to have forgotten how to play shortstop and Mattingly uses the shift like an idiot (and I like Donny as a manager, but think before you shift. Not every righty is going to pull and Kemp sure as hell isn’t. Why don’t you know that about him? He played for you!).
I actually think the bullpen has been great too, Chris Hatcher is a tire fire, but the rest of them are looking sharp. McCarthy has been homer prone, but otherwise solid. I am a pretty happy Dodger fan right now.
I’m willing to give McCarthy his home runs, since otherwise he is lights-out solid. I’m happy Puig has gotten into a groove - he gets flighty when he over-thinks things. Now that he has some hits under his belt he’ll settle down and advance the runner.
I’ll be happier when Ryu and Jansen are healthy.
As soon as they get a new GM, which should have happened after last season if not sooner. Amaro is just badly out of his depth. He’s still insisting the Red Sox give him Betts *and *Swihart for Hamels, as well as picking up the contract, for example. He’s taken steps toward blowing it up and restarting, yes, but he’s doing it in slow motion.
At one point do pitchers stop hitting the Royals? I don’t think they are particularly throwing *at *them (Rios got hit with bases loaded), but they’ve been hit 12 times in 7 games so far.
I think they hoped he’d have some value at the trade deadline. They’d still probably have to eat almost all of his contract, but at least they could get something in return.
Eight games into the season and the Dodgers already have as many come-from-behind wins as they did in the entire last season. Happy making, but stressful.
No. I said so at the time: “Angel fans will end up disliking Hamilton because he’s old and near-certain to decline during his tenure in Anaheim… If Angels fans don’t like his slow start maybe they should take it up with the team that just adores collecting really expensive players who are past their prime.”
Hamilton had some great years but you could tell at the time he was not a good investment. His mobility was shot, his strikeouts suddenly shot up, and he was the right age for rapid decline. If you’re going to sign someone for premium money, there are usually better choices.
I don’t get it. Why should they take it up with the Yankees?