Sign Slamilton?
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Texas Rangers' slugger Josh Hamilton hasn't homered in, what, like a month?
Actually, it's been three games, 14 at-bats and exactly 48 pitches since the best player in baseball went yard off the Angels' C.J. Wilson Saturday afternoon in Arlington. But you get the point.
He might have shot his wad. He's peaked. Perhaps, even, the Rangers should consider trading him before his value totally disintegrates. At the very least, they should take advantage of this protracted slump by drastically lowering the salary ceiling on Hamilton, if not breaking off talks with his agent, Mike Moye, altogether.
No?
As preposterous as all that sounds, it's no more silly and stupefying than the knee-jerk calls – from fans and media alike – for the Rangers to react irrationally to Hamilton's historic homer binge last week by up and signing him to a lucrative, long-term contract. Make no mistake, what Josh Slamilton accomplished over seven days was dazzling. He produced one of the most impressive hitting weeks in Major League Baseball history, hitting nine homers with 18 RBI and highlighting his performance with only the 16th four-homer game ever last Tuesday in Baltimore. He hit – despite 11 strikeouts, mind you -- .467 with two doubles, 10 runs scored and an astonishing 43 total bases. His week was more productive than the Padres, Astros and Tigers, who over seven days combined for only six homers.
After 35 games, Hamilton was on pace for a .402 average with 83 homers and 204 RBI.
And you know what? It didn't change my opinion of him one micro-byte.
I've said for years that Hamilton was the best player in baseball. We've seen him win games for the Rangers with his bat, his arm, his legs and, yes, his want-to. He won AL MVP in 2010 and, if the Rangers could've gotten three outs in St. Louis, his 10th-inning homer would've pushed the Rangers to their first World Series title last October. Point is, if you watched last week's awesome, almost unprecedented display of power and it somehow changed how you think of him, you simply haven't been paying attention. His display wasn't an urgent notice that he's arrived, but more so a firm reminder that he's been here for a while.
And, if you believe the Rangers should raise their offer and frantically sign Hamilton because he hit nine homers over six days, you don't know diddly squat about business. Right, Nolan Ryan?
"We've been talking to Josh's representatives, and we'll continue to do so," Ryan told TXA 21's Gina Miller in an interview last Friday. "But we can't overreact to what he did in Baltimore."
At Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in last weekend were signs – in between the boos for former pitcher C.J. Wilson – screaming "Pay The Man!" and "$ign Josh Now!" Even saw a couple of baseball analysts on ESPN yelling "Whoa, the price to sign Josh Hamilton just went way up!" Wait, no it didn't. Why would it? Because you want to buy something at its peak value? And because Hamilton isn't a baseball player on a temporary uptick during a marathon journey, but instead some kind of stock whose value wildly fluctuates from night to night, even at-bat to at-bat? That's a flawed philosophy, and fortunately the Rangers aren't buying it.
(I recall an owner in this town – let's call him Jerry Jones – getting lambasted for prematurely rewarding the one-year performances of Marion Barber and Ken Hamlin with overpriced contracts. Ring a bell?)
The Angels signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $252 million contract last winter. Hamilton had more RBI last week (18) than Pujols has all season (12). So, using the knee-jerk method of negotiating, what's Josh worth right now, $1 billion?
Hamilton isn't going anywhere. He's signed through the end of the season. Chances are you'll still love him in five months, but probably not be blinded by your current lust. And if you immediately think the Rangers should sign him now, did you also think they should cut his sorry ass in the wake of his February relapse?
No, that ain't the way baseball go. Nor real life. Think about this:
You've been dating a girl for three years and are about to pop the question within a week or two. You love her. Want to spend the rest of your life with her. You've been ring shopping, and have one picked out that will make her knees weak and her eyes wet while fitting in your budget. Then one night on a date she shows up looking even prettier than ever. Perfect hair and make-up. Eyes sparkling. Cleavage inviting. She turns heads in the restaurant. Wow! To me, that would merely confirm I'm with the right girl and am making the right decision. But to those who want Hamilton signed yesterday, you would've run out the next day to upgrade to even bigger ring and gotten down on one knee within 24 hours.
Patience, people. Hamilton has said the on-going contract negotiations won't be a distraction for him this season. And, as general manager Jon Daniels likes to say, there's plenty of time for "water to find its level."
Besides, Hamilton's rewards do come with risks. Remember?
There's a history of addiction, complete with two recent reminders: The whipped cream episode in Arizona in 2010 and the Sherlock's bathroom just three months ago. We also suddenly, conveniently forget Hamilton arrived at spring training in Surprise and announced "I don't feel like I owe the Rangers anything." And, of course, there's his fragile health.
Boys will be boys, life happens, you can't live in a cocoon and all that. Nonetheless, when a guy who has a history of fractured ribs and torn groins and broken shoulders takes unnecessary risks, I cringe. Josh says he can't help but play – and live – all out. I say I can't help but worry about him.
Sliding on the rain-soaked tarp in Baltimore. Diving head-first into 1st base with his team trailing by seven runs. Or, yep, simply driving past the blinking neon "BAR" sign on any given night.
Says Hamilton about his torrid start, "I think about staying healthy, first and foremost. I know if I play a lot of games, these numbers will end up where they need to be."
Make no mistake, the Rangers will re-sign Josh Slamilton. But they'll do it when they are good and ready. And that time isn't in the midst of a homer-hitting, fan-yelping, media-accented frenzy.
Be careful what you knee-jerk for. Inevitably even the best hitters cool off. And fiancées sometimes show up in sweats.
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