Re: who is leading the major's in RBI's...oh yea,Josh Hamilton!

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"Kevin McClave" <kmcclaveSPAM DIES@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:ln7s14h1c2mf5tb62slmnst9c3m8ppkjvr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:16:11 -0400, "Bob Braun"
> <oxinfla@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Kevin McClave" <kmcclaveSPAM DIES@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>news:m2np14h4j0r7ks4cvgaripgcuakusp53b2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> On Sat, 3 May 2008 17:22:58 -0400, "RJA" <rja@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>"David Short" <David.No.Short@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>>>news:fvijve$sls$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>> "Bob Braun" <oxinfla@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
>>>>>> Hamilton will have better numbers than Dunn.  400K vs. $13MIL. 
Don't
>>>>>> even
>>>>>> bother think about the defensive aspect.  Watching Hamilton handle
>>>>>> pitches, and drive the ball to the opposite field with power made
him
>>>>>> an
>>>>>> absolute no-brainer.  He abused himself for years, literally
thumbed
>>>>>> his
>>>>>> nose at minor league baseball, jumped to the majors and handled 
>>>>>> pitches
>>>>>> like an elite player.  People just don't do that.  He is in a class
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> approaches Albert Pujols.
>>>>> ....a unique talent.
>>>>>
>>>>>> The GM of the Reds chose the wrong path for 2008.  Votto in LF,
>>>>>> Hamilton
>>>>>> in CF and Bruce in RF was the way to go for 2008.  Adding an ace
>>>>>> pitcher
>>>>>> to this lineup was putting lipstick on a hog.  Grow with the kids, 
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> "cheap kids" in 2008, the future is bright.  But again, the Reds
will
>>>>>> fall
>>>>>> into perpetual rebuild.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can blame Krivsky all you want, but the mandate from the owner
was
>>>>> to
>>>>> win NOW. He was in a position where he couldn't deal either Junior
or
>>>>> Dunn
>>>>> and he needed to get a winning record on the books in order to keep 
>>>>> his
>>>>> job.
>>>>
>>>>This is what I don't get.  There are tons of people locally saying
that
>>>>Krivsky should have gone young and/or traded Griffey and Dunn, but
none 
>>>>of
>>>>them will tell you who the takers were.  Griffey is under contract and
I
>>>>doubt any smart GM wanted an aging veteran for 12.5 million or
whatever 
>>>>it
>>>>is.  They also know that he's got a 16.5 million dollar option after 
>>>>this
>>>>year.  Dunn could have been bought out, but who exactly was going to
>>>>replace
>>>>his numbers?  I know he has sucked thus far, but I'm not sure anyone 
>>>>could
>>>>have seen that after last year.
>>>
>>> Uh...I did. One of his biggest defenders saw it a mile away.
>>>
>>>>Bruce is hitting .307/.324 at AAA and striking out 1/4 of the time. 
>>>>This
>>>>doesn't exactly say that he's going to tear up the majors just yet.
>>>>
>>>>If Hamilton was here, it may have been a wash.  Couple more games 
>>>>possibly
>>>>won due to offense, and a couple more lost due to lack of pitching. 
I'd
>>>>rather have the pitching in the long run.  The offense is easier to
>>>>acquire/solve.  Hamilton also adds to our lefthanded hitting struggles
>>>>against lefties.
>>>
>>> Assuming for the sake of argument that Hamilton and Volquez are
equally
>>> talented, of course you would want the pitcher. Pitching is much
harder
>>> to find.
>>>
>>
>>Good pitchers are hard to find.  But how many people can do what Josh
>>Hamilton has even done so far?
>
> The horizon is littered with guys who excelled in limited time. Josh
> Hamilton still doesn't have enough ML PAs to qualify for a single season
> batting title.
>
> I'm certainly not suggesting that the ceiling isn't high on him, but so
> too are the risks.
>

I can't argue the demons in his past.  But his mechanics and plate 
discipline are far beyond his years of age and experience.  For $390K I 
would have rode out those risks.