Hambone

[Horn69]

Angels debut today. 0-4 with 2 walks, 1 strikeouts. Okay, he's not going to hit 1.000. And he will hit HR's and RBI's. No big deal. It's only one game. But there was one little stat that looked familiar. For 6 ABs he saw all of 21 pitches. Wow. 3.5 pitches per AB.

Hook'em!!!

 

[WorsterMan]

Hey H69 - good opposition research there... yeah, us Rangers fans have seen this movie before. Some big strikeouts, 3-5 pitches AB, not working deep into the count to get walks, etc. I liked what he did for the R's and will never hate on him like others will... however I don't want him to do well when the Angels play the R's.

 

[Horn69]

Hey Woo-Woo. Interesting dilemma for Ranger fans when Hamilton comes to town - the traditional booing, or the Silence4Josh movement that I kinda like.

Hook'em!!!

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Mrs. HHD and I are going to the home opener on Friday; I'm thinking I'll go with the silent treatment for Josh.

HHD

 

[WorsterMan]

HHD - should be nice weather for the opener!

It is a dilemma H69. I hope most fans choose the silent treatment. I know if I attend any games that JH is playing in, he will get the silent treatment from me. I can't boo him or somebody like Pudge coming back on another team. The only player that came back that I remember booing was A-Rod.

 

[Horn69]

Every player is different. I always gave Pudge standing O's. I was 5 rows behind the 3rd-base on deck circle and joined in the boos when A-Rod strolled in his first game back. I cheer Jet Terry and boo Lamar Odom.

Hook'em!!!

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Count me in among those who boo A-Roid.

HHD

 

[Horn2Run]

2 guys that deserved booing from R's fans...A-roid, Lee Mazzilli

 

[Horn69]

He just struck out to end the game with tying run on 2nd.

Excitement will abound in Arlington this weekend.

Hook'em!!!

 

[zork]

If Cruz makes the catch then Hambone had the winning HR in extras. Then this thread might be about a Hambone with a slightly lower contract number still playing for the R's.

As it is the Angels overpaid and I am glad the R's didn't throw that much money at him for that long. He will still hit around .300 with near 100 RBI and 30 HR even if he starts out slow. The K numbers will also be monumental.

 

[Horn69]

You're probably right about that Zork.

And on different note. Chris Davis has started out "on fire." 3 games, 3 HR's, 2 Doubles and 11 RBIs. Wowzer.

I've seen 2 of his HR's and they were shots. For the moment you could 2nd-guess Moreland for him, but I think Moreland's just off to slow start and will come around and have good season. And Davis will obviously cool. Here's hoping on Moreland.

Hook'em!!!

 

[YearOfTheSteer]

So, was Josh booed or silenced by the home crowd today during his first at bat? At work and can't watch it, though I did notice he struck out his first at bat...

 

[Hook 'Em Danno]

^^^. Lots of boos from what I heard. On another, yet related, note, I almost forgot to set the over/under on when Holland will give up a homer. It's the 3rd inning for today's game, and I'm taking the under.

 

[YearOfTheSteer]

Thanks. I was really (yet unrealistically) hoping for dead silence throughout the stadium, with the exception of a baby crying or a vendor yelling "Cold Beer!"

Oh well, at least the strikeout probably brought the crowd to its feet!

 

[YearOfTheSteer]

In reply to:

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[Hook 'Em Danno]

Yep. Struck 'em out on 4 pitches the first time and 3 pitches on the second AB (that sure sounds familiar). Nice way for boos to quickly turn to cheers.

I hate it when I'm right on the over/under thing. Giving up a long ball to the No. 8 is never a good thing.

 

[FWHORN]

O for four with two K's and a misplayed ball in right. Really earning his 25 mil with that .062 batting average through four games.

Fact is I appreciate what Josh did for the Rangers and if Nelson Cruz is positioned just a little further back or Feliz makes a better pitch or Feldman doesnt groove one in the tenth we all might think of Josh a whole lot different. The way he left though from last August on was just too much and all the goodwill he built up got used up.

 

[Hook 'Em Danno]

Ya-hoo! Game 1 goes to the Rangers.

 

[notanative]

At least his hair smells nice - if you like Old Spice.

 

[WorsterMan]

HELLO WIN COLUMN!!

day games suck if I am working as I have to game track it on the PC with no sound to keep up.

Holland pitches 7 and Hambone goes 0-4.

1-0 for the series and 3-1 so far is nice

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Mrs. HHD & I just returned from The Ballpark. The Boo-birds were definitely out for Josh - I as hoping for the slient treatment, but not today.

Nice W for the Rangers, but they wasted a lot of opportunities - left a small village on the basepaths. Great pitching by Holland, Scheppers, and Nathan. Clutch hitting saved the day, although if Ianetta handles the throw from Josh cleanly, they might have had a play at the plate on Gentry.

Well, it goes into the standings as a W. And so far in 2013, the Rangers are undefeated in games I attend in person.

HHD

 

[Dewbrewer]

Wow. Anybody hear what Josh said in the press conference after the game? Said he would not take back what he said in 30 years. Woah. He was mad it was loud as hell when the fans booed him and he said it wasn't that loud in playoff games. Ummmm, I doubt it. I personally would have just given him the silent treatment as well. He is an odd guy but I am surprised he is making this so hard on himself.

Wonder what he will do when the Angels fans boo him. Makes you wonder. His average is below .100 at this point. Might not be too far off.

Obviously he will hit. He is a helluva talent. I wish he had kept it together and stayed but I can imagine that he is a difficult player to manage. Maybe one of the most difficult.

GO RANGERS!

 

[Horn69]

I wasn't at the game today, but was at World Series game when Napoli had game winning hit and ALCS when Feliz struck out A-Rod to win the series. Can't imagine anything louder than that. Stick it in your piehole, Hambone.

Hook'em!!!

 

[Crockett]

In a press conference after the game Hamilton referred to Arlington as the hometown of his baseball career and quoted a friend talking about how Jesus was treated in his hometown. Mike Ryner, a man who has closely observed the Rangers for decades, described Hamilton as "stupid, arrogant and clueless"

I'm more sympathetic. I see Hamilton as a guy with immense physical talent and good intentions, but emotionally frail. Drug abuse during time when the brain is still physically developing can have lifelong consequences and I doubt the slugger will ever be working with a completely functioning adult brain. He looks like a grown man, but he'll spend his life thinking like a 16-year-old. When he's playing baseball, he tries hard but overreacts to external stuff. When he's talking to the media he's in over his head.

Looking at him, I have this urge to tell him to grow up. I don't know if that's fair. I don't think he can. Hamilton needs an organization that will insulate him and protect him. The Rangers, God Bless them, really tried. It doesn't look like the Angels are doing that very well right now.

 

[Horn69]

That's excellent insight Crockett. And you would think Southern California is not going to be as nurturing as being somewhere like Arlington Texas. But, I hope his personal life is successful even if I root against him (because of the laundry he now wears) professionally.

Hook'em!!!

 

[FWHORN]

Crockett definitely nailed it, he needs a place that protects him and he had that in Arlington until he blew it. LA will not protect him and I fear he is not to long away from another incident without such a safety net.

 

[Horn2Run]

Saturday in the 4th....Josh strikes out with 2 on, whiffs on a horrible breaking pitch in the dirt to end the inning (i've seen this scene before)

Crockett,
well put

 

[Hook 'Em Danno]

Well, Josh had a decent night, but the Rangers still took the series, 7-3.

Not sure why Wash decided to use Nathan in a non-save situation though (where have we heard that before?). I'm guessing they're going to need him against the Rays.

 

[Crockett]

By adding Berkman and Pierzynski to the lineup while subtracting Hamilton and Napoli, the Rangers lose a little pop, but add a lot of plate discipline. The Rangers offense will be less spectacular and we probably won't see much 12 run offense. But the new hitters will be more consisistent. I'm hopeful the new lineup will be ready to keep grinding and win a lot more 6-5 and 4-3 contests this season. The new guys make pitchers work to get them out. Man I hated to see Hamilton come up in crucial situations and strike out on 3-5 pitches, maybe 1 of which was in the strike zone. Of course, now it's kinda fun.

 

[Crockett]

Things are not getting any easier for the blue-eyed slugger. Here is an insightful article about Hamilton developing a playing style even more free-swinging than he displayed in Texas. The Link
Surely hitting coaches are working with him on his plate discipline... Until the Angels work that out and get some pitchers healthy, the Rangers better build a big lead. If Trout, Hamilton, Puljos and Trumbo hit their usual and anybody else in the lineup gets hot, the Angels are going to score a scary amount of runs.