How much are you willing to offer Josh Hamilton?

[JohnCangelosi]

I have to admit I'm a bit dumbfounded why seemingly everyone on this board is wanting to trade our MVP from last year for "salary relief", not even prospects!!?!?!.

 

Obviously everyone must be expecting another 2011 from him.

[justBLAZE]

I have to admit I'm a bit dumbfounded why seemingly everyone on this board is wanting to trade our MVP from last year for "salary relief", not even prospects!!?!?!.

 

Obviously everyone must be expecting another 2011 from him.

 

There seems to be a trend of thought here on SoxTalk that he is 'every other year' player.

[Lillian]

There seems to be a trend of thought here on SoxTalk that he is 'every other year' player.

 

The "every other year" label is not justified. His poor year in 2011 is very easily explained by that horrible stance he adopted. I remember painfully watching him, game after game, and thinking that no one could hit with a stance like that. Once he changed it, he instantly started to hit. I guess maybe J. Manto deserves a lot of the credit. It is inconceivable to me that Rios would go back to the mechanical approach he used in 2011, or even tinker with his current stance. He looks so much better at the plate.

 

Another point that many seem to forget is that he was even better last year than his numbers. As good as he was, he hit into a lot of bad luck. He probably had more "hang with 'ems" than anyone on the team. He seemed to hit the ball as consistently hard as any hitter I can remember in a Sox uniform, since Frank Thomas' good years. Please note that I said "since" Thomas, not as good as Thomas.

 

He should have been the # 3 hitter last year, and it is arguable that he would have been even better hitting in that spot, with more protection. I know that he didn't perform well there in the few at bats he had in that spot, but the sample size was far too small.

 

One final point, is that Rios is a genuine 5 tool player, and we don't have anyone else who even remotely fits that description.

[southsider2k5]

I lied in the last post, I'm done addressing his off the field issues though. My views on him are out there.

 

I don't buy Rios as worthless and wouldnt net the Sox SOMETHING. His contract is not that bad.

 

Also wheres the money AJ, Myers, and Youk going? The Sox can take on some salary.

 

Attendance fell again last year. The team has already said that payroll will stay right about where it was last year. When you add back in the players with big jumps in salary, such as John Danks, we are going to be right where we were last year. We stand today at about $90 million, with AJ, Youk, and Myers still up in the air.

[ewokpelts]

There seems to be a trend of thought here on SoxTalk that he is 'every other year' player.

No.

Just ONE person is advocating we trade him to make room for a guy that may or may not want to play with the sox. Everyone else is simply discussing if Rios could be moved for anything of value, but all agreeing that no value would be had if we simply dumped his salary.

 

[Jake]

Any chance Hamilton pulls a Boras and signs a lucrative 1 year deal to re-test the waters next year? Risky business at his age, but if he isn't getting anything close to what he wants he might think about it.

[bigruss]

No.

Just ONE person is advocating we trade him to make room for a guy that may or may not want to play with the sox. Everyone else is simply discussing if Rios could be moved for anything of value, but all agreeing that no value would be had if we simply dumped his salary.

If the Sox feel he is going to regress again, and would rather spread that money out, I would totally support that move.

 

It would almost kill this team next year if Rios hits like 2011 again with his salary.

[ewokpelts]

If the Sox feel he is going to regress again, and would rather spread that money out, I would totally support that move.

 

It would almost kill this team next year if Rios hits like 2011 again with his salary.

But there has been NO indication that the Sox feel that way. If anything, with re-signing Peavy, they are committed to guys like Rios to provide the offense for 2013.

 

[bigruss]

But there has been NO indication that the Sox feel that way. If anything, with re-signing Peavy, they are committed to guys like Rios to provide the offense for 2013.

They have been connected to multiple OFers, they may not be trying to trade Rios but I would not be surprised to see a change made somewhere in the OF.

[southsider2k5]

They have been connected to multiple OFers, they may not be trying to trade Rios but I would not be surprised to see a change made somewhere in the OF.

 

The fact that they have traded for CF, had De Aza pop up as "available", and now are supposedly being connected to Pagan, all tell me that it isn't Rios who is in trouble.

[bigruss]

The fact that they have traded for CF, had De Aza pop up as "available", and now are supposedly being connected to Pagan, all tell me that it isn't Rios who is in trouble.

Smokescreen

 

Honestly though, I'm sure the Sox are doing their legwork and they'll probably find out that trading De Aza or Dayan is the way to go to fill 3b/C.

[southsider2k5]

Smokescreen

 

Honestly though, I'm sure the Sox are doing their legwork and they'll probably find out that trading De Aza or Dayan is the way to go to fill 3b/C.

 

It makes sense. Those guys have some value above their contracts.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Not that anyone cares... I got the Hamilton book back from my friend who struggled with a pain pill addiction, and he says it really helped me out.

 

I decided to read it again so I can shed some light on his addiction....Basically blame Carl Crawford and Tampas front office for not letting him continue to be a mommas boy.

 

Through his first 2 years of pro ball his mom and dad still followed him everywhere and The Rays didn't like that. He was then alone and at the time injured. He became addicted to tattoos after seeing Carl Crawfords tats. Josh told Carl his parents wouldn't like him getting one to which Carl told him youre an adult now, so Josh went ahead and got one...then 6...then when he got hurt, he spent hours at the tattoo parlor and made friends with the guy who ran the place. These tattoo guys we're trouble and got him addicted to heroin and other hard drugs....

 

If they Rays allowed him to be a mommas boy he would probably be in the conversation of being the greatest of all time....now he's just a walking punchline because of his past despite being drug free for 7 years....Sad, I respect the hell outta the guy for putting the past behind him and getting back in playing shape and still living up to his potential.

 

I've never had an official Sox jersey but if the Sox were somehow to get him I'd be the first man in line for that jersey.

[Eminor3rd]

Not that anyone cares... I got the Hamilton book back from my friend who struggled with a pain pill addiction, and he says it really helped me out.

 

I decided to read it again so I can shed some light on his addiction....Basically blame Carl Crawford and Tampas front office for not letting him continue to be a mommas boy.

 

Through his first 2 years of pro ball his mom and dad still followed him everywhere and The Rays didn't like that. He was then alone and at the time injured. He became addicted to tattoos after seeing Carl Crawfords tats. Josh told Carl his parents wouldn't like him getting one to which Carl told him youre an adult now, so Josh went ahead and got one...then 6...then when he got hurt, he spent hours at the tattoo parlor and made friends with the guy who ran the place. These tattoo guys we're trouble and got him addicted to heroin and other hard drugs....

 

If they Rays allowed him to be a mommas boy he would probably be in the conversation of being the greatest of all time....now he's just a walking punchline because of his past despite being drug free for 7 years....Sad, I respect the hell outta the guy for putting the past behind him and getting back in playing shape and still living up to his potential.

 

I've never had an official Sox jersey but if the Sox were somehow to get him I'd be the first man in line for that jersey.

 

No, he isn't addicted to drugs because Tampa Bay didn't allow him to be a "momma's boy," he's addicted to drugs because he wasn't able to make reasonable adult decisions. Carl Crawford was right, he is an adult and can/should act like one. But he didn't, he decided to spend hours at a tattoo parlor doing heroin.

[2nd_city_saint787]

No, he isn't addicted to drugs because Tampa Bay didn't allow him to be a "momma's boy," he's addicted to drugs because he wasn't able to make reasonable adult decisions. Carl Crawford was right, he is an adult and can/should act like one. But he didn't, he decided to spend hours at a tattoo parlor doing heroin.

 

If he was allowed to stick with his parents he wouldnt be spending hours in the tattoo parlor making friends with the guys there.

[bigruss]

If he was allowed to stick with his parents he wouldnt be spending hours in the tattoo parlor making friends with the guys there.

Sorry, but this is so f***ing wrong.

 

He chose to get a tattoo, he chose to put those drugs in his body. No one tied him down and injected the drugs into him those countless times or to put those tattoos on him. HE CHOSE THAT LIFESTYLE.

 

Eventually he was going to go down the current path because HE LIKED it.

[Eminor3rd]

If he was allowed to stick with his parents he wouldnt be spending hours in the tattoo parlor making friends with the guys there.

 

Yeah, but people are supposed to be able to make friends without becoming drug addicts. My parents don't hang out with me and I have friends AND am not addicted to heroin. Same with Carl Crawford. Same with all non-addicted adults in America.

 

I give the guy a ton of credit for beating his addiction, but I have absolutely no sympathy for him digging that hole in the first place. It is no one's fault but his own.

[soxfan-kwman]

Hamilton at the Cell, that would be legendary !!!

[2nd_city_saint787]

Yeah, but people are supposed to be able to make friends without becoming drug addicts. My parents don't hang out with me and I have friends AND am not addicted to heroin. Same with Carl Crawford. Same with all non-addicted adults in America.

 

I give the guy a ton of credit for beating his addiction, but I have absolutely no sympathy for him digging that hole in the first place. It is no one's fault but his own.

 

 

well ya it's his fault for doing it but what I was saying is if he was not forced out of his support system with his parents then he wouldn't be spending hours in a tattoo parlor and making friends with these guys. He didn't know what to do with his free time when he was forced away from his parents so he had all this time on his hands that he ended up using in a tattoo parlor that lead him to the addiction.

 

before having all that free time he was a family man, all his friends were family.

[GreatScott82]

I do think we will have a completely different outfield this year but i do NOT want to spend 100 million on Hamilton.

[southsider2k5]

If he was allowed to stick with his parents he wouldnt be spending hours in the tattoo parlor making friends with the guys there.

 

It sounds like the guy has an addictive personality. He couldn't just get one tat, he got 7. He can't just have one beer, he has to go on a bender and then look for coke. I don't know where the personality issues come from, but the guy is a danger to himself.

[Y2Jimmy0]

well ya it's his fault for doing it but what I was saying is if he was not forced out of his support system with his parents then he wouldn't be spending hours in a tattoo parlor and making friends with these guys. He didn't know what to do with his free time when he was forced away from his parents so he had all this time on his hands that he ended up using in a tattoo parlor that lead him to the addiction.

 

before having all that free time he was a family man, all his friends were family.

 

 

Didn't his parents both die in a car accident? When did that occur?

[ewokpelts]

well ya it's his fault for doing it but what I was saying is if he was not forced out of his support system with his parents then he wouldn't be spending hours in a tattoo parlor and making friends with these guys. He didn't know what to do with his free time when he was forced away from his parents so he had all this time on his hands that he ended up using in a tattoo parlor that lead him to the addiction.

 

before having all that free time he was a family man, all his friends were family.

step one to be drug free(according to josh hamilton): replace drugs/booze with jesus.

 

step two: blame everyone but yourself.

 

 

[jenksycat]

well ya it's his fault for doing it but what I was saying is if he was not forced out of his support system with his parents then he wouldn't be spending hours in a tattoo parlor and making friends with these guys. He didn't know what to do with his free time when he was forced away from his parents so he had all this time on his hands that he ended up using in a tattoo parlor that lead him to the addiction.

 

before having all that free time he was a family man, all his friends were family.

 

If it wasn't for that gosh darn tattoo parlor, we'd be looking at the greatest baseball player of all time.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Didn't his parents both die in a car accident? When did that occur?

 

False, Josh and his parents got in a car accident but all walked away from it, the lingering effects from it was actually what put him on the DL which led to all his free time.

 

 

step one to be drug free(according to josh hamilton): replace drugs/booze with jesus.

 

step two: blame everyone but yourself.

 

Step one sounds right and there's no problem with that. Step 2, he wasn't the one that blamed Crawford or TBs front office or anyone else, I'm the one saying these things, it's what I took from the book.

 

 

 

If it wasn't for that gosh darn tattoo parlor, we'd be looking at the greatest baseball player of all time.

 

I believe that, if he walked into a different tattoo parlor where the artists there weren't drug addicts themselves we wouldn't be having this conversation.