Do you want to take a shot at Josh Hamilton?

[DrungoHazewood]

Yeah, I'd rather have Andino or Cruz hitting in a criticle spot than Josh Hamilton.

Yes, because that's really the choice. Either the O's spend $100M+ on Josh Hamilton and all of his baggage, or they have to bat Robert Andino cleanup.

[PeteU]

Did you miss the part where he was intoxicated? He obviously had a problem turning down alcohol.

Or apparently "average looking women", whatever that's supposed to mean....

[WNY Orioles Fan]

Yes, because that's really the choice. Either the O's spend $100M+ on Josh Hamilton and all of his baggage, or they have to bat Robert Andino cleanup.

You do realize with Hamilton being in the lineup, guys directly hitting before and after him will get much better pitches to hit. Dude hit like 285, 40+ HR. Are you saying we couldn't use that?

I feel this team is almost there, but not quite. The only thing missing is a major threat in the lineup. If we get Hamilton, we could very well be the favorites in the AL East.

[Can_of_corn]

You do realize with Hamilton being in the lineup, guys directly hitting before and after him will get much better pitches to hit. Dude hit like 285, 40+ HR. Are you saying we couldn't use that?

I feel this team is almost there, but not quite. The only thing missing is a major threat in the lineup. If we get Hamilton, we could very well be the favorites in the AL East.

Please supply statistical evidence to support this assertion.

[WNY Orioles Fan]

Please supply statistical evidence to support this assertion.

Should I have to? Hamilton would be the best hitter in the lineup. Don't you think AJ (batting 3rd) would see better pitches with Hamilton hitting behind him considering Hamilton is the more feared hitter? And wouldn't you be carefully pitching to Hamilton with Davis batting 5th therefore Davis would see better pitches.

[TradeAngelos]

I love how everyone keeps saying "too much money" when they don't even a ballpark figure of what it is going to take to sign him.

His market is going to be soft, everyone is saying it. The Rangers letting him "test free agency" killed his value.

He isn't going to get near what all the "no's" think.

[TradeAngelos]

Please supply statistical evidence to support this assertion.

See Markakis, Nick.

[Can_of_corn]

Should I have to? Hamilton would be the best hitter in the lineup. Don't you think AJ (batting 3rd) would see better pitches with Hamilton hitting behind him considering Hamilton is the more feared hitter? And wouldn't you be carefully pitching to Hamilton with Davis batting 5th therefore Davis would see better pitches.

Yes, you should have to. You are stating something as a fact that I don't think you can prove. I have never seen compelling statistical evidence that the concept of "lineup protection" has any value.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Should I have to? Hamilton would be the best hitter in the lineup. Don't you think AJ (batting 3rd) would see better pitches with Hamilton hitting behind him considering Hamilton is the more feared hitter? And wouldn't you be carefully pitching to Hamilton with Davis batting 5th therefore Davis would see better pitches.

Protection improving batter performance has consistently been shown to be nonsense. If anything it may actually be the other way around. Performance of the protected batter might actually decrease. While it's true the protected batter may see more strikes, they may not necessarily be hittable pitches. Think of it this way, are pitchers generally more effective when they throw strikes and get ahead in the count or throw balls and fall behind in the count?

As for Jones, as long as he keeps swinging at crap, there is no reason for pitchers to stop throwing him crap. I've seen several interviews now where he has preached about "taking pitches and letting the guys behind him do the work" yet he does the same old stuff. Maybe there's improvement to come, but basically it's just the way the guy is wired.

[Can_of_corn]

See Markakis, Nick.

See Braun, Ryan.

[skipskip]

Did I miss something or has no one mentioned the yankees as his destination?

[CA-ORIOLE]

See Markakis, Nick.

I'm not sure I get this one. Wouldn't Nick have been hurt this year by having Hardy (statistically one of the worst hitters on the team batting behind him) and helped by Jones (one of the best hitters on the team batting behind him)? Didn't Nick's stats work out to be just the opposite of what lineup protection would have projected?

[glenn__davis]

He isn't going to get near what all the "no's" think.

It only takes 1 team, and I think someone will give him that.

Did anyone think anyone would offer Prince Fielder a 9 year deal? Or a 10 year deal for a 30 year old Pujols?

I believe someone will offer Hamilton 6-7 years, which is just too much for me with his issues. I'd love to sign him for 4 and would go 5 if necessary, but I think that won't be enough.

[DrungoHazewood]

You do realize with Hamilton being in the lineup, guys directly hitting before and after him will get much better pitches to hit. Dude hit like 285, 40+ HR. Are you saying we couldn't use that?

I feel this team is almost there, but not quite. The only thing missing is a major threat in the lineup. If we get Hamilton, we could very well be the favorites in the AL East.

They could also use Prince Fielder, but not at the $200M plus a ton of prospects, plus the bribe it would take to convince the Tigers to trade him. Everything has a cost. And in baseball free agents the cost is often far more than the likely return. When the free agent in question is already in his thirties, already misses quite a few games, has a long list of addictions and personal problems, and is being let walk by his current contending team... I'd say that's a very high risk move. One of the last things I want for the Orioles is to be in a Jayson Werth situation, where they have to do a lot of things exceptionally well to make up for the fact they're paying $20M a year for a mediocre outfielder.

And as for the lineup protection, yea, see Can_of_corn and CA-Oriole's posts. There's little, if any, evidence that other players in the lineup are positively effected by it. If you want to stick to verifiable facts you have to go with the assumption that Hamilton brings his 3-4 wins a year to the team (declining over time by about half a win a year), and no one else benefits from some mystical synergy from his presence.

[Eddie_Murray33]

Did I miss something or has no one mentioned the yankees as his destination?

Anything is possible with the Yankees- especially after their current post-season offensive melt-down. That said conventional wisdom seems to be that Josh Hamilton's "demons" and the sundry temptations of NYC would not be a good mix for either party. Crazier things have happened though...