Rangers Make Contract Offer To Hamilton

Texas will find a way to lock him up.

not good

"Boy, I wish the Indians could sign the top three free agents and then still wish to sign a guy like Hamilton.

I mean, seriously, you have Swisher on your bench, yet it's never good enough for you is it? Quit hording players.

SALARY CAP!"

Posted by: the lowercase zach is better | March 25, 2009 at 05:52 PM

Lol

Any long term contract should have a "relapse" condition for the Rangers.

Hey, I'm a fan of Hamilton and his story but baseball is a business. Gotta cover your butt.

"I know it will never happen, but man would i love to see hamilton in pinstripes."

The spoiled little rich boys - daddy's bought them all he could this winter and they still want more.

Everyone bashing jpg1200 for wishing Hamilton was on the Yankees needs to calm the f**k down, he said he knows it'll never happen and he never complained about not having a good enough team or about Swisher not being enough off the bench, but god forbid a yankee fan makes a comment about wanting a player, it's not like you guys don't wish your team could sign him.

Iron Nat. if your expecting a Salary Cap. i dont think that will happen buddy. Not in baseball thats for sure. Correct me if im wrong but wouldnt like half or majority need to vote YES on that. So like Teams like:NYY,BOS,NYM,DET. <== those teams were the only ones i could really think had a big payroll. But you guys get my point.
And i think "Lower Case zack is better" or whatever he calls him self was just trying to say that it just gets old that NYY say that. But i just found it ammusing because i think it does get old but i jsut let the Yankee fans say whatever they want and just dont say anythin because isnt worth it anymore lol

Salary cap part i ment GM's and Owners

Iron Nat,

what are you blabbering on about change for? I was defending a comment made by jpg1200 because it pisses me off how much everyone likes to bash yankee fans. Case in point is this thread, all the guy did was say he wished Hamiltion could one day be in pinstripes, is that really a crime? Wanting a dominante power hitting OF? Last I checked all teams want that and would love to have Hamilton in their OF, the thing that really makes me mad is if it had been a fan of almost any other team, no one would have thought twice about it. And it is ignorant of you to assume that I live in New York just because I'm a Yankee fan.

O and just so I comment somewhat on the article written I think it would be great to see Hamilton be a Ranger long term, it is a great story, to come back from where he was (even though it was self-inflicted) and still be able to play baseball at the highest level speaks volumes about him.

I'm a Yankee fan. I wouldn't mind having him play for my team. Where is the sin in that? Why is it always a problem if the Yankees do it. Those of you who can't stop groaning, moaning and complaining about the Yankees have got to get over it. The Yankees are good not bad for baseball... the fact that we spend most of the time either talking about or hating on them says so...

Every team can only have 1 elite player and the rest have to be mediocre. Fans cannot wish for their teams to acquire elite players to win a WS or two, ever! Period.

Wonder what is the opinion of those who bashed jpg1220 for his comment about Fantasy Baseball...

I think it's telling how many posters are Yankee fans and admit it. The fact is, you don't have a Cincinatti Reds fan on here saying they wish he was a Red and you don't have a Padres fan wishing he played in San Diego and you don't have a Braves fan wishing he was a Brave- you have yankee fans wishing he was a Yankee, due in large part to the question mark that is our outfield.

Matsui is a DH at best and hasn't been healthy for 2 seasons going on 3, Nady is a massive question mark as to how is production will be this year, if we'll use him as a trade chip, etc. and Damon was 52 million down the drain unless we come up with something this year and unless he does some obvious heroics, it won't be thanks to him.

Bottom line: We need to fix our outfield. It hasn't been solid in many years, not since we started signing guys like Sheffield. We need young and multi-tooled players, not the injured and aging mashers we have right now.

If the Yankees had really wanted Hamilton, then they'd have traded for him before the Rangers did. The Yankees are like little kids who only want something that belongs to somebody else and is better than what they have. That is really why the Red Sox are better than the Yankees because the Red Sox make moves that are planned, while the Yankees just walk in and whip out their checkbook. How's that working out for the Yankees these days? The Yankees still wouldn't know who Josh Hamilton even was if he didn't bash all those homers at the All-Star game. Keep lusting for what you can't have there, Yankee fans.

MadmanTX, yes the yankees would have known who he was, orginizations don't forget number 1 overall picks. And I knew who he was before last year too, I drafted him in my fantasy draft last year and reaped the rewards.
BomberMan26, you are absolutely right, the yanks outfield is prob the worst defensive outfield in the majors, and their bats really dont make up for it. Damon has the arm of a second baseman right now, and our second baseman's arm is actually ten times better. Also, Nady doesn't have the arm for right, but at least he's not afraid of the wall like the former right fielder.

"but let's be honest, how many of these professional atheletes really need the extra $10 mil?"

How many of those billionaire owners really need that extra $10 mil?

I just wish the Cubs held on to Hamilton when they selected him in the Rule 5 draft and traded him to the Reds. Talk about a solution to the left handed power hitter problem we had. Now we've got Mr. Fragile to play RF instead. Fantastic!

I will give you the fact that absolutely no major league owners are in dire need of the $10 million. But here's my case, the Twins have had a steady team for the past 7 or so seasons, always on the threshold of making the playoffs if they don't. They DO develop their players. Torii Hunter, David Ortiz, and Johan Santana (via trade)have been a few examples of what they have developed and lost due to the wide open market of free agency. If a salary cap were imposed it would keep teams like the Yanks, Mets, BoSox, Angels, Dodgers from investing these ridiculous amounts of money to players from smaller market teams. The business of baseball has taken away from the passion and loyalty (ON BOTH SIDES). Kirby Puckett is by far my favorite player of all time because through thick and thin, he stayed with the Twins, even through all the bad years, because they drafted him and made him the face of the franchise. The only player I can remember doing that in New York is Jeter. It's just not the same game anymore. I wish that rosters wouldn't change so drastically from season to season.

""but let's be honest, how many of these professional atheletes really need the extra $10 mil?"

Even if you've made $50 million, $10 million is a TON of money. Do you realize how many professional athletes go broke? Many of these guys have no idea about how to invest and save their money. Not saying Hamilton is like that, but $10 million in this economy is a massive sum of cash.

And can people please stop with the big market team/little market team crap.

Even with the unlimited assets, the Yankees aren't the definitive best team in the game, and honestly I think it's nice to watch a team of young guys grow up and develop together. I never get to see that because I live in Chicago, but teams like the Twins are ran far better than the Yankees and manage to contend every year in spite of their payroll. Young, cheap players are the way to maintain long term competitiveness, and honestly I'd expect the Yankees to be saddled with multiple, simply brutal contracts within 3-4 years (think about paying A-Rod $30M when he's 38, while they're also shoveling money to Tex, CC and Burnett as well).

Sadly, the big market teams are figuring out how to run a farm system and develop young players, at which point they may become unstoppable. That's why they need to figure out this draft slot bonus stuff, so that the worst teams ALWAYS land the prospects that they deem are best, not the ones that they deem affordable.

Forget about the Yankees. They're both good and bad for baseball and as much as I'd love to see them stacked from lead off to whoever is batting 9th in their line up, it's okay for other guys on other teams to get big fat contracts as well. As for Josh Hamilton....

No way the guy is worth only 5 million annually. He and his agent know a guy with his talent would command 10 mil per year just as a base number, if he was a free agent on the open market. Given that, I think they will come to a medium ground eventually. Buy out his arbitration years for extra cheap, but sign him to a loooong a backloaded contract to eat up his free agent years.

If they go cheap...

Prediction: 6 years/$42 million

If Hamilton gets the bigger chunk of the wishbone...

Prediction: 6 years/$75 million

If they meet in the middle...

Prediction: 6 years/$58.5 million

"I know it will never happen, but man would i love to see hamilton in pinstripes."

I too would love to see him in pinstrips but this guy is a risk. There is always a chance of him suffering a relapse and he's never played in a pressure situation.

He's better off in Texas

sorry, i didn't bother reading many comments past 20, but the people who get pissed about yank fans lookin forward to next year are kinda being unfair. everyone dreams about future free agents and how they would fit on their squad. I have little experience in such hope, being a pirates fan, but i regress.

yes, the Yankess got the top three free agents this year, but that doesnt mean fans cant still look forward to the future.

a lot of Yankee fans get overboard (see: Kenny) with their aspirations, but its really unfair to categorize all yanks fans as dumbba$$ fairthy-weather baseball fans.

and for anyone who hates on the Steinbrunners for spending so much money, flat out, you are jealous the owner of your team doesnt want to win as much as he does. id love for a Stein-type to worry less about his ski resorts and more about the product he puts on the field for the Bucs.

Definitely not jealous of a team that spends close to $300 Million and doesn't make the playoffs.