I'm getting irritated with Hamilton

[martinpa25]

...and his idiotic swings at pitches 5ft into the ground

[tdawg87]

He's pretty much just winging it at this point.

[full circle]

I was never a big Vladdy fan because of his brainless hacking, Hamilton looks to be even worse.  

[fan_since79]

Vladdy actually had a bigger hitting zone. He could get to a lot of those low pitches and golf them out of the park or for extra bases.

[Fontana Halo]

Another guy that's started to suck now that he's with an inferior franchise.

[Bob Trop]

Hamilton looks like he is going through the motion. He doesn't ever appear to be angry. Guy needs a fkame lit under his a$$.

[beatlesrule]

He has 125 million reasons not to care what you think.  I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY wish my parents would have let me play baseball. 

[obanov]

lol whose parents dont let them play baseball? 

 

Did you grow up in Berlin in the 30's?

[Angel Oracle]

Hamilton trying for the golden sombrero!

[SoCALkid]

Baseball is from the devil, bobby!!

[TroutField]

I seriously say "honestly, WTF was that?" After every single one of his at bats, swing at 3 pitches in the dirt and go sit back down, never any plan up there, never tracking pitches, just close his eyes and swing.

[AZMike]

Hamilton trying for the golden sombrero!

 

If the Angels' offense (sans Hamilton) really comes alive and we turn over the lineup one more time he might have a chance at a Bavasi Draft*

 

 

*5 strikeouts

[mancini79]

We heard similar threads last year about Pujols this time in the season. 

 

Not worried.

[Tyler]

My man is just flailing up there at the plate, getting hard to keep defending him. Trying to keep reminding myself you got to take his really bad cold streaks because when he is hot he is the best hitter in the game. Hopefully we get to see that Hamilton this year.

[ukyah]

i thought the inferior franchise comment was pretty funny, intended or otherwise.

[RenoHalo]

lol whose parents dont let them play baseball? 

 

Did you grow up in Berlin in the 30's?

Now that's funny.

[HaloFan85]

Hamilton has been the same exact hitter his entire career!  I find it hard to believe any of you thought he resembled anything close to a 'patient' hitter (that's what it sounds like from the tone around here).  And yes, like some have said, he's had these slumps before, and a few of them have been at the start of the season.  Will he come around?  Who knows, but his approach isn't any different from what it has been throughout his entire career.

 

For those of you that wanted him signed in the off-season, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

[beatlesrule]

lol whose parents dont let them play baseball? 

 

Did you grow up in Berlin in the 30's?

 

I did not explain it very well. I could play baseball but just not pursue it professionally.

[Angelsjunky]

He's a mess. Watching him regularly its hard to imagine how he hit 43 HR last year or .359 in 2010. I'm sure he'll start hitting at some point but I'm guessing we're going to see something more like 2011 than 2012 or 2010. Yet another over-priced free agent signing by the Angels. Hopefully Arte and Jerry will learn this time.

[starving]

Hamilton has been the same exact hitter his entire career!  I find it hard to believe any of you thought he resembled anything close to a 'patient' hitter (that's what it sounds like from the tone around here).  And yes, like some have said, he's had these slumps before, and a few of them have been at the start of the season.  Will he come around?  Who knows, but his approach isn't any different from what it has been throughout his entire career.

 

For those of you that wanted him signed in the off-season, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

 

You're wrong about this. He's never been patient, but he's only been like this since about the ASB last year. A book on him was finally created and he cannot adjust to it. This version of Hamilton is the one that every other GM in the league scouted and passed on in the off-season.

[Lifetime]

Uh nice try, but Hamilton has been like this before and he has gone through long slump stretches (prior to the second half last year). LOL that they "finally" got a book on Hamilton and it took them several years to figure him out. You cannot be serious. Slumping hitters look like crap at the plate. Good hitters find their way out of a slump eventually. Hamilton is a good hitter. 

[Angelsjunky]

You're wrong about this. He's never been patient, but he's only been like this since about the ASB last year. A book on him was finally created and he cannot adjust to it. This version of Hamilton is the one that every other GM in the league scouted and passed on in the off-season.

This is what I've worried about at times, and for two reasons: One, it means that Josh Hamilton is now a .250/.800+ hitter (his second half numbers were .259/.323/.510), and two it means that Jerry Dipoto is not a good judge of talent and/or Angels scouts suck and/or he doesn't listen to his scouts and/or Arte Moreno is running the show and Dipoto is just a puppet.

 

That said, I don't think it is true. I can't quite believe that it took five years for "a book" to be created on him. Baseball is a kind of ping-pong game between pitchers and hitters; pitchers figure out a hitter, who adjusts (to whatever degree), and then pitchers figure him out again, and he adjusts again. I think what we're seeing with Trout, for example, is a continuation of the "the book" that was created on him late last year. He's still adjusting (but he will, it might just take a few months or even not until next year).

 

With Hamilton I think the problem is largely mental - he's pressing, adjusting to a new team, expectations (including his own), etc. He'll figure it out and hit .280-.310 with 25-35 HR. The problem, though, is that there's a huge range for Hamilton - and we're unlikely to ever get the 2010 MVP version.

 

By the way, citing his second half numbers is a bit misleading. Look at July through the end of the year:

 

July: .177/.253/.354

August: .310/.368/.575

Sept/Oct: .245/.330/.543

 

So if "a book was created" on him in July, it was promptly lost in August, then kind of re-found in September.

 

The bottom line: Hamilton is streaky and adjusting to a new environment/pressing due to expectations. The two are exacerbating each other and will likely be solved at the same time. He'll get there.

[Angelsjunky]

Great minds, Lifetime - we basically said the same thing. You just said it in your usual brusque, snarky way, and I said it in my usual over-verbose, nerdy way - but we got to the same place.

[Blarg]

Not to be either snarky or verbose, Hamilton's at bats are a horror to watch. Scioscia's insistence on leaving in the middle of the order to kill any offensive momentum is just as bad.  

[gotbeer]

Look on the bright side folks.

 

If he were to hit to his career average, that would mean he would have to hit .312 (600 ab's) for the rest of the season.   Let's just hope he starts hitting before it turns to .400 for the rest of the season.