Pujols and Hamilton after one month

[Angelsjunky]

Being lazy, Jim? OK, I'll do it for you:

 

Hamilton hit .259/.323/.510 with 16 HR in 69 games in the 2nd half of last year. That said, those numbers don't tell the whole picture of his second half. He had a terrible July (.177/.253/.354) followed by an excellent August (.310/.368/.575) and a solid Sept/Oct (.245/.330/.543).

 

Hamilton is just streaky, and it is mainly because his plate discipline sucks. If he settles down and starts taking pitches he'll start hitting. Its all up to him - the talent is still there.

[fan_since79]

Albert is hurt, so I'm not worried about him.

 

Hamilton though?  Yikes.

 

Anybody know his numbers from the middle of last season on?

From June 1st of last year, through yesterday:

 

129 Games

556 PA

496 AB

75 Runs

118 Hits

24 HR, 80 RBI

47 BB, 157 SO

.237  BA

.307 OBP

[Angelsjunky]

My guess for Hamilton is that he figures it out soon and then kills the ball, ending up with a pretty good May, a ridiculous June, and then up and down in July through September. He'll finish the year hitting .280+, an SLG of .500+ and 25+ HR. Not quite $25 million worth, but good enough.

[WestistheBest]

Is Pujols capable of hitting one off of the wall, and getting thrown out at 1B without reaching it?

No, and this is where Hamilton's slump is really hurting the offense. If Hamilton was hitting well, I would drop Puljos to 4 as fast as possible, then you could see a nice tick-up in production. Hamilton's speed on the paths is often overlooked as a great tool, if he could only manage to get on base.

 

That's a nice scenerio, Hamilton hitting (like he should be) behind Trout (whether Trout is number 1 or 2) and then Puljos hitting behind Hamilton.

That would be a thing of beauty.

[Angelsjunky]

From June 1st of last year, through yesterday:

 

129 Games

556 PA

496 AB

75 Runs

118 Hits

24 HR, 80 RBI

47 BB, 157 SO

.237  BA

.307 OBP

This paints a different picture and worries me. Maybe Texas knew something others didn't, or the Angels willfully ignored?

 

I just have a hard time believing that he can't turn it around. I don't every expect another 2010, but I would think he's capable of averaging .280-.290 and 30 HR for the next few years.

 

The big question for me is what happened in June of 2012? He just stopped hitting, at first with a whimper and then a thud. On the morning of June 1st he was hitting .368/.420/.764. From that point on...well, fansince79 posted the numbers. What happened in early June?

[WestistheBest]

Marginally.

No.

[Lifetime]

No AJ, you posted the numbers. Why would cumulative numbers paint a different picture andcause worry?  

 

What happened in June? Pitchers started pitching around him and he chased and continued to chase. Then had a good August and a pretty good September. Now he's chasing anything a pitcher throws at him again and will continue to struggle until he stops chasing. 

[fan_since79]

What happened in early June was that pitchers stopped throwing strikes, started throwing junk, and Hamilton just kept swinging away.

 

How long will it be until he figures it out? This is ridiculous.

[Angelsjunky]

No AJ, you posted the numbers. Why would cumulative numbers paint a different picture andcause worry?  

 

What happened in June? Pitchers started pitching around him and he chased and continued to chase. Then had a good August and a pretty good September. Now he's chasing anything a pitcher throws at him again and will continue to struggle until he stops chasing. 

 

I'm not sure what you're saying "no" too, but that's not unusual.

 

The cumulative numbers are more worrisome because they're over a longer period of time. Since June 1 of last year, Josh Hamilton has basically been Steve Balboni or Tony Armas, yet he's being paid to be Miguel Cabrera. He doesn't need to be Miggy to help the team and come close to earning his contract, but he does need to be better than Balboni or Armas.

 

The question, then, is why doesn't he stop chasing bad pitches? I mean isn't it really this simple:

 

Jim Eppard: Josh, you're chasing everything - you need to be more selective.

Josh Hamilton: I don't believe you - this is what I've always done.

Eppard: Not quite. Here, watch some tape.

Hamilton (after watching tape): OK, you're right. I need to reign in the flailing.

 

Why isn't that happening? Is Hamilton too prideful? Just plain stupid? Has he lost his batting eye and pitch recognition? Or is he really that undisciplined that he can't help himself from swinging at everything?

[Lifetime]

The point is AJ he hasn't been doing it since June which is evident in your break down rather than looking at the cumulative. He has always been streaky as you acknowledged.

And your scenario is overly simplistic. If all it took to fix a slumping batter was a corrective word from the hitting coach, we'd never see slumps. When hitters slump they press which exploits their weaknesses. Hamilton is a free swinger even when things are going good. When he slumps it is worse. It seems like logically he should just recognize it and fix it but it's not that simple, and not just for Josh.

[Angel Oracle]

Point is, signing a player to that big contract is not advised, when Hamilton had 1/3 of a 2012 season that was horrible.  

That should not = real big contract.

He is on the decline (3 horrible months out of the past 5), and nothing anyone says can change my mind.

[fan_since79]

The pitchers must be having some good laughs over facing Hamilton. 

 

Scouting report: Just throw garbage and he will swing.

[Troll Daddy]

Pujls and Hamilton combined rbi's and runs scored is 52

 

Cabrera and Fielder combined rbi's and runs scored is 96

 

Big difference considering it's only been a month.

[CaliAngel]

Hamilton has been an embarrassment so far.  

[Stradling]

Point is, signing a player to that big contract is not advised, when Hamilton had 1/3 of a 2012 season that was horrible.

That should not = real big contract.

He is on the decline (3 horrible months out of the past 5), and nothing anyone says can change my mind.

Ok two things, one I won't try to change your mind if you don't repeat basically the same thing constantly in every single thread. Two, if they didn't try to make the team better wouldn't you be pissed about that too, considering you were the one driving the, "We need a left handed power bat" since forever?

[sneaky_flute]

hamilton isn't just slumping. he really doesn't know how to adapt. he's even admitted that he has poor pitch recognition and that he decides to swing before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. he has a lot of raw talent but he's always been undisciplined.

[Lifetime]

And yet, he is slumping

[AZMike]

Ok two things, one I won't try to change your mind if you don't repeat basically the same thing constantly in every single thread. Two, if they didn't try to make the team better wouldn't you be pissed about that too, considering you were the one driving the, "We need a left handed power bat" since forever?

We should've gone with an OF of Trout Bourjos and Trumbo and signed Berkman to DH

 

#captainhindsight

[Troll Daddy]

I'm guessing Ranger fan is no longer pissed we signed Hamilton .... and CJ

[Ohtaniland]

37 year old David Ortiz is hitting------- .488 / 7dbls / 3hrs / 15rbi's / 1.389ops in 11 games played.

 

31 year old Josh Hamilton is hitting--- .216 / 2dbls / 2hrs / 9rbi's / .562ops in 29 games played.

 

This is beyond slumping.  

[Lifetime]

That's some interesting reasoning there hamiltown.

[Ohtaniland]

Lifetime, as a caring human being I really feel that Josh needs to seek some professional help from a sports psychologist. I'm rooting for him for more reasons than baseball. This can't be healthy for him to struggle that badly. 

[Lifetime]

OK. I'm not sure why you needed to say that here but OK

[dimitrig]

No.

 

You think he's the same or worse?