That thudding sound you heard when Josh Hamilton deposited his third and fourth line drives into the seats last night was the sound of GM Jon Daniels smacking his forehead.
Daniels has the unenviable task of dealing with Hamilton's 2013 free agency status just as his center fielder is mashing.
What Daniels no doubt knows is that while Hamilton is a great player and a heart-warming tale of redemption, he's also a 31-year-old with an emergency room loyalty card. Despite his .313/.370/.556 stick and defensive prowess in a key position, this is not a man to whom you give a golden parachute.
A batter who hits .250 is a .250 hitter. A pitcher who fans 250 a year is a strikeout pitcher. Likewise, a player who pays rent to the disabled list is injury prone. In his first five seasons, Josh Hamilton has made five DL trips and missed 205 games due to 20 different injuries as varied as broken ribs, a strained hammy, a sore back and patellar tendinitis. That's 40 games a season during which Josh Hamilton had absolutely no value to his team whatsoever.
The fans in Dallas don't care about that. All they see are his Triple-Crown numbers so far this season, his 75 home run pace, his 2010 MVP, his Adonis profile, his devout faith, and of course, the only two AL pennants in team history. They want him back.
So does Jon Daniels, but he recognizes that Josh Hamilton is only three-quarters of a superstar if he only plays 120 games. While players with his mad skills coax $25 million/year, Hamilton is only worth three-quarters of that --$19 million. While other superstars ink deals that guarantee their income to age 40, the Rangers would be imprudent to commit to their injury-riddled slugger beyond four or five years.
It's going to be interesting to see where this goes. My guess is that Hamilton fractures a pinkie or ruptures a spleen or contracts blue skin disorder before the season ends because, well, that's what Josh Hamilton does. And that will splash a dose of reality on the negotiations.
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