Give Him A Break: Josh Hamilton Deserves Our Respect

Much has been written about Josh Hamilton’s January 30th misstep in his ongoing recovery from drug and alcohol problems. While Hamilton’s battle with substance abuse has always been a talking point in the baseball media, the discussion has increased in recent weeks, fuelled no doubt, by the outfielder’s impending free agency. Like any contentious issue, there have been some contentious responses to Hamilton’s most recent slip up. Regrettably, what is overlooked in these responses all of the things Josh Hamilton is doing right.

One of the most important things to remember about Josh Hamilton’s battle with drugs and alcohol is that Hamilton acknowledges his vulnerability and limitation. Not only is this a more human and relatable way to understand a professional athlete, it’s also more realistic. Many people throughout professional sports (and life in general) would benefit from approaching alcohol and drug use like Josh Hamilton. There are most likely many players within Major League baseball that should be dealing with alcohol the same way Hamilton does (trying not to touch it) but choose not to. Hamilton is open about his relationship with drugs and alcohol in a way that other players are not. Typically we only learn of an athlete’s substance abuse if it results in an arrest (Miguel Cabrera’s arrest last offseason as one example). Hamilton is proactive in a way that most people dealing with substance abuse problems are not. This proactivity is valuable tool in his recovery; there is always a better chance of improving at anything (whether it’s dealing with addiction or increasing your OPS against left handed pitching) when you can acknowledge and understand your current limitations. If anyone is going to beat addiction, it’s going to be someone who is actively battling it, not someone who is ignoring the problem.

Unfortunately, last week I read a couple tweets suggesting that Josh Hamilton’s actions were nothing more than a poor choice he made freely. All that kind of statement proves is that whoever is making it has no understanding of what a substance addiction entails, or how the people that suffer from them are required to manage their disease on a daily basis. In the words of Captain Hook – “poor form Jack, poor form”. We should be viewing Josh Hamilton as a success – people that struggle with addictions are always susceptible to relapse. The fact that he has only slipped up (at least publically,) twice in the last five years is admirable. There are many people who struggle with addictions that would love to be able to say the same thing. Josh Hamilton is not perfect, but he handling the most difficult of situations in an admirable way. A way that I hope we can learn from, instead of criticize.

Just Go For It

It’s rare that a pitcher like Roy Oswalt (or as Toronto fans know him: The Lesser Roy) is still on the market less than a month before the start of spring training. Now it’s possible that Oswalt’s balky back has taken a turn for the worse and that explains why teams are hesitant to commit, but if he is at least relatively healthy, why it is taking him so long to sign is beyond me. Rumour has it that the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers are two of the leading suitors for Oswalt’s services. There has also been talk (from Joe Sheehan on his “The Baseball Show” podcast, amongst others) that both St. Louis and Texas would be better off not pursuing Oswalt because both teams already have five established starters. Now again, these are just rumours and shouldn’t be taken as more than that, but if (and it’s a big if), these ideas are true, why either team would hold off on signing Oswalt is a mystery to me.

When healthy (which admittedly is not as often as anyone would like), Roy Oswalt is a very good pitcher. Despite full rotations, Oswalt (3.44 ERA and 3.95 xFIP) would serve as an upgrade over the Cardinals’ Jake Westbrook (4.66 ERA, 4.08 xFIP), or the Rangers’ Colby Lewis (4.40 ERA, 4.10 xFIP). We should also remember that Oswalt is only one year removed from a 4.7 WAR (Fangraphs version) season. The righty would also offer some stability to a rotation that has significant uncertainties coming into the 2012 season. In Texas, Neftali Feliz and Yu Darvish are making the transition to starting roles in the major leagues and in St. Louis, Adam Wainwright is returning from Tommy John surgery. For either team, signing Oswalt would provide an insurance policy against potential complications related to fatigue, innings limits or underperformance. Not highly unlikely for a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery, a converted reliever who threw 62.1 innings last year, and a rookie(ish) starter making a transition to pitching every five days for the first time.

Beyond providing an upgrade in the rotation, adding Oswalt would make either team’s overall staff stronger, by allowing a back of the rotation starter (like Westbrook or Lewis) to move into a long relief role. The added depth would add protection against injuries too, and we all know that very rarely can a team have 5 starters pitch all 162 games.

The Cards and the Rangers both made World Series appearances last fall and given the moves they have already made this offseason, appear poised to make another playoff run in 2012. Roy Oswalt could help either team get back to the World Series. Sure, he could get hurt and maybe last year was the beginning of a sharp decline phase for the 34 year old pitcher, but a one year contract is almost never a bad idea. Oswalt is a low-risk and high reward option for two teams that could improve their chances of winning this year, even if it means supplanting someone from an already full rotation.

Why Doesn’t Anyone Like Mike Napoli?

As the Jays spend the better part of the week battling the Rangers (and Canadian interest in the NHL playoffs) down in Texas, we get our first 2011 look at the other player someone was willing to give up in exchange for Vernon Wells; Mike Napoli. Now I’ve been told the common wisdom stating you should avoid tattoos because it will reduce your chance of getting a good job has become outdated, but seeing Napoli struggle to find both playing time and a home has me wondering.


The First question to ask is why Mike Scioscia seems to detest Napoli to the point that the Angels were willing to give up such a productive player while taking on Wells’ $80 million in salary. Yes, he is not a great defensive catcher, but he can play at first or DH, and with Michael Cuddyer manning second base for the Twins, we could be seeing the start of the big-bodied second baseman era. Given that Napoli’s versatility and that the Angels are 18th in the League in OBP and runs scored, it would seem as though he maybe a worthwhile option. That said, the Angels do have options at these positions: Mark Trumbo (even though he’s struggling), Kendrys Morales (even though he’s on the DL), Hank Conger (even though he’s not Jeff Mathis) and Bobby Abreau, so it does make at least some sense that the Angels would let Napoli go. Even if a case can be made that Napoli is a better offensive player than everyone listed above not named Kendrys.


More confusing however, is why the Jays and Rangers made the Napoli trade. From Toronto’s perspective, Napoli would be somewhere between the second and fourth best hitter in their lineup, depending on how much you like Adam Lind and Yunel Escobar (and until Travis Snider breaks out). Sure, that would mean carrying Juan Rivera as a part time player (you probably couldn’t deal him if you wanted to), but Napoli’s bat would still be a welcome addition. Having Napoli take either Rivera or Encarnacion’s share of at bats at DH (while also being able to spell at 1B and C) would mean more production for a Jays’ lineup that seems to “run into” a lot of “hot” pitching. Sabermetrically speaking, Napoli has been god for a 2.7 WAR over the previous three seasons, versus Encarnacion’s 1.9, and Rivera’s 1.0 (the low average is due to injuries and inconsistent play). While Rivera did have a WAR of 3.3 in 2009, he has never in his career posted another WAR above 3, and only once (2006) did he post a plus 2 WAR. Napoli may also see his numbers spike moving from the pitcher friendly Angel Stadium to the homer friendly Ballpark in Arlington (or Rogers Centre, sigh).


As for what the Jays received in the trade, Frank Francisco is a solid (if not underrated) reliever that should help the bullpen. Has posted good strikeout rates along with all the other positive peripheral stats you look for from a reliever. The question isn’t really whether or not Francisco is a good pitcher, but rather did the Jays really need to give up what could be one of their better offensive weapons in order to add to a bullpen that already contains enough serviceable arms? Confusing the situation further are the Rangers motivations for the trade. Why would Texas want to trade Francisco for Napoli given their own pitching issues and unwillingness to play Napoli?


As of today, Napoli has 48 at bats for the Rangers. Fewer than Michael Young(102), Mitch Moreland(74), and Yorvit Torrealba (69), all of whom he is competing with for playing time. That’s not even considering the Rangers’ other first baseman and catcher: Chris Davis and Taylor Teagarden, currently on the active roster (really, they have that many). When Josh Hamilton returns from the DL, Napoli’s playing time may decrease even more with Moreland unable to play in the outfield. For all the depth the Rangers have at 1B/C/OF, their pitching is thin. Aside from Darren Oliver and the now injured Neftali Feliz, the Rangers lack reliable bullpen options. It may have served Texas better to keep Francisco in the pen, rather than trade him for another offensive player that will struggle to get more than 300 ABs. Keeping Francisco and instilling him as closer also would have made it easier to move Neftali Feliz (one of the team’s best arms) out of the bullpen to help shore up an equally weak rotation, an idea Rangers brass was toying with in spring training.


Why Mike Napoli seems unable to get anything more than a part time gig is beyond me. Especially considering Adam Kennedy has batted cleanup for a Major League team in the past two weeks. He isn’t as good against right handed pitching as he is against left, but he does have power, a good eye (save his low OBP last year) and the ability to play three positions, one of which is catcher. This is a skill set that I think shouldn’t leave a guy fighting for 300 at bats after being traded twice. Maybe it is the tattoos.