Hamilton expect to test free agency I'm totally in the same boat with RM95. Only question mark on Hamilton will be his injury history, but there is no denying the fact that he's easily a top-3 hitter in baseball. Perhaps $180 million over 7 years? That might be the starting point.
The guy is injury prone and already on the wrong side of 30. A deal like that would be a franchise-crippling contract. In about 5 years, you'll be paying $30MM a year to a guy who might play half a season at best at age 36 or 37.
This is why I can't see the Yanks going after him. They already have A-Rod's albatross of a contract to deal with, and Granderson and Cano are due for extensions soon. I bet they'll just keep Swisher and go after Hamels. I see him ultimately staying in Texas.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>berkman believes he has torn acl..i believe him too..it could very well be end of his career</p>— karl ravech (@karlravechespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/karlravechespn/status/204382117545771008" data-datetime="2012-05-21T01:24:28+00:00">May 21, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This, to me, screams Lance Berkman as your 2013 Astros' DH. It had already been rumored before. Now, coming off a major injury, Berkman's price should be low enough that it's not much risk, and I think Crane would jump at the chance for a major fan-friendly move heading into the AL. For Lance, playing in Houston significantly cuts his travel time and allows him to do nothing besides hit. It lets him retire on his terms and with the organization he loves, which would be a big deal to him, I think. The only drawback is that Lance isn't the biggest fan of the AL and struggled in his brief stint with NYY in 2010... but I think that's far outweighed by the other factors. Hope the early diagnosis isn't correct, but if it is... I'm guessing it starts the ball rolling on his return to Houston in a few months.
ARod's deal should serve as notice to everyone, but we know it didn't since we just saw Pujols get that huge deal.
Or maybe not (on Berkman). Torn meniscus, no ACL damage. Will get a second opinion. https://twitter.com/#!/MLBNetwork
Nearly a third of the way through the season, every team in the AL East has a positive scoring differential and a record over .500; every team in the NL East has a record over .500.
I'm watchin. Pitch count high. But I think they leave him in. He's cruisin, and nothing special left in the lineup. It's doable.
