Congrats Josh Hamilton

LIKE OMG I'M SUCH A BIG HOMER, I HATE EVERYTHING NON RAYS THAT'S WHY I'M ALWAYS TALKING BAD ABOUT JULIO LUGO, JASON TYNER, AND LIKE EVERYONE NOT NAMED TOBY HALL, HUFF, OR THE HYPE KNOWN AS HAMILTON.

There are many ex-Rays I respect, guys like Lance Carter, Gerald Willilams, McGriff is my all-time favorite player, Damon Hollins, Canseco I respect, Flaherty, ect.

Throwing out the hater card is weak and lame.

If you feel tingly in your pants about Hammy then you wouldn't have wanted us to keep him, he wouldn't have played. Now whether or not you believe me when I say that I really don't care.

Ether - that was funny as hell! Kinda lines up nicely with the Lawrence Taylor snorting up the yard lines analogy. Sorry for the guy having demons, but it's hard to get too goo-goo over him when our local team gave him an amazing opportunity and he crapped on it - for whatever reason. Maybe he turns into a HOF'er, but anyone that doesn't think the guy coulda done that here for the team that put him on the map and rolled with him for quite some time is way off.

Crawford, Baldelli, Hamilton would have been a strong outfield and we have no one to blame for that but Josh.

QFT and no Ray I don't give up on guys two weeks into a new season.

[rayfsc07]

I didn't say give up on anyone.

I just said Hamilton is outplaying him, which he is.  And whether you believe/admit it or not, the Rays could benefit from his play.

What's more amazing about it is the fact he has barely played in like 4 years and now he's  mashing ML pitching.

He wouldn't be on our big league team, so the Rays' major league team wouldn't be benefitting from him at all.

[rayfsc07]

Well obviously that would be a mistake on their part. 

The change of scenary was obviously good for Josh.  He got a fresh start, an opportunity in ST, and he proved he can play.  He is now doing so at the MLB level. 

Good for him.

That's fine for him.

We had no choice, Gomes > Hamilton, and Dukes couldn't go back to Durham after the blowup between him and Tamargo. Simply put the Rays did what was best for them. The NDRO has made all the ghosts of the past vanish, I'm pretty sure Friedman and co. aren't fretting about Josh Hamilton. He doesn't make or break our team this year or for years to come.

Simply put if he was part of their plan (and yes they have one) he would've been protected, he didn't deserve to be, and wasn't. Good for him, too bad for the tough luck story, though if you want a non pretty boy who is fighting through more than his own share of issues how about supporting Elijah Dukes, at least he never bounced checks to crack dealers.

[rayfsc07]

That's fine for him.

We had no choice, Gomes > Hamilton, and Dukes couldn't go back to Durham after the blowup between him and Tamargo. Simply put the Rays did what was best for them. The NDRO has made all the ghosts of the past vanish, I'm pretty sure Friedman and co. aren't fretting about Josh Hamilton. He doesn't make or break our team this year or for years to come.

Simply put if he was part of their plan (and yes they have one) he would've been protected, he didn't deserve to be, and wasn't. Good for him, too bad for the tough luck story, though if you want a non pretty boy who is fighting through more than his own share of issues how about supporting Elijah Dukes, at least he never bounced checks to crack dealers.

I'm not so sure about Gomes anymore.  Looking more and more like a fluke, a la Cantu. 

Right now, I'd take Hamilton over Gomes.  Much more athletic and can actually play all 3 OF positions.

That's fine for him.

We had no choice, Gomes > Hamilton, and Dukes couldn't go back to Durham after the blowup between him and Tamargo. Simply put the Rays did what was best for them. The NDRO has made all the ghosts of the past vanish, I'm pretty sure Friedman and co. aren't fretting about Josh Hamilton. He doesn't make or break our team this year or for years to come.

Simply put if he was part of their plan (and yes they have one) he would've been protected, he didn't deserve to be, and wasn't. Good for him, too bad for the tough luck story, though if you want a non pretty boy who is fighting through more than his own share of issues how about supporting Elijah Dukes, at least he never bounced checks to crack dealers.

I'm not so sure about Gomes anymore. Looking more and more like a fluke, a la Cantu.

Right now, I'd take Hamilton over Gomes. Much more athletic and can actually play all 3 OF positions.

Gomes hasn't been getting ABs, but the difference between him and Cantu is he actually has OBP skills.

[SeedOfChucky33]

If I were a rays fan I'd be pretty pissed too. They gave him hell of an opportunity, basically said F you to the team that was willing to give him it all and now is tearing it up in Cinci. Yeah he was great cleaning himself up but he screwed the rays pretty hard.

[joedav01]

Josh Hamilton just hit his 5th HR of the year. A 3 run shot. Now batting .345 with 5HR's.

The Reds have him batting clean up tonight.

LIKE OMG I'M SUCH A BIG HOMER, I HATE EVERYTHING NON RAYS THAT'S WHY I'M ALWAYS TALKING BAD ABOUT JULIO LUGO, JASON TYNER, AND LIKE EVERYONE NOT NAMED TOBY HALL, HUFF, OR THE HYPE KNOWN AS HAMILTON.

There are many ex-Rays I respect, guys like Lance Carter, Gerald Willilams, McGriff is my all-time favorite player, Damon Hollins, Canseco I respect, Flaherty, ect.

Throwing out the hater card is weak and lame.

If you feel tingly in your pants about Hammy then you wouldn't have wanted us to keep him, he wouldn't have played. Now whether or not you believe me when I say that I really don't care.

Wow you really are pathetic. The fact is the better Josh Hamilton does the more likely it is that people will look at the Rays front office and question their decision to let him leave. Since you are unable to question the front office, your only option is to bash Hamilton over and over regardless of how wrong you are.

Why cant you recognize the tools he STILL has. Recognize the fact that the Rays and everyone else saw that physically he was the same player last spring, and knowingly let a 5-tool player walk in favor of several relief pitchers who will never be anything more than AAA caliber arms at best and have proven that at the big league level.

........................

[joedav01]

Forget the relief pitchers that were on the roster for a minute.  Damon Hollins was on the roster for only one more day after the Rule V draft and was then released.  So we lost Josh for one more day of Damon Hollins.  I will never get over this.  One of the stupidest moves ever.  A team like the Rays CANNOT afford to give away players like Josh Hamilton.  How good would his left handed bat look in our line up right now if we could teach him to play 1B?

Wow never knew that. Thats pathetic. JD it wouldnt even matter if he was strictly an OF and currently had no place on our ML team. He would be able to play everyday in AA and make his riser through the minors the way he always planned. Eventually we either wouldve found a place fo rhim in the lineup, or traded him. Whats the going rate for left handed, 5-tool OF? meh, he had no place on this team right now so I guess like RJ says it is all irrelevant

[rayfsc07]

Forget the relief pitchers that were on the roster for a minute.  Damon Hollins was on the roster for only one more day after the Rule V draft and was then released.  So we lost Josh for one more day of Damon Hollins.  I will never get over this.  One of the stupidest moves ever.  A team like the Rays CANNOT afford to give away players like Josh Hamilton.  How good would his left handed bat look in our line up right now if we could teach him to play 1B?

Exactly.  Even if Josh didn't play for the Rays he gives you flexibility.  Trade him, trade another player, whatever, but you can get SOMETHING to help your team.  As is he was let go for a bunch of scrub pitchers who were cut and damon hollins who like you mentioned was also cut ONE DAY later.