"Adrian Beltre has underperformed in years when he is not up for a pay check," or this is at least the way the story goes. I did some sleuthing and this is most certainly not the case. The reason why he underperformed (and I am not justifying this or saying that it is a good thing, it is actually a liability for crappy teams) is because during almost all of his career he has been on crappy teams. If losing doesn't make you lazy I don't know what does, losing is contagious. This isn't a good thing obviously, but the flip side of it is that Beltre over-performs when he is in a pennant race, in the spotlight, and, yes, when he is looking for a paycheck. But I think the first two reasons are more definitive causes for his noticeably better performance in, 2004, 2007, and 2010.

In 2002 the Angels won 99 games and finished 4 games back. This was a pennant race atmosphere but Beltre was still young (his 4th full year of work) and perhaps had not fully matured as a hitter.

In 2004 the Angels won the West, and the maturing Beltre was amazing as we all know.

In 2007 the Mariners finished 6 games back and won 88 games. 2007, while not as good as Beltre's 04 and 2010 seasons, was somewhat above average for Adrian. He hit 28 home runs, belted 41 doubles, drove in 99, and hit .276.

In 2009 the Mariners finished 12 games back in 3rd place. I put this year in the losing makes you lazy category. In other words, like the vast majority of the teams Beltre has been on, the 2009 Mariners knew deep down that they had no chance to make it to the playoffs.

In 2010 not only did Beltre have a pay check to get he also had his best year ever under the Boston big market lights when the Red Sox were trying to catch the Yanks down the stretch.

My conclusion is that Beltre performs well in a winning atmosphere when he feels the burn of a certain competitive zeal. This zeal will show through in Texas because we will be defending the AL Championship, and Beltre will continue to play to his 2010 potential with 40 doubles, 25 home runs, 100 RBI's, a .290 average, and good slugging and OBP percentages if not as high as his excellent 04 and 2010 numbers.

Bottom line, Beltre is a team player who plays to win when the team is winning and who gets dragged down when the team is losing. In one sense this could be a good thing because it shows Beltre is a team player, he draws his energy from the team, and when the team sucks he under-performs. In another way this isn't good because when the team struggles Beltre could be a liability. But I think the core in Texas is such that it will create an excellent winning atmosphere for Beltre to thrive in.

You do the math and let me know your verdict.

Joe i agree... I think there is something going on behind the curtains that we dont know of because so far the rangers have not made an upgrade to their roster except torrealba WAKE UP JD AND NOLAN! Damn

I'm torn on Beltre. But I don't buy the "contract year" theory.

I do buy the "pitchers park" theory to a certain extent- namely that his 2010 #s are the only ones in his career put up in a dcent hitters park, and it's hard to properly account for Seattle's park effect.

And losing can be contageous.

On the other hand, there are a lot of mediocre #s in his long career, and now he wants 5 years at major money....

Message to Adrian Beltre,

There is no way you are going to get 5 years and major money from Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan. However, it is more likely they will give you 2-3 years at a higher rate, maybe 15 million maximum. Maybe 15 for 2 years, 14 for 3, 12-13 for 4. I don't see a 5th year at all except perhaps with a vesting option. If I'm right you thrive on winning Adrian, sign with Texas and win, be happy and have fun. We are winners, and we have what you need, a competitive atmosphere. The Angels on the other hand could be in the cellar for years to come!

Sincerely,

Rangers' Winner

Your argument loses all credibilty when you dont even know what team Beltre was on. I know there are two teams billed from LA but he played for the DODGERS not the Angels

Shit. Thanks for the correction D and yes that pretty much puts this whole forum post in the shiter. Let's not forget to flush.

I would be grateful if the administrator's would take this whole thing down, I think that would be best for everyone. Ugh. Sorry for the screw up.

I believe Beltre's numbers were down in Seattle because it's a pitchers ballpark. Its almost as bad as San Diego's. In addition, Seattle spent everything on pitching so Beltre was not well protected in the lineup. Every hitter they brought in had their stats drop bigtime. All of Beltre's worst years were in Seattle.

Joe, don't be too hard on yourself, I believe you raised some good points.
Like we said, there is NOT particularly good buzz surrounding Beltre.

I agree with those who say it is in large part due to park factor. Both LAD and SEA are dramatic pitchers' parks where the ball doesn't carry well. Seattle is the more pronounced of the two.

No matter where he signs, I would expect Beltre's stats to be better in 2011 than they were in Seattle and not as good as they were in Boston (which is a very good park for RHBs historically).

Beltre would mash in our lineup. Hitting 5th between Cruz and Kinsler he could do some major damage in our ballpark. Unfortunately, the circumstances that would have to come up in order for this to happen are not likely to happen (trade MY/move MY to DH, beat LA in a bidding war for him) it's just unlikely, but then again, if anyone can do it our front office can.

hey joe--what is a 'shiter'? Alas, I see the amateur GMs are out again. I especially like it when one of you idiots say 'I wouldn't spend that kind of money on X'--it's not your money idiot. LMFAO. Go back to your room in your mom's house and pretend you are daniels and spend your pretend money on your fantasy team. GET A LIFE!!

jdb,

A shiter is a toilet. I would put your asshole post in it along with mine and flush. Get a life asshole, and go somewhere else to spew your shit.

Joe

Whatever, man. This guy tried to bring up some good points and made a few mistakes. How about you guys talk baseball and overlook the mistakes made? Alas, I see the amateur editors are out again.

jdb, using your logic, Joey and the other writers for BBTIA shouldn't be able to throw out opinions either. I'm guessing that you don't know what a forum is?

Then again maybe the teams did poorly because Beltre underperformed. 2004 PEDs?

WOW joe--PMS??? Go make a fantasy deal with your mom.

Hey Adam--why don't you & your 'friend'[wink wink] joe spare us your lame ass GM machinations. Stiick to something you know something about--you know--shiters for example.

jbd, your rhetoric is so appealing and well thought out. You must not lose many arguements being the superior genius you are. Stop attacking people and talk baseball. This is the exact place to voice your opinions (which you have obviously been doing) so let people say what they think. If you disagree, great. State your case without attacking people personally please.

jdp - what's your problem? If you want to make fun of people, go to YouTube. I understand that you live a sad life in which you feel the need to make fun of people online, but this isn't the place to do so.

And since you're clearly the kind of guy who looks for mistakes so you can point them out and feel superior, you misspelled "stick" - it's a tough word.

Here are the site's commenting guidelines:

It's really very simple: No ad hominem (personal) attacks, excessive vulgarity, baiting or otherwise abusive behavior will be tolerated. Basically, be civil and respectful towards others. Vigorous disagreement and debate is welcome, but personal attacks directed towards other commenters will be dealt with accordingly. Baseball Time in Arlington management also reserves the right to remove/edit comments at its own discretion, although 90-plus percent of cases will fit under the aforementioned conditions.

In cases where a simple edit will not suffice, first- and second-time offenders of this policy will find their posts removed. The third time, the offending post will be removed and a 24-hour IP ban (which also prevents you from viewing the site) will be imposed. The fourth time, the offending post will be removed and a permanent IP ban will be applied.

If at all possible, BBTiA management will leave an otherwise acceptable comment in place, but remove the offending content and leave an edit or deletion note. However, we cannot guarantee total consistency on this, as comment moderation is inherently subjective, and there will be cases where this is not an achievable outcome. If an individual poster persists in posting comments that require frequent edits/deletions, we'll apply the above "four strikes and you're out" policy and go from there.

Thanks, Dave.

WOW--PMS has struck the weinie section. You idiots dont know what you are talking about half the time. just flappin your jaws. Who voted dave h the monitor of this cesspool of amateur GMs? Hey Adam--you caught the word I misspelled on purpose--nice going. Joe, seriously learn to spell. It's s h i T T er! If you don't believe me ask your girlfriend lfloyd. Joe just might be the dumbest poster on here. Again clownboys-it's not your money. Grow up- this is the BIG LEAGUES.

Jdb,
Do you know that you are offering nothing to this conversation? What are your grand plans for the Rangers? If you are going to post in a baseball forum, please at least talk baseball.

jdb, get the hell off of this website if you're going to act like a 12 yr old.... grow up and get a life already

Where's Joey Matches when you need the boot? jdb, youre ignorance is just making you look worse every time you post... You cant talk crap