Josh Hamilton and Texas Rangers executives spotted on same plane headed to Nashville. Rangers people says it's just a coicidence. Jim Bowden says free agents of Hamiltons caliber don't head to GM meetings unless he is close on a deal. Expects Hamilton to sign in next few days.

I will be severely disappointed if God decides the best place for Hamilton is Arlington, Texas.

God has a weird sense of humor

Maybe it is just a coicidence.

Maybe Josh in Arlington is God's response to his disapproval of the Rangers. I would rather have Upton than Josh, even at the price of Elvis.

I would love to have Hamilton back. When he's right (and it happens a lot), he's unquestionably one of baseball's best hitters.

But this doesn't tell us anything.

Whoever is trying to make riding on the same plane into a big deal is showing their lack of depth. If they were wanting to meet, there would be a million better places and better times to get it done.

Ansel u must have missed the part where I said Jim Bowden stated that free agents don't attend winter meeting unless they are close to signing a deal. Maybe the plane is just a coincidence, but regardless it looks like if Hamilton is indeed going to sign in the very near future with Texas or with another team, at least it will get the ball rolling for the Rangers one way or another.

Greinke is also supposed to be in Nashville. FWIW.

Jim Bowden's analysis and trade suggestions are mostly inane, but he is well connected-that much is certain.

And honestly, a "million better places" than on a plane...sure, but headed to the same destination for the Winter Meetings hot stove firestarter? C'mon man. SR17 stated the necessary information w/ proper cautionary labels.

Reminds me when risk arbitrageurs (who bet on the occurrence of mergers and failed mergers) would have spotters at the executive airports to keep track where the CEOs were going. This report could mean everything--signing announcement--or nothing--just a friendly lift to Nashville, where Josh may be in interviews, etc., or just seeing a someone over BBQ.

R A Dickey also went to Nashville for the winter meetings.

I predict:

1. no one offers Hammy more than a 5-year deal;
2. if we re-sign him he gets some work at 1B during spring training.

Good times.

Josh playing first base makes absolutely no sense to me. He can still run, at least right now, and his arm is one of his greatest strengths. Neither of those things translate to playing 1st base.

Baseball isn't like football where you can just flip a defensive end in a 4-3 into an outside linebacker in a 3-4, or a cornerback into a free safety. Both those things require the same fundamentals (running, tackling), they're just being utilized in different roles. Baseball demands repetition, and one offseason isn't long enough to throw a lifelong outfielder into even a league-average first basemen.

His bat translates to 1B Eric. Does that make sense? I'm not saying his D will translate, but the market for OF's may be pretty strong if the Upton and Myers rumors keep up. If we do sign him, I still hope we make a trade for another corner OF bat. We need someone else to pick up Hamilton's slack when his god awful slumps happen....

@P1

His bat translates anywhere. But we've got an elite defensive infield, and even one hole in that machine is costly. Did you not notice the first pitch of Game 163? Michael Young botched the shit out of it, and it cost us a run right off the bat. Literally. Michael Young is a career infielder. I would wager that Young's 1st base defense is about 5-10 runs better than Hamilton over the course of a season, and that's saying a ton.

Baseball reality is very different than fantasy. Opponents hit the ball, and catching it actually means something.

@Eric
Notice how I said "I'm not saying his D will translate"... Many players have transitioned to 1B. It happens. Josh is an extremely athletic player who is also left handed. Again, I'm not saying his D will translate, but it definitely deserves internal discussion.To say "it makes absolutely no sense to me" is the real fantasy.

Notice me already acknowledging that point by saying "His bat will translate anywhere." Listen, if you wanna turn real life into a video game because you want all the best bats in the lineup, that's fine. But it's not like we don't have options at 1st base, better options. Any of Mike Olt, Mitch Moreland or Michael Young could provide more appropriate coverage over there. Then, if you'd like to take a look at the outfield, Hamilton is clearly superior defensively than either of David Murphy or Nelson Cruz. So why would you want to take him away from a spot where he's better than his current teammates, and then put him in a spot where multiple players are better than he is?

I'm sorry, Private, that's irrational thinking.

Maybe they're just carpooling

I'd like you to justify what you just said WAR wise like you always do and then get back to me, bc I'm pretty sure you'll come up on the wrong end of the stick. A Murphy, Gentry/Martin, Nelly OF and Josh at 1B would not be such a catastrophic event like you're making it out to be. I've already said my preference would be to trade for another corner OF even if we do sign Hamilton. To your whole "video game" bs, they put Young at 1B where he is absolutely horrible. Thanks for pointing out Young's lapse in game 163. Wash must value his D a ton...especially after the World Series. Regardless of how horrible Young was in the season, Wash put him there to put the best bats in the lineup. There's no getting around that. Not to mention our "elite" defense consisted of 72 games started from Young, Napoli and Snyder. Not necessarily "elite'...

The problem I have with a ton of your posts, is that you always have to be right....bc you know things. You know Josh wouldn't be good at 1B...or at least marginal for those 72 games. You know the Royals wouldn't trade Myers for Shields, Lester or Harrison. When in fact, you don't. Saying his "bat will translate anywhere" doesn't acknowledge me pointing out his D may not translate at 1B. Obviously his bat translates anywhere. I'm not saying put Josh at catcher. Trying Josh at 1B may or may not be good. I'm not saying he will some defensive phenom, like you keep implying with your "video game" analysis. I'm saying it needs be tried out. Simple as that.

I agree that Josh might make an okay, or even an excellent, defensive 1B. Who can say? It's arrogant to assume we know, what we don't know.

But I think it's a moot point, because it appears to me he'd have no interest in moving from the OF (and no team will pay that much money to a player and then make him miserable). He loves showing off his arm, his legs, and his ability to make difficult catches and highlight plays.

See, that's all fine and good, but you're not taking into account that Mitch Moreland lost a month of action. That's roughly 25 starts. I'm not saying that's a grip of lost time, but 25 games of Moreland at 1B is probably worth about a win in comparison to Young/Napoli/Snyder.

Michael Young logged 362.0 innings at first base in 2012. He's a career infielder who's spent time at 2nd, 3rd and SS. It stands to reason that's he's been playing infield since he was about 10 years old, well, other than pitching, because he probably had the best arm on his team through high school. Anyway, it's not reasonable for a career outfielder to produce even a -3.6 UZR/150, -1.3 RngR -- what MY was last year.

Like I said, like you said, Josh's bat translates anywhere. First base would dock his offense a little more than if he was in a corner outfield spot, but that's immaterial since Hamilton is elite. If you're giving me Beltre at 3rd, Andrus at SS, and Kinsler/Profar at 2B, a below average 1B just doesn't fit into that equation. Not to me, at least.

It's not like Mitch Moreland is amazing or anything at first, but he doesn't hurt us. He's slightly above average, posting a UZR/150 of 4.4 with a RngR at 1.6. He can dig balls out. He's not on the level of the other three guys in the field, but he doesn't hurt us to the extent MY would over the season. I'm saying that Josh Hamilton would be worse than Michael Young, and even though I don't know that, as you protest, I'm taking all things into consideration to lead me to that conclusion. You are not. You see it like, "Oh sure, he'll produce enough runs to make up for being a shitty fielder, so it doesn't mean anything."

Of course, I'm not expecting him to be here next year, so none of what I or you are saying means jack shit. If we sign Hamilton, we can probably forget about acquiring another outfielder or elite pitcher.

But P1, Eric HAS to be right. I mean, he said himself that he watches at least 1000 baseball games a year. Do the math man, assuming 3 hours a game, that's 3000 hours a year. And since a year has 8765.81 hours in it, and assuming 6 hrs a night for sleep (that's 2190 hrs of sleep in a year) that only leaves 3575 hours for work, eating, going outside, whatever. A 40 hr work week is about 2200 hours a year and that would leave 1375 hrs for doing something outside, 114 hrs a month, 28 hrs a week.

Those hours might, just MIGHT work out over 12 months but as we all know, baseball seasons don't happen over 12 months, so the math only works out if you live at home and don't know what responsibility is.

So the lesson here, P1, is that you shouldn't question Eric. I choose to feel sorry for children who are abused and I hope you can join me in feeling pity for these children. Piss on his condescending attitude, he learned it from an abusive Momma that didn't teach him about good touch/bad touch.

Now that I've broken my own rule and spent time bitching about a 12 yr old I'll go back to ignoring him. Please forgive me for contributing to another derailed thread.

I AM NOT TAKING SIDES IN THIS FIGHT. (ER&P1) But, I have infact heard Tom Grieve mention that Hamilton might end up at first towards the end of his career. TOO BE CLEAR! I would rather have the money spent on Laroche and Pierzynski, both of whom I could see owning the Ballpark In Arlington! I would then trade Olt and Moreland and any one else it took to get another stud pitcher in here!

Actually no, I don't see it like "Oh sure, he'll produce enough runs to make up for being a shitty fielder, so it doesn't mean anything". I simply said it needs to be tried, since it is quite possible an extremely gifted athlete could make the transition. It wouldn't be the first time.

Instead of being an arrogant jackass who comes to rule a blog with your opinions, get some humility... "Private".