They say you learn more from losses than from wins, and I suppose this is true; during the Rangers’ recent cold streak, during which they’ve dropped seven of their last nine, for example, I learned that Josh Hamilton is in fact human.
Hamilton went 0 for the weekend, including an 0 for 4, 3 strikeout performance in Sunday’s 6-5 walk-off victory over Kansas City. The 28 year-old is now hitting .229 on the season, with 1 home run and 8 RBIs.
This line would seem a bit less paltry were it not for the Herculean April that Hamilton saw in 2008.
After Sunday’s win, Hamilton said that he felt uncomfortable at the plate, but that he wasn’t worried about the season as a whole. “It will come around and when it does, it's going to be big,” said Hamilton.
There’s no reason to believe it won’t.
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However, Hamilton hit the nail on the head when he cited over-aggressiveness at the plate as one of the contributing factors to his slow start. Pitchers have seen Hamilton chase far too many breaking balls out of the zone this season to give him anything to hit, and why would they?
It is Josh Hamilton, after all.
A prime example of this would be his second at bat on Sunday, against Kansas City’s starter, Kyle Davies. Davies didn’t show him a pitch above 85 MPH during the at bat; Hamilton ended up striking out on a change up off the outside corner to end the inning.
Along with Hamilton, Chris Davis and David Murphy have seen their share of struggles early in this 2009 season. Davis was originally slated to have the day off on Sunday, to work on his swing, but he came through with a crucial pinch-hit single in the eighth inning.
Murphy was 0 for 3 with an RBI; he has yet to record a hit in 2009.
With a rotation that could be aptly described as hit-or-miss, and the worst bullpen ERA in the league, Texas can’t afford for Hamilton and company to continue these struggles for long--and, to be sure, neither can Ron Washington.
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