Josh Hamilton is trying to stop dipping

I once had smoked those nasty cigarettes for 40 years. I look back to that and wonder what in the world was I thinking?

The smell, the cost, the health risks, just incredible I did that for that long. It finally took a heart attack for me to realize that hey, smoking ain’t that great for me. I was fortunate I could just kick those smokes aside. It was either that or die.

Now come Josh Hamilton. He’s trying to give up a little different addiction: smokeless tobacco, or as we like to call it here in Texas, worm dirt.

Josh Hamilton made a decision early Wednesday morning before he arrived at Tropicana Field. He is trying to quit using smokeless tobacco.

“Today is the first day,” Hamilton said before the Rangers’ series finale with the Rays. “The Holy Spirit … I kept waking up last night thinking about different things and what might be causing me to stumble in my relationship with the Lord. I felt like chewing tobacco was one. So I got up this morning and threw it all away. So when it is time to take a dip, I pray instead.”

From Hardball Talk :

And you think it shouldn’t be too tough for him given that the dude kicked coke, heroin and booze. But I’ve spoken to a couple of addicts before, each of whom said it was actually harder for them to stop smoking. Their explanation: drugs wreck your body so quickly and can bring you so close to death that — despite how addictive drugs can be — the crappy risk/reward ratio of doing them becomes clear way more quickly than smoking’s does. For the former, there is some fairly immediate “oh crap, I’m gonna die” moment.  For the latter it’s a physical and psychological addiction paired with the mere intellectual realization that, yes, in some years this will kill them.

Good luck Josh!!

 

Josh Hamilton is trying to quit the dip (NBC Hardball Talk)

Josh Hamilton has no regard for his own well being

Josh Hamilton just came back from the disabled list for a hairline fracture to his upper arm. Do you think that entered his mind last night when the Rangers played the White Sox?

In a memorable eighth inning on the bases around 1 a.m., Hamilton slid headfirst into first base in beating out an infield hit, slid headfirst in stealing second and made a nice hesitation headfirst slide to avoid a tag on a wild pitch to get to third. He was stranded there, but he certainly made a statement that his body felt good and that he was going to stay aggressive on the bases.

“I see what you’re saying, but you guys have to have something to write about,”
Hamilton said to a small group of media early Wednesday morning. “If I stop
doing that, then I won’t be true to myself as a baseball player or true to my
teammates or the fans that watch me play the game.

“I just don’t get why you keep harping on it. Just expect it out of me. If I get hurt, we’ll continue
to do this thing. It’s ridiculous. I can’t worry about that. I never think about it.”

So what did all the sliding show?

“That I want to win,” Hamilton said. “Isn’t that what I get paid for?”

Ugh. I think I know where this is heading.

Josh Hamilton not altering his style of play (ESPN Dallas)

Don’t look now Josh Hamilton, but your replacement just signed a Ranger contract

Dear Josh Hamilton, you should get well soon, and stay well. A potential replacement for you has just been signed by the Rangers:

Cuban defector Leonys Martin has finalized a $15.5 million, five-year  contract with the Texas Rangers, and the speedy center fielder could be in their  lineup before the end of this season.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said there is no immediate timetable for  Martin, who was signed Wednesday to have a future impact. But Daniels  acknowledged that it was possible that the 23-year-old outfielder could move  quickly through the system to the majors depending on his progress and the  team’s needs.

Before Josh Hamilton broke his arm diving into home plate three weeks ago and  went on the disabled list, the Rangers had already moved the AL MVP to left  field and made Julio Borbon their primary center fielder. Borbon went into  Wednesday night’s game at Seattle hitting .262, having raised his average 83  points by hitting .409 (9 of 22) over the previous 10 games.

I predict things are going to be getting pretty interesting in Arlington very soon.

Cuban Defector Signs with Rangers (MyFoxDFW.com)