Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Leave Josh Hamilton Alone

The sports world fascinates me. Listening to ESPN radio on the sweet ride home from work the other night. They were dissecting Josh Hamilton.
I have heard this guy described as a baseball player with more natural talent than Jesus Christ. Actually as I think about this it occurs to me that Jesus probably sucked at sports. I think he was a nerd. He looks nerdy.
It also occurs to me that the fact that he existed B.C. is so very hard to understand.
But I digress.
People talk about Josh Hamilton with reverence. He has turned in super human efforts.
He also has problems with booze and drugs. Overwhelming, debilitating problems. Problems that have taken years away from his career.
But when he is good, he is GOOD.
So these "experts" were talking about how just a month or two ago the topic was how huge would Hamilton's new contract be. And how huge would his numbers be this year.
But he has been slumping lately. So these "experts" were talking about the possibility of his being traded.
The sports world is a harsh microcosm of life played out in public. You watch these guys get their asses kissed and their asses kicked. The attention flips back and forth in a nano second.
I feel for Josh. I have addictions myself. I am addicted to The Sopranos, The Three Stooges, any Quentin Tarantino film, Tweety and lamb.
I have to tear myself away from these things to get at life. To do life. To battle back against life.
Nolan Ryan criticized Hamilton publicly. Saying he is giving away at bats. Not taking enough pitches, not focusing enough. People questioned the wisdom of that.
Take a look at Ryan. He is a stern looking guy. I would not want him to critique my life. My god, I would crawl away blubbering like a baby.
But he certainly has the right to criticize. Because of his stellar career. Because he is principal owner, president and CEO of the Rangers.
Anyway my point is that it must be disorienting for a player to bounce back and forth from being loved to being attacked. Especially for someone as fragile as Josh Hamilton.
By the way I don't think he is that much more fragile than the guys he plays with. Athletes are great at acting tough, talking about sucking it up. Its part of the job description.
True, you do have to be tough to beat the odds and make it to the majors.
But athletes are ultimately all about ego. And ego is a fragile thing.

And in a related story. I heard these same "experts" discussing the possibility of THE PATS going undefeated this year. Saying they have a soft schedule and could possibly run the table.
There is nothing I would love more than another undefeated season topped with the cherry of a Super Bowl exclamation point. And a return trip to Patriots Place for my next photo op.
But it is July. It would be more meaningful at this point for these guys to say absolutely nothing, to do an entire show of complete silence, than to talk about an undefeated season for THE PATS.

I dig sports, baby. No doubt. But I think we could do with a lot less analysis. Stats. Conjecture. Bloviating.
Sports are a natural thing when you dig down through the corporate sewerage that is trying to smother the beauty. When you drill past the fact that only the moneyed gentry get to actually attend games and sit in overpriced seats and luxury boxes.
I am rooting for Josh Hamilton. He is an intriguing mix of human and super human.
And you better goddamn believe I am rooting for THE PATS.

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