Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Mike Hampton: We Hardly Even Knew You!

Mike Hampton reportedly will become a member of the Houston Astros this Wednesday. If he follows his normal progression of the past six-plus seasons, he will become a member of the Astros injured reserve in early to mid 2009. Hampton was paid $48.5 million over six seasons, while starting a booming 85 games for the Braves and recording a whopping 35-24 record with a voluminous 4.10 ERA. Allow me to break it on down for you: That comes out to $570,000 per start, $1.39 million per victory, and $95,160 per inning. He did manage to start 13 games for the Braves last season, going 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA. This did include eight quality starts with only a 3.72 ERA in his last nine games. So now he's out of Atlanta and that shouldn't cause anyone any concern over a guy you couldn't count on to make his scheduled starts anyway. Right? Not quite, and here's why: The Braves actually offered Hampton more than Houston did, and now that he is finally, supposedly healthy, he bolts the Braves. Come on 'Mash Unit Mike', give Atlanta at least a chance to make back some of that rotten investment. Professional athletes always talk about the lack of loyalty from ownership. That's probably true, but that street runs both ways boys. Go ahead Hampton, and carry your injury-proned rear end to Houston. Good luck passing that Tuesday physical exam. It will be the first one you will have been able to pass in many off-seasons. Mike Hampton, you're already forgotten in Atlanta. After all, we hardly even knew you!

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