Way back in December, I’d compared the Giants’ signing of Bary Zito to the Rockies’ signing of Mike Hampton several years ago. I figured with the season winding down, now might be a good time to revisit that comparison, which is precisely what I’ve done in my first article at Ballhype. Enjoy, and “hype it up” if you are so inclined!

Three free agents were signed for $100 million or more this past winter. Presumably if they’re worth that much money, they must be helping their new teams in a big way, right?

Six-Figure Free Agents, Class of 2007

Player
Team
2006
2007
Diff

Statistics courtesy of ESPN and Baseball-Reference.

Alfonso Soriano
Cubs
66-96
.407
58-52
.527
+.120

Barry Zito
Giants
76-85
.472
47-62
.431
-.041

Carlos Lee
Astros
82-80
.506
48-63
.432
-.074

Soriano has done a nice job (.297/.336/.511) so far, although he’s now out 2-4 weeks with a strained right quadriceps. Of course, the Cubs signed a few other high-profile free agents (Aramis Ramirez, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis) to the tune of nearly $300 million, so it’s not like Soriano is solely responsible for the Cubs’ improvement …read more

Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Hampton is done for the season.
Again.
Hampton will undergo elbow surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss 6-9 months. He missed all of last season and made just 12 starts for the Braves in 2005. Bummer for Hampton and the Braves, to say the very least.
Not to change the subject or anything, but how was signing Barry Zito to a 7-year contract a good idea? And no, I’m not reacting to his two poor starts to start the season. Anyone who thinks that Zito comes without risk needs to take a good hard look at Hampton …read more

Hey if it wasn’t for bad luck y’all
Oh! I wouldn’t have no luck at all
I doubt the late, great Ray Charles was singing about Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Hampton, but the sentiment applies. Hampton, who missed all of 2006 while recovering from “Tommy John” surgery, hurt himself Wednesday during batting practice:
While taking his third and final round of batting practice at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon, Hampton took a swing and fell to the ground in pain. It’s still unknown whether he suffered a strained left oblique or broken rib.
Depending on the severity of the injury, …read more