Has anyone seen Josh Hamilton?

Josh Hamilton, shown here in spring training, has has a rough start with the Angels after signing a big contract in the off-season. By Owen Main

Have you seen Josh Hamilton? Since last June, he’s hit just .239.

I have a suspicion that he’s pressing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the former American League MVP is out of sorts. He looks uncomfortable, swinging at bad off-speed pitches and missing his usual meaty low-ball strikes.

I had the pleasure of seeing the star-studded Halos lineup last week, against the Rangers. Unfortunately for us, Yu Darvish was on the mound. Darvish pitched the most dominant game I have ever seen, striking out eleven in six innings.

Is it abnormal to say that any batter looks uncomfortable against Darvish? Not at all. The guy’s five pitch arsenal is the strongest since Mark Prior in 2003, and I have a strong inkling, when it’s all said and done, Darvish will be a 200-win guy with at least a few Cy Young Awards studded in his cap.

But on two occurrences, Hamilton looked elementary in the face of his former teammate. So much so, the easily impressed Angels fan base, uncharacteristically booed the 125-million dollar man. He swung at bad pitches all night, striking out twice, not to mention his two game-altering blunders in the outfield.

And was there any response? Any fire in the belly of the man who nonchalantly smacked 43-home runs last year? Nope. Just the same old same old strike-out strolls back into the Scoscia’s crumbling lair.