The sports-betting website Bovada.lv lists ten teams itthinks could sign free-agent-to-be Josh Hamilton, and the Giants odds are thebest at 31.For paranoid Giants fans, the Dodgers are on the list, too,but their odds are just 151, the worst among the teams listed. That in itselfis a bit surprising, since the new, cash-rich Guggenheim ownership group in LA seemed to haveno problem with taking on almost a quarter billion dollars in contracts whenthey acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto in a jaw-droppingdeadline deal with the Red Sox this season.A Hamilton, Kemp, Ethier outfield might keep Giants fans up at night.
Either way, its your San Francisco Giants who are currentlythe odds-on favorites in Vegas to land the mainly spectacular, but occasionallydisturbed power-hitting left fielder for the Rangers.Josh Hamilton was off to an amazing start in 2012, and his finalnumbers are still impressive from any angle -- .285, 43 homers, 128 RBI and a.354 OBP -- but he fell off his game after the All Star break. He hit a blistering.395 in April, .344 in May, but dropped to .223 in June and a head-scratching .177in July amid whispers that something was wrong with the self-proclaimed addictwho admitted to a relapse with alcohol abuse during spring training this year.RELATED: Josh Hamilton career stats2012 game logs
So, will Josh Hamilton be a free-agent target for Brian Sabean and theGiants? Perhaps the tight-knit clubhouse in San Francisco would be a nice, softplace for Hamilton to land, but given the up-and-down quality of his 2012 seasonand the Melky drama thats just concluded in San Francisco, it doesnt seem like Giants wouldwant that kind of potentially-uneven presence in their clubhouseand thats before wetalk about the considerable coin (and years) needed to get Hamilton to sign.Here are the current odds, according to Bovada, for those teamsit thinks will be in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes:Giants 31
Braves 51
Texas51
Phillies 71
Red Sox 91
Cubs 91
Yankees 91
Pirates 101
Dodgers 151
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