Josh Hamilton meets with MLB officials about a disciplinary issue

[Blarg]

I'm addicted to @ngelswin. Like all the rest of you addicts.

 

You know you are really in trouble when you start liking your own posts.

[Blarg]

Aw shit.

[Black Beard]

Is the cocaine why he has been playing so shitty

I think he should be drug tested every week and if it comes back positive for any unapproved drugs then fine his ass and bench the sucker.

The Angel's are paying him to play baseball and not let things go to his head and start doing drugs.

What a waste.

[NJHalo]

This guy is set for life financially. He has had all the resources available to him to kick his addictions.

 

It is time for him to forget about baseball, and just go away and get his life together before he loses his family.

[Jim]

So that makes it better somehow?

He knew he was going to fail a test. He only confessed because he knew his career would be over and he would lose almost 90 million if he didn't.

The addict learns early on that he/she is as sick as their secrets. And by admitting these secrets to another human being, they will get the help they so desperately seek. Maybe that’s what Josh was doing? 

[AngelsSurfer]

It's been mentioned already that a condition of his return to baseball was drug testing three times a week. The question is, does that continue in the off-season?

I'm not really seeing why it's so commendable that he came forward. If they were drug testing him they would have found it anyway.

Edited February 26, 2015 by AngelsSurfer

[yk9001]

Some writer used the word "honorable".  Jee-zus.

[Amazing Larry]

Josh will be fine ... he has already taken the necessary steps as a addict to recovery. He'll be a addict for the rest of his life. To believe he would never have a relapse during his tenure as a Angel was being overly optimistic. There is no reason to feel sorry for him or his family.

This isn't the end of the world for Josh and his family. His faith and family will keep him on the straight and narrow. The important thing is to keep his relapse to a minimal and get help immediately which he seems to have done.

 

The problem is he's dragging the team I pay good money to watch through the mud just so he can rack a couple lines and have a good time. This dude costs the team wins both on the field and off. He is ridiculously overpriced and underproductive. 

 

That's great that him and his family will be fine minus a few "bumps in the road." Good for them. Don't mind the fact that you have the opportunity to live a very easy, comfortable life but choose to piss on it and your team. 

[shellback]

i wish hamilton well.

away from the angels.

[Glen]

In before 27 pages.

[Jay]

Both you guys have quit smoking so know far more about quitting than I did. So I have some questions for both of you. Once you decided to quit the first time you never had another cigarette after that? Is it possible you had more natural ability to quit? Like maybe it's possible that Josh Hamilton thinks you're weak minded for not being able to hit home runs off MLB pitching. He's done it hundreds of times why can't you do it? Maybe you didn't work hard enough and were a loser. He's seen plenty of guys he used to play with not work as hard as he did and fall off and not make the show. If you had tried harder and were stronger mentally you would have made millions of dollars playing in MLB. Not working hard is costing you millions of dollars. Perhaps a better example for people who believe it is a disease is cancer patients. Some will beat it with chemo therapy and others will die. It doesn't mean chemo doesn't work or that the patient was weak it was just the cancer was different in their body than it the other person's. Maybe Josh needs a different treatment option or maybe just more of the same. Maybe he is mentally weak but maybe he just has a more addictive body than most just like he has a more athletic body than most.

 

As mentioned previously it is a mental game.  Whether or not you win is up to you.  There are various treatments, methods, meetings, to help make it easier for you to change your behavior, but in the end it is you who must want to change.  Nobody else can force you to change, it has to come from within yourself.

 

If your family's livelihood depends on your being drug-free that's a pretty strong motivation.  In my case there was no such motivation but I still was able to quit smoking.  To answer your question, no after you decide to quit you cannot have another cigarette.  Ever.  After several years of being without cigarettes you don't even want one so I can't imagine relapsing at this point.  But still the answer is no, you cannot allow yourself to have a cigarette, one day at a time.

 

As to what is going on in Hamilton's pea-brain who knows.  Yes it's possible he thinks I'm weak for not being able to hit a MLB fastball.  It's possible he thinks he's better than the rest of us because he's athletic.  But, still a loser.

 

Something else I'll leave here.  There is a thing called Nicotine Anonymous.  Like AA, it is a 12-step program to help people to quit smoking.  I didn't participate in the program but I know others who did.  I have been told that some of the people in those meetings have already given up drugs and/or alcohol, and cigarettes are the last, hardest thing to give up.

[Glen]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/570995338116534272

LOL. Scioscia.

 

Scioscia is waiting to turn the page on this whole thing.

[ettin]

Presumably he's been clean for several years so really there's no reason to start using again, he's just a loser. Sorry if that's harsh but it's my opinion. I'm sure he's a good guy, charitable etc. but when your job requires you to be drug free and you take drugs then you are simply a loser.

Jay,

Virtually every job requires you to be drug free. In the case of my nephew he was exposed to drugs very early on and started using them in his young teens. He never even had a chance to get a job before he became the "loser" you talk about.

He's got a good heart and soul but the hooks were in him a long time ago and his life has gone straight to sh*t. He wants to turn things around but he has no clear path in his mind on how to climb out of the huge pit he is in. He has great difficulty seeing a way out of his despair. That's not being a loser that is just having such a crushing weight of addiction and despair about the bad choices he's made and not having enough positive life experience to understand that there is a way to get out from under that crushing weight.

Some people choose to use drugs later in life (after their teenage years) and they make more conscious choices to screw up but others are damaged at such an early pre-formative stage that they can't help but screw up even though they may not want to.

[shellback]

and another strongly worded reply... (sciosia)

Edited February 26, 2015 by shellback

[Jay]

Jay,

Virtually every job requires you to be drug free. In the case of my nephew he was exposed to drugs very early on and started using them in his young teens. He never even had a chance to get a job before he became the "loser" you talk about.

He's got a good heart and soul but the hooks were in him a long time ago and his life has gone straight to sh*t. He wants to turn things around but he has no clear path in his mind on how to climb out of the huge pit he is in. He has great difficulty seeing a way out of his despair. That's not being a loser that is just having such a crushing weight of addiction and despair about the bad choices he's made and not having enough positive life experience to understand that there is a way to get out from under that crushing weight.

Some people choose to use drugs later in life (after their teenage years) and they make more conscious choices to screw up but others are damaged at such an early pre-formative stage that they can't help but screw up even though they may not want to.

 

I am not saying that everyone who struggles with addiction is a loser.  I was addicted to cigarettes myself.  I am saying that Hamilton is a loser because he has been drug-free for several years, has all the resources and support in the world, his family depends on him, and still he allowed himself to use drugs.

[Blarg]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/570995338116534272

LOL. Scioscia.

 

The speedball was coming out of his pipe really well. ~ Scioscia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, dick post.

[HaloCory22]

Serious question.

 

Wonder if Josh and Ron Washington ever "partied" together.

[Blarg]

Jay,

Virtually every job requires you to be drug free. In the case of my nephew he was exposed to drugs very early on and started using them in his young teens. He never even had a chance to get a job before he became the "loser" you talk about.

He's got a good heart and soul but the hooks were in him a long time ago and his life has gone straight to sh*t. He wants to turn things around but he has no clear path in his mind on how to climb out of the huge pit he is in. He has great difficulty seeing a way out of his despair. That's not being a loser that is just having such a crushing weight of addiction and despair about the bad choices he's made and not having enough positive life experience to understand that there is a way to get out from under that crushing weight.

Some people choose to use drugs later in life (after their teenage years) and they make more conscious choices to screw up but others are damaged at such an early pre-formative stage that they can't help but screw up even though they may not want to.

 

And people wonder why Singapore and Indonesia execute illegal drug/smugglers dealers.

[nando714]

If he's tested 3 days a week. How did he not test positive for anything? Is he still getting tested? Is he not?

[ELEVEN]

Serious question.

Wonder if Josh and Ron Washington ever "partied" together.

You mean like ass eating?

[shellback]

i think they swapped accountability partners...

[Homebrewer]

Well, everyone was hoping Josh could regain some of his "old form"....

Careful what you wish for when it comes to this guy, huh? 

 

I wish him well, but I won't miss him on the field one bit. I hope his days as an Angels are done, because he really hasn't done anything to this point and few of us really expected anything but the lost ability and downhill slide we have seen thus far... to continue.

Retire, go somewhere... take your pile of unearned money, and take care of yourself, Josh.

 

Buh Bye...

[Mark68]

all drug suspensions by MLB are without pay.

Would his salary count against the luxury tax if suspended by MLB?

[ettin]

I am not saying that everyone who struggles with addiction is a loser. I was addicted to cigarettes myself. I am saying that Hamilton is a loser because he has been drug-free for several years, has all the resources and support in the world, his family depends on him, and still he allowed himself to use drugs.

Hi Jay,

First of all I should make it clear I'm not trying to be snappy with you I just think that this is an important subject that only until the last few years as impacted me so personally.

It seems like there are many here who just want to blast Josh and I think that comes from a misunderstanding of the nature of addiction.

Although I'm not an expert on the subject it is clear that any addict, no matter how long they have been sober, has to be vigilant to avoid relapse the rest of their lives. So the fact that he has been sober for a few years seems irrelevant when it comes to addictive behavior. Josh clearly had a confluence of personal factors that led to his relapse.

As for Josh's resources and support I'd say that having that is a double-edged sword. Yes he has plenty of money to treat his addictive behaviors and he can hire people to help him but that same money can be used to circumvent his support structure and gives him access to literally all the drugs he wants to use. It is a powerful, tempting tool and I imagine it is just as much a burden as it is helpful.

As for his family depending on him most of us have some type or quantity of family depending on them. Josh is not unique in that regard. My nephew was married and had a son that he is now estranged from. He showed up at our door the other day and was crying like I never saw him cry before when he talked about his son (who's in Texas). My nephew knows he has screwed up and that his son needs him but when he can't maintain some control of his own life how can he help his son? Josh can't maintain himself so how can he help his family emotionally? There are a lot of addicts who have family depending on them. Josh is no different.

Yes Josh broke down and used drugs. I'd argue he has a lot more opportunity to do so than the average addict due to his tremendous resources. Breaking down happens to addicts all the time, why should Josh be any different? Addictive behavior whether it is drugs, alcohol, drinking soda, smoking cigarettes, gambling etc. doesn't go away. It has to be actively managed at all times and most of us want to indulge in our addictions not eliminate them. Usually the only time we are successful at eliminating them is when we make a conscious choice to fight the addiction and stop using/consuming it.

Jay I'm just saying that I think you should reevaluate your opinion on it. It's not as clear cut as it appears.

Respectfully,

Robert

[Ohtaniland]

I wonder if Josh Hamilton is going to have to cooperate with authorities and turn in all his dealers and friends that are connected with this issue. Cocaine usage is also a criminal activity.