Hamilton will not be suspended: per DiGiovanna

[bloodbrother]

Lesson learned....if you are going to use illegal drugs, make sure you nobly turn yourself in to the commissioner before you test positive on a drug test. They'll grant you more leniency by doing so

 

If he doesn't say a word he likely gets a lengthy suspension but since he admitted to it before he tested positive he skates free. Terrible news for the team. Was hoping he'd be staying far away from the team this year

[beatlesrule]

Called it. This is one of the few instances where I wish I wasn't right.

[LightTheHalo]

Ha! I love this comment in the MLBTrader article.

 

"What kind of a drug treatment program is he in where doing blow doesn't violate the terms?"

 

One approved by the MLB Players Association, naturally.

[yk9001]

I am going to be the glass half full guy:  This will only make hamilton feel he's bulletproof.  He'll soon go on another bender, rendering him physically unable to perform as a major leaguer... and we will never have to see him again.

[fan_since79]

Once he is cleared physically for play by the medical staff he only has to accept a minor league rehab assignment for 20 days before being activated on the 25 man roster.

 

And once activated, he'll be placed in the cleanup spot and start flailing away again at garbage pitches. Depressing deja vu.

 

Really, is it too much to expect him to take a pitch now and then??

[stevestevens]

Can't wait to see the sequel for "Accountability The Josh Hamilton Story"

 

[Docwaukee]

The era of Rob Manfred has begun.

In his statement, he clearly disagrees with the decision.  

[bloodbrother]

I am going to be the glass half full guy:  This will only make hamilton feel he's bulletproof.  He'll soon go on another bender, rendering him physically unable to perform as a major leaguer... and we will never have to see him again.

 

Get ready to see him back in June providing plenty of wind to fans in the summer. Ugh

[WallyWorld]

Any news on his injury rehab? Haven't heard anything for awhile except that he was hanging out on a friend's ranch in Texas.

[Guest]

Interesting turn of events. I still think he won't play as an Angel this year

[Thomas]

You'll understand if I don't Google the time it remains in your system myself at work but perhaps he didn't fail a test and there literally was no means under the CBA to suspend him just because he self-reported?

[WallyWorld]

@MikeDiGiovanna: #Angels not exactly welcoming OF Josh Hamilton back with open arms. This could get ugly.

great

[fan_since79]

@MikeDiGiovanna: #Angels not exactly welcoming OF Josh Hamilton back with open arms. This could get ugly.

great

 

Next three seasons OVER.

[WallyWorld]

Interesting turn of events. I still think he won't play as an Angel this year

I think that's more probable than many people realize.

[bloodbrother]

@MikeDiGiovanna: #Angels not exactly welcoming OF Josh Hamilton back with open arms. This could get ugly.

great

 

Good.

[AngelsSurfer]

Are you sure?

He was supposedly being drug tested three times a week...and spring training was about to start, so even if his off-season testing was more intermittent, the coke probably would have shown up. It wasn't a noble gesture at all. It was "hey, I'm going to get caught anyway, so let's try to earn a few brownie points."

 

This is all complete BS. This isn't a first offense for him, and they let him off the hook? Disgusting.

[stevestevens]

Any news on his injury rehab? Haven't heard anything for awhile except that he was hanging out on a friend's ranch in Texas.

 

Since Roy Silver, one of his closest friends, says Josh should just retire, it sounds like he is all in and ready to go.  

Edited April 3, 2015 by Stevestevens

[Blarg]

@MikeDiGiovanna: #Angels not exactly welcoming OF Josh Hamilton back with open arms. This could get ugly.

great

 

I wonder if Mike is talking about the front office or coaching staff/team.

[AngelsSurfer]

Any news on his injury rehab? Haven't heard anything for awhile except that he was hanging out on a friend's ranch in Texas.

Earlier news reports this week said that there's no timetable for his return and the rehab isn't progressing. Apparently he was only hitting baseballs off a tee, if that.

So hey, there's hope. Maybe he will just spin this surgery rehab out indefinitely and we won't have to see him play after all.

[yk9001]

I really don't get the feeling that Scioscia is going to give him the "veteran's rope" that we've seen so many times before.  I just get the feeling Hamilton is heading into the "Jose Guillen after tirade" relationship with Sosh:  You're dead to me.

[Docwaukee]

Hats off to mlb for waiting until 3 day prior to our opening game of the season to roll this crap out.  

[Guest]

I wonder if Mike is talking about the front office or coaching staff/team.

Probably both. Scioscia's recent comments regarding Josh didn't sound too warm. He basically said that the team could manage without him and that it was business as usual.

[Bobster7587]

Wow. This is crazy. As others have said, what kind of example does this set for the rest of the league? It's OK if you do coke, as long as you confess before you test positive? What a joke. Very interesting tweet from Mike DG. This could get pretty entertaining. Don't the Angels have the power to suspend him themselves? (With Pay)? 

[LightTheHalo]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/03/breaking-josh-hamilton-to-receive-no-discipline-in-the-wake-of-his-relapse/

 

The ruling was based on the arbitrator’s interpretation of Section 4© of the Joint Drug Agreement, which handles violations of a players’ treatment program. Under that section, a player is said to have committed a violation if the player: a. refuses to submit to evaluations and followup tests; b. (“consistently fails to participate in mandatory sessions with his assigned health care professional”; c. his health care professional tells Major League Baseball that the player is not cooperating; or d. the player tests positive for a drug of abuse.

 

None of these applied to Hamilton. Rather, Hamilton self-reported his use of cocaine to Major League Baseball. Said use was characterized to NBC Sports.com by a person familiar with the proceedings as a “slip” as opposed to a “relapse.” Hamilton had, in the past, been involved in isolated incidents involving alcohol, which likewise did not result in any discipline.

Edited April 3, 2015 by LightTheHalo

[notherhalo]

the only way Hamilton can earn my respect now is to rock the Wild Thing haircut