Orange County Register: Moura: Rangers likely to benefit from arrogance of Angels owner Moreno

[Stradling]

Throw him a club that can actually discipline batters and those pitches won't be such a problem. I'm just sick of seeing the Angels dump guys suck here but do significantly better elsewhere.

Like who? Who did better of all the guys we let go or didn't re-sign? Figgins? Tex? Kotchman? Bourjos? Sean Rodriguez? GA? Erstad? Juan Rivera? Glaus? GMjr? Vladdy was the same as he was here, so was Napoli. Howie is off to a hot start, but we know what he can slump. Hunter had one decent year, but wasn't incredible. If you want to go back to Edmonds go ahead, but every team has a couple of those guys.

[Inside Pitch]

Like who? Who did better of all the guys we let go or didn't re-sign? Figgins? Tex? Kotchman? Bourjos? Sean Rodriguez? GA? Erstad? Juan Rivera? Glaus? GMjr? Vladdy was the same as he was here, so was Napoli. Howie is off to a hot start, but we know what he can slump. Hunter had one decent year, but wasn't incredible. If you want to go back to Edmonds go ahead, but every team has a couple of those guys.

 

I'm expecting Howie to have his best season as a MLer..  Truth is I wouldn't bet against any "good" AL hitter moving to the NL.   For whatever reasons, seems like AL hitters transition to the NL a bit more easily than NL to AL.  

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The Angels made it clear they did not want Hamilton and were trying to void his contract. They pulled no punches. It was pretty despicable the way they went about it. Of course Hamilton had a poor attitude by that point. I worry that it has damaged the organization's reputation in the eyes of players. Maybe the trade to Texas is an attempt to salvage that by giving Hamilton "what he wants."

 

I find nothing despicable about it. Hamilton failed to keep himself in playing shape by using street drugs, the possession of which is a felony in every jurisdiction I know of. In short, he committed a crime punishable by imprisonment. For that the Angels are supposed to back him and tell him that it's OK? Drug addiction isn't a blanket excuse for every mistake he makes for the rest of his life.

 

If players don't sign here because the club has no tolerance for illegal drug use, are those the kind of players we want anyway?

Edited April 26, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan

[dimitrig]

I find nothing despicable about it. Hamilton failed to keep himself in playing shape by using street drugs, the possession of which is a felony in every jurisdiction I know of. In short, he committed a crime punishable by imprisonment. For that the Angels are supposed to back him and tell him that it's OK?

 

If players don't sign here because the club has no tolerance for illegal drug use, are those the kind of players we want anyway?

 

Do you really think no other MLB players (Angels, even) do illegal drugs?

 

The guy wasn't busted by the cops. He admitted to it.

[AngelsSurfer]

I find nothing despicable about it. Hamilton failed to keep himself in playing shape by using street drugs, the possession of which is a felony in every jurisdiction I know of. In short, he committed a crime punishable by imprisonment. For that the Angels are supposed to back him and tell him that it's OK? Drug addiction isn't a blanket excuse for every mistake he makes for the rest of his life.

 

If players don't sign here because the club has no tolerance for illegal drug use, are those the kind of players we want anyway?

Seconded. Legality and morality of drugs aside, the guy had a poor attitude from the get-go, and the Angels bent over backward to accomodate him. Can anyone name another player who a) had their accountability coach and babysitters on the team's payroll; b )was freely given time off during the 2014 season to get his head together; c) was placed on a post-season roster despite dismal production and being away for a month; d) was allowed to rehab off-site in a situation that didn't even require him to show up for spring training or report to team trainers and medical staff? If anything the Angels were too lenient with this guy over the past two years. The poor attitude is all on him.

Edited April 26, 2015 by AngelsSurfer

[dimitrig]

So if Mike Trout is busted with an ounce of cocaine next week the Angels are going to have a "zero tolerance policy" for this "illegal drug use?"

 

Bullshit.

[AngelsSurfer]

Throw him a club that can actually discipline batters and those pitches won't be such a problem. I'm just sick of seeing the Angels dump guys suck here but do significantly better elsewhere.

But that happens with every club, IMHO. It isn't an Angels thing. Sometimes a change of scenery and coaching staff can do wonders for a player. They're never going to do well for the team they left, for whatever reason, but they come into their own once they're in a new club. Take Jason Grilli last year. With the Pirates he was blowing saves and generally wasn't doing well, but he did a great job for the Angels. Change of scenery makes all the difference sometimes.

Even if 2015-2016 Hamilton does well for the Rangers there's zero guarantee that he'd have yielded the same returns for the Angels.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Do you really think no other MLB players (Angels, even) do illegal drugs?

The guy wasn't busted by the cops. He admitted to it.

A. No. It's out there. It doesn't justify it.

B. It's still a crime.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan

[ten ocho recon scout]

I'm expecting Howie to have his best season as a MLer.. Truth is I wouldn't bet against any "good" AL hitter moving to the NL. For whatever reasons, seems like AL hitters transition to the NL a bit more easily than NL to AL.

ive read the AL throws more breaking pitches vs more fastballs in the NL. Not sure how trye that is, but i remember renteria commenting on that back in the day when he returned to the NL (and saw his numbers improve)

[ten ocho recon scout]

Have you seen Hamilton the last two seasons? Isn't this the same dude going through a divorce, who turns to drugs and booze when the going gets tough, has been documented to not have the heart to play by one if his closest friends, coming off an injury and refused to work with the team on rehab but I'm supposed to fear him rising like a Phoenix from the ashes? Hmmm...anything is possible in life I guess.

theres also the thing about not being with the team when they clinched. That didnt win him any teammate of the year awards

[Tank]

What an insightful article.  Based on this logic, if I hire someone to do a job, who historically has done great work, and this hired person does garbage work, I would be arrogant to dismiss them.

 

I need to rethink so many other things.......wow!

From this brilliant article:

"Moreno will end up paying more than $100 million for two seasons of post-prime Hamilton – two seasons of slightly-above-average production that came far short of Moreno’s expectations, but not really all that short of what reasonable projections foretold."

Slightly above average? Hahahaha

[Taylor]

The O.C. Register is still butthurt toward Arte about the name change.

[mancini79]

So if Mike Trout is busted with an ounce of cocaine next week the Angels are going to have a "zero tolerance policy" for this "illegal drug use?"

 

Bullshit.

 

Are we talking about Trout's first offense? Are you seriously trying to compare Josh's situation to any other player on this club?!

[tomsred]

Who is Pedro Moura anyway, and will we ever hear anything more from him regarding baseball?

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I missed the part in management training when it said that it is arrogant to dismiss an employee who isn't getting the job done. I apparently need to retake the course.

[dimitrig]

Are we talking about Trout's first offense? Are you seriously trying to compare Josh's situation to any other player on this club?!

 

Is it zero tolerance or isn't it?

[Docwaukee]

So if Mike Trout is busted with an ounce of cocaine next week the Angels are going to have a "zero tolerance policy" for this "illegal drug use?"

 

Bullshit.

uh no.  

 

It's zero tolerance for a guy who has had multiple offenses over the course of many years.  something that I believe was built into Josh's contract.  an implied zero tolerance if you will because an additional offense would be a severe punishment by the league.  A punishment that I am sure the Angels researched prior to signing the contract

 

 

The Angels were relying on the fact that another relapse would have been dealt with appropriately.  That the JDA would have done it's job.  Just like they would rely on them to do their job with any other player.  

 

You can't possibly believe what you wrote right?

[Tyler]

This place is starting to look like the espn boards, smh.

[UndertheHalo]

no disrespect to Jeff Fletcher (you do fine work sir) but seriously. F**K the OC Register.  I am personally completely unmoved by the plight of Josh Hamilton. Boo Hoo, he fleeced the club for 100 million dollars.  This dude is not a victim.  I am sorry for his personal demons, and truely I hope he gets his life together.  its just that I think he's a shitty baseball player with a drug problem and Im sick of him being an Angel.  I imagine the guy cutting his check (Arte Moreno) is a lot more sick of it.  He's gonna eat the cost.  Smug ass baseball pundits are gonna say he has egg on his face.  F**K them too. Nobody could have anticipated how badly this has gone.  I am THANKFUL that Arte puts up the money to make the Angels a force in MLB.  I grew up during the Disney days. Im a Angel fan no matter what, but Ill keep the Angels that will sign a guy premier FA thanks.  Arte has delivered that to the community.  So again, F U OC register and your article and an extra FU to that Smith woman that wrote the other retarded "I hate Arte" article. Newsflash, its Arte that losing the money, these editorials are about creating hostility towards the Angels and Arte Moreno specifically.  Whats the play OC Register ? Seriously.