Angels employee details team's knowledge of Tyler Skaggs' drug use to DEA

[John Taylor]

I absolutely idolize Tim Mead but as much as I want to think he had no knowledge of this, the statement seem to indicate otherwise. I know in this day of social outrage where everything is either '"hing good or thing bad" based on everything I know of Tim Mead he would have genuinely cared for the well-being of Tyler (as he did of Kay) and could have possibly talked to Tyler about it at which Tyler would have convinced him that he could "handle it" or that it was no big deal.

I say this because I have literally been in that situation of having a friend downplay addiction to the point where they were able to make me think that I would have been betraying them by reporting their drug use to family members and such. The media will want to make this a black and white issue "Everyone who knew of this and didn't report it are horrible people" where the motivations will lie more in the middle.

I am also willing to accept that my personal bias towards Tim Mead is projecting all of that onto this situation. It's possible (and likely) that I am way off, but I have been in a similar situation and have experience in dealing with functioning addicts who appeared "Ok"

[Lou]

10 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

or are you lying about that? and you love us all equally and with out judgment?

nope, I judge people all the time. so does everyone else here

[tdawg87]

Addiction is nothing to F*ck around with. I myself have (and continue to) deal with addiction to controlled drugs for Anxiety, as well as alcohol and even food for depression. I'm not at all comparing my situation to Tyler's or anyone else's for that matter.

I just know from experience that addiction sucks and while the blame can ultimately be placed on the individual (I blame no one but myself for my addictive problems), it's far more complicated than "well just stop doing that".

I want to be healthy, both mentally and physically. I hate relying on drugs to be able to Facking go out anywhere. I also hate sitting at home and drinking and eating because it's safe and easy. But I do it every day of every week. I want to live a normal Facking life. 

I'm mentally ill. I imagine anyone with an addiction has SOME form of mental illness. You don't do it because you want to, you do it because you need to. That's the issue right there. 

I can't imagine what Skaggs or Kay went through. Or maybe I can. Fortunately my addictions haven't killed me yet. Unfortunately for Skaggs...

He deserves a lot of blame. He put so much of this on himself. But why? He didn't just decide one day that Oxy was the coolest. He took that shit for a reason. Maybe a big part of it was physical. But there was unquestionably a part that was mental. After all, these drugs don't just make you feel good physically.

[ten ocho recon scout]

17 minutes ago, Stradling said:

No he judges the hell out of us. 

 

[Angelsjunky]

We could say that all addiction is rooted in the fact that life is Facking hard and absolutely terrifying, and we all deserve compassion for that. We're all coping by whatever means we have, be it booze, drugs, food, sex, or the internet (ahem).

Portugal has de-criminalized all drugs, and views addiction as a health issue, not a crime. I'd say we're still pretty backwards in this country, in this regard. We've got a major epidemic on our hands, with numerous casualties--and a population in which the vast majority of people have some form of addiction--yet we end up being more concerned with who to blame, who to punish, rather than asking: why are things this way? Why are 70% of Americans overweight? Why do millions self-medicate with prescription drugs or some other substance?

Anyhow, tdawg, you're not alone. Most of us have some form what you describe, to greater or lesser degrees. 

[Turd Ferguson]

1 hour ago, Kevinb said:

I think that's just people letting emotions get the best of them. I don't think this has any impact on free agency or attracting a manager. Why would it? Baseball is a small world. This stuff isn't just happening here in Anaheim.

I agree with you. I thought it was obvious after reading 8 pages of this thread that my comment was satire but I’ll slap on the ol /s next time.

[Troll Daddy]

This isn’t going to end well for the Angels 

[Claude]

3 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

This isn’t going to end well for the Angels 

It’s going to be bad. They’re going to depose everybody and there will be more fallout. The canaries will sing. 

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Drug use is probably as common or more common for athletes than it is for regular folks especially when it comes to players rehabbing or dealing with injuries.  I'm not saying everyone does it but in sports there's bound to be players on every team who do and there's people who know about it.  Unfortunately for the Angels they're going to get hammered either by the authorities or the court of public opinion because one of their players OD'd. 

[Claude]

6 minutes ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

Drug use is probably as common or more common for athletes than it is for regular folks especially when it comes to players rehabbing or dealing with injuries.  I'm not saying everyone does it but in sports there's bound to be players on every team who do and there's people who know about it.  Unfortunately for the Angels they're going to get hammered either by the authorities or the court of public opinion because one of their players OD'd. 

Pretty sure that the other 29 teams won’t let the Angels drag them through the mud. They’re on their own. 

[kevinb]

57 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Addiction is nothing to F*ck around with. I myself have (and continue to) deal with addiction to controlled drugs for Anxiety, as well as alcohol and even food for depression. I'm not at all comparing my situation to Tyler's or anyone else's for that matter.

I just know from experience that addiction sucks and while the blame can ultimately be placed on the individual (I blame no one but myself for my addictive problems), it's far more complicated than "well just stop doing that".

I want to be healthy, both mentally and physically. I hate relying on drugs to be able to Facking go out anywhere. I also hate sitting at home and drinking and eating because it's safe and easy. But I do it every day of every week. I want to live a normal Facking life. 

I'm mentally ill. I imagine anyone with an addiction has SOME form of mental illness. You don't do it because you want to, you do it because you need to. That's the issue right there. 

I can't imagine what Skaggs or Kay went through. Or maybe I can. Fortunately my addictions haven't killed me yet. Unfortunately for Skaggs...

He deserves a lot of blame. He put so much of this on himself. But why? He didn't just decide one day that Oxy was the coolest. He took that shit for a reason. Maybe a big part of it was physical. But there was unquestionably a part that was mental. After all, these drugs don't just make you feel good physically.

I’m sorry you have to go through that man. And although that probably doesn’t mean much I do sincerely mean it. I’ve dealt with stuff before and still do to some extent. Hopefully one day you don’t have to feel that way or that you do feel better soon. It’s a rough thing to go alone or even think your going thru it alone. I for one thank ya for sharing. And here for ya man if you ever feel like ya need to talk to someone. 

[Lou]

maybe it won't even be mentioned since the Yankees are playing

[Claude]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

Addiction is nothing to F*ck around with. I myself have (and continue to) deal with addiction to controlled drugs for Anxiety, as well as alcohol and even food for depression. I'm not at all comparing my situation to Tyler's or anyone else's for that matter.

I just know from experience that addiction sucks and while the blame can ultimately be placed on the individual (I blame no one but myself for my addictive problems), it's far more complicated than "well just stop doing that".

I want to be healthy, both mentally and physically. I hate relying on drugs to be able to Facking go out anywhere. I also hate sitting at home and drinking and eating because it's safe and easy. But I do it every day of every week. I want to live a normal Facking life. 

I'm mentally ill. I imagine anyone with an addiction has SOME form of mental illness. You don't do it because you want to, you do it because you need to. That's the issue right there. 

I can't imagine what Skaggs or Kay went through. Or maybe I can. Fortunately my addictions haven't killed me yet. Unfortunately for Skaggs...

He deserves a lot of blame. He put so much of this on himself. But why? He didn't just decide one day that Oxy was the coolest. He took that shit for a reason. Maybe a big part of it was physical. But there was unquestionably a part that was mental. After all, these drugs don't just make you feel good physically.

You’re a good guy Tdawg. Your personal battles don’t make me think any less of you. You have a lot of great qualities that you should give yourself more credit for. It’s easy to see that everyone here appreciates you. 

[tdawg87]

3 minutes ago, Calzone 2 said:

You’re a good guy Tdawg. Your personal battles don’t make me think any less of you. You have a lot of great qualities that you should give yourself more credit for. It’s easy to see that everyone here appreciates you. 

Thank you bud. You can come to my bunk now.

[Claude]

1 minute ago, tdawg87 said:

Thank you bud. You can come to my bunk now.

Lol don’t forget to leave the light on. 

[Troll Daddy]

Jose Mota will be talking on this subject in a few minutes FOX 11

[jsnpritchett]

1 minute ago, Troll Daddy said:

Jose Mota will be talking on this subject in a few minutes FOX 11

Great.  That's just what this situation needs. I'm sure Jose will clear up everything..........

 

[John Taylor]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

 

Only Lance Ito can judge me...

[Claude]

I’m sure Jose will esssplain everything. 

[tdawg87]

Just now, jsnpritchett said:

Great.  That's just what this situation needs. I'm sure Jose will clear up everything..........

 

The whole situation regarding this situation with the Skaggs and his tragedy has been tragic and we can't forget the important things he brings to the Anyels and all the friendships along the way. Obviously this is a not a great thing that is happening but ultimately I think Arte and the Anyels will successful when everything has been said and done.

[Claude]

1 minute ago, tdawg87 said:

The whole situation regarding this situation with the Skaggs and his tragedy has been tragic and we can't forget the important things he brings to the Anyels and all the friendships along the way. Obviously this is a not a great thing that is happening but ultimately I think Arte and the Anyels will successful when everything has been said and done.

Anyels will successful

That’s encouraging. 

[Lhalo]

2 hours ago, DowningRules said:

This reminds me of the Miami Vice episode “Evan.” Really a great episode...

Finally something positive comes from this tragedy. 

[Mark68]

This is horrible if true. An Angels employee not only continued to supply Skaggs with opioids but used them with Skaggs...

Whether Kay was actually responsible for supplying Skaggs with the fatal drug cocktail that ended his life in that Texas hotel room on July 1st, he certainly was responsible for feeding Skaggs' habit while Skaggs was pitching for the team and should be fired--at the very least. Everyone involved in this scandal needs to be investigated. This whole situation has given the team a black eye and it is perhaps time for a housecleaning. 

[Troll Daddy]

33 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Jose Mota will be talking on this subject in a few minutes FOX 11

Jose was very diplomatic in saying that he is perplexed about the whole situation. 

[Troll Daddy]

8 minutes ago, Mark68 said:

This is horrible if true. An Angels employee not only continued to supply Skaggs with opioids but used them with Skaggs...

Whether Kay was actually responsible for supplying Skaggs with the fatal drug cocktail that ended his life in that Texas hotel room on July 1st, he certainly was responsible for feeding Skaggs' habit while Skaggs was pitching for the team and should be fired--at the very least. Everyone involved in this scandal needs to be investigated. This whole situation has given the team a black eye and it is perhaps time for a housecleaning. 

Alcohol played a big part is his death