AngelsSurfer

Hamilton's employment contract had a stipulation that he was not to use drugs and was to get tested to confirm that he was not using. That's the long and short of it. He voluntarily signed that contract, so he was agreeing to those terms. Also, it's not about morality as much as it's about safety. And that's why a lot of jobs do have zero-tolerance drug clauses. A lot of drugs do alter people's reactions and perceptions, and that can be dangerous. Do you really want to fly in a plane with a pilot who is intoxicated, for instance? Or have a procedure done by a surgeon who's hallucinating? Baseball can be dangerous on a good day. A player who is seriously impaired by drugs or alcohol probably has a much higher chance of doing something that will injure another guy on the field, such as not having the spatial awareness or reflexes to move out of the way of another outfielder. Last season Hamilton actually ended up hitting the Royals' catcher in the head with his bat, and it looked as though it was because he wasn't paying attention to where he was or what he was doing. If that's how he is when he's ostensibly sober, does anyone want him out there when he's high as a kite?

Geez, is Colin Cowgill invisible or something?! He's had an amazing ST both offensively and defensively and is just completely ignored.

I guess that's the problem. The Angels have four options: 1. Release him and pay for his contract; 2. Bench him or keep him on the DL and let others play, while paying his contract; 3. Find another team and get him to agree to a trade, which is highly unlikely, and still might result in covering some of his contract; 4. Let him play, even though he's half-assed about it; denying the better players a chance to play and perhaps hurting the team's win record. And none of those are particularly good options. There SHOULD be some recourse in the collective bargaining agreement to discipline a player like this, and it does everyone a disservice that there isn't.

It's a good point, but even if the accountability person couldn't stay with Josh the dugout, but the real danger for him is when he's *away* from the stadium, isn't it? The accountability person could have stayed in the same hotel and been with Josh whenever he was off work. That could have certainly helped.

Pujols is a good guy. I'd love to see him continue working with the Angels after he retires.

So, hypothetically, the Angels fired his accountability coach. I don't believe that either, but let's just say that they did. What would have stopped Hamilton from hiring that guy himself, on his own dime? He's making eight figures every year and he can't hire his own accountability person? That should be his responsibility anyway, not the Angels'.

I don't see that the front office's statements are saying "we don't want him on the team." They're saying that they have serious concerns with the way this player is conducting himself, and that is fair. As mentioned, the Angels have done nothing but support Hamilton any way they could for the past two seasons. They've gone above and beyond and done things for him that they have not done for other players, such as hiring his babysitter/accountability coach. And if those statements are in fact implying that they don't want him on the team? IMHO, at this point, that is fair too. They're not pulling this out of thin air; they're saying it after two years of dealing with a player who clearly doesn't give a damn. I think it would send a worse message - and a disservice to the Angels who ARE doing thier jobs - to continue to support this player unconditionally and not speak out about his actions.

I'm sort of trying to get my head around why the Angels need to payroll Hamilton's personal babysitter. He should have to pay that out of his own salary; he certainly gets enough. Make it a requirement that his accountability person has to be there but at his own expense. I don't see any of the other players getting a personal attendant courtesy of the team.

It very much depends what the job is. A lot of places have zero tolerance for even trace amounts. If you're sitting at a desk, maybe they can afford to be helpful. If you're in a job where your actions directly affect others' health and safety, not so much. During the ALDS Hamilton hit the Royals' catcher in the head with his bat, and that was when he wasn't using, ostensibly. If he's not with it he can very easily do damage to another player. Plus, even in the companies where they offer help, it very much depends on the situation. A company that might be willing to help an employee get through their drug habit the first time might not be quite so helpful when the same employee is going through it for the FOURTH time and is violating their agreement by using. I've been around addicts, and at the end of the day, unless they are willing to stop making excuses and take a stand for themselves, nobody can help them. At some point one gets tired of watching them hurt themselves and those around them, and failing to stay committed to being sober, and the door has to be closed. I've cut addicts I know out of my life for that reason. You can care and you can help, but at the end of the day, if the addict doesn't step up, there's not much that can be done. There's a very valid reason that many addicts end up losing friends, alienating relatives and getting fired.

Literally the day Richards was wheeled into surgery they had a projected timeline for his recovery. After his surgery he showed up in full uniform with his knee brace to support his team. And every few months we read news stories about how he'd met this milestone or that milestone and was making progress. Hamilton? He doesn't have surgery until just before ST, he supposedly has a fairly minor procedure and yet there's no timeline for his recovery, he hasn't come to ST or a single game and we haven't heard anything that suggests he is making an effort.

All true, but there's really no need to keep putting the word disease in quotes. It's not a made up thing.

Yep. Richards could have been upset about missing postseason - but he went to the games and stood or sat at the rail with his team. With Skaggs, Richards, and the others who have had minor or major injuries, the theme has seemed to be "go! go! go! I want to get back out there!" With Hamilton, it seems to be "meh. I'll hit off a tee for a bit." This is a photo I took of Richards, Conger and Wilson sitting at the rail during the Post Season game @ Angels Stadium.

Mike Trout is the MVP, he has far more clout and marketing presence than Hamilton ever has had, and any team would fall over themselves to get him right now. Guaranteed contract or not, if he wanted to behave like a total enfant terrible he would probably be given the slack to do so - and yet, he doesn't.

Hypothetically, even if there is a full no-trade clause, if Hamilton were to actually agree to being traded, it could happen, yes? Not that I think that another team wants him right now, just saying.

I would ask this: what does anyone think the Angels or MLB should be saying at this point? They've got a player who by all appearances seems to have a very poor attitude, who has had numerous drug violation sin the past and has actually been suspended for two years for the same, who has escaped any and all punishment for taking drugs by a technicality and an arbitrator's decision. Are they supposed to be happy about that? The Angels have given Josh years to get his s**t together. They haven't said anything when he's faltered in the game. They gave him time off last year to get his head together. They hired his accountability coach to work with the team. They let him rehab his injury in Houston instead of coming to ST and being with the team the way everyone else does. They didn't comment negatively on his lack of progress in surgery rehab. I think they've been more than compassionate toward Josh and their comments today are not about being "haters," they're about reaching the end of their rope with this situation. In addition, when they're saying they are concerned about Josh getting help as a person - they're right. He does need help, and that's the most important thing for him; not baseball. Are they supposed to smile and nod and say they support anything he does? Woud that help him in any way at all? As to MLB? Manfred came out this morning and said that he was not pleased by the ruling and that the drug laws in MLB need to be reformed, and he's absolutely right. A player with mulitple past offenses shouldn't be able to get off the hook this way.

This. It's more than just a line of coke. Someone else brought up that if Mike Trout did this, the reaction would be different. And they're 100% right. And that's perhaps because Mike Trout's attitude, drive, and dedication to his teammates and team are the polar opposite of what we see from Josh. Not just because of his batting average. Look at the way he's "rehabbing" his injury - he's not with the team. He's got no timeline. He doesn't seem to be progressing. Now compare that to other Angels, like Skaggs, who isn't going to be playing MLB untuil 2016 and still came to Spring Training, does public events and wants to be with the team.

And they wouldn't have made room for him? I have to think that whatever was up with Josh, if he'd wanted to stand or sit at that rail with his teammates, he could have done. Garrett RIchards is standing at that railing - someone who at the time was on the DL, was only about a month out of surgery and was sporting a pretty huge knee brace. Says a lot, doesn't it, that someone who was badly injured felt strongly enough to stand with his teammates, but Josh didn't.

I doubt that anyone has ill will for him as a person. We're talking about him as a ball player and his obligations to his team.

If he'd walked into their office and confessed to using PEDS without any other evidence or a drug test, I wonder if they'd have been so lenient... And acknowledging that addiction is a clinically recognized disease and acknowledging that addicts have to take personal responsibility and accountability for their actions are not mutally exclusive things. Accountability is a central theme of any 12-step program.

Lots of addicts deal with the same daily struggles that Josh does - and when they relapse and use, they get fired or suspended. He didn't. As per the commissioner, there will be absolutely no consequences for his employment status. He most definitely did get off the hook. Yes, it's a struggle. But as someone else here said, managing the disease of addiction is all about personal responsibility. He's been suspended for drugs before; he's fully aware of the consequences for using. I don't think the Angels should ever have signed him, but they did - and I think that there should be consequences when someone violates the terms of their employment.

But how do they actually get rid of him? Unless he's willing to agre to a trade somewhere - and I can't see him being sought after at the moment - they're stuck eating his salary. He seems like such a negative presence that they might be better off releasing him regardless, but is there any way out for them that will not be a financial hit?

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.

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.

I'm a runner. I've seen commercial coconut water products on offer as samples at the finish line expos at a lot of races I've done. Everyone seems to gravitate toward the NUUN and Gatorade instead. Being sedentary doesn't have anything to do with it; it's taste. On a practical note, back to the Angels: hypothetically, if someone on the team absolutely hated this stuff and wanted their Gatorade, would they have to do what Trout did - go upstairs to drink it? Or would they be able to have it with them in the dugout in an unmarked bottle or something?

ITA.