Josh is an Angel

Where does one start when trying to make sense of what happened with Josh Hamilton?

I could ramble on about the irony of my blog title.

I could say that the Angels made another impulse move to try to get attention reflected back onto them and off of the Dodgers.

I could say that every mention of angels will carry a tiny bit of a sting until Christmas is over… just like it did last year.

There are a million other ways to start, but let’s just dive in, shall we?

We’ve been told that the Rangers had only checked in with Josh to make sure he was still interested in speaking with Texas. No deals from Texas had been extended for consideration and as far as we knew, Texas was still waiting for him to say, “I’m done researching, here’s what we have to work with. What do y’all have to offer?” Were they really waiting and got punked? If Josh really was ready to move on, did he inform the Rangers in an appropriate manner? If so, why wasn’t the public, the ones waiting the most for the decision, informed that he’d be moving on to other offers?

The other thing we need to do is look past 43 HR and 128 RBI.

The night of January 30th will be one I remember, but not because of Josh and his supposed bathroom escapades. As reports of his relapse surfaced, an unexpected name was linked to the proceedings: Ian Kinsler. For about 12 hours, Kinsler was under the bus with no real account from Josh on what happened. When it all finally came out and Josh admitted to deceiving Kinsler, it was maddening. Then, it all went away with his hot start and a magic night in Baltimore. All was well, until…

Josh finally admitted to not being able to fully quit tobacco & I tried to be understanding. The cut off to that attempt was when he told the media, “Guys, come on. It’s me, Josh. It’s always going to be something weird.” His point was driven home a month or so later when his inability to handle caffeine caused eyesight problems. I don’t want any part of 5 years with a guy who is still not able to exert willpower or handle caffeine. Willpower will always be a problem for people who are recovering like Josh. He’s trying to be the mighty baseball god on his own and it leads to bad decisions and disjointed explanations. That’s not worth $25mil to me, but that’s just me.

In the end, this will usher in a youth movement, size to be determined. The Rangers have one of the most vaunted farm systems in the league, and I wish there were better circumstances to see it used under, but the season will still happen and baseball will still happen in Arlington, Texas. My biggest concern, which may be another article once the roster seems set, is how Ron Washington, who is notorious for not being keen on starting rookies, will respond.