Josh Hamilton? The Photos Are Real - And So Is The Pain, The Concern, The Disillusionment And The Cynicism

  The photos are legit. So is the pain. So is the disillusionment. And so is virtually every question that comes with Josh Hamilton’s admission on Saturday afternoon that the photos of him going drunkenly nuts with a pack of women a few months ago are real. You want to express cynicism or sympathy? You want to charge “fraudulence’’ on the part of the Texas Rangers star or “racism’’ on the part of the cuddly media or “yellow journalism’’ on the part of the origin of the story?

   That’s all legit, too.

  “I’m embarrassed about it, personally, for the Rangers, for my wife, my children and my family,” Hamilton said, conceding that Deadspin photos of him partying in Tempe in January before spring training are real. The booze. The women. Maybe even the “blow.’’

   Real.

   Some quick reflections on some common questions:

   Should we feel sorry for him?

   Sure. I do not think it is overstating it to say that someone in Hamilton’s situation is constantly on the verge of killing himself with his addictions. To dive headfirst (into whipped cream) into a situation that can end his marriage, his career and his life. … it is pitiful.

Is he a fraud?

   Hamilton said the Rangers were fully aware of his slip. There are reasons to not believe that. His supporters, including Rangers coach/personal guide Johnny Narron, almost immediately responded to the Deadspin scoop by stating that he assumed this series of pictures are Photoshop products. If the Rangers “knew’’ … why did Narron even grant an interview in which he says he didn’t know?

   And if Josh understands his feet of clay … why is he still selling a book about him being clean?

   Now, is Hamilton a fraud in his home and in his church? That part is between his family and his God.  When Josh says, as he did on Saturday, that “I was out there getting ready for the season and took my focus off the number one factor in my recovery - my relationship with Christ’’ … well, that does sound as if he’s using his relationship with Jesus Christ as a shield. But that’s just me. We all are allowed our opinions, and we all are allowed our ways to implement our spiritual beliefs.

   Said Hamilton: "I don't feel like I'm a hypocrite. I feel like I'm human.’’

   I can see why somebody might feel he is both.

So why is this anybody’s business?

   You seen Josh Hamilton’s batting average lately?

So why is this news?

   You’re kidding, right? Public figure with history of doing Z promises he’ll do A and then gets caught doing Z? That’s what news IS.

Is this quite possibly just a “lesson learned’’?

   “It reinforces one of the things that I can’t have is alcohol,’’ Josh said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened. I hate that this happened. …’’

   Reinforces that he can’t have alcohol? All he’s been through … and he needed another reminder?

   OK.

   To me, it’s interesting that Josh, as an alcoholic, didn’t just find himself a beer (or 10) or a bottle (all the way to the bottom of it). He found himself a party, complete with women and his shirt off and a shot glass in his crotch. I’m sure Josh has plenty of advice on this, but … If Hamilton were a friend of mine, my amateur diagnosis to him would be that it’s more than just alcohol he craves.

   “I wasn’t mentally fit or spiritually fit,’’ he said, and that’s some fancy talkin’ which pretty much translates to “I got hammered and jammed my face into the crotches of some bar girls.’’

   Is he drinking now? Using now?

   “I went to get something to eat,’’ Josh said. “Obviously, I eat at restaurants that have bars in them all the time. …’’

    Um, obviously. But … why, obviously?

   Why would an alcoholic “eat at restraurants that have bars in them all the time’’?

    Hamilton also said he has not had a drink in the ensuing eight months.

    Hamilton also said it might be true that he asked for “blow’’ on that fateful night; he’s not sure he remembers. The Rangers say he is drug-tested every three days and has always come up clean.

     Cynical? About frequent dinners at saloon, about sobriety in the face of secrecy and about MLB’s drug-testing policy?

    If you are a baseball fan, you’ve come by your cynicism honestly.

    If there is any good news out of this, it’s that this incident appears to be Hamilton’s lone relapse. I guess.

How much of this is the media’s fault?

    Tough call. Should Deadspin have avoided publishing the photos? Nope. That would’ve been nice of Daulerio, but that’s not his job. Was the insta-reaction from some media outlets more careful than the same outlets have been with other athletes who’ve been caught in similar cookie jars? (Meaning, black guys?) I’ll buy that. How about the Tempe bar itself that fed this poor sap full of booze and then maybe sent him on his way to a strip club and some blow? Nobody in a “popular’’ tavern in the spring-training town of Tempe knows Josh Hamilton’s tragic story of addiction? Nobody in the joint cared to perform a step-in intervention? The bulk of the chicks in the photos are employees of the bar … is that appropriate?

    I do know this: Post-cookie jar, the Rangers and Hamilton handled this just right. Address it, and fast, with as much sincerity and honesty as can be mustered. The Texas Rangers and honestly about substance abuse do not have a very good history with one another, you know.

Speaking of the Rangers …

    Yes, this comes at a terrible time. This is one of the most feel-good time periods in the history of this lousy franchise. The Rangers are in the playoff race and they are energetic and promising and interesting.

   And, well, they just got more interesting, I guess.

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