Halo's Heaven, SB Nation's Angels fan page, "ran a dreadfully un-empathetic post" about Rangers LF Josh Hamilton's struggles with addiction and comments made after his trade from the Angels, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of THE BIG LEAD. SB Nation's Mat Gleason, who writes under the byline Rev Halofan, called Hamilton a “coddled hillbilly" in the blog post. The article, which has since been deleted by SB Nation, "took most issue" with Hamilton's comments this week that Angels Owner Arte Moreno "knew what the deal was when he signed me." The blogger wrote, "When you finally die of a drug related matter it won’t be Arte Moreno’s fault. ... Today is the first day of the rest of your life and you used it to announce to the world that nothing will ever be your fault. Happy snorting" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 4/28). In DC, Matt Bonesteel wrote the SB Nation blog "was a ghastly hit piece that reveled in Hamilton’s addictions and seemed to wish him death via overdose." The blogger "doubled down at the end of his post, comparing Hamilton’s situation" to that of former MLBer Steve Howe, who battled addiction and died in '06 after a car accident. The blog read in part, "I can only hope that when you do yourself in, which you will, that, mercifully like Howe, you take nobody else with you." Bonesteel noted the SB Nation post "was roundly condemned" by many in the media, including some SB Nation staffers. Daniel Kelley, who writes for SB Nation’s fantasy sports blog, wrote that the post "could turn off readers to anything" the site publishes (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/28).
SHOWN THE DOOR: DEADSPIN's Tom Ley reported the Halo's Heaven blogger has been "fired by SB Nation" after the Hamilton article. SB Nation VP/Editorial Kevin Lockland in a statement said the blog post "crossed the boundaries of our community guidelines and standards" (DEADSPIN.com, 4/28). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Joe Lucia wrote the article "was downright hateful and disgusting, and has no place at any reputable outlet, let alone a still-growing, well-known empire" like SB Nation (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 4/28). CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto wrote the item was taken down "because SB Nation, which for the most part is an excellent and reputable corner of the Internet, determined it didn't meet its standards." But it "still stood too proudly for too long" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 4/28). ESPN’s Keith Olbermann called for “banning” Gleason from SB Nation on his “world’s worst” segment last night, as well as “maybe no longer letting alleged ‘editors’ hide behind pseudonyms." Olbermann: "And also apologizing for having a blog network so lax that sociopathic dreck like that could be posted in the first place” (“Olbermann,” ESPN2, 4/28)
SCIOSCIA SPEAKS: Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Hamilton's recent comments about his time with the Angels, "Just hearing some of his comments, the one thing that I think is sad and I’m a little bit disappointed in is the fact that there wasn’t any accountability, most importantly to his teammates. ... For him not to show at least a little remorse towards his teammates I just think is wrong." Scioscia added, "His support was totally dictated by Josh and his management team. They dictated what his support should be, and I think we went above and beyond to make sure he had all the resources that he needed" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/29).
