Oh My Josh! The Angels Debacle

If reports about the reassignment of Josh Hamilton from the Angels to the Rangers are true, this is a capitulation of the highest -- and dumbest -- order. It is hard to imagine Anaheim brass handling this entire episode -- from signing to unsigning -- more incompetently.

The inking of Hamilton to a gargantuan contract following the 2012 season raised eyebrows in the first place. The Angels ponied up superstar money for a corner outfielder with enviable average and power but a history of injuries and drug use. They neglected to account for his age, physical and mental issues or home ballpark. Hamilton was 31 when he signed the $124 million deal and he was leaving The Hitters' Delight in Arlington.

When Hamilton stumbled in the first year of his contract, missed half of his sophomore season in Southern Cal and then admitted a drug relapse this off-season, management responded as if these developments were unimaginable. As if no one could have foreseen, or at least factored in the possibility of, a decline in performance, injury and continued fallout from addiction.

Word now is that the Angels are willing to eat $68 million of the remaining $80 million to unload Hamilton. They are sending him to their intra-division rivals who will pay their former and future left fielder just $7 million over three years after he forgoes the $6 million he'll save in income taxes by moving back to Texas. Anaheim gets bupkus in return, besides the serenity of knowing they don't have to babysit their #5 hitter anymore.

So to recap: The Angels paid Josh Hamilton $112 million for three wins against replacement, not counting the egg he laid in the playoffs or that's on the face of Anaheim brass. And the pain could be magnified if he bounces back even a little and contributes to Rangers wins against their club. For the next three years, they will be paying Josh Hamilton handsomely, perhaps to beat them.

The Angels may believe this is addition by subtraction but it comes at an incredible price. And the pain could multiply if he flourishes back in Texas. What a debacle.

Addition By Subtraction

So it comes down to the Rangers and Angels. That's the only playoff race left in baseball, despite eight playoff slots. How did we come to this lamentable result?

We came to to this lamentable result because there are eight playoff slots. Duh.

This is the unintended consequence of Wild Cards. Carmakers developed four-wheel drive cars with traction control and anti-lock brakes, with the unintended consequence that people who buy them drive with impunity in snow storms and crash by the mini-van load. Designed to increase late season drama, the Wild Card has anti-locked the pennant race while halving the value of making the post-season.

Imagine if we returned to the days of two divisions in each league. The annual chewing of the nails could commence in full force in the Northeast for the AL East Battle Royale between New York and Boston. Assuming that Detroit and Cleveland would head East, the current AL West dogfight would be unchanged. Sorry Tigers, no contention for you. Does that mean Justin Verlander is no longer an MVP candidate? (Good luck defending that argument.)

In the NL, Philly has turned the competition to mush, so it wouldn't matter that Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis would go east. Milwaukee and Arizona could scrap for the West title where the Giants have faded into batlessness.

The result, three playoff races instead of one, each of which leaves the victor four wins from the World Series. It would be a bummer for fans in Detroit and Atlanta this year, but a gargantuan net gain for baseball. In the current environment, September games are losing the TV rating wars to Wheel of Fortune re-runs and -- God help us -- presidential addresses. Even Yankee-Red Sox tilts have been drained of their zing.

On top of that, a shorter playoff schedule would eliminate November World Series nightmares, reducing the likelihood -- now 100% -- of flurries, freezing rain and hard frost during the Fall Classic. Which brings us back around to the playoff races, which this year have devolved into a hard frost themselves.

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