Talkin' Baseball: Josh Hamilton, Red Assed Royals, & Ryan Braun

49er16: We got to talk about this Josh Hamilton deal. What a disaster for the Angels. They try to weasel out of his contract after his reported relapse, then have to swallow the majority of that contract and shipped him to Texas for nothing in return. What fools.

The Colonel: Like was said on Hardball Talk, if you wanted to get a better return for Hamilton maybe next time don't leak that he failed a drug test. I do love these stories about Moreno. He's basically Donald Sterling without the racism and mistresses. He has LA envy, probably will do whatever it takes to move to Los Angeles, and tries to buy championships. I've secretly loved everything about this story involving him.

49er16: Here's what I wonder. Hypothetically lets say the Dodgers move. Would Moreno move the Angels into Dodger Stadium like when Sterling moved the Clippers into the old LA Sports Arena? If so that would be hilarious.


The Colonel: I think he has so much Dodger/Los Angeles envy he would. I mean why else would he call his team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?

49er16: You know what's sad, the Hamilton debacle is on the low end for debacles Moreno. Trading and swallowing Vernon Wells' horrendous contract and signing Albert Pujols to that deal still top this whole ordeal.

The Colonel: Can we talk about the Kansas City Royals for a moment. I want to thank them for being this year's resident red ass team. We need a new team to hate every year and the Royals have chosen to be this year's team.

49er16: I love how cocky they've gotten. They're like an NFL team. They celebrate every little play, get cranky when someone back talks them, and starts fights. Their defense and pitching can certainly back up their mouths and fists, but can their hitting finally come around?

The Colonel: Hosmer and Moustakas appear to be finally living up to their potential until you look at their BABIPs and see they are above average. Moustakas especially is due for a come down. He's barely walking 4% of his ABs so we'll see if they continue this pace. Gut feeling the White Sox will eventually start hitting and stick around in that division. The Tigers though are still the class.

49er16: Speaking of the AL Central how bad are the Cleveland Indians who Sports Illustrated picked as their world series favorite? They can't pitch, hit, or defend.

The Colonel: Ah got to love the good ole Sports Illustrated curse.

49er16: Speaking of a terrible teams, the Milwaukee Brewers are the surprise worst team. Whoever bet money on Philadelphia being the worst can tear up that ticket. Other than a declining, old pitching staff, Ryan Braun has been nothing short of a disaster.

The Colonel: I'm shocked, just shocked that Braun has been injured and ineffective since failing that drug test. It's almost like his past performance came straight out of a bottle.

49er16: The contrast between him and Alex Rodriguez fascinates me. And it makes me wonder how many of these guys were purely pharmaceutical experiments gone right and how many of these guys really are naturally talented and decided to take it up a notch with PED's? ARod to me was clearly a naturally talented player who decided to cheat. Braun is looking like a science freak.

The Colonel: I think we can clearly see PEDs definitely help these guys with their bodies in terms of staying healthy. Braun hasn't been healthy since getting off of PEDs. Then again Barry Bonds shredded his knee at the tail end of his career.

49er16: At the end of the day it really is a case by case status with these players. Braun though has clearly been ineffective and injured since his suspension.

The Colonel: On the plus side, the Brewers still have to pay Matt Garza and Kyle Lohse past this year to be old and ineffective!

49er16: Anything else we need to hit on this week?

The Colonel: I'm starting to feel old. I could use some PED's drinks.

49er16: Have a good week, everyone.