Sometimes you can't make it on your own

One of the biggest stories of the weekend was the pictures of Josh Hamilton's relapse in an Arizona bar in January. The media reaction has been divided with some saying that this is a cry for help, proof that solely beliving in God to keep him sober isn't working, that this takes the shine off of his comeback story, or that this earns him more respect because it proves he's human, but to have a story-line based opinion is to miss the point. On that note, I think it makes the story more compelling because that element of this whole thing disappearing in one bad night is very real now, again though, there's a deeper problem.

All of us have a friend or relative who has dealt with an addiction of some kind and it can be unbearable to watch at times. When some of those who are lucky enough to make it back to soberity, it's a constant vigil to keep them there. Whether they are an accountant, plumber or an executive, the battle to avoid the bottle, the needle or whatever it may be is an constant high-wire act. It's hard enough to battle this if you're an everyday Joe, but imagine being in Hamilton's position. He was a resident of the abyss for a time, made it out, was still able to live his dream while not trying to run from the past that nearly killed him and in part, became a star because of it. If I were him, it would be torture just running to the outfield and seeing alcohol advertisements sprayed all over the walls.

I obviously don't know what his intentions were the night he went into that bar, but I am of the belief that it was just one night that got away from him. The way that he immediately took responsibility (both following the incident and the release of the photos) by not reading a statement or anything along those lines says to me that he's making a concerted effort to keep this isolated.

What's going to make it tough though is the scrutiny that was already intense to begin with. You've heard the old saying about how we love building athletes up and tearing them down, but Hamilton was someone we all genuinely wanted to see make it, the problem is there are plnety of shock journalists in the media and degenerate fans who won't be as forgiving.

Unlike Doc Gooden and Daryl Strawberry, Hamilton has people in place to keep him in line, the question will be can he check himself. Given what we know about what it means to be a recovering addict, I'm worried he won't. I can't tell you how much I'd like to be wrong.