Josh Hamilton made it personal for Rangers fans by choosing Angels

The idea of Josh Hamilton's time in Texas being over didn't seem so difficult to digest when I thought about it a few months ago.

Ever since that lackadaisical dropped fly ball in the final game of the regular season, I stared into a future of Rangers baseball that didn't involve one of the best all-around players in franchise history. If it was time to part ways, and Hamilton wanted to pick another team in free agency, I was prepared to fondly reflect on the memories and bid him farewell and good luck in the future.

That didn't exactly happen. Unfortunately, he made it personal.

Last Thursday, Hamilton and the arch-enemy Angels, who swooped into the sweepstakes out of nowhere, agreed to a five-year, $125 million deal.

How could this happen? Anaheim wasn't even rumored to be a suitor. This couldn't be. Anyone but the Angels.

I don't want to hear about how Texas had done this sort of thing to Anaheim in the past with the acquisitions of former Angels Vladimir Guerrero (2010) and Mike Napoli (2011). Vlad was at the end of his career and only played one season with the Rangers. Napoli had a mammoth 2011, but he's not Josh Hamilton.

In his five years in Texas, from 2008 to the end of the 2012 season, Hamilton led a team that had never won a postseason game to two World Series appearances. He won the MVP in 2010 after hitting .359. He put on the most amazing display in the history of the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium in 2008 when he blasted 28 bombs in one round of the event. He hit four home runs in a single game against Baltimore. And now he's going to the flippin' Angels? Blasphemy!

The thought of an Anaheim lineup that starts with Mike Trout and goes through Hamilton in the 3-hole and Albert Pujols in the clean-up spot is rather terrifying.

That said, I don't blame Rangers general manager Jon Daniels for not offering Hamilton five years or $125 million.

I, too, would be concerned about paying $25 million per year to a player that comes with the risks that Hamilton carries. The injuries, the relapses, the age (32 next season), the lack of patience at the plate, the lack of focus. There's little chance that Hamilton will be a $25 million player at age 37.

The differing philosophies between the Angels and Rangers became clearly evident over the weekend. Anaheim is all in to win the World Series in the next two years. Texas, showing more trigger restraint and financial discipline, is looking out for its future.

Think of it this way: There's not a bad contract left on the Rangers roster.

The back end of the Hamilton and Pujols deals, however, will pay each player considerably more than he will be worth at the time. Remember how awful the Vernon Wells deal looked by the end of that contract? The Halos were begging teams to take the guy, and of course, with that awful contract, no one would. Admittedly, Hamilton and Pujols are on another level than Wells. Maybe it works out for them. But it's a massive risk.

I'm unsure why media and fans alike are blasting the Rangers' lack of activity this offseason. Personally, I don't blame Daniels for:

• Passing on Hamilton for five years and $125 million
• Not trading Elvis Andrus for Justin Upton
• Not even listening to Jurickson Profar offers unless it involved Felix Hernandez, David Price or a true ace
• Passing on trading for 37-year old R.A. Dickey

Free agency isn't over. Texas can and will make moves by the time the season begins, so even though the roster looks a bit thin at the moment, we should exercise more patience as Rangers fans. This is a front office that has put together three 90-win seasons in a row. I find it difficult to believe they don't know what they're doing.

As for Hamilton, I don't want to think about what he looks like in Halos garb. It will probably put the Angels over as my most despised team, taking the place of the Yankees.

There's no other way to look at it. Hamilton has made it very personal.