You're no longer the worst commissioner in major-league sports.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech, [baseball commissioner Rob] Manfred explained why he didn't punish any Astros players for their roles in the scandal, which involved illegal use of technology to decipher their opponents' signs and relay them to Houston batters in real time.
"Yeah, I understand. I understand people's desire to have the players pay a price for what went on here," Manfred said. "I think if you watch the players, watch their faces when they have to deal with this issue publicly, they have paid a price. To think they're skipping down the road into spring training, happy, that's just a mischaracterization of where we are. Having said that, the desire to have actual discipline imposed on them, I understand it and in a perfect world it would have happened. We ended up where we ended up in pursuit of really, I think, the most important goal of getting the facts and getting them out there for people to know it."
Translation: please don't ask me to make a tough choice and get someone mad at me.
But none of Houston's players was suspended or fined, and Manfred had previously announced that MLB had no plans to strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title -- decisions that have drawn widespread criticism from the baseball community, including players from other teams.
Told you.
"In the context of my original decision, something that we talked about and analyzed extensively," said Manfred of potentially stripping the Astros of the 2017 title. "A big topic of conversation between me and my senior staff. ... It has never happened in baseball. I am a believer in the idea that precedent happens and when you deviate from that, you have to have a very good reason. The report gave people a transparent account of what went on. We put people in position to make their own judgments about the behavior that went on. That certainly has happened over the last month.
Rob's no Kennesaw Mountain Landis. But the Astros should get used to playing in Kevlar vests this season since they'll be getting more than a few hard ones thrown into their rib cages. They'd better not or Rob will actually get tough and he's serious.
"Give you two answers to that," Manfred told ESPN. "Have been working for some time on a memorandum about intentionally throwing at batters. It's really dangerous. Completely independent from the Astros investigation [HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW - Ed], we'll be issuing a memorandum on hit by pitches which will increase the disciplinary ramifications of that type of behavior. I think that will be a tool for dealing with whatever flows from the Houston situation. Over the next three days, I'm going to meet with all of the managers in MLB and the topic that you raise will be one of the things I intend to address with them. Simply not appropriate to express frustration you have growing out of the Astros' situation by putting someone physically at risk by throwing at them. It's simply not acceptable."
Rob, just stop talking. Good Lord, that was embarrassing. I haven't seen anyone that spineless since Rowan Williams.
Should Houston be stripped of its title? As Rob says, it's never been done before. Of course, the type of technological cheating engaged in by the 'Stros has also never been done before so we would seem to be at something of an impasse.
While I doubt that stripping a team of its title will ever happen (this time. I think it's an option that should stay on the table depending on the offense), I would like to see Major League Baseball adopt a probation policy like the NCAA has. That is, if a team has been caught doing something wrong, it should be told, "You've officially been put on probation for X year/years. You may play your schedule but you are ineligible for the play-offs or World Series during this period."
But I doubt MLB will ever do that. You know, since it's never been done before.
Will Rob really drop the hammer on pitchers who throw at Astros players? Please. Try this one on. Team Q is in serious play-off contention. Late in the year, Q is playing Houston when Q's best pitcher decides to get in a little "in-game commentary" and plunks a 'Stro batter in the ribs. Rob suspends the pitcher for the rest of the season. Q misses the playoffs, costing Q players a chance at a title and the Q's owner a few shipping containers of extra revenue.
That'll go over well.
I never thought I'd live to see a worse major league sports commissioner than Roger Goodell. But as always, with God, all things are possible.
Photo courtesy @DaveinTexas
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech, [baseball commissioner Rob] Manfred explained why he didn't punish any Astros players for their roles in the scandal, which involved illegal use of technology to decipher their opponents' signs and relay them to Houston batters in real time.
Translation: please don't ask me to make a tough choice and get someone mad at me.
But none of Houston's players was suspended or fined, and Manfred had previously announced that MLB had no plans to strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title -- decisions that have drawn widespread criticism from the baseball community, including players from other teams.
Told you.
"In the context of my original decision, something that we talked about and analyzed extensively," said Manfred of potentially stripping the Astros of the 2017 title. "A big topic of conversation between me and my senior staff. ... It has never happened in baseball. I am a believer in the idea that precedent happens and when you deviate from that, you have to have a very good reason. The report gave people a transparent account of what went on. We put people in position to make their own judgments about the behavior that went on. That certainly has happened over the last month.
Rob's no Kennesaw Mountain Landis. But the Astros should get used to playing in Kevlar vests this season since they'll be getting more than a few hard ones thrown into their rib cages. They'd better not or Rob will actually get tough and he's serious.
"Give you two answers to that," Manfred told ESPN. "Have been working for some time on a memorandum about intentionally throwing at batters. It's really dangerous. Completely independent from the Astros investigation [HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW - Ed], we'll be issuing a memorandum on hit by pitches which will increase the disciplinary ramifications of that type of behavior. I think that will be a tool for dealing with whatever flows from the Houston situation. Over the next three days, I'm going to meet with all of the managers in MLB and the topic that you raise will be one of the things I intend to address with them. Simply not appropriate to express frustration you have growing out of the Astros' situation by putting someone physically at risk by throwing at them. It's simply not acceptable."
Rob, just stop talking. Good Lord, that was embarrassing. I haven't seen anyone that spineless since Rowan Williams.
Should Houston be stripped of its title? As Rob says, it's never been done before. Of course, the type of technological cheating engaged in by the 'Stros has also never been done before so we would seem to be at something of an impasse.
While I doubt that stripping a team of its title will ever happen (this time. I think it's an option that should stay on the table depending on the offense), I would like to see Major League Baseball adopt a probation policy like the NCAA has. That is, if a team has been caught doing something wrong, it should be told, "You've officially been put on probation for X year/years. You may play your schedule but you are ineligible for the play-offs or World Series during this period."
But I doubt MLB will ever do that. You know, since it's never been done before.
Will Rob really drop the hammer on pitchers who throw at Astros players? Please. Try this one on. Team Q is in serious play-off contention. Late in the year, Q is playing Houston when Q's best pitcher decides to get in a little "in-game commentary" and plunks a 'Stro batter in the ribs. Rob suspends the pitcher for the rest of the season. Q misses the playoffs, costing Q players a chance at a title and the Q's owner a few shipping containers of extra revenue.
That'll go over well.
I never thought I'd live to see a worse major league sports commissioner than Roger Goodell. But as always, with God, all things are possible.
Photo courtesy @DaveinTexas
5 comments:
And here baseball was the one major sport, it seemed, untouched by the political garbage, and they have to go excusing fraud in the actual playing of the game. Disgraceful.
The 1919 Chicago White Sox players who took bribes to fix World Series games were banned from baseball for life (by first commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis) were banned because they undercut the integrity of the game.
Seems to me that exactly the same thing is going on here. Do you trust Major League Baseball now? I don't. And MLB is standing aside and allowing it to happen.
I agree, Chris.
Say it isn't so, Joe.
Ooops, sorry - should be "Say is ain't so, Joe."
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