2013 MLB Thread

[koodledrum]

fucking bullshit, that's his second violation of the drug prevention policy so should have been given 100 games, got off on a technicality & has lied consistently to the fans throughout the whole Biogenesis investigation, refused to cooperate with MLB during it's investigation - to "bargain" him down to 65 is laughable.

[tiffy33]

I have a feeling A-Fraud is done too.

[koodledrum]

Gotta be said I'm thinking that too right now, what with the strained quad and all it makes sense that they've been informed of an imminent suspension and are looking to limit it's damage on the club.

[draynay]

fuck you Ryan Braun

wish he got more but I'll take what I can get, at least all the bullshit that has been surrounding him is finally made official

and Garza got traded to the Rangers where he will have an ERA over 5 for the rest of the year and definitely won't re-sign

[conscript]

fucking bullshit, that's his second violation of the drug prevention policy so should have been given 100 games, got off on a technicality & has lied consistently to the fans throughout the whole Biogenesis investigation, refused to cooperate with MLB during it's investigation - to "bargain" him down to 65 is laughable.

The 100 games probably wouldn't have made it through the appeals process. I'm fine with Braun getting 65 for one reason and one reason only, this is him admitting he fucking lied to the fans, the media, and everyone else about using. He completely ruined a guys reputation because he lied about failing his test. I would absolutely love to see Braun step in front of the microphone and apologize directly to the guy for lying about his usage and successfully putting the blame on a guy making 1% of his salary.

Fuck Ryan Braun. As far as I'm concerned he is one of the biggest pieces of shit in baseball. Can't wait to see what A-Rod gets.

[Elbren]

The 100 games probably wouldn't have made it through the appeals process. I'm fine with Braun getting 65 for one reason and one reason only, this is him admitting he fucking lied to the fans, the media, and everyone else about using. He completely ruined a guys reputation because he lied about failing his test. I would absolutely love to see Braun step in front of the microphone and apologize directly to the guy for lying about his usage and successfully putting the blame on a guy making 1% of his salary.

Fuck Ryan Braun. As far as I'm concerned he is one of the biggest pieces of shit in baseball. Can't wait to see what A-Rod gets.

^ couldn't agree more.

[draynay]

Had to go on a 21-5 run to do it, but first place, finally.

[belfpala]

Can't wait to see what A-Rod gets.

Lifetime ban, Yankees have to pay his remaining salary (to MLB) and have to pay what the Rangers owe him (to MLB). That should send a message.

...not happening.

[conscript]

Lifetime ban, Yankees have to pay his remaining salary (to MLB) and have to pay what the Rangers owe him (to MLB). That should send a message.

...not happening.

I expect 60-70 and the Yankees fighting like hell with the MLBPA to get his contract voided completely. His contract was signed under false pretenses, that he wasn't a user, so it would be great to see it voided along with the contracts for every multiple offender. Let them still remain attached to the team like restricted free agents so the team can negotiate a new contract or cut them loose if they prefer.

[koodledrum]

When you look at it now, it looks very much to me that Arod's been told of a timeline whereby he'll be dealt with (lets not forget Selig said he had a fair idea as to what was happening with him during AS week) - thus the quad injury shows up. He's pretty much in a place now whereby he has a couple of days before the media's at his door & clamouring for a response to things, and if you believe the reports/rumours the evidence MLB had against Braun is nothing compared to what they have on Arod, that would make me believe he's in a questionable at best position. It could be that he'll come out and say he's done, he collects his contract and walks away into some sort of Barry Bonds style state where everyone knows the truth but there's no real way he can be dealt with - either way it goes his short chances of making the hall of fame look to be getting shorter by the day.

I've said a few times though that this has potential to be the issue which will be the downfall of Selig, it could be if Arod decides to appeal and wins - lets be clear here, no failed tests & the evidence is based upon the word of a man who cut a deal with MLB to avoid prosecution - then Selig will essentially look like the biggest jackass in the sport's history. Problem with Arod is the fact when you have the highest paid player in baseball history, you're dealing with someone who can afford to take MLB to court with very good lawyers - and we all know what good lawyers can do in a courtroom.

[Skarsguard]

If they clean up baseball this is good but we will see. I love the historic baseball guys though that say the old timers never cheated that is bullshit look at the black sox you know it existed before then hell they put Gaylord Perry in the HoF and all he threw was spitters. They didn't take PEDs but that was because they didn't exist back then believe me if they did exist they would have taken them only we wouldn't have found out because journalist keep everything off record back then. Back to now if somebody fails a test they should just void their contract ban them for 162 games and after that they can try out for teams.

[koodledrum]

Arod supposedly looking to bargain them down from a lifetime ban - yep, if that's the case, he's cooked!

[kidsafe]

Pretty clear the only thing stopping the MLB from handing down a lifetime ban is they really, really want him to announce his retirement.

[conscript]

Arod supposedly looking to bargain them down from a lifetime ban - yep, if that's the case, he's cooked!

Wowzers. I was expecting 100+, but to go right to the lifetime ban, good on the MLB. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.

[draynay]

I wouldn't be much of a fan of a lifetime ban, that is putting too many of the sport's sins on to one man. That they did nothing about so many other users while banning him for life would be ridiculous.

[koodledrum]

Thing is it's not just the allegation that he used PEDs we're dealing with, we're also looking at an allegation that he attempted to destroy evidence obstructing MLB's investigation - that's where the lifetime ban comes in. Now I'm uncomfortable with that given it's alleged that Bosch attempted to extort Arod for a "six figure sum" prior to going to MLB, that's not really a legit move, it's not often these days you'll find me defending Arod, but if they're taking that as obstruction of justice then you gotta ask yourself if Bosch tried to blackmail him prior to engaging MLB! We all know he's the poster boy for hatred in MLB, a good 90%+ of baseball fans hate Alex Rodriguez, hell even his own team's fans think the guy's an ass, so they're looking to get rid of him and prevent him being a further problem for them.

There's a mixture of opinion between yeah it's right and no it's not, hell even guys who are ardent supporters of the movement to bash him at every opportunity question if it's really a valid punishment and if it would indeed be a little too far. Lets be brutally honest here, we all know Arod took something, but he took something at a time it was legal, since it's been "illegal" he's seemingly never tested positive, essentially they're looking to skip steps 1 & 2 on the CBA proscribed punishments and go straight to step 3. MLBPA has already said they'll play this on a case by case basis and will not support where the evidence is overwhelming - but this is starting to look like a witch hunt which makes Salem look pretty rational now and if MLB could get away with it, it'd end in roughly the same fashion with Bud Selig lighting the fire despite the fact he ignored the issue for many years.

[belfpala]

It needs to be a lifetime ban. He was named in the original study, he had "questionable" connections after that, and now this. That's three strikes. Gone.

But this needs to send a message. The Yankees should have to pay the remainder of his contract.

Two things accomplished: players know that MLB doesn't fuck around, teams know that MLB doesn't fuck around.

[conscript]

It needs to be a lifetime ban. He was named in the original study, he had "questionable" connections after that, and now this. That's three strikes. Gone.

But this needs to send a message. The Yankees should have to pay the remainder of his contract to charity or the MLB retirees fund (if that even exists like it does in the NFL).

Two things accomplished: players know that MLB doesn't fuck around, teams know that MLB doesn't fuck around.

Fixed that for you. A-Rod should never see a dime of that money.

[koodledrum]

Give one good reason why the Yankees, who it's perfectly plausible knew nothing of Rodriguez's continued use of PEDs should have to pay the remainder of his contract? Seriously that's about the craziest thing I've heard and is indicative of a major problem around baseball - the fact fans of other teams are pissed more with the Yankees and other big market teams using their inherrent advantage. Sorry, here's the skinny, there are some teams who are unfairly punished because of the fact they exist in markets which are major players, not only in the US scene but worldwide and there are other teams which play in places whereby they do not have that numbers advantage - that's called LIFE. It's unfair, it sucks, but ultimately that's like saying "OK, so you might earn a million dollar salary, but you can only spend $250k of that because the guy down the way only earning $20,000 a year doesn't think it's fair" - it wouldn't sail, so why should LA, Boston & New York be unfairly handcuffed to pay for any team which happens to play in a minor market?

We've seen it plenty, payroll does not determine who's best - thus why should teams who decide to spend what they earn have to suffer for teams who struggle to fill their ballpark? Yeah it means that small market teams have a better opportunity to retain players, but lets be honest, it's not like Joe Mauer's ever going to help the Twins win the World Series or Billy Butler help the Royals to anything other than mediocrity - those ballclubs are in the position they're in because they flat out stink, they won't be competitive no matter how much "competitive balance" money they get. There are exceptions to the rule where small market clubs DO make an impact (Oakland over the last year or so, Baltimore) but in doing so you're heavily taxing clubs like the Dodgers & Yankees despite the fact both clubs have major market appeal.

If the Yankees knew for sure Arod was taking PEDs then yeah, by all means fuck them over, but you cannot punish the club for the actions of an individual acting on their own accord - that's just crazy talk!

[belfpala]

Fixed that for you. A-Rod should never see a dime of that money.

Fair enough.

I just want to see teams punished too, if they knew or should have known they were hiring a guy breaking the rules.

Then you get diligence from the team, and responsibility from the player.