MLB Suspends Alex Cora for 2020
Season and Docks Red Sox Draft Pick Major League Baseball completed its investigation
on Wednesday into allegations of illegal sign stealing
by the Boston Red Sox. Former manager Alex Cora, who was fired
in January for his role in the scandal, was suspended by MLB commissioner
Rob Manfred for the upcoming season. Cora’s punishment is only for his role in Houston,
where he served as bench coach for the
Houston Astros during the 2017 season. Manfred said that he does not believe Cora was aware of the sign stealing in 2018 as manager of the Red Sox. Boston’s video replay system operator, J.T. Watkins,
was suspended without pay for one year for his role. The team was stripped of its
second-round draft pick this year. Ron Manfred, via report
MLB Suspends Alex Cora for 2020
Season and Docks Red Sox Draft Pick Major League Baseball completed its investigation
on Wednesday into allegations of illegal sign stealing
by the Boston Red Sox. Former manager Alex Cora, who was fired
in January for his role in the scandal, was suspended by MLB commissioner
Rob Manfred for the upcoming season. Cora’s punishment is only for his role in Houston,
where he served as bench coach for the
Houston Astros during the 2017 season. Manfred said that he does not believe Cora was aware of the sign stealing in 2018 as manager of the Red Sox. Boston’s video replay system operator, J.T. Watkins,
was suspended without pay for one year for his role. The team was stripped of its
second-round draft pick this year. Ron Manfred, via report
MLB Reaches out to Fans on What Would Have Been Opening Day The season was originally slated to
begin on Thursday, March 26. In a letter, Commissioner Rob Manfred
wrote that baseball will return. He added that people must follow directions from
health and government officials to navigate
the coronavirus pandemic. Rob Manfred, via letter Manfred also wrote that free games will be available
on mlb.tv, mlb.com and MLB’s YouTube accounts. Another feature, Opening Day at Home, will showcase a game for
each MLB team. The league also shared
an inspirational video
for fans on social media. Angels center fielder
Mike Trout, via video On their own accounts,
individual teams
posted highlights
from previous seasons
and sponsored
giveaways. Above all, they wished their fans well
during the coronavirus outbreak. Yankees,
via Twitter
MLB Reaches out to Fans on What Would Have Been Opening Day The season was originally slated to
begin on Thursday, March 26. In a letter, Commissioner Rob Manfred
wrote that baseball will return. He added that people must follow directions from
health and government officials to navigate
the coronavirus pandemic. Rob Manfred, via letter Manfred also wrote that free games will be available
on mlb.tv, mlb.com and MLB’s YouTube accounts. Another feature, Opening Day at Home, will showcase a game for
each MLB team. The league also shared
an inspirational video
for fans on social media. Angels center fielder
Mike Trout, via video On their own accounts,
individual teams
posted highlights
from previous seasons
and sponsored
giveaways. Above all, they wished their fans well
during the coronavirus outbreak. Yankees,
via Twitter
MLB Reaches out to Fans on What Would Have Been Opening Day The season was originally slated to
begin on Thursday, March 26. In a letter, Commissioner Rob Manfred
wrote that baseball will return. He added that people must follow directions from
health and government officials to navigate
the coronavirus pandemic. Rob Manfred, via letter Manfred also wrote that free games will be available
on mlb.tv, mlb.com and MLB’s YouTube accounts. Another feature, Opening Day at Home, will showcase a game for
each MLB team. The league also shared
an inspirational video
for fans on social media. Angels center fielder
Mike Trout, via video On their own accounts,
individual teams
posted highlights
from previous seasons
and sponsored
giveaways. Above all, they wished their fans well
during the coronavirus outbreak. Yankees,
via Twitter
MLB Reaches out to Fans on What Would Have Been Opening Day The season was originally slated to
begin on Thursday, March 26. In a letter, Commissioner Rob Manfred
wrote that baseball will return. He added that people must follow directions from
health and government officials to navigate
the coronavirus pandemic. Rob Manfred, via letter Manfred also wrote that free games will be available
on mlb.tv, mlb.com and MLB’s YouTube accounts. Another feature, Opening Day at Home, will showcase a game for
each MLB team. The league also shared
an inspirational video
for fans on social media. Angels center fielder
Mike Trout, via video On their own accounts,
individual teams
posted highlights
from previous seasons
and sponsored
giveaways. Above all, they wished their fans well
during the coronavirus outbreak. Yankees,
via Twitter
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he will protect Astros batters, who have already been hit four times in spring training.
A sizable portion of MLB players are understandably upset that members of the 2017 Houston Astros’ championship roster avoided all punishment for their roles in the sign-stealing scandal, and if the first few spring training games are any indication, Astros batters are in for a long and painful year in response.
In just three spring training games in 2020, a total of four Astros batters have been hit by pitches. On Tuesday, Miami Marlins starter José Ureña plunked Aledmys Díaz, perhaps accidentally. Díaz was not with the Astros in 2017, but Ureña has been suspended in the past for throwing at batters.
Were the Marlins pitchers targeting the Astros, or did they simply lose control of inside pitches? It’s difficult to tell, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has vowed to protect Astros batters from vigilante justice, which means the league will have to review each HBP and make a very difficult decision whether or not to suspend a pitcher. New Astros manager Dusty Baker asked the league to stop “premeditated retaliation” against the organization, and according to ESPN, Manfred met with managers in spring training to make it clear that he would not tolerate Astros being hit intentionally.
The warning from Manfred gives the Astros another unfair advantage on the field. If pitchers are worried about being thrown from games or suspended, they may shy away from throwing inside. Similarly, if the Astros know that umpires are looking for beanballs, batters may crowd the plate in the hopes of being clipped and getting a pitcher in trouble.
How often are pitchers suspended for throwing at batters, anyway?
Over the past three MLB seasons, pitcher suspensions for throwing at batters have been fairly rare. Six pitchers were suspended in 2019 for hitting or throwing at batters, up from four in 2018, and three in 2017. During that span, José Ureña earned the longest suspension – a six-game ban for hitting Ronald Acuna Jr. Suspensions ranged from two games to six games.
The best solution here – one that allows Manfred to save face while also policing the game – is to stick to three-game suspensions. For starting pitchers, a three-game suspension is effectively meaningless, as they typically only pitch every fifth game. A three-game ban is more impactful for relievers, but teams could adjust to deliver punishment early in games.
If this continues to be an ongoing trend, however, pitchers may force Manfred to take more drastic measures to make it clear that punishing the Astros on the field will not be tolerated.
Rob Manfred has made us all look good at our jobs.
You ever have that rough day at work where you spend the drive home trying to not even catch a slight glimpse of your face in the rearview mirror because it would only make you even more angry/sad?
You ever screw up something so badly at the office that you sit at your desk and wonder how anybody ever said the words “you’re hired!” to you?
Have you ever sat in your parked car after messing up an important presentation and fired off a number of perfect combos on your steering wheel?
Come on, I know I’m not alone here.
Well here is some good news – none of us who stink at our jobs are alone. Because we’ll always have Rob Manfred leading the way for us, screwing up things left and right in order to make sure we never think that even a high-paid executive is better than any of us.
Listen, I know I’ve written a lot of things about the MLB commissioner (for now) over the past week. I’ve called for his job, I said he spit in the face of all MLB fans, and I’ve trashed the cheating Astros while also taking shots at Manfred.
It’s mostly been because this scandal and how Manfred has handled it has been totally unbelievable (also, it has been a quiet time for sports). On Tuesday it took another laughable turn thanks to the commish falling apart again at a podium while standing in front of a bunch of media members who asked him some good questions about why stunk at his job.
He confirmed that the Astros told him that they used the garbage can cheating system in the postseason in 2017, which was news to everyone, including the Dodgers who by now must be tired from throwing their arms in the air.
So yeah, when you start feeling bad about the mistakes you’ve made at work, think about ol’ Robby Manfred and the incredible amount of damage he’s done to the game of baseball. This great sport is being talked about a lot lately and none of it has been about the good things that we could see this season.
Instead, it’s been about a group of players who cheated and didn’t get punished for it.
Instead, it’s been about a commissioner who has lost all control and respect by the way that he has handled this mess.
So the next time you babble through a presentation and miss out on a big deal, don’t get down on yourself.
Things could always be worse.
You could be Rob Manfred.
Tuesday’s big winner: Allen Iverson.
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rob Manfred admitted the Astros used the trash can in the playoffs.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is a man who is in over his head.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that.
The baseball boss has completely botched this Houston Astros cheating scandal, punishing just the team’s GM and manager, who were then both fired by the team, and letting the players who cheated off the hook with no punishments.
Since then, Manfred has continued to get crushed for not punishing the players who cheated their way to a World Series title in 2017.
Yeah, calling the historic trophy a “piece of metal” didn’t go over well at all with players at all. How could it? Dodgers star Justin Turner ripped Manfred over it, saying the commish has probably never won anything in his life.
Well, on Tuesday afternoon Manfred held another press conference and it showed once again that this guy needs to be out of a job.
Because it was laughable.
He did apologize to the World Series trophy, calling what he said a “mistake.”
Duh.
Watch this apology and tell me this is someone who should be in charge of a major sport:
Rob Manfred really just had the audacity to say, “I made ONE mistake.” GTFO with that. This clown needs to resign, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/0Ybm3e6Z6S
I wrote a month ago that I was not in favor of MLB stripping the Astros of their title. I was open minded to Correa saying they didn’t use trash cans in World Series. After hearing Manfred say they absolutely did use it in the playoffs, I’ve changed my mind. Strip the title now.
What other sport would allow for the leader to disgrace it the way Rob Manfred has? #ManfredResign but since he has shown to have little “metal” #FireManfred
Rob Manfred totally underestimated what the public outcry would be and obviously didn't understand the role social media would play when he screwed the rest of the league over for the sake of the Astros…and its glorious seeing it play out! #Cheaters
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James weighed in on the Houston Astros cheating scandal and also created an amazing new hashtag.
We have to thank the Houston Astros and their cheating scandal, the MLB’s handling of it and the uprising from players in Major League Baseball for inspiring the latest masterpieces in the “LeBron tweets about Sports” genre. While James is quick to comment on his favorite sports and teams via social media, the topic of sports, in general, has always been a passion point.
LeBron expressed his anger by the way that Major League Baseball has dealt with punishing the players on the Astros, who received no punishments at all for their roles in a sophisticated pitch-tipping scheme that allowed Astros players to know which was pitches were coming. If this were to happen to LeBron, he says he would be “irate.”
James then said it’s on MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to clean up the mess he made and deliver a more stern punishment for the Astros.
Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your…..
players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay
LeBron’s incredibly long hashtag has also been meme’d by many on twitter. But let this be another lesson to those who besmirch the good name of Sports: LeBron James will find you.
The Houston Astros and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have been getting ripped to shreds from all angles over the Astros’ cheating scandal and the league’s lack of consequences for it. We’ve heard it from some of the biggest stars in baseball so far — Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge included.
You can add LeBron James to that list as one of those angles now.
Manfred is looking absolutely terrible right now for not punishing Houston enough by stripping the Astros of their 2017 World Series title after it was revealed that they were stealing signs throughout that season.
James took to Twitter to voice his displeasure and, hoo boy, did he go in. He didn’t pull any punches with this one.
Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your…..
players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay
It may not be James’ sport, but it’s clear that he’s upset about this along with the MLB’s other players. I doubt the Astros’ title will ever be stripped, but man, this thing is getting out of hand.
As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred draws more and more criticism for how he’s handled the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he’s glad he’s not tied to major league baseball.
As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred draws more and more criticism for how he’s handled the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he’s glad he’s not tied to major league baseball.
