Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 20, 2008
Territorial Punishment

Ray Ratto suggests the Giants be punished for allowing Greg Anderson into the locker room by allowing the Athletics to move to San Jose if they wish.

Is baseball considering such a notion? Not that anyone can tell. But it is a solution that has several benefits to it, not the least of which is hitting the Giants where Magowan thinks they live. San Francisco's strategy for long-term health has been to drive the A's into the sea, and it galls the Giants that their annual contributions to the revenue sharing plan almost exactly match Oakland's take-home check.

My only problem with this is Oakland was ground zero for the explosion of steroids in baseball. Sure, the ownership and management that let Canseco run free isn't there any more, but there were plenty of Athletics under the control of Billy Beane who we know were users. If you are going to punish the Giants, you might think about punishing the A's as well. Maybe taking away that $13 million revenue check.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:37 AM | Cheating | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I think that these arguments are ridiculous. EVERY team in baseball had players who took advantage of the system in one way or another. It would be shocking to find a team that hasn't had at least one steroid-user help the ballclub along in the last 15 years. Every owner, player, club executive, ballboy, columnist, beat writer, union executive, and MLB employee has some culpability in this.

Let's move on.

Posted by: Dylan at January 20, 2008 12:40 PM

The FBI is looking at Tejada for perjury; congress awaits testimony from Clemens and Pettite. We are not moving on, get used to it.

Posted by: abe at January 20, 2008 01:03 PM

Oh yes we are moving on. I think that popularity of the game indicates that we're moving on. That Congress and the ESPNs-of-the-world continue to open old wounds is more reflective of them than of the game and its fans. I think that most people aren't so naive that they believe that life's as pure as it's been portrayed by the "media types." Bring on Spring.

And the Giants? Their punishment is to live with Brian Sabean for the next couple of years. This team is going to S-U-C-K...especially as the Rox, D-Back, and Dodgers all improve and the Padres remain decent. Baseball would punish the Giants more by just letting them sink due to their own inept view of Sabean and Big Pete as...well...themselves. Some good pitching though...

Posted by: Kent at January 20, 2008 01:59 PM

I just watched the Patriots (with Rodney Harrison) play the Chargers (with Shawn Merriman). Both tested psoitive for steroids, and Merriman was used in a national ad campaign.

Am I missing something - could you imagine if MLB used an active player who was caught?

I don't mind if baseball tries to hold itself to a higher standard, but at least the court ofd public opinion could hold other sports to SOME moral standard.

Posted by: rmt at January 20, 2008 07:38 PM

Sorry Kent, your saying it does not make it so. The hits just keep on coming, and there's no end in sight.
rmt, good point, I think it's baseball's obsession with numbers and stats vs football's focus on winners and losers that creates this discrepancy.

Posted by: abe at January 21, 2008 04:02 PM

The fans don't seem to have a big problem with steroids. Revenues are WAY up.

And they hate Bonds because he's a jerk as a person (and the media is taking their shots at him), not because he took steroids.
Note: There's a difference between the 'reason' the fans hate Bonds (he's a jerk/ the writers), and the 'excuse' for hating Bonds (steroids).

Posted by: Robert in BA at January 21, 2008 09:27 PM
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