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As we prepare to take an extra day off celebrating a man who fundamentally improved our lives and nation, there’s never a bad time to replay his most notable speech. Baseball icon and notable Civil Rights figure himself Jackie Robinson was just feet away as that speech was delivered and the two were lifelong friends.
A signature line of that speech involves looking at people based on the content of their character. And there has been a character problem in baseball lately that goes beyond sign stealing. One that Manfred justifiably wants cleaned up.
A man whose character has always seemed in tact is getting support in the wake of the various cheating scandals:
When MLB introduced expanded replay in 2014, being the replay monitor during games became part of my job with the @Angels. From the outset, Mike Scioscia made it clear there would be zero tolerance for any nonsense and it was on me to ensure it didn’t happen. Pretty simple. https://t.co/X66p1Psp4O
— Nick Francona (@NickFrancona) January 16, 2020
Mike Scioscia is a principled man. A loyal man. One who cares about the game being played the right way and the example it can be to the next generation. I’ve had my issues with his game management but never his character.
Speaking of those scandals, Carlos Beltran was removed as manager of the Mets before getting to actually manage the Mets. So long, we hardly knew ye.
The Mets weren’t done making bad press for themselves, though. First Jessica Mendoza blasted Mike Fiers for being a rat. Then she back tracked once the predictable backlash hit. I guess she has two takes on the issue.
Now that there are managerial openings in Boston, New York, and Houston, the franchises are scrambling to fill them and plenty of names off the retread pile are getting interviews. Buck Showalter, Dusty Baker, John Gibbons....somebody is going to slide into a job here.
Honestly, the Astros should be forced to hire Baker as part of their punishment. His game management would offset the sign stealing and make the playoffs a fair field. Maybe he could hand the ball off again.
Bruce Bochy has no desire to step into any of those storms. Smart man
Still waiting to heat up is the off season trade market. There has yet to really be that big, game changing trade at the MLB level. Fangraphs does a great job of breaking down which of the young stars rumored to be on the market has the most trade value.
Players and celebrities got together in Malibu last weekend to raise and distribute funds supporting some great causes. Carli Skaggs, the widow of Tyler Skaggs, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
It looks like she did better than these folks.
Enjoy your weekend folks, and please add anything I missed.