MLB Needs to Call it Quits

I know Kate, it's shocking...But really, is it? 

Back in May Kate and I asked if the MLB could SURVIVE COVID? I had very little hope that they could....Kate though, she's always optimistic...

Dancing and smiling....

But as nearly half of the Marlins active roster has tested positive along with some of their staff...and 13 St. Louis Cardinals players and staff have tested positive...Over 20 games have been postponed, because with these outbreaks the teams that just played these COVID riddled teams have to sit and wait for an all clear on their tests...It's clear MLB and the MLBPA did not prepare for this and did not take COVID as seriously as some of them portrayed...Instead, in typical MLB fashion, the owners and players spent all their quarantine/lockdown time bickering about money... 

And then there is the Nationals Juan Soto who was finally cleared to play after testing COVID positive in mid-July...MLB's policy is a player needs 2 negative tests in a row to be allowed to be activated...Soto has said he had at least 2 negative tests the same day as his positive...One report has him testing negative 6 times with a couple positives sprinkled in between...With that information, it looks like the MLB has some piss-poor testing...Is each team using the same tests? 

And while I'm asking questions, why the fuck are pro-sports getting all this free, rapid response testing, yet most school districts have no testing for their staff and students, and many hospital staff and first responders have limited testing for themselves, when they are on the front lines dealing with this shit and trying to save lives?

COVID is going to continue to spread through MLB because they didn't think shit through and didn't bubble shit up...The NBA has their single bubble and so far, they are doing well...The NHL has their two bubble system, both bubbles in Canada which has handled COVID better and has a smaller population...The NHL has had ZERO positive tests since their restart...By the way, I hate sports without the crowd, but we take what we can get...

But again, I ask why are sports so important that they are getting all the testing and PPE and disinfectants that they need, but us regular folks can't find any Clorox wipes in the stores, and hospitals are still scrambling to get everything they need?

Ok, say we move on from talking about the COVID shit show spreading through MLB...Let's talk about some of the other shit they have done that in my opinion makes this horse-shit 60 game season a fake season...

1. It's a only a 60 game season...No real...All you dam purists that preach about the marathon of baseball can't like this... 

2. Doubleheaders days, the games will only be 7 innings long....Fucking weak! This isn't Jr. High Softball, it's Major League Baseball....

3. Extra innings starts with a runner on second...WTF!?! Did a Elementary school Gym teacher come up with this shit!?!

I know Kate, they're weakening and dumbing down our beloved game! And I know you are hoping I don't mention the Astros as your man is one of them right now, but....

And then you have the whole damn Joe Kelly thing...As everyone knows by now, MLB and this dipshit commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Joe Kelly 8 games (which in this 60 game season is equivalent to 22 games) for not hitting anyone with a pitch...For an offense that received no warning and no ejection...Because he threw near 2 Houston Astros...Houston Astros that were found guilty of cheating and received no suspensions at all...If you actually watch the whole inning, he had no control at all...I get Manfred not wanting pitchers head hunting a bunch of cheaters, but you what did you think would happen when you didn't hold them accountable...And this isn't "Minority Report" yet...You can't suspend players for crimes they haven't committed yet...

This COVID version of Baseball sucks...Manfred sucks...The greedy owners and players suck...This MLB season is fake and nothing more then trying to grab some money, on both their parts...I've already called it quits on this bullshit season...MLB will have to if more players go out to casinos (yeah, talking to you Cardinals) and if they can't control how it's spreading among teams...

Sorry Kate.

Monday Moaning (The Fucking Astros)

I've waited...I've let multiple reports come through, read many opinions, listened to many opinions from the TV and Radio talking heads, looked at this from both sides...And now I'm ready to spew my pissed off, I'm smarter than arrogant opinion....

Early on, I was of the mindset that 'there's always been cheating in Baseball'...Sign stealing has been going on since the beginning of time...Gaylord Perry, famous for doctoring the ball is in the Hall Of Fame...And the Steroids...Cheating and Baseball go hand in hand together....

But that doesn't make it right...

The degree to which the Astros cheated was too far...Clearly MLB thought so with the suspensions they threw down, which lead to 3 managers and 1 GM getting fired...A loss of multiple first and second round draft picks...Oh and a 5 million dollar fine...Not that the fine hurt the multi-billion dollar franchise...Fuck they made 5 million dollars in the first couple days of selling Word Series Championship gear...

But the punishment stopped there...No players received any punishment...The players who benefitted most from the video sign stealing, garbage can banging, maybe even buzzer wearing cheating...And when you look at the Astros hitters home stats compared to their away stats, its clear as fuck these guys had help...

In typical Baseball fashion, they screwed up and the media is following suit...When Baseball was full of steroid users, half of them were vilified, and half got a free pass...The fact that MLB had clear proof of the cheating and didn't hold those who benefitted from it the most, accountable...

And now a new can of worms is opened...Pitchers are going to take discipline into their own hands...Many pitchers are making it clear they are pissed, and some have even made it clear they are going to throw hard AT Astros hitters...So how is MLB going to handle it when Altuve and company start catching fastballs in the ribs...They're going to look bad suspending guys for drilling a proven cheater that got no punishment....

Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger has been outspoken, and hear him out...His points are valid, and his anger is real and justified...





 Dude makes some solid points...Sitting there getting another tattoo and spewing his rage...

After a full investigation, MLB lays it all out there to the point where 3 Managers and a GM get fired after they are handed Huge suspensions and none of them have fought it or filed a grievance...And what do the Astros players do...They deny wrong-doing...They continue to act cocky and arrogant...

What should the punishment be...I don't agree with the LA crybabies saying they should just be handed the 2017 and 2018 titles...That's lame...Especially since the word on the street is the Dodgers have done some of their own shady things...

But what should happen to these fuckers...All their home batting stats should be wiped out...They should get suspended 25-50 games...If the stories of being wired up with buzzers are true, to me that should be a lifetime suspension...

Listen, I think steroid punishments should have been tougher, so I think these guys should get fucked harder...

I find it disgusting that Pete Rose is banned from baseball and can't get into the Hall Of Fame...The guy every father told their sons, 'That's how you play the game'...is banned for gambling, but these guys didn't even get a slap on the wrist...These fucking Astros by cheating the way they did, impacted the contracts and careers of numerous pitchers....Yeah, even if you know what pitch is coming, you still have to actually hit the ball...But if you know what fucking pitch is coming, your odds just went way the fuck up...

Fucking Astros!

Kazmir Traded to Houston

The Oakland A's have made their first move, in what some expect to be many...They have sent 31 year old, left-handed starter, Scott Kazmir to his hometown Houston Astros...

The Astros have been an exciting first half surprise, and I wasn't sure if they would be buyers, or just hold steady with their youth-driven building process...In the deal Houston gave up highly-touted cather, Jacob Nottingham,(20) and right handed pitcher Daniel Megden (22)...Both were on the Atros higher level single-A roster...

Kazmir with a 5-5 record and 2.38 ERA, was slated to start Thursday night against Toronto...Instead he will be joining his new team Friday in Kansas City...

A's GM, Billy Beane said he wasn't actively shopping Kazmir...(not sure how true that is)...But said after the Houston put Nottingham on the table, the trade "came together pretty quick."

Dirty, Lying, Cheating, Cardinals

Yeah, and this isn't a post about the Catholic Church!

The big topic in sports, landing between the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup, and The Cavaliers and Warriors squaring off in game 6 of the NBA Finals, came out Tuesday morning, thanks to the New York Times...The St. Louis Cardinals apparently have hacked into the Houston Astros internal dadtabase, getting their hands on emails, scouting reports, statistical analysis, trade talks, and more...So I don't have to keep pulling quotes and shit, here is a LINK to the article....

So the Cardinals, one of MLB's storied franchises, is a bunch of fucking cheeaters!  Let me be completely honest...St. Louis is a great baseball town...They have a great history...And I would love Bob Gibson and Stan Musial on my all-time dream team...That said, I hate the fucking Cardinals!

I grew up when the Chicago Cubs were always playing day games...And they were all on WGN, which every good cable provider had...I'd get home from school, and my Dad would have the Cubs on TV while he was getting ready to go work his 4-midnight shift...That lead to me watching Cubs games all summer long...Becoming a huge Ryne Sandberg fan...Great fucking glove, with a good bat! Loving the drunken call of Harry Carey...I swear to God, one time he called shitty thirdbaseman, Vance Law, "Vance Coleslaw" and he called Darryl Strawberry, "Darryl Cranberry"...And dreaming of one day, if only for a year, living in one of the buildings behind Wrigley...This was long before they had bleachers built on them...Game days it was just be tenants and a few friends hanging out on the rooftops, drink, and enjoying the game...Now it's all fucked up!

So I was a Cub fan, which meant I had to Hate the Cardinals...Well, that hasn't gone away, mostly because I'm sick of seeing them playing every week on The MLB Network, ESPN, and FOX...Enough with the fucking Cardinals!

So, with that all out of the way...Back to these cheating whores...MLB needs to take a hard fucking stand here...Seriously...They hacked another teams database...What's next, hacking their bank account?  MLB's policies for punishment have a wide range based on the offense...First time to not comply with their drug treatment program is 15-25 day suspension and a fine of $10,000 fine...It then goes up each offense that follows...A first positive Steroid test gets and 80 game suspension...The second gets 162...And lets not forget that gambling on Baseball gets you the good ole, Shoeless Joe Jackson/Pete Rose, LIFE-TIME BAN!

So, what should the punishment be for the Cardinals...If the report is true, and it sure seems like it is...I feel it should be harsh...Not life-time ban harsh, but harsh...Let me tell you what I think should happen...

A one year suspension for the entire organization...The games are still on other teams schedule, and they are given the "W" via forfeit...The games aren't played...No player in the Cardinals organization is allowed to play ball...A year wasted because your bosses were fuck-up...The Cardinals obviously lose a season of home games tickets sales, and concessions...They also have to pay their opponents lost tickets sales for the away games they cannot play...(that seems like a good fine)...

Some may say this is too extreme...Well, it's a new era...When teams are hacking others, that is fucking serious...It's worse then 'Roids...It's worse then most things...A strong message needs to be made...Fuck the Cardinals...Fuck them right in that tight little ass!