KRK
  • KRK
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
5 years ago
Boston Globe columnist Armstrong Williams wrote:

Baseball’s failure to exact price for cheating could destroy game

By ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS |
February 24, 2020 at 12:58 a.m.
Nothing creates a moral hazard more than exposing corruption and yet failing to punish those responsible. That’s what happened in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, and that’s what’s happening in baseball today. The rationale for failing to punish Wall Street corruption in 2008 was that big banks were “too big to fail” and had to be propped up to save the world economy. The rationale in professional baseball in the aftermath of the Houston Astro’s sign-stealing scandal is that by fully exposing the scandal and holding those responsible accountable, baseball risks losing credibility and popularity.

The moral hazard here is that sweeping the problem under the rug with no accountability — as Commissioner Rob Manfred seems hell-bent on doing — provides zero incentives for teams to play fair and creates the risk that the next cheating scandal will be more destructive. And because the problem has been neither fully brought to light nor appropriately resolved, it creates a deep sense of uncertainty among teams heading into spring training.

First, pitchers and catchers will have a difficult time preparing for the season because their reviews of their own past performance cannot be relied upon. They won’t know, for example, whether their pitches were hit or intentionally fouled because of the quality of the pitch or the change-up called, or whether the opposing team had advance knowledge of their intended throw. Secondly, and with even more impact, more teams, believing there is very little downside consequence for being caught cheating, may start to employ their own version of electronic sign stealing, believing it necessary to maintain a competitive edge.

Such is the nature of the drama that brought us the asterisked careers of Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong. They believed in moral relativism; they argued that they should not have been penalized just because they were able to cheat better than the rest of the field, most of whom were also using banned substances. But there is a distinct difference here. While Bonds and Armstrong suffered severe damage to their legacies and reputations, the Houston Astros have neither shown the slightest degree of contrition nor apologized for their cheating. It is almost as if despite being caught, they still got away with it.

The reason why MLB decided not to hold the Astros accountable for their misdeeds by stripping the team of its 2017 World Series championship seems all the more craven in retrospect. One suspects that everyone involved knows that Astros players and managers were not the only ones’ involved in sign-stealing operations. Other teams did it, too, but were less effective. In essence, it could not definitively say that but for the Astro’s cheating, they would have lost the series. MLB seems to be hoping that because the Astros ultimately outed all the bad actors, they will now suddenly play by the rules. But accountability does not work that way. The mere admission of wrongdoing is not tantamount to punishment. If only shaming the rule-breaker were enough to overcome the other competing incentives — namely, the insane amount of money that a winning franchise stands to earn. Money dwarfs all other concerns.

Athletes across the world of sports feel demeaned, not by the cheating itself, which is a part of sports, but by baseball leadership’s failure to effectively address the problem. Deep feelings of hurt transcend baseball and extend to all professional sports. NBA star LeBron James took to Twitter to call out MLB Commissioner Manfred by name, imploring him to fix the issue: “Listen I know I don’t play baseball, but I am in Sports,” he complained, “and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be (expletive) irate!… Literally the ball is in your court (or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports!” Amen.



In Luce tua Videmus Lucem KRK
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beast (21h) : My first name starts with R and my beer belly is quite voluptuous! Thank you for noticing 😏
Zero2Cool (7-May) : beast, you're just one R from being voluptuous.
Zero2Cool (7-May) : And now some Packers blogger is like Doubs to Steelers makes sense!!!!
Zero2Cool (7-May) : You saw me Tweet???
beast (7-May) : Supposedly Steelers will be trading WR George Pickens to the Cowboys for a 3rd and late round pick swap
Zero2Cool (5-May) : Ravens release Justin Tucker, err D. Watson Jr?
Zero2Cool (5-May) : Cardinals have signed TE Josiah Deguara.
Zero2Cool (5-May) : If I were to "Google" it, then I wouldn't read it in your words.
Martha Careful (5-May) : Yes, in the military S2’s work on IPB, PERCEC, PHYSEC and IO
dfosterf (4-May) : FYI civilian companies swipe the S2 designation from the military. S2 is the intelligence branch up to brigade level. G2 is division level.
dfosterf (4-May) : Google it. Make sure to tack NFL on it or you will get the military meaning
Zero2Cool (4-May) : S2?
beast (4-May) : Seems like the S2 has a love/hate relationship with professional scouts.
beast (4-May) : In theory, the S2 test how quickly a QBs brain can solve game like issues and how quickly they can do it.
dfosterf (4-May) : Are you gentlemen and at least one lady familiar with the S2 cognition
Zero2Cool (4-May) : Maybe there isn't an issue.
beast (4-May) : NFL really needs to fix their position labeling issue, but I don't think they care
Zero2Cool (1-May) : Packers did not activate the fifth-year options for linebacker Quay Walker, with the goal of signing him to a contract extension.
Zero2Cool (1-May) : Matthew Golden spoke with Randall Cobb before draft. Looked like chance encounter.
packerfanoutwest (1-May) : from a head left turn?
packerfanoutwest (1-May) : someone drunk?
Zero2Cool (1-May) : Unlikely.
dfosterf (30-Apr) : How long until Jeff Sperbeck's family sues John Elway ?
Zero2Cool (30-Apr) : Packers are exercising the fifth-year option on DT Devonte Wyatt, locking in a guaranteed $12.9M for the 2026 season.
beast (30-Apr) : Sounds like P Luke Elzinga has a rookie try out opportunity from the Titans
dfosterf (30-Apr) : Luke Elzinga Punter Oklahoma stil unsigned. Green Bay has been mentioned as good fit
beast (30-Apr) : The Packers re-signed three exclusive rights free agents WR Melton, P Whelan and RB Wilson.
Zero2Cool (29-Apr) : February 5, 2002 (age 23) ok no. packers.com is wrong
Zero2Cool (29-Apr) : Micah Robinson is only 19??
Zero2Cool (29-Apr) : 6 first rounders on Packers defense now
Zero2Cool (29-Apr) : LB Isaiah Simmons. Signed. Called it!!! Oh yeah!
Martha Careful (29-Apr) : ty bboystyle...fat fingers
bboystyle (29-Apr) : Tom*
Martha Careful (28-Apr) : RIP Packer Safety Tim Brown
beast (27-Apr) : Yeah, but also some of the wording suggestions Jax only pranked called the QB, not the others... and if he had an open spreadsheet & 3 calls
beast (27-Apr) : Thank goodness he's not leaving the Turtle in the Red Tide
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Cowboys 1st round pick Tyler Booker will indeed be bringing his pet turtle to Dallas with him
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : that contained all prospects info and contact
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : beast, according the Falcons statement Jax came across it on an ipad. If I had to guess, probably an open spread sheet or something
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Simmons put up an emoji with cheese.
beast (27-Apr) : Not sure anyone is interested in Isaiah Simmons... Collin Oliver might of taken his potential slot
beast (27-Apr) : I'm going with Jax Ulbrich is not telling the whole truth... he accidentally came across it? Why would a defensive coordinator have a QB #?
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : He's not that great, but final piece of the script.\
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : If we add Isaiah Simmons, book your Super Bowl tickets
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Colts 1st round TE Tyler Warren also got prank called, was that Jax Ulbrich as well?
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Jax Ulbrich, Jeff Ulbrich’s son, released an apology for his role in the Shedeur Sanders prank call.
Martha Careful (27-Apr) : apparently he did not participate in practice or play on the east west shrine game nor the NFL combine. The kid was a mediocre spoiled brat
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Yeah that one that was a super wounded duck that Sanders supporters are highlighting to prove a point
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Shough is the guy who missed guys at combine isn't he?
beast (27-Apr) : It's not official until I'm dead! I have a chance still! (Not really)
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