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Rob Mansfeld just chose to wear another one, showing his soft spot for the Houston Astros. The admitted cheaters went unpunished for their literal integrity breaking actions. Dodger pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended eight games for ALMOST hitting them.
Jeff Passan reports that flamethrowing reliever Joe Kelly has been suspended eight games after throwing behind both Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman. His manager, Dave Roberts, will also serve a one-game suspension.
Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly has been suspended eight games. In announcing it, MLB referred to Kelly’s past history with intentional throwing, the fastball that buzzed Alex Bregman and his taunting of Carlos Correa.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 29, 2020
Eight games in a 60-game-season is the equivalent of a 22 game(!) suspension in the average season. Manfred and his pathetic attempt to protect players that deliberately wiped the floor with the game’s integrity is beyond frustrating.
We can fully expect Kelly to appeal such an egregious ruling from a commissioner that further resembles the NFL’s Roger Goodell by the day.
Now, no one is going to feel sorry for Joe Kelly as he’s slated to make north of $30 million by 2022, but he didn’t display behavior that warrants punishment. The principal of Major League Baseball was embarrassed that Kelly retaliated brilliantly without hitting a single batter.
He was the nation’s hero for a night and baseball didn’t want to admit that Kelly outsmarted the league’s warning. A true shame for justice in this league.
Here is a shameless plug: Go buy our new t-shirt, celebrating Kelly telling Correa, “Nice Swing, Bitch” … it is a $25 buy that you totally want.
We can all admit Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman came off like two clueless nincompoops this offseason that clearly warranted further punishment, so this decision by Manfred to defend habitual cheaters throws gas on the fire.
The Dodgers face off with the Astros tonight at 7:10, so we’ll see if the Dodgers defend their hard throwing reliever with further retaliation.
Unspeakably idiotic. EIGHT GAMES?! WHEN HE WASN’T EVEN EJECTED FROM THE GAME??? WHAT?!
I’m a Yankees fan, and I don’t agree with throwing at people’s heads whatsoever, but you can be damn sure I’m buying one of those shirts. Manfred just lost a ton of clout with me after doing a good job so far of not over-reacting to Covid tests.
Not a big fan of Mansfred, but if you are Dave Roberts or even Joe Kelly, you have to question yourself after this potentially costly penalty in a significantly shortened season. The margin of error is much smaller and you just cannot underestimate how these suspensions may lead to regrets down the road if the Dodgers are a couple of games out….
Also – by throwing at the Astros so wildly and raising the stake so quickly in one night, the Dodgers essentially helped created additional shields for the hated Astros. Teams & players will not second-guess themselves to go after them with inside & intimidating pitches, fearing suspensions or distractions, etc. Unintended consequences but can be an advantage for the Astros.
I remember this being talked about back in January-February. That doing this would lead to MLB being ‘forced’ to essentially defend the Astros, and it would piss people off after they did basically nothing to punish them. It seems those predictions have absolutely come true.
The new “upside down world” philosophy is now also applied in pro baseball I see. Rain hell down on the trivial, and protect the criminal. The Astros players get a grand total of ZERO games suspended for repeatedly cheating to win a World Series, while Kelly gets 8 games for failing to hit two batters. It’s comedic.
Astros Fan – Yea, we cheated. But, don’t screw the fans too by hitting one of our players in the head. Not easy to be an Astros fan but 3 million fans did not cheat. I suspect other teams may not be innocent either.
I understand where you’re coming from, and I also agree they weren’t the only ones cheating. I always suspected Boston of doing this at Fenway because of how their hitters never seemed to be late on 98mph fastballs at home. Sorry, no one is that good. They’re l totally guessing or being tipped off.
The good news is Kelly didn’t hit anyone, and I don’t think he was really trying to. Just sending a message that even if Manfred let them off, it doesn’t mean the players will. The Astros should be fine with a few towers buzzed in exchange for keeping their title with no punishment whatsoever.
Manfred and MLB leadership is to blame for any altercations by agreeing to no punishment for the players as part of their ridiculous investigation. What good is an investigation if 99% of the criminals participating in the activity are let off up front with no consequences? Why even have an investigation? Hinch got shafted and took the fall when the players participating knowingly should have all been suspended for a full season, and the team forced to play a season without anyone from that year’s playoff roster.
BTW, I think this vigilante response is also what will eventually happen with terrified American citizens facing unrestrained Antifa rioters in leftist cities if local government leaders continue to hold back law enforcement. They’re playing with fire. Justice has a way of patiently finding its way to the guilty one way or another.
I think it’s all on the table. They cheated. They are going to pay for it on the field. But you can’t let them just take it free of charge. Rules still play a role in the games. So, go ahead and throw at them, but also realize you are going to be met with penalties just as you would for throwing at anybody. 8 games seems a little high but that’s not new either. He will appeal and it will be reduced to 3-4 games. Maybe. Who knows.
That was a real heater the guys got some swag too might just get me one of those t shirts