MY CALL TO MANFRED & THE PISSING MATCH BETWEEN MLB & THE PLAYER'S UNION

Tony Clark is pissed... and he should be.

Look, when you don't take care of wrongdoing when it happens... it festers and people get mad. And then, the people in charge sweat and start pointing fingers.  That's what's happening now between Rob Manfred and Tony Clark of the Player's union.

Listen... don't get it twisted. There is wrongdoing here... maybe a cover up... but definitely a favor and agreement between Jim Crane and Manfred, and without a doubt, the Player's union... forgetting about why they are there, decided to protect cheating players rather than realize that the integrity of the game was being tarnished in the process.  It's a mess. But now mounting pressure has made people in these high positions squirm and spit at each other.

The bottom line is these top guys like Tony Clark and Rob Manfred really need to think about their future. They have destroyed the game of baseball all because they will not punish the Astros players for organizing a strategic cheating ring that was planned and executed for definitely the 2017 season and most likely no question the 2018 and 2019 seasons as well.  The last 2 years are in question, but logic will tell you that if you cheat and get away with it in 2017... you don't stop in the years that follow.

In the end, the Astros players should be banned for life, Jim Crane should be forced to sell his team and Rob Manfred and Tony Clark may need to be removed as well.  Reputation is a valuable thing... and now all these guys need to be questioned 1000% percent because they didn't do their jobs, turning a blind eye, perhaps not investigating hard enough... all because they didn't want to put a black eye on the game. But in the end, their incompetence made it so much worse. Disgusting.

I called Manfred's office today. I wasn't look to be confrontational. I was looking for answers as a journalist. I spoke to the front desk who didn't transfer me to his office, but instead to Public Relations.  The woman I spoke to couldn't be nicer, but it's clear his office is playing interfere.  There's pressure there... he messed up and he knows it.

I encourage you all to call that office and demand answers.

Be polite. Here is that number again... 212-931-7800. Here's that call:


Now look, if I need to do an interview with him via email that's perfectly fine. But will he really answer? No.  I'm formulating my letter now... if you have a question you would like to ask, please send it along to me with through DM on Twitter or to my email. The P.R. office's email is in that call. Formulate you're own. Go nuts... but again, be professional.

Anyway, I will be send mine the beginning of next week.

But in the meantime, the finger pointing between Rob and Tony Clark has begun big time.  The New York Post writes:

"The Major League Baseball Players Association said in a statement late Tuesday that they fully cooperated with the league regarding the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing investigation after commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB and the union had reached an agreement for player immunity to avoid a stalemate. 

“Any suggestion that the Association failed to cooperate with the Commissioner’s investigation, obstructed the investigation, or otherwise took positions which led to a stalemate … is completely untrue,” executive director Tony Clark said in the statement. “We acted to protect the rights of our members, as is our obligation under the law.” 

And this is why I called this whole mess a cover-up a month ago. Something isn't adding up. Either Manfred did this on the sly with his MLB cronies and Jim Crane as to not embarrass the team and Manfred's legacy or he's just too stupid that he was duped into making this cheating scandal a disaster. I'm not sure what, but I do know this... the pissing match is happening and Manfred has made it worse.

Look, we're Bleeding Yankee Blue. I hate to lead every day with Astros garbage, but here's the thing... IT'S THE BIGGEST STORY SURROUNDING BASEBALL FOR US ALL IN A LONG, LONG TIME. And it stinks.  As journalists we need to report it.

Character and Integrity has gone out the window... and the Reputation of all these guys, executives and players alike will always be questioned.

The title needs to be stripped and if it's not going to be, Rob Manfred needs to take a walk. That's the bottom line.

More soon.