MISGUIDED CARLOS CORREA SAYS HE IS NOT TAINTED

It's been three days since the Astros (ASSTRICKS) world came crashing down on them. Everyone is talking about it non-stop and we should be! We know Alex Cora is a criminal and A.J. Hinch didn't have the balls to step in and be a leader. We will continue to talk about them....but what about the others?

I'm mad as hell. I think Cora should be banned from baseball. If Pete Rose can be banned then so should dumb-ass Cora....even though I don't think Rob Manfred will do it. Cora has tainted the game we all love and he deserves to be banned. Carlos Beltran is no better. I've lost respect for him. But there are others who are "tainted" too.

Eight days before Manfred made his ruling against the ASSTERISKS I found THIS article and rolled my eyes. Carlos Correa was really stupid enough to say he had "no doubts" about whether the sign-stealing allegations against the 2017 World Series team would taint their title.....all while at an autograph show. PATHETIC! No morals and it disgusts me. Those signatures are WORTHLESS like he is.

What's even more pathetic....not having ANYTHING to say after Rob Manfred just exposed the embarrassing franchise he plays for. So Correa could puff his chest and talk like a tough guy before MLB exposed him for a cheating scandal he was involved in. But what about now? Where are you hiding Correa?

And he isn't the only one not talking. What about Jose Altuve? Justin Verlander? Alex Bregman? Yuli Gurriel? George Springer? Josh Reddick? Both Verlander and Bregman have been very vocal throughout the years and now when the controversy is about them they hide! They've been told to lay low and not face the music which is bullshit.

The Astros are supposed to be professional athletes who presumably know the importance of character and integrity. The fact that they all knew what was going on and engaged in cheating is a reflection of their pathetic character....and that is something fans and peers won't forget. They have compromised the integrity of the game. So if Correa still thinks his title isn't tainted, he's wrong!

Cora, Correa and his teammates will forever be associated with an asterisk mark and we will all remember that they brought shame to the sport. They betrayed the game we love. They betrayed the game that children love to play but they have been FORTUNATE enough to make a lot of money off of it. You will be an example of what we DON'T want our kids to grow up and be.

These men have betrayed ALL baseball fans and will forever be shamed. They deserve their asterisks. There is no coming back for this, not for any of them. They deserve a harsher punishment, and fans deserve to have the games integrity restored.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj 

DARVISH'S AGENT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT "CLASSLESS" IS

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Alex Rodriguez is a baseball analyst now and part of his job is give his opinion and analyze stuff. That's pretty easy. Truth be told, he does pretty good at it.

Well, he made a comment about Yu Darvish that literally no one blinked about... except for Yu Darvish's agent, who clearly doesn't like Alex, because last time I checked, an offensive, racist gesture by Yuli Gurriel was much worse... and agent Joel Wolfe was no where to be found when that happened.

Anyway, it's like this... USA Today has the story:

"Sports agent Joel Wolfe, who represents Chicago Cubs injured pitcher Yu Darvish, fired back at ESPN broadcaster Alex Rodriguez on Monday for suggesting his client was a negative influence on the team's clubhouse.

Rodriguez accused the pitcher of being a distraction while he was shown rehabbing in the dugout..."

Alex said... "When you have a guy that signs an enormous contract and he's sitting down, and you walk in the training room, and he's got two trainers working on him, you go into the video room and you have a guy looking at video ... he should be in Arizona somewhere getting treated. But don't get in the way of 25 players going after one mission: to win a ball game."

Darvish's agent said of Rodriguez: "I think it was classless and bordered on unprofessional."

Now...rewind. Remember this? October 2017. The LA Times will set it up:

"After hitting a home run off the Dodgers' Yu Darvish, Gurriel put his fingers to the sides of his face, lifted the corners of his eyes and mouthed the word 'chinito,' Spanish for 'Chinese boy.' Darvish, who was born in Japan, is of Japanese and Iranian descent."

Where was Joel Wolfe then? Not a single comment. We were outraged. We wrote about it. In fact, it was Darvish himself that came out and told the world he wasn't offended, but God forbid ARod says something he is paid to do... this Wolfe guy goes nutty.

I find it stupid.  If Darvish was smart, he'd get another agent, this guy doesn't know what "classless" really is...

THE FIRST BASE MARKET

The other day, we looked at Mike Moustakas at BYB. If you haven't seen it yet, read I KNOW WHERE MIKE MOUSTAKAS IS GOING. 

Now let's think about the first base market. Guys like Eric Hosmer and Logan Morrison are still sitting out there. Crazy right? Now, similar to 3rd base and a guy like Moustakas, there are very few realistic options for Hosmer and Morrison given the fact that most teams are already set in stone at 1st base.  Check this out:

--Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis, with a DH in Trumbo.

--Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu, with DH in Matt Davidson. Plus, the Sox are rebuilding.

--Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera with DH in Victor Martinez. And again... the Tigers are too rebuilding.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

--Houston Astros: Yuli Gurriel. The Astros have DH Marwin Gonzalez.

--LA Angels: Albert Pujols at first. The DH is Ohtani

--Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer.  The DH slot is open, but the Twins not big spenders

-- New York Yankees: Greg Bird at first, and Stanton in the sometimes DH.

--Oakland A's: Matt Olsen. He had 24 homers in only 59 games after the call-up last season. The DH is Kris Davis.

Photo: Getty Images

--Seattle Mariners: Ryon Healy. Healy had 25 homers and 78 RBIs last year. The DH is Nelson Cruz.

Photo: Getty Images

--Tampa Bay Rays: Brad Miller might be a weak option, but the Rays are rebuilding and won’t spend, trust me.

--Texas Rangers: Joey Gallo (41 homers.) The DH is top prospect Willie Calhoun.

--Toronto Blue Jays: Justin Smoak had 38 homers, 90 RBIs last year. The DH is Kendrys Morales.

--Arizona Diamondbacks: Goldschmidt!

--Atlanta Braves: They have Freddie Freeman

--Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo is there!

--Cincinnati Reds: The Reds still have Joey Votto

--LA Dodgers: Of course, Cody Bellinger

Photo: Getty Images

--Miami Marlins have Justin Bour and the Marlins have no spending money.

--Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Thames had 31 homers last year.

--Philadelphia Phillies: Carlos Santana

--Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell [26 HR, 90 RBI]

--San Francisco Giants have Brandon Belt

--St. Louis Cardinals: Matt Carpenter

--Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman. Boom.

This leaves only 6 teams as potential options for a big name first baseman. Here they are:

Photo: Boston Herald

--Boston Red Sox: With Moreland at 1st and Hanley Ramirez as the DH, Boston could sign someone, but they are likely to sign JD Martinez when all is said and done. It's very doubtful they'd sign Hosmer or LoMo.

--Cleveland Indians: They just lost Carlos Santana and will play Edwin Encarnacion at 1st, but that leaves a vacancy at DH. So signing a 1st baseman is possible 

Photo: Getty Images

--Kansas City Royals: They are still trying to resign Hosmer and believe me, it's the likely landing spot.

--Colorado Rockies: They have prospect Ryan McMahon, but could turn to a veteran hitter at 1st.

--New York Mets: Adrian Gonzalez? Dom Smith? Really? The Mets should be vying for Hosmer or at least Logan Morrison.

Photo by Chris Stone

--San Diego Padres: They have Wil Myers at 1st right now, but he could move to the outfield. They have made a 7-year offer to Hosmer. I still think Hosmer will go elsewhere though.

Now Cleveland could be a dark horse here. Remember, they lost Santana and might surprise everyone and jump in late on Hosmer. I have a feeling though that if the Royals really offered Hosmer 7 years, $147M, that he will ultimately settle back with KC. That would leave Logan Morrison as a potential nice lower cost option for Cleveland or the Rockies. The Mets are too cheap, but they should be jumping in on this, at least for Morrison.

But I gotta ask...what do you guys think?

--Douglas Solomon
BYB Writer

MR. MANFRED, I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE

If you intentional harass or intimidate an individual in the workplace, you must face the consequences. Those penalties should be enforced now so that the player can see how his actions affected not only the person who he sought to harm directly but his team, who needs his presence on the field to win.  Yuli Gurriel's racial slur against Los Angeles Pitcher Yu Darvish was absolutely out of line.  We'd all agree with that.  Perhaps Gurriel's statement expresses that.  But Commissioner Manfred gave him a pass, deciding not to enforce a penalty on the Houston first baseman until after the World Series.

Source: Tom Pennington / Getty Images

As the Los Angeles Times reports, "The unpaid suspension will be served at the start of the 2018 season, and Gurriel will not appeal. He will not miss any games in the Series, with the Astros and Dodgers scheduled to play Game 4 on Saturday."  When I heard this, I yelled out a big "WHAT?"  I, like our fearless editor, Robert Casey, also have a teenager who I have instilled the expectation that she respect, act kindly and help her peers or face the consequences of not doing so.  It is about being a good person and doing what's right and when we as citizens drop the ball and do something inappropriate, we have to face the consequences now, when it is meaningful, not in an off season, months after the incident occurred, dulling the whole experience entirely.

Source: AP

Commissioner Manfred felt this was the right decision for baseball and the player. "There is no question that it is a difficult decision as to when the appropriate timing was," Manfred said. "Obviously World Series games are different than regular-season games, and I used my best judgment as to where the appropriate disciplinary level fell. I understand that people may have different views. But it was my best judgment that this timing was appropriate," reported ESPN during the press conference on Saturday before Game 4.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Besides waiting until next season to suspend Gurriel who says he will not appeal and admitted remorse, he will receive a dock in his 12 million dollar salary and "As part of the punishment, MLB will require him to undergo "sensitivity training" in the offseason," reported ESPN.

Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America

Manfred believes that the entire Houston team should not be penalized because of one  of its players' acting inappropriately.  Seriously?  What are we teaching our young people?  You will get slapped on the wrist but not right now, when you are doing so well and could win a championship.  No, I disagree.  It should happen now, in the moment, because this where a player, a young person needs to face the consequences of his actions.  This is not about him, it's about what he did to another player and what he did to his team while his city continues to recover from Hurricane Harvey's after effects and the Astros try and bring home a World Series win, the first in franchise history.

Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America

You should have thought about all of this, Yuli, before you did what you did.  Shame on you and shame on baseball for letting you continue to play.  What no appeal because Manfred isn't imposing a penalty on you until next season?  What is this kind of nonsense?  This would never fly in my house growing up and it certainly does not fly in my current home.

Manfred is placating to a population of millennials also known as "Generation Snowflake." "What millennials are most famous for besides narcissism is its effect: entitlement," reported Time Magazine in 2013's article entitled, Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation.

On this Monday morning, I urge you to think about the series of events between Game 3 and Game 4 and reflect on it.  Should Manfred have enacted a penalty on Gurriel now, in the moment, or was he right in waiting until the 2018? You know how I feel.  Let us know how you feel.

--Suzie Pinstripe

BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @suzieprof

THIS IS NOT OK

I'm speechless. When I saw it, in this day and age, I couldn't believe it. And when my 15 year old came up to me and said, "Dad, did you just see what Yuli Gurriel did?"  I knew it was way over the line.

This is not OK.  I'll let ESPN handle it...

"After hitting a home run in the second inning off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, Gurriel returned to the Astros' dugout, where he used his fingers to motion at his own eyes in a mocking gesture and appeared to mouth a derogatory term in Spanish.

In an statement, an MLB spokesman said: 'We are aware of the situation and the Commissioner intends to speak with the player tomorrow."

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Speaking through an interpreter after the game, Gurriel explained that he made the gesture because he hasn't had success in the past against Japanese pitchers. In particular, he was 1-for-7 with one strikeout this season against Darvish. Gurriel, 33, is a native of Cuba who played for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars of the Japanese Central League in 2014. Darvish is of Japanese and Iranian descent.

'I did not mean it to be offensive at any point,' Gurriel said. 'Quite the opposite. I have always had a lot of respect [for Japanese people]. ... I've never had anything against Darvish. For me, he's always been one of the best pitchers. I never had any luck against him. If I offended him, I apologize. It was not my intention.'"

But he did offend Asians, and he even offended white people. Me. My kid. Darvish said this about it...



Now MLB is considering disciplinary action, and they should.  In today's society, this garbage can never happen. I don't care if you're in a clubhouse with friends.  We have come too far to go back.

Food for thought.