Posts Tagged ‘baseball’

Dynasty Players Choice League AL / NL Div B Report

Posted: April 5, 2020 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, fun, gaming, online gaming, Sports
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Continuing our weekly reports on the teams in the various Dynasty leagues I run this week Division B in the all time any time great teams league

AL Div B

1968 Detroit Tigers

After a slow start the tigers find themselves at the top of the AL B standings with a game and a half over the defending AL champ Indians. Can they keep this winning pace up?

Heroes: Willie Horton is has been a one man wrecking ball with the bat with 8 HR and 22 RBI while playing an errorless left field adding an outfield assist into the mix. Denny McLain has gone 4-0 only allowing a .208 batting avg while leading the league in wins, and being top 5 in 3 other categories. Ray Oyler being perfect in the field at short is no surprise as his reputation for defense is well known but seeing him add a .364 to the mix has been a shocker.

Zeroes: Don Wert isn’t known for his bat so his .170 Avg might be forgivable but combine it with a .925 fielding percentage with as many errors as his net two teammates combined, now that’s a worry. Mickey Lolich & Earl Wilson both with 2-2 record as starters wouldn’t seem like likely candidates for this list but if their ERAs were not 6.84, and 6.17 respectively Detroit’s lead might be a lot bigger.

Wild Card: Detroit’s next three series are against teams with a combined 22-29 it’s s great chance to widen that league.

Coming attractions: The Tigers travel to Yankees Stadium for a 3 game set aginst the 2009 Yanks before heading back home for a 9 game homestand facing 1988 Oakland and the 2013 Redsox who are with striking distance before finishing the stand against the 1970 Orioles.

1954 Cleveland Indians

The defending AL champs are right in the thick of it again, a game and a half out of 1st place and currently holding a wild card spot which isn’t bad for a team that has played 80% of their games on the road to this point but can they turn on the heat on the surging Tigers?

Heroes: With a team ERA under 4 (3.97) it’s hard to name a single pitching hero but Bob Lemon with a 3-0 record and a 2.88 ERA certainly fits the bill, and that .750 batting avg in interleague play and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage isn’t too shabby either. There are people hitting for a higher avg on the team than Larry Doby but when you are leading the team in both runs scores AND runs batted in along with HR, Slugging and OB+Slugging you are the really doing the job (oh and by the way 1.000 fielding plus two outfield assists and a range factor of 2.62)

Zeroes: It doesn’t look at that good for Billy Glynn as he both leads the team in errors and is sitting below the Mendoza line with a .195 batting avg but he has one thing going for him, at least he’s not Wally Westlake because not only is he batting a mere .184 but unlike Glynn who is hitting .286 with runners in scoring position Westlake is hitting a mere .130 when the big moment comes.

Wild Card: They only have one series against a division opponent in their next 8.

Coming attractions: the Indians bask in the glory of a brief 3 game homestand against 1st place 2015 Kansas City Royals before hitting the road agai to battle the 2005 White Sox and the 1993 Blue Jays.

2013 Boston Redsox

Boston had lost 4 series in a row before taking two of three from their arch rival New York Yankees. Will that be the spark that puts the team back on track?

Heroes: If anyone told you that after 18 games Danial Nava would lead the Red sox with a .389 average .500 OBS a .593 slugging percentage and be the only player on the team with an OPS over 1.000 1.093 while hitting only one HR you wouldn’t believe it. On the other hand John Lackey’s ERA of 2.38 and modest .264 batting avg against in 4 starts, that’s entirely believable.

Zeroes: Jon Lester was expected to be the Redsox ace but he’s so far been more akin to the twenty minuters  of WW1 infamy with a 1-2 record an ERA of 6.00 a hitting against avg of .309 along with five homers, one every 5 1/3 innings. Meanwhile Mike Napoli is not only devoid of HR with only 5 RBI in 16 games but with runners in scoring position is hitting an anemic .222, .125 if there are two outs.

Wild card: Boston has only seen a left handed starter once every six games, which is a good thing because they have yet to win a game against a lefty but at 4-2 they have the best record in the American league in one run games.

Coming Attractions: A quick trip to Oakland to visit the 1988 A’s is followed by a 3 game homestand against the 1970 Orioles before going head to head with Detroit and a chance to close the distance a bit.

2010 Texas Rangers: The Rangers broke a six game losing streak in style with a sweep of the (then) 1st place Washington Senators. Is this the start of better things to come? Or will the team without a manager continue to be rudderless?

Heroes: Vladimir Guerrero‘s reputation as one of the most feared bats in the game has not been affected by the Rangers poor record. His .408 avg and 18 RBI’s talk and opposing pitchers are listening. Even though the starting rotation has been a horror the Texas Bullpen has put up good number with Michael Kirkman leading the way. In six appearances he’s held opponents to a .205 avg while striking out 17 in 11 1/3 innings with a 1.50 ERA and no homers allowed and a win to his credit.

Zeroes: While his play behind the plate has been acceptable Matt Treanor has impressed nobody with his .216 avg and .313 OBP not to mention .200 with runners in scoring position but if you want to talk Zeroes you have to talk the starting rotation with Cliff Lee’s 5.13 ERA and .347 avg (despite a 2-1 record) C.J Wilson’s 16 walks in 28 innings and 5.97 ERA and if that’s not bad enough you have Tommy Hunter who has in 18.2 innings over 4 starts struck out fewer batters (6) than he’s given up homers (7) with a horrible ERA of 7.81.

Wild Card: Rich Harden was recently promoted back to the majors after a short stint down, can he return a semblance of steadiness to a rotation with a damaged reputation?

Coming Attractions: It’s a time away from the division for Texas as they conclude an 18 game road trip with three at the 2015 Royals and 3 more vs the 2005 Chicago White Sox before heading home to welcome the 1993 Blue Jays before facing a division foe again.

1985 St. Louis Cardinals

After a 9-0 start they have returned to earth going 5-7 since. Can that early lead hold up when the month of April is over or will they cool as the weather warms?

Heroes: Tom Herr’s line is deadly .407 avg 3 HR 26 RBI 10 sb with only one caught and an OBP of .484 and an OPS 1.089. Oh and he’s been perfect at 2b in the field with a range factor of 4.59. It’s the kind of performance that makes opposing pitchers crazy. It that wasn’t bad enough for St. Louis’ foes John Tudor is 5-0 with five complete games in six starts with a 1.94 ERA to drive enemy batters absolutely nuts.

Zeroes: It’s hard to find zeroes on a team that’s performed so well but St. Louis’ Catchers sure helped me along. Darrell Porter with a .138 avg in 12 games he wasn’t doing much before his injury and has failed to catch the only person trying to steal against him. Meanwhile while he was out Tom Nieto did the job and while his .209 avg was slightly better than Porter he not only was batted .200 when men were in scoring position but allowed seven of nine people to steal off of him while committing 2 errors.

Wild Card: St Louis has been patient at the plate, their 103 walks are a full 60% ahead of the #2 team and their stolen base total of 61 is 44 greater than the current runner up. That’s likely why they also have the most hits in the league

Coming Attractions: A huge series at Brooklyn against the defending World Series Champion 1955 Dodgers is followed by the 1986 Mets at home and then they travel to Florida for a shot at the 2nd place 1997 Marlins who are itching for revenge. Can the NL Div A do what Div B could not?

1997 Florida Marlins

If the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals did not Exist Florida would have both a winning record and the lead in their division. Instead they are at .500 and if the season ended today would not even snag a wildcard. Can they manage to expand their winning ways to include the Cards?

Heroes: Felix Heredia has stood out in a staff that hasn’t with two saves in as many chances, a 1-0 record more strikeouts than innings pitched and an ERA of 1.86 while in a team full of hitting hitters Moises Alou stands above the rest hitting for avg (.378) power (7 HR) and leading the team in RBI’s Runs scored and Walks.

Zeroes: While Devon White and Luis Castillo have both been excellent in the field they are hitting .131 and .183 respectively which is unimpressive to say the least although in fairness to White his eight walks have contributed to nine runs scored. Meanwhile in a team where no starter has more than one win there are many zero candidates but the biggest has to be closer Rob Nen with two blown saves a WHIP of 1.86 and a 6.43 ERA in the most critical moments of a game.

Wild Card: With Al Lieter injured and out for at least two starts can anyone in the rotation step up?

Coming Attractions: It a visit to the NL east with series at Brooklin vs the 1955 Dodgers and the 1986 Mets before coming home to face the 2013 Arizona Diamondbacks before their big rematch with St. Louis. Will they have a permanent manager by then?

1957 Milwaukee Braves

The Braves managed to turn things around after a dismal 1-9 start, but is that turn about permanent or was their defeat by the 2005 astros in their last series a sign of things to come?

Heroes: Nobody will be surprised to see Hank Aaron at the top of this list. With a .351 Avg 5 HR and 12 RBI the advice on how to pitch pitch to him: “Make sure nobody is on when he hits it out” seems awfully accurate. The second non surprise is Warren Spahn whose 3-1 record 2.54 ERA and 28 1/3 innings in five starts have done the trick.

Zeroes: Ernie Johnson certainly has been a workhorse for Milwaukee appearing in 10 of their 18 games. Unfortunately he’s also been a disaster in the bullpen with more than twice as many hits as innings pitch and ERA of 13.50 and a .417 avg against. Many people thought it would be a fight between Frank Torre and Joe Adcock for the starting job at 1st, but Torre’s .111 avg no runs batted in and two hits on the season certainly hasn’t given anyone a reason to leave him in a lineup.

Wildcard: Bill Burton’s injury is going to keep him out of the lineup for at least the next three series forcing Aaron to play center. This means that the Braves will see more of Andy Pafko’s unimpressive bat .171 avg but steady defense (2 assists) or Wes Covington deadly bat .318 avg but lead glove .846 fielding percentage in right.

Coming Attractions: The Braves visit the streets of San Francisco to face the 1962 Giants before coming home for 9 against the 1975 Reds 2013 Arizona and Division rival 2019 Nationals.

2019 Washington Nationals

Washington has lost 10 of their last 12 and are owners of the worst record in the majors, which is kind of what was the case in 2019 before the stormed back to win 1st the Pennant and then the series. Can history repeat itself?

Heroes: There is plenty of blame to go around for Washington’s start but neither Trea Turner nor Juan Soto deserve any of it. Turner has hit .342 stolen 3 bases in 4 tries and hit three HR while scoring almost double the runs of the next leading player who would be Soto who has crushed 5 HR and walked enough to get an OBP of .405

Zeroes: Max Scherzer has been a pleasant surprise at the plate with a .400 avg and a pair of RBI’s but the nats would happily trade that for the pitcher they expected as an ace. With a 1-3 record a .347 avg against and a .887 ERA and fewer strikeouts than runs allowed 19 vs 22 it’s been a dismal start. Meanwhile don’t let the fact that Daniel Hudson owns 2 of Washington’s 5 wins fool you. in 11 appearances his ERA is 11.68 his WHIP is a solid three and he’s managed to blow two saves in as many chances.

Wild Card. Both Gerardo Parra and Anthony Rendon have spent time injured early and Washington has a new manager who took over during their losing streak. Can these three men make the difference for a team that is 1-10 against right handed pitching this season?

Coming Attractions: Home has not been where the heart is for the DC team (2-10) while they’ve played .500 ball on the road, so a trip to Cincinnati to face the 1975 Reds might just be what’s needed, then after a brief stop back home to face the 2013 Diamondbacks it’s back on the road for 3 against the 57 Braves in Milwaukee and 3 against the 2016 Cubs at Wrigley.

All Time Great Team League League report: AL & NL Division 1

Posted: March 29, 2020 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, entertainment, fun, gaming, online gaming, Sports
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Here is a report on one division in the All time great league for Dynasty Baseball game. A report will come out each week for one AL & NL division. Note there are still as of this writing 7 teams looking for a non-computer manager and until 3/31 Dynasty the maker of the game is offering a month free with code USA2 You can join here.

AL Div 1

2005 Chicago White Sox

The pale hose 5-4 start while not exciting is currently good enough for sole possession of 1st place albeit only by 1/2 a game. After losing their opening series vs the 1970 Orioles back to back series wins vs Toronto and Oakland have been just good enough to keep them clinging to a lead, time will tell if that can be maintained.

Heroes: Tadahito Iguchi is on a hitting tear with a .389 avg good enough for 4th in the early season while Scott Posednick’s 6 stolen bases is a tie for the league lead

Zeroes: Bobby Jenks has found his way into four of the teams 9 games and has opponents hitting .409 against him with an ERA of 9.00 Meanwhile at the plate the only nice thing you can say about Jermaine Dye’s start is that while his anemic .182 is last in the team his .229 is better than Joe Crede or Juan Uribe but without any RBI or HR RBIs.

Wild Card: The White Sox success has been despite their failure to find a permanent manager for the season can they keep it up without one and if they find one can he continue to keep them on top?

Coming attractions: It’s a trip to the NL East for 3 vs the Mets at Shea then south to Baltimore for three more.

1970 Orioles

.500 ball over their last 12 might be good enough for 2nd place in the division but new manager Joe S expects better out of the defending division champs who found themselves dropping two straight series one to Toronto and another to the Defending World Series champion Dodgers. Will the return to the DH make the difference?

Heroes: Jim Palmer is all over the leaderboards in just about every category leads the league in wins, WHIP & HR per 9 innings while Boog Powell continues to put the fear of God into the heart of every pitcher he faces.

Zeros: Dave McNally has put the fear of God in the heart of his manager with an 0-3 start and an ERA of 8.25. Meanwhile Pete Richert’s perfect record of two losses and two blown saves in two appearances is turning heads in the wrong direction.

Wild Card: It’s always odd when manager moves on to a different franchise but when he does so AFTER leading a team to a division championship it gets harder for his replacement. Can Baltimore’s new manager get his team to the series when his predecessor could not?

Coming Attractions: 9 straight home games in division starting with the 1st place White Sox followed by Oakland and Toronto will give their fans a chance to cheer their team back into first. That is if the team can rise back to their division winning ways

1988 Oakland A’s

There are few things more discouraging than staring your season blowing a 7-0 lead but twelve games in a half game out is nothing to sneeze at for a team with both Power and pitching and 2nd flock of the games in the division they are more than in a position to strike

Heroes: Dennis Eckersley, despite his opening day loss he has bounced back saving games for Nelson, Welsh and Burns before holding on against Arizona to to even his record. Dave Henderson: With a .367 avg 4 HR and a dozen RBI’s he leads the league in 3 offense categories while placing in the top 10 in 5 others.

Zeros: Jose Canseco despite a pair of Home Runs is managing only a .143 avg and a .246 OB with 19 K’s in 49 at bats. Dave Stewart In three starts opponents are hitting a solid .375 with an ERA of 9.37 a full five runs over the team avg despite only a single loss against him.

Wild Card: Nobody in their right mind would describe Doug Jennings as anything but a backup so his season ending injury might not seem big but over the course of a 162 game season his loss means one less day of rest for a player who might need it or one pinch hit or run that doesn’t happen

Coming Attractions: The A’s get a chance to jump ahead with the last place Yanks coming to town before getting a 2nd shot at the Orioles before running back for a shot at the Red Sox.

Toronto Blue Jays 1993

The Bluejays after an incredible comeback on opening day have not fared as well as they like going 4-6 and possessing the only losing record in the division. But despite this they remain only a game out of first since but despite this remain but a game out of first, more than close enough to strike.

Heroes: Roberto Alomar is hitting over .400 (.404) with an OPS of 1.100. While Rickey Henderson has combined a .311 avg and five stolen bases with three outfield assists in less that a dozen games.

Zeros: Jack Morris has managed in two starts to go 0-2 with an ERA of 8.64 with hitters pounding him at a .389 clip in less than 9 innings. Tony Fernandez, while a single error and a .979 fielding percentage at short is not bad a .200 batting avg and OB percentage is a drag a full .89 points below the rest of the team.

Wild Card: With the only turf stadium in the league will other teams struggle on the unfamiliar surface or will Toronto pay for their surface in DL trips such as Ed Sprague‘s?

Coming attractions: A win in their final game vs Cincinnati can get them back to .500 in time to face a Kansas City team on a mini losing streak and a shot a the 1st place White Sox and 2nd place Orioles on the road.

NL Div 1

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

The Defending World Champion Dodgers picked up where they left off last year with an 8-4 start including 7-3 in their last 10 and a +24 run differential against their foes If this pace keeps up they may repeat their running away with the division but with 4 more teams and an an extra round of playoffs to deal with they’ll need that to get started.

Heroes: Gil Hodges after winning the NL MVP last season has picked up right where he left off leading the NL in batting and 2nd in OBP & OBP + Slugging. Meanwhile on the mound Karl Spooner is making up for spending most of last season on the DL with a 2-0 record without giving up a run in two starts and holding opponents to a .059 avg.

Zeros: Jim Hughes has been a workhorse working in seven games but a horse with an era of 8.59 while being responsible for a solid quarter of the homers allowed by the team. Roy Campanella has been in a slump of epic proportions hitting a mere .095 and an even more pathetic OBP of .152

Wild Card: With Karl Spooner back this season George Shuba‘s major league stint is over. Last year he spent half a season in the majors hitting .264 in limited service and .333 during the post season. He’s back in the minors and hoping for a 2nd chance and ring, will he get it?

Coming attractions: A trip to Arizona is followed by a 15 game homestand which begins with the last place mets given them a great chance to increase their lead.

Arizona Diamondbacks 2013

For a team that had no business being in an all time great league (the 2001 version was supposed to be invited) they’ve kept pace very well including a series win against the World Champion Dodgers. Their .500 start is good for 2nd place so far and with a little bit of effort 1st place can remain in reach.

Heroes: Paul Goldschmidt .396 and 4 HR have been an unpleasant surprise to pitching staffs around the league. If a .350 avg and seven RBI’s were not enough to celebrate Geraldo Para playing all three positions in the outfield without an error but with an assist would clinch it.

Zeros: Some might think this Arizona team doesn’t belong in this league and Reliever Joe Thatcher is their patron saint thanks to an era of 10.57 and a batting against avg of .441. While Cliff Pennington’s .333 avg looks good on paper a single run scored and none driven in doesn’t make up for two errors in four games.

Wild Card: JJ Putz has been an Arizona workhorse appearing in more than half of the teams game but with a serious injury that will keep him out till early or mid May can anyone else carry the load?

Coming attractions: A six game homestand gives them a chance to repeat their fine start against the Dodgers and welcome Cincinnati who is right behind them before getting another crack at the Mets this time in Shea.

1975 Cincinnati Reds

The Big Red machine did not envision themselves at 5-6 after 11 their only winning series being against a weaker Arizona team, but can their big bats and stingy pitching staff (2nd fewest runs allowed in the league) turn things around before the Dodgers get too far ahead to catch, particularly with the Defense of Caesar Geronimo out of the lineup.

Heroes: Johnny Bench with 3 homers and .340 avg remains a terror to opposing pitchers who dare throw to him. Meanwhile while there has not been a lot to cheer from the bullpen Will McEnaney’s 1.17 ERA & 1.54 AVG has been a breath of fresh air

Zeros: The bullpen has three blown saves in three chances and the worst offender has been Pedro Borbon with 2 Blown saves and a .348 avg for batters. One might forgive Tony Perez his slow start and .226 avg, but it’s hard to be forgiving with no HR only one RBI and a single extra base hit

A Wild Card: The injury of Caesar Geronimo means the possibility of more offence at the Center Field position but will such offense come at the cost of a vulnerable defense.

Coming attractions: Four games remain in Cincinnati’s 12 game homestand one more vs Toronto and 3 against the SF Giants before they head to Arizona in the hopes of getting hot.

1986 New York Mets

There is not a lot to cheer about in New York as the Mets , after starting with two wins in a row dropped six of their last seven and between Gary Carter who was injured on opening day a team that has three pitchers with ERA’s over 10.00 and a flock of bad fielding they are resembling the 67 mets more than a champion team.

Heroes: With two saves in three chances and a 2.38 ERA Roger McDowell has been the rare bright spot in a pitching staff that has been a dismal failure. Meanwhile Mookie Wilson with a pair of HR’s a .308 avg and 12 hits has managed to do what is necessary.

Zeroes: Not only has Howard Johnson not been appetizing at the plate with a .222 avg and a single solo homer but in the field his four errors and .636 fielding percentage doesn’t even rise to the level of anemic. Meanwhile on a staff with a team ERA of 6.24 there are plenty of Zero candidates but Ron Darling with his 0-2 record & 19.89 ERA rises or shall I say falls below the rest.

Wild Card: Ed Hearn was pressed into service behind the plate with the Carter injury at the bat he has been at least serviceable with a .265 Avg 1 HR and 5 RBI but behind the plate he has allowed nine of ten baserunners to steal.

Coming attractions: The bad news continues for the Mets as they face the 1st place White Sox before taking on Philly and then with Gary Carter back traveling to LA & Arizona

Donald Trump & The One Pitch Media

Posted: March 21, 2020 by datechguy in Always look at the bright side of Trump, baseball, media, politics, Sports
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Before the Corona Virus took sports away from America (other than Dynasty baseball which you should sign up for at once use code USA2 for a free month till March 31st and join my leagues) the biggest scandal in sports was the revelation that the Houston Astros were stealing signs illegally during their 2017 World Series Championship season.

The reason why this matters so much in baseball is that a batter has a fraction of a second to decide to swing at a pitch or not. Knowing what is coming increases the odds of a big clutch hit and decreases the odds of a rally killing out.

This is why it’s so important for pitchers to have more than one effective pitch. The more pitches his has the more different deliveries a batter has to be ready for.

And of course the opposite is also true. If a pitcher only has one pitch. unless he’s hall of fame pitcher Walter Johnson (“You knew what was coming but so what?“) that pitcher isn’t going to last long in the majors as the batters will eat him alive.

These days the media is a lot like that pitcher with only one pitch.

For three years the media has thrown the same “orange man bad” pitch every day without ceasing. Practically every single thing the media has said and done from press conferences, to news reports to town halls has been driven by this message.

Now at the start when people were 1st seeing that pitch it could have some effect but after three years we’re reached the point where the administration in general and President Trump in particular see that pitch coming and can hit it every time (in fact President Trump has been hitting that pitch for quite a while). In fact even republicans in the house and senate have reached the point where they are taking the media’s best pitch and driving it up the middle for a hit.

Even worse for the media than President Trump seeing that pitch coming, the American people are seeing it too. Such was the case yesterday during the update on the Corona Virus from the White House.

Yet the media even now has only one pitch in their arsenal the Orange Man Bad pitch. It was growing old in a time of prosperity and full employment, in a time of national and international crisis this pitch, when contrasted to the substance coming from the White House is easy for President Trump to knock over the wall.

The American people because of the crisis have been watching and listening to the daily updates from the President and his team on this subject. The President and his team have been sober and straight on what they’ve said and done and have spent their time talking substance. When people are looking for information and the only thing in the minds of the press is: “How do I nail Trump?” they not only look petty but come off as completely uninterested in informing a public desperate for info.

Even worse at a time when people’s lives are at risk and their lively hoods are at state the whole “woe is me” bit from elite media plays even worse.

This inept and obsessed media is one of the President’s biggest assets and for all his rhetoric I suspect he wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

Never have a seen a man so lucky in his enemies.

My Astros Suggestion: The Scarlet Negative Uniform Number

Posted: February 20, 2020 by datechguy in baseball, Sports
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Before I begin let me point out that I’m already on the record as saying that sign stealing should not be illegal and that given technology it’s not worth trying to ban it. The best solution is to make it completely legal and raise the mound to give pitchers the edge.

That being said I’m in the distinct minority as the outrage over the lack of punishment for the players on the Houston Astros vs their manager, and GM and even former bench coach Alex Cora has reached the point where silent Mike Trout, arguably the best player in the game over the last five years has spoken out.

“It’s sad for baseball,” Trout said. “It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys’ careers have been affected, a lot of people lost jobs. It was tough. Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming — it would be pretty fun up there.”

“I lost some respect for some guys,” Trout said. “… All the stuff coming out, it’s tough to see.”

I must admit all I can think of when I read this is what people used to say about facing legendary fastball pitcher Walter Johnson: “You knew what was coming but so what?” but I digress.

People think that the World Series should be taken away but I disagree. The seven games were played (four of them in LA) and the results were the results. I don’t believe in rewriting history.

But I do see the point that the players who actually cheated are getting away Scott free so I have a simple suggestion.

Negative numbers.

As a punishment for their cheating I would require any player on the Houston Astros 2017 season who was on the roster prior to the September call-ups to wear a negative number on their uniform.

This has several advantages

  1. It punishes specifically the players actually involved in the scandal, not others who have joined the team later on and might get tarred.
  2. It’s a punishment that can follow a player to whatever team he is on.
  3. It provides a strong negative incentive for future players to avoid cheating in the future.
  4. It doesn’t punish the scouts or the fans or the lower levels of the organisation that had nothing to do with said scandal.
  5. It is a sanction that while embarrassing doesn’t impede a players ability to make a living. He can still be signed by anyone, play for anyone.
  6. It is an incentive for a sanctioned player to work harder. If I was made to do such a thing I’d bust my butt to put up numbers to prove that I didn’t need that edge to produce.
  7. It would actually create interest in the production of said players and thus interest in the game
  8. Finally it’s a sanction that can be lifted from individual players based on the judgement of the Commissioner’s office.

Frankly I think this is a punishment that would be a great standard punishment for those who cheat in any sport across the board.

If MLB and the players union want to get beyond this scandal I submit and suggest my solution is the best one out there.

I still think they should raise the mound anyway.

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