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When one team was scapegoated for an institutional problem with numerous confirmed violators, after years of lax enforcement https://twitter.com/michael_cerami/status/1358994666910322695
I've used this analogy before, but if you care deeply about speed limits and authorities routinely allow drivers to go 70+ in a 60 for years, it's absurd to solely blame the guy going 80 for the problem. The biggest issue is years of lax enforcement, which established the culture
Of course, that gets to the heart of this "controversy" — very few people actually care about the true issue. What they want is a reason to feel better about their team losing.
Anyway, what bothers me most isn't fans being illogical and unfair, because none of us are perfect.
What bothers me is the pattern of the league itself encouraging this dynamic, in an effort to absolve its own responsibility for the mess it created. Same template as Bonds/PEDs.
What bothers me is the pattern of the league itself encouraging this dynamic, in an effort to absolve its own responsibility for the mess it created. Same template as Bonds/PEDs.
So yeah, that's my baseball vent. Whenever there's a problem, there's a repeated pattern of MLB holding up select players/teams as "red meat" to the masses to cover up their own role in it.
And it works, every damn time. [/rant]
And it works, every damn time. [/rant]
Quick addendum: I'm sure some will read this thread and express some variation of "it's possible to be upset with both MLB and the Astros."
Yes! But what MLB has cleverly done is shift the framing, to make their own transgression much more forgivable.
Yes! But what MLB has cleverly done is shift the framing, to make their own transgression much more forgivable.
The conventional wisdom now is "Rob Manfred sucks because he didn't punish the Houston players enough."
Underneath it all, most reasonable people understand that the potential punishment was collectively bargained. While annoyed, most people understand that his hands were tied.
Underneath it all, most reasonable people understand that the potential punishment was collectively bargained. While annoyed, most people understand that his hands were tied.
The real problem is years of lax enforcement and ignoring the issue, which created a league culture that led to the confirmed 2017 and 2018 incidents.
*That* is something that perhaps should cost Manfred his job. But as long as the fixation is on one team, they skate on that.
*That* is something that perhaps should cost Manfred his job. But as long as the fixation is on one team, they skate on that.
