Monthly Archives: October 2013

Alex Rodriguez Sues Bud Selig, Updated

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Alex Rodriguez has filed new law suits in New York State Court. The first suit names Bud Selig, MLB, and the Office of Commissioner and the claims made are numerous and suggest a pattern of conduct that is troubling if true.  A second suit was filed againsst the Yankees’ doctor and a hospital for mis-diagnosing a hip injury in 2012.  I will not consider that suit in this article.

The main case, Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, plaintiff v. Major League Baseball, Office of Commissioner of Major League Baseball, and Allan Huber “Bud” Selig, defendants, was filed in the County of New York on October 3, 2013.  My cursory examination of the case reveals that it is an attack on Bud Selig’s tenure as Commissioner. It says Selig condoned illegal drug use when it was useful to him and then was against it when that position was deemed beneficial.  In Section B of the law suit, (page 6), the heading is The Disastrous Tenure of Commissioner Selig. The suit describes the collusion scandal, the PES scandals, the Mitchell Report alledging lack of supervision and failure to see early warning signs of drug use. It then states that the Rodriguez case, indeed the entire Biogenesis case, is an effort by Selig to reinvent himself and create the myth of his being the savior of baseball.  Selig has announced his retirement in 2014.

Lester Munson at ESPN has besmirched the law suit as being insubstantial because of the tortious interference claim. Munson claims tortious internference is the least of the tort claims. I don’t know where he gets his advice, but it is very different from my experience that makes a tortious interfernce claim very real and dangerous for the defendant.

There will be a lot of information about this case, but it is very dangerous for Baseball and for Bud Selig. The outcome will be based on the evidence Plaintiff has, and, from what I have read today, they have done a lot of homework.

Update: The first issue to be decided in this case is whether the court has jurisdiction over the matter or whether the Grievance Procedure in the collectively bargained agreement controls. If the later is the case, Rodriguez must follow that course.

The Significance of This MLB Playoff Season

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The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds in the one game that determined the NL Wild Card last night. It was an easy game for the Pirates. What occurred to me as the game unfolded that the oldest professional baseball team, the CIncinnati Reds (nee Redlegs or Red Stockings) was playing an original National League team. The league was formed in 1876. From there, it occurred to me that every team, except the Tampa Bay Rays, in the playoffs this year was an original team either from the original National League or the ‘upstart’ American League, formed in 1901.

The Detroit TIgers, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and St. Louis Cardinals are in their original cities. The Cardinals actually became the Cardinals later. The Atlanta Braves started as the Boston Beaneaters, Red Stockings, and then Braves, moved to Milwaukee in 1955, and Atlanta in 1966. The Oakland Athletics started as the Philadelphia Athletics, moved to Kansas City in 1955, then to Oakland in 1968.  The Brooklyn Dodgers, (nee the Trolley Dodgers) moved to LA in 1957. (It is curious that LA’s two top teams are named after Brooklyn trolley dodging and Minneapolis Lakes.)

There is an additional aspect to these playoffs that is of importance as well. The Cardinals, Pirates, Athletics, Rays, and Indians are all small market teams with low payrolls compared to the much more afluent Yankees, White Sox, Giants, Cubs, Angels, Astros, Rangers, Phillies, and Nationals. The Cubs and White Sox, two original teams, finished last in their divisions, by the way.

The provenance of the teams may be only a historical anomaly, but the small market teams victories, and I must add the expansion Tampa Bay Rays to this mix, are there because of the exquisite way they play baseball, from the scouting of amatuer players to finesse baserunning in the playoffs (Tampa’s Fuld stole a run in Texas Monday night).

This indicates the precision these teams give to the operation of their teams. Much has been said about sabermetrics, that computer generated analysis of everything that occurs on a baseball field, and all teams engage in some sort of sabermetric analysis, but it is the scouting and player development they engage in that makes them successful. The Cardinals and Rays are prime examples of this and the play of those teams shows great discipline, energy and thought to the way they play the game. Among these disciplines is the act of throwing first pitch strikes. A small thing you may think, but getting pitchers to do it is daunting, but the Cardinals and Rays do it. Also, these teams catch and throw the ball with precision. This takes skill and discipline, but that’s how you win pennants.

The Indians and Rays play for the AL WIld Card tonight and then the real playoffs begin. Watch to see who plays the game correctly.

Netanyahu’s Speech at the UN Is Very Important.

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Scott Johnson at Powerlineblog.com posted an excerpt of Benjamin Natanyahu’s speech at the UN last week.  The excerpt is posted Here; and describes the long history of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. He continues by describing the 2500 year history of Persian friendship toward the Jewish people:

Some 2500 years ago, the great Persian King Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. He issued a famous edict in which he proclaimed the right of the Jews to return to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. That’s a Persian decree, and thus began a historic friendship between the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times.

He goes on to describe the soured and dangerous relationship with the radical Islamists in Teheran starting in 1979: 

But in 1979, a radical regime in Tehran tried to stamp out that friendship. As it was busy crushing the Iranian people’s hopes for democracy, it also led wild chants of “Death to the Jews!” Now, since that time, Presidents of Iran have come and gone. Some presidents were considered moderates, others hardliners. But they’ve all served that same unforgiving creed, that same unforgetting regime – that creed that is espoused and enforced by the real power in Iran, the dictator known in Iran as the Supreme Leader, first Ayatollah Khomeini and now Ayatollah Khamenei. President Rouhani, like the presidents who came before him is a loyal servant of the regime. He was one of only six candidates the regime permitted to run for office. Nearly 700 other candidates were rejected.

This article, which contains links to Rouhani’s and Obama’s speeches as well, is an important read. 

Tampa Bay Wins In Texas

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The 2013 MLB regular season ended last night when Tampa Bay won in Texas. The game was to determine the second wild card team that will play the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday in Cleveland for the wild card that then plays in the Division Series. Tampa Bay and Texas were tied after the 162nd game necessitating the 163rd game.

The game was determined by Cy Young winner David Price’s superb pitching in this complete game victory. Tampa Bay hitting was timely, as well, with Evan Longoria hitting a two run homerun, and baserunning superior as Centerfielder Fuld stole a run by stealing third while the pitcher was still holding the ball! Fuld was on second when he noticed that the pitcher took a very wide stance while getting the sign from the catcher and would have to step, back, off the rubber, further extending his stance, and putting him into a very awkward position to throw to third. The throw was errant and Fuld got up from his slide and scored a very important fifth run. It was my favorite play of the game.

Texas had the misfortune of having its balls hit to fielders or fall just short of the outfield fence. It is a game of inches, by the way. It benefited from a missed call on an outfield play where its centerfielder trapped a ball that was called an out by the umpire, saving a run. Next year that play will be reviewed by the umpires.

The playoffs start today in Pittsburgh with the Pirates playing the Reds, then the Rays play the Indians in Cleveland Wednesday. This will be a fun run and I look forward to it.

For the full Playoff Schedule look here.

NHL Announces Hybrid Icing Rule

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Thw NHL has announced the adoption of a new Hybrid Icing Rule that is effective immediately. The text of the rule is here. The rule allows the linesman to anticipate icing by calling icing when it is probable that a defensive player will reach the iced puck first. It will be called when the defensive player is ahead in the race to the puck when it is at the face off dots heading toward the goal line. If an attacker is leading at that point, no icing will be callled, if the skaters are tied at that point, icing will also be called.

This last element shows the policy behind the rule. It is to avoid having tied players battling for the puck and crashing into the boards, thus avoiding injuries that have occured during such events. The Players’ Association, (NHLPA) approved the rule change yesterday and it was announced by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly soon after. The rule was used in the American Hockey League last season and was deemed beneficial.