MLB Friday Funnies: GIF of the Week

Marcell Ozuna trolls the @#$%^ out of Will Venable

The lights can make judging flyballs tricky in any park, but Miami outfielder Marcell Ozuna took it to a whole new level last month.  

Seven days into his big league career in PetCo Park, Ozuna just couldn't find it.  


It starts with Will Venable's deep flyball to right field.  

Immediately we notice that Ozuna is having trouble finding the ball.  Given that San Diego experiences sunshine almost 24 hours, 365 days a year, you can hardly fault him...but this is actually a night game.  

Ozuna waves for help, as if to say, "Where the hell is it!?"  At this point he has trolled the announcers, the cameraman and everyone in the stadium except for the fans in the rightfield bleachers.  

But the ball then deposits about 30 feet behind him for a home run.  Let get a close up view of Ozunas reaction to losing Venable's deep fly....

Ozuna looks more like me whenever the Astros girls at Minute Maid Park are tossing out free t-shirts that I know I'll never wear.  I give them to the Salvation Army so I like to feel that I'm helping some underprivileged person in Houston re-discover their passion for the home baseball team.  Just don't watch them actually play until at least 2016.   I'm not quite sure what Ozuna's plan is here except maybe this...

Venable gets trolled, the announcers get trolled, the cameraman get trolled.  It's troll time in baseball bitches.  Meanwhile Ozuna has put together a pretty nice season so far even though the Marlins are terrible.  The Padres are not that terrible, but still have some work to catch the Diamondbacks.  At least they're ahead of the Dodgers.  Right?  

Here's the video for all you people who still don't listen when I tell you to click on the pictures if the GIF doesn't work.  Or if you're reading this on a mobile device, which like, congrats on taking another step to being addicted to baseball...

And one more funny thing before we leave for the weekend: the Yasiel Puig drinking game, courtesy of Tommy.  

Happy weekend baseball freaks 

Thursday Wrap: Let's get ready to RUMBLE! Base-brawl in LA, struggling closers and welcome back Giancarlo Stanton

Quote of the Day:

"I don't think it ends there...yesterday, we showed that you can't mess with us."

-- Ronald Belisario

It was nothing but mayhem in Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night as five batters were plunked, two benches cleared, one big scuffle, a few punches thrown, five ejections and certain to be multiple suspensions coming up.  

We're going to get to that and more MLB action this week including Marco Scutaro's bent finger, Cincinnati's dominance at the Friendly Confines, a couple of closers struggling for big-budget teams and Gerrit Cole's big league debut goes just splendid.  

That and much more for today's baseball wrap, but first, Vin Scully's reaction to the benches clearing brawl on Tuesday night:  

Scully has been around for a while...he's probably seen better brawls.  #notimpressed 

Dodgers and D-Backs will finish this in Australia (No Seriously)  

It started when super-phenom-rookie Yasiel Puig (who we gushed over Tuesday) was nailed in the face by Arizona starter Ian Kennedy....actually, it probably started in September of 2011, when Gerardo Parra admired a home run against the Dodgers a little too long for Clayton Kershaw's liking, as he nailed Parra with a pitch the next day.  

Baseball players memories don't fade fast and the very next season, it was Ian Kennedy himself that threw at Clayton Kershaw, once behind and inside of him.  Later in the game, Kershaw threw one high and tight to Kennedy.  

You can argue about the DH rule all you want; critics love the matchups and strategy when pitchers bat, while supporters love the roster flexibility of the designated hitter and that they don't have to worry when a franchise pitcher slides head first into third.  But when pitchers bat...oh boy, if teams have bad blood, it can spill into a fracas like Tuesday.  

After Puig was nailed, Greinke put one right into the back numbers of Arizona cleanup hitter, Miguel Monterro.  Benches cleared, warnings were issued and the game resumed with few fireworks.  And so that's that, right?  Hit batter + retaliation = done deal.  But not to Ian Kennedy who fired one right into Greinke's right shoulder near the head.  That led to this, that we're showing you again. (note how these commentators aren't nearly as serene as Scully). 

MLB.com won't let me embed, so ignore Cody Ross and click this pic/link

At the end, Kennedy, DBacks coach Turner Ward and Gibson were ejected along with McGwire, Puig and Belisario. Expect fines and suspensions to come soon.  First off, a few things I found both awesome and disturbing:

AWESOME: Don Mattingly takes down Alan Trammell.  

DISTURBING: Watching franchise gem Clayton Kershaw in the middle of the scuffle (x10 if you're a Dodger's fan) 

AWESOME:  Mark McGwire barks at Kirk Gibson while Matt Williams (yes, this Matt Williams) holds him back

DISTURBING: Seeing Greinke take a ball close to the head.  Whether or not Kennedy was trying to retaliate, if you're going to retaliate, do NOT throw at the head.  Never throw at the head.  Kennedy will be lucky if he doesn't get suspended for a while.  

AWESOME: Yasiel Puig shouting at the D-Back's in Spanish something that a translator will refuse to repeat.  

DISTURBING: Yasiel Puig injuring his shoulder apparently in the fracas.  

AWESOME: Was there ever a more legendary assembly of former big leaguers who wanted to throw down? Mattingly, Trammell, Gibson, McGwire, Matt Williams and Don Baylor all at one point or another looked like they wanted to, "insert themselves in the game and finish it on the  field" like one of my friends said.  They probably could do it too.  

AWESOME: Thinking about Carlos Quentin sitting somewhere, watching Greinke getting nailed with an evil smile

DISTURBING: Thinking about anyone who could have got hurt in the pile.  MLB should treat fights like hockey and have the two guys go at it until a judge breaks it up.  Plus a crowd of players blocks my view.  

 FINAL THOUGHTS: 

Greinke was a punk for plunking Monterro, since I really think that Kennedy did not mean to hit Puig in the face.  So he may have deserved a ball to the butt...but not the face.  If Kennedy was throwing at Greinke's head, that's inexcusable and he should be suspended at least two starts.  What followed after was naturally part of what happens in a heated game with two foes that don't like each other.  In any case, the DBacks left town holding on to their NL West lead.  

In the meanwhile, MLB announced that the 2014 season will be opening in Australia and the two opponents...none other than the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.  It will be interesting to see what playing down under will be like for the squads.  I personally think that each manager will bring boomerangs and Aborigine spears to keep in the dugout...just in case.  

Australia?  That's a fine proposal mate, it's a good idea for a game looking to expand international appeal and something that Grant Balfor will love but call me old fashioned -- I like the idea of Opening Day being played in the home ballpark.  Watching the first pitch of the season being thrown in Australia, Japan or any other place Selig wants to expand.  And it has nothing to do with any Nationalistic attitudes.  But I think it's still America's pastime.  MERICA.  For baseball.  

Marco Scutaro may have bent pinkie "forever"

Before all you Giants fans start panicking, the official news is that Scutaro, after being hit by a pitch on the pinkie finger, was diagnosed with what's called a "mallet finger" which prevents them from straightening it out.  Scutaro now has a choice: he can be fitted with something that allows him to play.  That's obviously good but the downside is that it could keep the finger bent permanently.  His other choice is to treat the pinkie through a procedure that would leave the San Francisco infielder out at least six weeks.  He'll have to make a decision soon.  In the meantime, the Giants will try and keep pace with the D-Backs, sitting five and half behind Arizona and a game back of second place Colorado.  Get that finger straightened out soon Marco.  Literally.  

More Biogenesis news make me run out of Braun pictures to post

In more news from the Biogenesis scandal, a judge in Florida declined a motion to dismiss a suit against Carlos Acevedo, who both one of Tony Bosch's sidekicks and named in a civil suit by the MLB as baseball tries to get to the bottom of the Biogenesis clinic.  Lawyers had cited the MLB's tactics of intimidation and bullying as a primary reason for the motion.  

Yet the judge determined that the motion had no legs and it will force Bosch, Acevedo and three other defendants into a costly legal battle and also gives the MLB needed leverage as it gathers witnesses and evidence needed to suspend the suspected players.  Check in for more updates and send Ryan Braun pictures to our e-mail.  We're going to need them.  

Reds continue dominance at Wrigley. Apparently hate Old Style. 

When Dusty Baker goes on a revenge tour, he goes all out.  The Reds bested the Cubs again yesterday night, winning their 12th straight at the Friendly Confines with Todd Frazier hitting his first home run since April to pace Cincinnati.  With the win the Reds move to 40-26 on the season, the fastest the club has made it to 40 wins since 1995.  

Meanwhile the Cubs remain in the NL Central cellar though promising results are starting to show in places off the boxscore.  Tommy will probably have more on this later.  The  Reds have won 40 games, but 33 of those wins have come against teams with losing records.  They'll have to pick it up more with the tough part of the schedule coming up and the Pirates and Cardinals looking like legit contenders.  

Closer struggles: Brandon League out the door. Is Papa Grande next?  

There's always going to be noise from the media when a closer change is announced so I've got this dark conspiracy that Mattingly had his guys clear the dugouts and brawl on Tuesday so that it could overshadow the Dodgers changing their 9th inning guy.  Kenley Jansen will take over for the struggling Brandon League.  

Over in Detroit, fans have about had it with Jose Valverde after ruining a terrific Justin Verlander start by allowing a home run to Lorenzo Cain in the Tiger's 3-2 loss to the Royals yesterday.  While the options aren't so clear as a potential replacement for Valverde with prospect Bruce Rondon struggling with command and no one else with much closing experience, there's a nice flow chart over at Bless You Boys to help out Jim Leyland:  

At this point, as a Tiger's fan, I'll take anyone with an arm and hasn't given up five home runs already this season.  Help can't come soon enough for the fans in Detroit.  

Gerrit Cole's "welcome to the Show moment" goes pretty well

What else can we say?  The kid did not disappoint retiring 13 consecutive batters at one point in a 6-2 Pirates win against the Giants.  The top prospect allowed only two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with a high 90s fastball and showed command for strike zone that was beyond his 22 years.  It's safe to say that the kid has arrived. 

Welcome to the Show, Gerrit Cole.  It looks like you'll be here for a while.  And say hi to Brandon Crawford's sister for us.  Maybe she'll have to get a ridiculous Giants/Pirates split uniform like Brady Quinn's sister.  

Welcome Back Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton made the most of his return from the DL by doing what he knows how to do best: hit home runs.  Stanton blasted a two-out, two-run home run in the 8th inning off also-fresh-off-the-DL, Jim Henderson as the Marlins beat the Brewers, 5-4.  Stanton came off the DL Monday and immediately made an impact with his first home run since April.  Expect more to come.  

Welcome back Mr. Stanton.  Keep doing stuff like this:

That should do it for today, baseball freaks.  And one more gift for you today....





Adios and happy baseball to you...

Tuesday Recap: The Legend of Yasiel Puig, Chris Perez: pothead? Munenori Kawasaki: All-Star? And welcome to the show Gerrit Cole

Quote of the Day:

“He's going to have nights where he makes outs”

-- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly when asked about the red-hot Cuban rookie, Yasiel Puig 's "struggles" after an 0-4 night last Wednesday.

Puig turned his first week in The Show into the National League player of the week with a .464 batting average, 4 home runs and 10 RBI.

Welcome back to our scheduled programming.   After a few days off and a rather lengthy, somewhat depressing post about the Biogenesis scandal (that you can catch here) we are back to our recaps.  Which for myself, is a welcome change from being stuck on airplanes with no WiFi while guys are almost throwing no-hitters and Cuban rookies are mashing home runs. 

Today we've got the hottest story in baseball.  Because I have a finite amount of time that I get for a lunch break to blog about baseball today, I'll just show you this: 



Hearing the normally stoic Vin Scully go bananas is also something. 

The only person who hates Yasiel Puig right now is Fidel Castro

The Dodgers outstanding rookie is only a week into his major league career and is already drawing comparisons to Josh Hamilton (the 2010 version of Josh Hamilton, don't worry) and Bryce Harper.  Before we get ahead of ourselves with the kid only a week into his big league career, we should probably also admit that while the Dodgers are just a terrible, terrible franchise to pick out as your favorite team, this Puig guy is pretty special and Don Mattingly seems like a genuinely nice guy that's trapped in a bad situation while Magic Johnson ignores their struggles and watches the NBA playoffs.  He's obviously got talent, he seems to have put any off-field concerns and while he won't bat above .400 the rest of the regular season (unless you're reading a bunch of Dodgers blogs right now...which you shouldn't) he's a fun player to watch right now and more importantly, he's responsible for this shirt: 

Let's all sit back and enjoy the Legend of Yasiel Puig while we can.


LAST WEEK

One more thing about Biogenesis...

Our post with the most traffic and hits since the blog's inception, unfortunately happened to be about the ongoing steroids scandal and the Biogenesis clinic.  (Here it is again, if you missed it.)   Since then, there have been conflicting reports and much new information that will no doubt need to be confirmed and corroborated.  But this new piece of information is slightly disturbing:

As many as 90 players have been named in the Biogenesis Clinic records, according to a baseball official that spoke on condition on anonymity.  90 players is a lot any way that you look at it, and it would easily be the biggest steroid scandal in American professional sports.  

Let's hope none of that is true.  Because right now, it's easy to be a cynic.

By the way, have you voted in our poll ? >>>>>>(check it out)>>>>>>

A closer that looks more like a Phish fan than a baseball player gets busted for weed. Surprised?

The outspoken Cleveland reliever was probably told to "chill" after making controversial comments about everything from ownership, to the Cleveland fans, the GM and even the Kansas City Royal, which like, no one, cares about the Kansas City Royals.  Well, Chris Perez is now being accused of taking the "chill" part very literally.  

Perez and his wife were accused last week of marijuana-possession charges after authorities found about a third a pound of weed in a package addressed to his dog.  Yeah, you read that last part right....his dog.  So if there are twenty eight g's in an ounce and there's about five and a third ounces in a third a pound. If we're talking dro and not swag, then the approximate street value of a third a pound of weed is $2,984, right?  Right?  

I think I'm talking too much.  But either someone got an address every wrong, Perez is straight up doping in a non-Biogenesis way, his wife is the Cleveland version of Nancy Botwin or that's the smartest damn dog I've ever seen.  Either way, reports indicate that charges of this nature will carry little more than a fine and possibly an MLB treatment program which would like, have to be the worst thing in the world, right?  

Hey, hey, hey, hey...just chill, Chris Perez.  Just chill.  

Teheran flirts with no-no while yours truly is stuck on a plane

One of the many reasons I decided to go in with MLBTV is because I did not want to miss the season's first no-hitter/perfect game.  Normally when I fly, I try to take advantage of WiFi and shell out the couple of bucks it costs to enjoy a couple hours of in-flight connectivity.  Since I'm both addicted to the Internet and love wasting my discretionary income, this method seems to work out.  

But on Wednesday of last week, Julio Teheran of the Atlanta Braves was mowing down hitter after hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates and was literally in the 6th inning of a no-no when the flight stewardess politely asked me to turn my "electronic device" off.  

There are a few problems with that.  First of all, I really do not believe that electronic devices have anything to do with interfering with plane signals.  I honestly think that every single passenger could be making a phone call at the same time while the plane attempts to land and we would land safely a hundred times out of a hundred times.  I refuse to think that a multi-million dollar aircraft could be brought down because a few people want to use Instagram to take pictures of clouds from their window seat.  

Secondly, I realized that the plane did not have WiFi and for every second I missed, I would also potentially miss the first no-no of 2012 and was at a point in the game where every pitch was pivotal.  Fortunately for me, this happened: 

Just like I envisioned it.  The music was a little weird but watching the standing ovation that Braves fans gave Teheran was pretty cool.  The righty is only 22 years old and I'm guessing that won't be his last no-hit bid as the former top prospect continues to break out this season.  

Timmy Lincecum doesn't suck for once

Former back-to-back Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum took a small step to getting back on track last week against the Blue Jays.  Step #1, get your ERA under 5.00.  Tim was able to do that and more by holding the Jays to just three hits in a home start, going seven strong innings to get his first win since May 15th, not coincidentally his only other good start of the year.  

If the Giants can get Tim out of his funk...that would be pretty good.

Right now the Giants sit two games back in the NL West behind Arizona, who had a crazy rally of their own last night against Puig's Dodgers.  The Dodgers are starting to make a habit of wasting good Clayton Kershaw starts which is not a good way to get back into the race to take the NL West, no matter how many times Yasiel Puig goes yard.  Lincecum's next start comes this evening against the Pirates, which leads us to our next segment...

WELCOME TO THE SHOW, GERRIT COLE 

The Pirates top pitching prospect and the number one draft pick of 2011 will make his MLB debut tonight against the aforementioned Lincecum.  Cole has a towering stature at 6'4 at 200 pounds and went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in Triple A, Indianapolis this season.  It couldn't work out better for the Pirates, who are looking for their first playoff berth since...well, can anyone remember without heading to Google?  Cole figures into a injury-depleted rotation and by waiting till June, the Bucs avoid the dreaded Super 2 arbitration status which is apparently a big deal for teams not from New York, Boston or Los Angeles.  Cole is also rumored to be dating the sister of Giant's shortstop Brandon Crawford, so I really hope he beans Crawford his first at-bat and yell, "THATS NOT THE ONLY CRAWFORD I'M GOING TO NAIL TONIGHT!"  

Injured Aces: Cueto and Strasburg have terrible lats
The Nats and Reds both put aces back on the DL last week. Stephen Strasburg and Johnny Cueto were placed on the 15-day DL with lat strains. Both had bullpen sessions and neither went well.  While Strasburg's injury history is well documented, Johnny Cueto has already missed a month with the same problem earlier this year.  Both pitchers were having pretty good seasons before last week.  

In 12 starts this year, Strasburg has gone 3-5 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 74 1/3 innings. Before the injury, he had allowed just four earned runs in his previous five starts and 30 innings.  Cueto has gone 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in six starts and 37 1/3 innings this year. 

Anything you can do I can do better: CarGo/Tulo version

Reds pitcher Pedro Villarreal had all of one inning of major league experience before making a spot start for the injured Cueto, who we just talked about.  Troy Tulowitzski welcomed him back to the majors with two home runs.  But not so fast!  Teammate Carlos Gonzalez nailed three (!) of his own by the end of the day as the Rockies routed the Reds. 

In the end, it was 12-4 and the five home runs by the two hitters may wake up the rest of baseball and notice the Rockies that are only two games out of the NL West race and can hit outside of the comfy confines of Coors Field.  When this lineup is on, it can compete with anyone, even if they are pushing out Jon Garland to start.  

Munenori Kawasaki: All-Star?  

We've seen some weird things happen in the past week when it comes to the upcoming MLB All-Star game at CitiField.  From Justin Verlander bidding to get into the home run derby and then allegations of ballot stuffing by Giant's fans.  And then there's the other errors that come with letting fans choose who plays.  Carlos Gonzalez sits at 7th behind an outfield led by Justin Upton who had a hot April but has hit two home runs since then.  

You can head over to MLB.com and vote for the Astro's Rick Ankiel, but will fail to notice that Ankiel was designated for assignment and picked up by the Mets.  Meanwhile Evan Gattis and Gerado Parra (2nd in NL in WAR) can't be found anywhere.  So if we going to go ahead and trust fans that apparently haven't realized that Matt Kemp isn't good this year and couldn't explain WHIP if you spelled out the acronym for them, why not choose Munenori Kawasaki.  I can't give many reasons why a utility guy that's hitting .202 with no home runs and a .272 slugging percentage deserves to be an All-Star except for maybe this one:

Why not? Right?  Do it now before someone that hasn't realized Mark Teixiera has been hurt all year votes to send another Yankee to the ASG.  I'd take a million Kawasaki's over one New York Yankee.  

Miguel Cabrera throws gum at Ryan Raburn after RR breaks up no-no (GIF)

Just because I can.  Screw the Tribe.  

And finally....

No wrap would be complete without the traditional: 

LINKS-WRAP-UP-FOR-PEOPLE-TOO-LAZY-TO-GOOGLE

Today, we've got Miguel Cabrera's best hit of the year   ●   Marlon Byrd ups the Bambino by one   ●   Matt Moore finally loses   ●   Ike Davis: human disaster. Now Vega's problem   ●   Ryan Braun hurt   ●   Kung Fu Panda hurt   ●   Brandon McCarthy Hurt (kinda)  ●   Clay Buchholz hurt   ●   Ian Kinsler still hurt   ●   So is Hanley Ramirez (quit killing my fantasy baseball team)   ●   Solution: Send A-Rod to Japan   ●   And Joe Maddon's ready to rumble with John Lackey   

Thanks for tuning in baseball freaks...since I haven't been with you in a while, here's Kate.  See you later this week:

MLB Update: The Biogenesis Edition

Quote of the Day:

"I'm not answering any further questions regarding the whole situation. I've dealt with it for a long time and aside from that, I don't have anything further to say."

--Ryan Braun on the Biogenesis accusations.



This could be big.  And as in "big" we're talking about the Blacksox-Pete Rose-BALCO big.  If you were somehow stuck without television or sports this week, you'll be disappointed to know that the MLB is ramping up it's witch hunt investigation of about twenty players connected with the now defunct Miami area clinic known as Biogenesis.

This week, it was announced that the MLB will seek to suspend players, including Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez, mainly due to Biogenesis founder, Tony Bosch's sudden willingness to testify in return for federal charges being dropped.  This is obviously not good for the players involved or the game of baseball.  

The list of players

Here's a good rundown of all the players listed and a quick recap about how a potential suspension could affect them and their teams.  

Some big names include Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth and Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon and Jesus Montero.  The MLB is seeking a 100 game suspension for A-Rod and Braun, under the pretense that they lied.  


Look, I don’t know much about PEDs right now. I do know that it's not like the chemicals from back in the day that lead to players looking more like WWE action figures than baseball players.  Players are not just bulking up to Ken Caminiti-style proportions and knocking the ball 500 feet. The improvements have been more subtle and more difficult to spot just by looking at a guy. Honestly, if not for the testing and the probing of the MLB, most guys today might not even be suspected of using PEDs.

While the MLB is getting scolded in some circles and lauded in others, there are a couple of other things about the Biogenesis situation:

No one's actually tested positive; can MLB still suspend players?

Short answer: yes.  Before Jordan Schafer was a speedy outfielder for the Braves, he was suspended as a minor leaguer for 50 games for HGH.  While Schafer never failed a drug test, according to Mike Teevan, MLB's manager of media relations, MLB was certainly within their right, saying:

 "We have non-analytic means of identifying players. He falls under that category."

If there was a such thing as a "precedent" for suspending players that have never formally failed a drug test, the Schafer example would be it.  Granted that this case was almost five years ago, and everyone knows that minor leaguers do not have the same types of protection that major leaguers have, but there is still a precedent in this case.  


100 Game Suspension for Ryan Braun and A-Rod? What up with that!? 


Yeah MLB, what up with that?  Help me out Keenan...

Basically, MLB is claiming that the players' connection to Bosch constitutes one offense (okay, I kinda get that) and previous statements to MLB officials denying any such connection or the use of PEDs constitute another (um, okay?).  And if  you're asking about if there's any sort of precedent for that, well, the answer would be "no".  

Will the Players Union fight the 100 game suspensions? Most definitely.  Major League Baseball has never tried anything like this before and the union will probably fight this to the bitter end.  I don't think that's something either side will want to take part in.

Who is Tony Bosch?  What part will he play as this unfolds?  

Bosch is the Biogenesis equivalent of Victor Conte, except not nearly as smart.  When his "lab" went belly-up and as an unemployed as well as unemployable individual that was staring in the face of federal charges against a multi-billion dollar professional sports league, apparently Bosch decided to cooperate.  

Can you say compromised witness?  It's probably certain that the MLBPA will attack anything Bosch claims as a witness that only cooperated under severe duress or whatever the legal term for that happens to be.  If this is the only guy/thing that the MLB has to charge and then suspend the suspected players either the MLB is the fucking stupidest institution ever or there is some sort of smoking gun.  I tend to side with the latter, given that I can't believe that the MLB would be that ostensibly brainless, but then again this is the same institution that banned Pete Rose from baseball based on the word of a bookie.  

Either way, if the MLB does have some sort of lead (e.g. receipts, signatures, etc.) that Bosch can confirm, it will be very, very hard to build a case on the word of a broke, desperate, snake-oil salesman.  They couldn't convict Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds so I'd find it hard to believe they have much of a case here...unless the MLB has something very, very damning that it is still waiting to release.  Which is also very possible.  

So MLB is just being really stupid then?  

Probably.  At the surface, it doesn't seem like the pursued suspensions have any grounds at this time except the testimony of Tony Bosch.  ESPN has a great article here, that details the legals challenges for both sides, but one thing that both parties agree on is that the key person in this investigation is going to be Bosch.  

To take a section from the article:

Q: Why would anyone believe him -- he previously denied everything to ESPN, which would now seem to paint him as a person who doesn't tell the truth?

A: This is the most important question in what might be the biggest steroids scandal in the history of sports. Bosch's veracity is the central issue. If arbitrators and judges can believe Bosch, MLB will succeed in its suspensions of as many as 20 players. MLB must prepare Bosch to testify in the appeals that will inevitably follow any suspensions. They must rehearse and anticipate vigorous cross-examination. The challenge for the attorneys representing the players and their union will be to find ways to destroy Bosch's credibility. They need look no further than the masterly work of Rusty Hardin, the great trial lawyer from Houston, who destroyed the credibility of Brian McNamee, the trainer who turned against Roger Clemens. Despite documentary evidence to support McNamee's claims, Hardin convinced jurors in Washington in the summer of 2012 that they should reject McNamee's claims. Quickly and unanimously, the jurors found Clemens not guilty.

It's a pretty in-depth and detailed article.  Even though I know none of you guys every listen to me, please click that link and read it.  Here, look, I even linked it again.  

But c'mon, seriously...is MLB that stupid?

Unless there is something that still has yet to be released and MLB has some pretty good evidence other than "this quack Tony Bosch said so" then probably, yes.  The more maddening question at this point is how Major League Baseball allowed this to leak.  This is a PR nightmare from any angle you view it.  

Either the allegations are true and a bunch of well known players including former MVPs have used performance enhancing drugs or they didn't and the MLB just fired away its last shot of credibility with the players union with this latest witch hunt that simultaneously hurt the league's and the accused players' reputation.  

The relationship between the MLB Players Union and the League has always been a tenuous one at best, and one of the great things the two sides have been able to accomplish has been the collective bargaining agreement that is set to expire in 2016.  Over twenty year's of labor peace is quite an accomplishment in a sports era that have seen the NFL, NHL, and NBA all have some forms of lockouts in the past three years.  

So why is Selig and the MLB pursuing this Biogenesis situation so hard with little credible evidence to base their accusations on?  I have a few possible scenarios:

Scenario #1:  Having already announced his departure in 2014, Selig desperately wants to remove the legacy as being the commissioner during the "Steroid Era" of the late 80s/entire 90s/early 2000s by drastically shifting Major League Baseball's drug policy of the former "hear no evil, see no evil" approach while Brady Anderson's sideburns were mashing 50 home runs and instead he's looking to be aggressively proactive in eliminating any cheats or potential cheats that are in his game.  If there are legal hurdles in the way, skip them or find detours; if there is collateral damage that results through innocent players reputations being damaged so be it. 

Selig has either come to the realization that steroids have no place in the game of baseball or at the least doesn't want to appear to be the commissioner that turned a blind eye to the PED problem while guys like Bonds and McGwire challenged and broke hallowed records.  Whether you want to take the positive or cynical view about Selig's intentions is up to you. 

Either that or...

Scenario #2:   Selig never got over the embarrassing situation with Ryan Braun's suspension that never happened last season.  He hates how Braun seemingly thumbed his nose at the league and got away with it.  He truly believes that Braun juiced and got off on a mere technicality due to clumsy "prosecuting" on his side and wants revenge (never mind the fact that handling and procedure is essential to operating a credible drug testing program -- just ask cycling).  

In the wake of following up on Braun, he stumbled across Biogenesis and other players named, he figured this was his best chance to move forward, waited for Bosch to cooperate and now wants to nail the accused players scalps to the wall.  Is this scenario probable? Maybe.  But keep in mind that Selig was the Brewer's head figure and in a dogged effort to eliminate PEDs and save his legacy, he decided to pursue Braun to the gates of hell.  It's just a theory.  

Or if you're looking for something that is less "conspiracy-ish" there is.... 

Scenario #3:  All the digging at Biogenesis uncovered a widespread PED operation, complete with detail records and evidence that implications all or more of the players listed.  Essentially, there actually is widespread PED use by players with ties to the Biogenesis clininc, and not just that but there is enough sufficient and credible evidence that the MLB needed to move forward with it.  This is obviously not the most ideal case for us baseball fans but it has to be considered since I just can't believe that the MLB would be willing to risk everything like this for a phantom accusation.  


So what now?  

For now, just enjoy baseball.  If we've learned anything about these PED things over the years, it is that it takes a long time and a lot more investigation to sort out.  There is still much to be settled and much will be revealed in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead.  For one, I don't think (keep that term "think" in mind) that any suspension will come of it.  First of all the MLB is going to have one helluva time making anything stick to these guys without a smoking gun. You can’t just accuse a guy of taking PEDs and then hand down a suspension. 

As of right now, the MLB’s primary points of argument comes from a guy who will do nothing but benefit from pointing fingers at these guys in hopes of some sort of break from any forthcoming legal troubles.  Not exactly someone you go to for a believable accusation on anything. The MLB will be entering a world of litigatory pain if they try to hand down these suspensions without concrete evidence so they better be careful.  Until the MLB proves otherwise, the accused players are fine. 

What bothers me the most is the process.  The fact that the MLB chooses to handle this in the public eye absolutely appalls me, it’s not good for the players, it’s not good for the game, and it’s not good for society to go on believing that someone who appears guilty in the court of public opinion is, in fact, guilty.

One thing you should pay attention to however, is any statement that the Player's Association makes about the Biogenesis situation and any rebuttals by the MLB.  I don't think the players will be happy when they find the extent and methods the League was using to try and nail some of their premier members, especially if any evidence turns out to be inconclusive.  Worst case scenario is that is turns into another heated labor battle that could stretch into 2016 and potentially create another lockout.  Which would be like, really, really bad.  

For now as fans, lets just keep our fingers crossed and enjoy some great baseball being played right now.  I'll have a week update up this weekend.  Enjoy the days off baseball fans.  



UPDATE: 6/8/13

The attorney for Carlos Acevedo (a former partner with Bosch), has filed a motion to dismiss Acevedo from the civil lawsuit Major League Baseball brought against him and accused the MLB of using "bullying" tactics on his client.  Read it here. 

Obviously, this is only a minor development in what will be a long, drawn out process but if things continue to trend in the direction of "the MLB is being overtly aggressive and intimidating" in any capacity, it will make it more difficult for the MLB's case and further reinforce the notion that Bud Selig is only trying to save his legacy rather than truly clean up the game.