A rant about actions or lack thereof...

While we are all waiting for the bats and arms to do the talking, spring training games are only days away, there still is enough talk about the cheating Astros. Some people criticize players who attack the Astros players, but aren’t they the ones who particularly are hurt by this? May they, please, have their say? And while we’re on the subject… fans should be allowed to air their grievances as well. Get it out in the open! Some are more modest, others go bat shit crazy. Good! We all mourn in different ways.

The lack of punishment by ‘commissioner’ Manfred is beyond comprehension. What message do you want to send out to kids and baseball lovers in general when your actions are so weak? It’s even more mindblowing that the ‘commissioner’ “is making it clear that retaliation against Houston by throwing at their batters will not be tolerated. In a recent interview with ESPN, Manfred revealed that he intends to release a memo to the other 29 teams, warning that there will be increased punishments for hitting Astros players. (thespun.com)”. So, a team can cheat it’s way to a World Series title, the ‘commissioner’ says: “the shame is punishment enough”, but retaliations against those who unrightfully got their hands on a ring and the trophy will be ‘increasedly punished’?
What the fuck, Manfred?

And another thing… you are the ‘commissioner’ of Major League Baseball, you douche! Baseball should be your number one priority! Do you know what all teams play for, every 162 game regular season? A spot to be able to battle on in October. For what? THE COMMISSIONER’S TROPHY! That’s the only thing that counts. And you call it JUST A PIECE OF METAL?

Master of Puppets is more than JUST A PIECE OF METAL, the Golden Record on the Voyager is more than JUST A PIECE OF METAL, a Purple Heart is more than JUST A PIECE OF METAL. The Commissioner’s Trophy is more than JUST A PIECE OF METAL. It’s what franchises play for. That, and the ring! It represents MLB. You should represent MLB as well, Rob!

I’m a Dodgers fan, but I write this as a baseball fan in general. If my Dodgers had done what the Astros did… I would be ashamed for a long, long time! This is a shit stain on the Astros organization for EVER!

To end this rant on a positive, and yes, blue note… my Dodgers seem to have a load of positive energy and a great starting lineup! Let’s look forward, make us all forget 2017 (and 2018, for that matter!). This is 2020! THIS IS NEXT YEAR!

We got robbed!

Somehow, the entire cheatgate never really registered, since the story became public. Ofcourse I read all the articles but instead of getting angry or sad, I just became numb. Now, after all the punishments have been dealt… anger is rising in me.
Flashback to october 2017… the Dodgers looked like they were going to do what I, and every blue bleeding dodger fan, had been waiting for: reach the World Series. Where the Cubs dumped the Boys in Blue in the NLCS in 2016, the Dodgers completely whiped Chicago off the stage in 2017. And lo and behold, goosebumps everywhere, when I heard the 8 best words in a sentence: ‘The Dodgers are going to the World Series’.
I packed my bags, bought a plane ticket to LA and was there, at Dodger Stadium at the first two games since they won in 1988. A Surreal and satisfying feeling. (I wrote about my World Series experience in THIS blog entry). Game one was awesome, afterwards it was great to high five Dodgers faithful around the stadium. Everybody felt this would be next year.
Although we ultimately lost, I enjoyed this World Series. There were awesome plays, great games and while it was a bitter pill to swallow, I accepted the outcome eventually.

Flashforward to november 2019… stories of sign stealing began to surface. Was this for real? Again? After one of the best Dodger teams ever got robbed in 1951, did they do it to us AGAIN? In 2017 AND 2018? What the actual fuck? Then a state of apathy set in.

Now that the dust has settled and the Asstros got their punishment, I’m mad. $5 million is a laugh! No first and second round draft picks for 2 years, some suspensions and firings. Well, that will teach them… NOT! To be honest, I only see one true punishment. Strip them from their World Series Title. They cheated. Armstrong cheated as well, he was stripped from his Tour the France wins. No winners for 7 straight years.

Saddest thing of all is the fun they took away from the whole 2017 World Series experience. I was heartbroken when we lost in 7 games, but after a few months I could accept it and looked back on a fantastic series with awesome games and absurd scoring. Now, I know it was all fake.
And even worse… all those older people who have been waiting for years for a Dodgers championship. Tommy Lasorda, Vin Scully, fans who died recently, that moment of glory (which was imminent if we had won that game 5, and we would have!) was taken away from them.

In short: I’m mad, sad and very curious how many heads will roll and ultimately see only one result: no winners of the 2017 World Series, just losers.