Latest sports news: Red Sox penalties resolve cheating scandal; NBA, MLB players will need time before resuming seasons
Alex Cora was involved with the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal, but the former Red Sox manager's lack of involvement with Boston led to a lighter punishment.
The Red Sox’s penalties from their sign-stealing scandal were far less severe than the Astros’ and that wasn’t received well by the public, but MLB made the right decision.
The findings suggested that Boston’s video-operator was behind the scheme, and it was only utilized when a runner was on second base. In comparison, the Astros were relaying signs into hitters during at-bats regardless of the game situation.
Video replay operator J.T. Watkins was suspended without pay through the 2020 postseason, former manager Alex Cora is banned for the 2020 season and the Red Sox were stripped of a 2020 second-round draft pick. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred believed that only select players participated with Watkins.
“Unlike the Houston Astros’ 2017 conduct, in which players communicated to the batter from the dugout area in real time the precise type of pitch about to be thrown, Watkins’ conduct, by its very nature, was far more limited in scope and impact,” Manfred said
If Manfred’s findings are correct, I have no problem with the punishment issued. For comparison’s sake, Houston was fined $5 million and stripped of their first and second-round picks for the next two seasons.
Boston’s scandal was nothing compared to Houston’s, and the penalties reflect that. If Boston’s punishment would have been harsher with these findings, that would have brought into question the MLB’s penalties against the Astros. The Red Sox’s scandal was not a team-wide project, and while the punishment they received is warranted, nothing more needs to be made of the situation.
Chris Paul says players will need time before playing
Chris Paul brought up a point that’s simply not getting enough attention. Even if basketball returns this season, the players will need time to get back in game shape. Paul believes that time should be 3-4 weeks.
“I’m just letting you know -- and I don’t think the league would do it anyway -- but if they were like, ‘Hey, you got two weeks, and then we’re going,’ that’s not going to happen,” Paul said during a conference call. “That’s not going to happen. Whatever the amount of time is, just know that players will have the input, the say-so because we’re the ones playing. That comes first. We don’t ever want to put guys in a situation where their injury risk is higher than ever before.”
Paul is in his seventh year as the president of the National Basketball Players Association, so his word carries weight.
The return will be like an extended preseason. This is unlike anything players have had to experience in the past. Nothing prepares an NBA player for a regular-season game like being able to play them. During the 2011 lockout, players could at least play fullcourt games elsewhere, but that’s not an option. Jumping right into games further risks injuries, and that’s not a risk the NBA should take.
This topic can even be taken a step further and applied to Major League Baseball, too. The league was conducting Spring Training before the COVID-19 pandemic halted it.
No training can prepare a hitter for seeing a 95 miles per hour fastball similarly to live pitching. As for pitchers, not too many people are standing around volunteering to catch sharp breaking balls and sizzling fastballs.