Manfred understood that Bauer would appeal any suspension, no matter what the length. And he knew the likelihood of an arbiter shortening that suspension was fairly high. He did what any good negotiator would do...level a suspension so long that, once shortened, would end up where it should be.
There were folks on here who insisted that the suspension wouldn't last beyond the 2021 season, and at worst Bauer would pitch at some point in 2022. From the beginning that was unlikely, except for his apologists. As it now stands, Bauer will miss an entire season and parts of two others.
There were also several apologists that insisted that his talent would mean that multiple teams would be in line to pick him up as soon as the Dodgers dropped him. Although there is still time for somebody to risk taking him on, that did not happen.
Per the collective bargaining agreement, teams are very limited on what they can say negatively about free agents, but a lot of teams have in roundabout ways signaled that they will have nothing to do with Bauer. He certainly is not gonna be signed by the Dodgers, Arizona, Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, and both NY teams.
If you do not take into consideration recent societal changes, Bauers suspension can be labeled unfair, because it is much longer than any other handed out under the prohibitions against domestic violence. But you could also label the first suspensions for PED use as unfair, simply because the use of steroids...even though against the rules...was previously wide-spread and allowed thru non enforcement. Those that defend Bauers actions as somehow permissible in today's society should remember that racial taunting in baseball used to be considered normal bench jockeying. Today, it would get a player suspended, and without expressed regret, maybe even banned...whether thru an MLB sanction, or the fact that no team would touch him. In the end, society decides what actions are permissible, and what actions are subject to accountability.
Since we don't yet know how the MLB investigation of Clevinger will come out, we don't know the length of his suspension, or even if he will receive one. As in the Bauer case, any decision by MLB will depend on its judgment of the veracity of the claims against him. Since MLB does not make public its findings, we will not accurately be able to judge the 'fairness' of Clevinger's suspension...if there is one...vis a vis Bauer's.
The fact that the criminal justice system does not hand out a verdict or even a charge makes no difference. The criminal justice system is dependent upon a far different level of proof than does a system of civil justice.
Ask OJ about that.
There were folks on here who insisted that the suspension wouldn't last beyond the 2021 season, and at worst Bauer would pitch at some point in 2022. From the beginning that was unlikely, except for his apologists. As it now stands, Bauer will miss an entire season and parts of two others.
There were also several apologists that insisted that his talent would mean that multiple teams would be in line to pick him up as soon as the Dodgers dropped him. Although there is still time for somebody to risk taking him on, that did not happen.
Per the collective bargaining agreement, teams are very limited on what they can say negatively about free agents, but a lot of teams have in roundabout ways signaled that they will have nothing to do with Bauer. He certainly is not gonna be signed by the Dodgers, Arizona, Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, and both NY teams.
If you do not take into consideration recent societal changes, Bauers suspension can be labeled unfair, because it is much longer than any other handed out under the prohibitions against domestic violence. But you could also label the first suspensions for PED use as unfair, simply because the use of steroids...even though against the rules...was previously wide-spread and allowed thru non enforcement. Those that defend Bauers actions as somehow permissible in today's society should remember that racial taunting in baseball used to be considered normal bench jockeying. Today, it would get a player suspended, and without expressed regret, maybe even banned...whether thru an MLB sanction, or the fact that no team would touch him. In the end, society decides what actions are permissible, and what actions are subject to accountability.
Since we don't yet know how the MLB investigation of Clevinger will come out, we don't know the length of his suspension, or even if he will receive one. As in the Bauer case, any decision by MLB will depend on its judgment of the veracity of the claims against him. Since MLB does not make public its findings, we will not accurately be able to judge the 'fairness' of Clevinger's suspension...if there is one...vis a vis Bauer's.
The fact that the criminal justice system does not hand out a verdict or even a charge makes no difference. The criminal justice system is dependent upon a far different level of proof than does a system of civil justice.
Ask OJ about that.
