d.: Well, it is my turn to host this blog solo. Cal.E. is at work trying to earn enough money to keep her forty-two-year-old letter of kittens from being eaten by her ex-husband. It is fortunate for me, then, that my favorite subject of ridicule is back in the news. If you recall, a few days ago, Rob (he is NOT a)Man,Fred was appealing a Circuit Court judge's decision to have a letter he sent to the New York Yankees permanently sealed. That request was denied on Thursday of this week. What was his motivation? one can only speculate, but the Associated Press sportswriter who contributed the story DID speculate that the letter contained damning information about how the Yankees cheated by electronically stealing signs during the 2017 Major League Baseball season. The outspoken Yankees, the article indicated, were guilty of more heinous crimes than the Astros or the Boston Red Sox, the two teams that Giancarlo Stanton and the mammoth outfielder, Mike Judge, insist stole games from the Yankees (who, according to Rob,, only cheated "a little bit" {??}). HMM. What is Rob trying to hide? Could it be that he is hesitant to anger an owner who is the seventy-fifth richest person in the United States, and one of the richest in the world? Are Hal Steinbrenner's contributions to MLB and its commissioner's office so important that Rob (he is NOT a) Man,Fred would risk his job and his reputation to protect the ugly truth? Hal Steinbrenner, in my opinion, rode on the backs of his father and grandfather into the vast wealth he inherited. That, along with the Yankee's reputation as THE most storied franchise in sports' history has earned Hal a LOT of money, but I digress. This is not about Hal Steinbrenner. It is about the outspoken Yankees and their relationship with the commissioner's office. Hal's dad, George, never would have allowed the players on his team to act the way the twenty-first century Yankees are acting. George fired his manager, Billy Martin, five times (and rehired him four) because of things he shared with the media. He traded one of the stars of his World Series winning team, Reggie Jackson, when HE was bold enough to question both his owner and manager, as well as his general manager. R-E-G-G-I-E was fresh from accomplishing one of the most astonishing feats in World Series history. The slugger hit three consecutive home runs in one game. It took all of four pitches and three swings for "the straw that stirs the drink" to do this, assuring his place in the most hallowed Hall of Fame. George never would have allowed his players to speculate about what other teams were doing. He was insistent on keeping his house in order, sometimes to an extreme (remember his no facial hair rule for his players during the 1970's?) That does not mean that elite closer Goose Gossage would not throw a 98 m.p.h. fastball that seemed to accelerate in mid-air at a batter's ear if he stood too close to the plate. That was an accepted part of the game until recently, as sign stealing has been since the game's inception. Using electronic devices, though, is outlawed. Let's address the real issue. It is not the hated Yankees or Red Sox, or even the Astros. It is not Mike Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Alex Cora or even Carlos Beltran, the supposed savant who figured out how to steal the other teams' signs. The problems with an organization start at the top. Rob (he is NOT a )Man,Fred should tell the truth before the letter is unsealed and read, resign his position, and disappear FOREVER!! The world would be a better place without someone who promises immunity and anonymity to players and then revokes at least one of those conditions after gathering the information he requested. I'm d.c. scot, and this has been one man's (correct) opinion.
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