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January 23, 2012

Carmona points out an MLB inequity

Goodbye Fausto! Hello Roberto!

As reported last week, 28-year-old Fausto Carmona is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and perhaps 31 years old.

There are implications here for Carmona-Heredia, for the Indians and, most importantly, for professional baseball and the uneven way it deals with international players.

Since being released on bail, The Sinkerballer Formally Known as Fausto has been apologetic but tight-lipped. He reportedly paid for a false identity that may have incorrectly represented his age. He may have been making periodic payments to maintain the false identity. He eventually balked at paying and somebody talked, leading to his arrest.

He is not the first Latin-American player to take this route. (Last year's most publicized example was Leo Nunez.)

So Heredia lied. But did he do anything wrong to the game of baseball? Does lying about your age and name affect anything about playing the game?

It does not.

While the lies are certainly deplorable, they do not affect the player's ability on the field. People will say that, because his age is uncertain, it could be advantageous for him to have people think he is younger. It could lead to larger bonuses and salaries. He’ll appear more successful since his ability will be compared to that of players younger than him.

But these are issue of deceit based on the current economic model and do not affect the play on the field.

If the same player was actually three years YOUNGER, would we be willing to rectify the situation financially? What happened, as before, is a player found a way to take advantage of the economic system in baseball. For him to be successful, he still had to demonstrate ability and skill.

In doing so, he allegedly broke laws in at least two countries* but he never de-skilled the game. While the misreported younger age would have been helpful during his development, the lying did not give him specific extra ability, or his ability to ignore Lake Erie Midges that Joba Chamberlain could not. Carmona’s lies do not hurt the on-field play of baseball.

* I have no idea if Canada would say anything about a player such as Carmona entering the country with false paperwork. I’m not even sure Canada would prosecute, but I am fairly certain that it is against Canadian law.

When looking at a situation like Carmona’s, I look directly at those running Major League Baseball and the teams. Lying about one’s identity is so advantageous for a specific set of players that it outweighs the risk of punishment. Instead of demonizing players like Carmona and Nunez, it is time to look at the system.

In Japan, younger players are able to develop in a system that gives them the ability to play in their homeland with the possibility of moving to the major leagues in America. In Latin America, players feel the need to break the law to be part of the system. So in one week, Yu Darvish, who has never pitched in even the minor leagues in America, got a $60 million contract after a team paid $51.7 million for the right to give him that contract. During that same week, we learned that, once again a player lied about his identity in an effort to get a portion of that amount of money.

In the end, both players will succeed or fail based on what they do on the field. How they got the opportunity doesn’t affect their ability on the field.

Major League Baseball needs to address the differences. If baseball officials are going to continue to encourage teams to deal individually with international players, they need to address the extreme differences in the system. It is not an easy task. How can baseball expect players not to take the route of Carmona and Nunez when the Darvish situation points out the inequity?

As for the Indians:

While Carmona has not lived up to the promise he flashed in 2007, he has shown, when healthy, to be able to provide a decent set of 30-plus starts and 200-plus innings each year.

In conjunction with this news, it appears the Indians finally pulled the trigger on obtaining Kevin Slowey. The Indians have been interested in him anyway, so this was not in direct relation to Carmona’s issues, but the trade was probably hastened. Carmona will likely end up on the restricted list, leaving the Indians with a hole in the rotation but with an extra $7 million. The Indians gave up Zach Putman, a young pitcher who may have competed for a bullpen position this year.

The Indians have other options for the rotation. David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez will be among those who compete with Slowey for spots behind Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin and Derek Lowe. In the end, the Indians' depth should be able to cover for Carmona's absence with limited hardship.
Posted by: Mat Kovach

April 22, 2011

In case you missed it: April 22

In case you missed it:

Colby Lewis missed a start because he was pregnant. Okay, Mrs. Lewis was giving birth to their second child. Some people have a problem with this. Since I have been through this recently, I can’t understand the criticism. I don’t hear his teammates complaining.

Wherever I have worked, when somebody had to take time off when a new arrival came, everybody pitched in to cover for the expecting parent. It is part of being a team. Mrs. Siddfinch said, “unless it is an elimination game. Then one can miss the birth ONLY if you WIN the game. Lose the game AND miss the birth, settle into the dog house for a while.”

I’ll be watching Lewis' home and road starts over the next few weeks. I have always wondered; do sleepless night before a start affect pitchers?

Somebody owns the da-da-da-da-da-da-Charge song and is suing to get royalties. I really hope the "everybody clap your hands" guy start suing and teams just drop it.

With the Dodgers in the news, you know the Yankees would so something to get some of the spotlight. I give you, the logo lawsuit.

Joe Posnanski, Duane Kuiper, podcast. You’ve clicked already, haven’t you? Okay, now that everybody is gone...we attack at dawn.

Brewers give Ryan Braun a bunch of money, but was it a hometown discount? Brewers are not that far away from the Twins, so you think they would have read about Joe Mauer before assuming all the risk on a guaranteed contract, don’t ya think?

The 1918 Cubs may have thrown the World Series.

Barry Bonds' records stand, according to Bud Selig.

In his latest attempt to make the head of every baseball traditionalist explode, Selig talks playoff expansion.

MLB and MLBPA show NFL and NFLPA how to work together to help retired players.
Posted by: Mat Kovach

March 24, 2011

Some MSM writers should be stuffed in their parents’ basement

TJ Simers attempts to bully Marcus Thames. A man, who. apparently, is just as much a useless person as he is a baseball player.

He writes for the LA Times?! He criticized his granddaughter’s spelling in his column?*

* I actually checked to make sure that he didn't write a humor column. Well, a non-funny humor column.

Marcus Thames has his faults in the field. I have never heard a report that he does not try to improve. He is not dogging it. He just is not that good.* This is why he has the job the Dodgers gave him. But, Marcus Thames is hardly somebody the deserves the disrespect Simers throws to him. In fact, Thames has a rather interesting past that would seems to confirm the rumors that he is a good guy and can be other, non-fielding related, positives to a team.

* I am being kind, he is terrible.

Instead of bullying Thames for being what he is, a platoon outfielder, and demanding he defend himself, why not take the time to introduce yourself and ask him about his mom. Would have made for a better story. Here the writer didn't even bother to introduce himself.

Not to be outdone, Murray Chass, a somebody that used to work for a MSM, attacked Stan Musial based on something Marvin Miller’s best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl that overheard the stories at 31 Flavors last night.*

* Bueller? Bueller?

It must be true and important! He addressed it to the President of the United States! Because right now, with all other problems solved, gossip about Stan Musial is something a world leader should be addressing.

Two, quote mainstream media unquote folks write just like the bloggers they disparage at any chance they can get. Chass’ article would not measure up to the sniff test of gossip. Simers just makes my skin crawl. That isn’t writing, is an emotional issue.

I can wrap my head around bluegrass infused be-bop (or be-bop infused bluegrass)*. But I can’t wrap my head around is why MSM will continue to point to Chass and Simers as example of real media, when they have proven to be what MSM accuse bloggers of being?

* Blu-Bop …
Posted by: Mat Kovach

March 03, 2010

Escape from the press box

By age 26 Chico Harlan had made the major leagues of sportswriting: a beat reporter covering the Nationals for the Washington Post. He was an inventive, sometimes original writer who obviously worked hard to rescue the daily game story from its irrelevance in a wired world.

Then he opened his mouth and chomped his foot. Last March, just before opening day for his second season on the beat, Harlan told Harry Jaffe of Washingtonian magazine, "I don’t like sports—I am embarrassed that I cover them. I can’t wait to stop. It is a means to an end and a paycheck." He said he would rather be writing about food.
Click for more...

Posted by: Warren Corbett

January 01, 2009

Set your Tivos

Major League Baseball's new cable network is going live in a few hours. Right now, they're running some pretty pictures with nice music in the background. Pretty soon, though, you'll be able to watch Don Larsen's perfect game, and you can catch the rest of their schedule on their site. If you're interested in more background, Maury Brown has posted an interview with the network's CEO.
Posted by: Dave Studeman


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