Bud Selig @ MindSay

While I'm thinking of baseball at the moment, I felt the need to complain about something more annoying that also pertains to the New York Yankees and their seemingly endless stream of good fortune.

This morning, I saw on ESPN that Jason Giambi will receive absolutely no punishment for his admitted use of "performance enhancing drugs" because he participated so valiantly with the Mitchell investigation. While I can say that I'm not in the least bit surprised, it still makes me want to set fire to Bud Selig's car while he's inside getting sexual favors from a transvestite hooker.

To me, having Jason Giambi escape any punishment for admittance is not too far off from him having been involved in a murder, admitting to having pulled the trigger but also giving up his accomplices, thereby getting off scott free. Is that really fair? Sure, he did steroids "in the past" but the fact of the matter is that he did them and gets nothing. Not even a measley 5 game suspension. Nothing. Nadda. Zip.

Why? My best guess? Because he's not only a highly paid superstar (albeit one clearly on the downside of his phony career), but he's also part of the precious Yankees organization. I have no doubt that if Giambi played for the Brewers or Royals that they'd give him some sort of fine or suspension, if for no other reason than to make things look on the up-and-up. Instead, he gets nothing because god forbid, the Yankees are in the playoff hunt again and Bud Selig would do anything he could to keep them in the national spotlight, especially when they are winning.

Bud Selig can pat himself on the back all he wants for baseball's surge in popularity in the past 10 years all he wants. He never fails to hold himself in the highest esteem for creating interleague play, the expanded divisions and the Wild Card. He also never fails to pat himself on the back for things such as the "lowly" Marlins winning two championships, the Red Sox "breaking the curse" and the White Sox ending an 88-year drought all on his watch. He'd blow himself daily if he could bend down far enough. The only feather left in his cap would be for the Cubs to win a World Series under his watchful eye. Then, he can truly crown himself king.

The way I see it is that he's more or less created a situation that he wins under, no matter what happens. If some small market team like the Marlins or Pirates were to win it all with him at the helm, he would pound his chest and bask in his own glory for having created the revenue sharing program, boasting of how "this could not have happened without me", completely ignoring that teams like the Royals and Pirates had won it all prior to his emergence as king. If one of the big franchises goes all the way, MLB gets all the national attention and accolades as well as the big advertising dollars from boasting another Yankees or Red Sox title.

So, what is my point? My point is that while Bud Selig can clearly brag about his accomplishments, it's still blatantly obvious that he plays favorites when it comes to protecting his cash cow franchises such as the Yankees and Red Sox. He obviously wants the Yankees to have every tool in their shed available to them for the stretch run. If the Yankees make this season 11 straight division titles, it ensures non-stop sellouts in the Bronx in 2008. If they lose in Round 1, he can cuddle with himself and sleep tight knowing that his amazing revenue sharing program created such fairness across the board. If the Yankees face the Red Sox in the ALCS, it'll be huge money for MLB. Basically, no matter what happens, he comes out on top.

In my opinion, Bud Selig wants to have everything both ways. He wants to give his treasured franchises every advantage in the stretch run as possible to ensure that at least one of them plays in October but he also wants to squeeze in a least one dark horse every October to make himself look like a genius. Obviously, he can't physically stop a team like the Yankees from winning. Like it or not, their history gives them many advantages over everyone else as it is. All I am saying is that by punishing Giambi for a measley 5-10 games, it at least makes it look somewhat respectable rather than giving the juicer a free pass and giving the Yankees another bullet in their already overloaded arsenal.

Greetings to all,

 

recently i have been following baseball this season and in particular, the barry bonds chase!  i am a bit teed off that the commish bud selig is just an idiot!  reason why he is an idiot are as follows:

 

1) the way he is handling the bonds chase of 755...it took him a long time to commit to following bonds in all his games until he ties and breaks hank aaron's record.  he is the commish. he should be in all record breaking events, regardless if bonds did steroids or not...oh and at the moment, isn't bonds innocent until proven guilty?  the one thing i dont get about this whole situation is that he hasn't failed a test and the only thing that's going against him is a few things: the "clear" cream where he didnt know what it was, word of mouth by crappy teammates (AKA jose canseco and andy van syke to name a few), and the fact that he doesn't like the media very much...what ever happened to due process??  its amazing how people are fickle about the situation when they hear it from others sources...its ridculous but lets get back to how bud selig is an idiot...

 

2) bud selig is great friends with hank aaron...okay i understand this but give barry bonds his credit, steroids or not...now i am not for steroids but bud selig never did anything during the 80's and early 90's to start a drug policy so what barry bonds did (and others alike) is legal!  people like to talk about the past but if everybody was doing it (hitters and pitchers), then he was the absolute best at what he did (along with Big Mac, Sammy, Palmerio) and thats hitting homeruns...anyway, bud selig is very close to aaron and his family and he doesnt want somebody like bonds who is labeled a cheater to break possibly the most amazing record in sports!  well too bad!  the world isn't perfect Bud!!  just because you dont like the dude doesn't mean you shouldn't be there in attendance...you are the commish...if you don't want to be there, then frankly, you are not fit to be the commish!  when has there been a commish in any of the 4 major sports (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey) that didn't see a career stat being broken??  That's a hard list to find...Even if you were to find one or a few, im sure they had their reasons...What's Bud reason?!  exactly...

 

3)   The fact that he doesn't want to follow bonds' tour of 755...i dont care if it takes bonds the whole baseball year to get it, the commish should still be in attendance!  He said that he won't commit after 11 games (currently at 8th game)...why not?!  he never gives an valid reasoning...also, it just shows me that he doesnt care about bonds' chase of the record...the record is pretty much the face of baseball!  I have a feeling that what comes around, will go around for the commish...

 

The real commish would be in all of barry bonds' games until he ties and breaks the record (which will eventually happen) and also recognize such a feat!  this is the biggest career record in sports..im sure others will disagree but in baseball alone, its the biggest record!  again, bonds never failed a drug test and even with the drug policy in place, never failed it and he is still hitting home runs (unlike Giambi)...

 

Thats all i have to say...comment if you wish...Bud Selig is an idiot!!

 

*Manny*

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is "heading toward" suspending Jason Giambi next week if he doesn't cooperate with the steroids investigation by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, USA Today reported on its Web site early Thursday.

The newspaper, citing a high-ranking Major League Baseball official who had spoken with Selig, said the commissioner wants a decision from Giambi by Tuesday. The official was not given permission to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, the paper said.

Selig said June 6 that he wanted Giambi to meet with Mitchell within two weeks and to "cooperate fully" with the probe, which began in March 2006. Baseball said Selig would make a decision on disciplining the New York Yankees designated hitter after Giambi "completed his activities" with Mitchell and that Giambi's level of cooperation would be taken into account by Selig.

The players' association said Giambi, currently on the disabled list with a foot injury, would make his decision after consulting with his lawyer and the union. No active players are known to have spoken with Mitchell.

Giambi told a federal grand jury in December 2003 that he used steroids and human growth hormone, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in December 2004. Before the start of spring training in 2005, the 2000 AL MVP made repeated general apologies at a news conference but never used the word "steroids." He told USA Today in comments published May 18: "I was wrong for doing that stuff," comments many interpreted as an admission he used steroids.

Baseball and its union didn't ban steroids until September 2002 and didn't institute penalties for a first offense in most cases until 2005. Michael Weiner, the union's general counsel, said no grounds exist for disciplining Giambi based on the remarks published by USA Today or Giambi's decision about whether to meet with Mitchell.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig plans to retire in 2009 when his contract expires.  So Jerry Crasnick over at ESPN shares his thoughts on who could legitimately replace him when he does step down:

Folks in Chicago don't look so fondly on MacPhail, who stepped down in September after two playoff appearances in 12 years as Cubs president. Amid the doleful postmortems, he went to work as a pivotal player in baseball's labor negotiations -- doing enough to earn a seat at the table when the new five-year deal was announced during the World Series.

MacPhail's father and grandfather are Hall of Fame executives, so he has the historical pedigree. And while the players' association respects him for his sensible and dogged approach to collective bargaining, he has experience running a small-market club in Minnesota and a bigger one in Chicago. His front-office colleagues in Minnesota still talk about him in almost worshipful tones.

Most important, MacPhail is not a self-promoter, and Selig has a high regard for him. Don't discount that as a factor.

DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, is a relatively below-the-radar presence to the average fan. But as Selig's former lawyer and trusted confidant, he is the commissioner's most indispensable lieutenant and the man who makes the trains run on time.

That wildly successful MLB.com operation? DuPuy hired Bob Bowman, the man who runs it. DuPuy has a hand in licensing, marketing and baseball's dealings with Capitol Hill, and he's played a role in the labor talks, the umpire negotiations and the drug-testing agreement. If any other significant issue arises -- from the Florida stadium issue to the debate over how baseball should honor Barry Bonds when he passes Hank Aaron on the career home run list -- it's sure to cross his desk.

DuPuy is accessible and media-friendly, and he has excellent relations with the clubs and productive dealings with the union, which has learned that he usually delivers what he promises. And like MacPhail, he would have Selig's seal of approval.

Greenberg, the son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, has a diverse and impressive résumé. He played minor league baseball, graduated from Yale and UCLA law school, and worked as an agent before serving as Major League Baseball's deputy commissioner under Vincent.

Greenberg has a working knowledge of the media as the founder of Classic Sports Network, which eventually became ESPN Classic. He has since carved out a successful career with the New York investment banking firm of Allen & Co., where he helped facilitate the sale of the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers and is currently working on the sale of the Atlanta Braves.

Phillies fans aren't especially high on Montgomery, a genuinely nice man who has developed a reputation as too cautious and tradition-bound since taking over for Bill Giles as club president in 1997. But Montgomery has served on every ownership committee imaginable, and he is highly regarded among his peers for a thoughtful, evenhanded approach.

Solomon, MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations, and Mariner, baseball's chief financial officer, are the game's highest-ranking minorities, so they're sure to come up in conversation as potential commissioner candidates.

Solomon, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, conceived the All-Star Futures Game and has been active in the construction of baseball academies in urban areas.
Mariner, a product of the Harvard Business School, oversees budgeting and financial reporting, and monitors baseball's $1.5 billion credit program.

Mitchell, a career politician and diplomat, has been mentioned now and then as a commissioner candidate. But he appears worn out after a year's worth of dead ends and "no comments" in his quest to investigate baseball's steroid problem. And at 73, Mitchell is a year older than Selig. The clock isn't exactly his ally.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig criticized Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez for opting out of the All-Star game to rest.

 

Selig told reporters before the game on Tuesday that Ramirez should have come to Pittsburgh to participate in the festivities, even if he didn't want to play because of a sore knee.

 

"Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but if you are voted on the team, it's a privilege," Selig said. "You ought to be here. He's the only person who did not participate this year. Everybody else has been here and has been terrific."