162 game suspension for A-Rod

[Frobby]

And he sues!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>BREAKING: Alex Rodriguez sues Major League Baseball, players' union to overturn season-long suspension.</p>— The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="

">January 13, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I so hope he gets his day in court.

You can read the arbitrator's full decision and ARod's court complaint here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/judge-denies-a-rod-reguest-seal-horowitz-ruling-article-1.1578058

On a quick read, the arbitrator believed Bosh's testimony, even though he is a proven liar, because it was backed up by detailed entries in copies of his notebooks and over 500 blackberry messages back and forth with ARod. He also considered that neither ARod nor his intermediaries identified by Bosh testified to contradict his testimony.

[The Wedge]

A-Rod's team wanted part of the rulings redacted? That looks GREAT, you guys.

[Ommaculate]

They cheated and we still couldn't win' date=' lol.[/quote']

They were winning until Raffy got busted. I guess they had to stop cheating after that.

[isestrex]

And he sues!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>BREAKING: Alex Rodriguez sues Major League Baseball, players' union to overturn season-long suspension.</p>— The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="

">January 13, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I so hope he gets his day in court.

ESPN's Lester Munson says legally A-Rod has 0% chance of getting this case accepted. For safety, though, he chose 6% as his official prediction simply because he acknowledges the possibility of a judge seeking attention.

According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, all disputes are to be handled by an arbitrator and that ruling is final. It is spelled out so explicitly that A-Rod really doesn't have chance. It will get thrown out at the hearing.

[Frobby]

ESPN's Lester Munson says legally A-Rod has 0% chance of getting this case accepted. For safety, though, he chose 6% as his official prediction simply because he acknowledges the possibility of a judge seeking attention.

Interestingly, the case has been assiged to a relatively new judge, the Hon. Edgardo Ramos. Judge Ramos has only been on the bench for two years. Offhand I'd say it's a good draw for ARod.

[Stotle]

Interestingly, the case has been assiged to a relatively new judge, the Hon. Edgardo Ramos. Judge Ramos has only been on the bench for two years. Offhand I'd say it's a good draw for ARod.

Insomuch as the judge may be looking to make a name for himself? I think that's the only way this doesn't get dismissed outright.

[Frobby]

Insomuch as the judge may be looking to make a name for himself? I think that's the only way this doesn't get dismissed outright.

Usually, new judges are a little more reluctant to dismiss cases out of hand.

[Can_of_corn]

http://deadspin.com/scott-boras-says-mlbs-war-on-peds-is-all-backwards-1501004266?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Boras, who was Rodriguez's agent until 2010, told Fox Sports:

"The integrity of the game is only partially served when a known pusher is exonerated, when the genesis of this entire problem is now given a forum and compensation and is not behind bars for the distribution and promoting the use of illegal drugs, not only to baseball players but all members of the sporting community and youth.

"If these individuals go free, it promotes behavior to create processes to distribute PEDs, knowing the league's focus is on the players, not on the distributors of drugs."

Boras is referring to Tony Bosch, the founder and director of a Florida clinic that supplied banned substances to at least 14 major leaguers. Baseball went after those 14 players, but it spent a reported $1.8 million on Bosch's legal fees and securities, dropped a lawsuit against him, and promised to speak on his behalf in any future criminal cases.

Bosch won. He made his money, getting a reported $12,000 a month just from Rodriguez, not to mention all his other clients. He escaped punishment. And notably, MLB's arrangement with Bosch allows him free rein to tell his story to anyone he wants—a clause specifically included so he can pursue book and movie deals. Is this just?

This is just part of why I am rooting for the lawsuit to go forward. I find MLB's conduct to be every bit as bad as Arod's.

[Stotle]

Usually, new judges are a little more reluctant to dismiss cases out of hand.

Interesting. Why do you think that is? I'd assume judges tend to have an extensive history with these matters, and would understand what generally does and does not get dismissed. I'm not a litigator -- have absolutely no clue.

[Migrant Redbird]

http://deadspin.com/scott-boras-says-mlbs-war-on-peds-is-all-backwards-1501004266?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow[/url

This is just part of why I am rooting for the lawsuit to go forward. I find MLB's conduct to be every bit as bad as Arod's.

On what strange planet are you living?

MLB had to win this case, for the benefit of baseball overall.

Now they need to step up their drug testing. Maybe they need to take random, unannounced blood samples during games? (Urine samples wouldn't work. Some people can't pee on demand. I once saw a soldier hold out for nearly 12 hours.)

[Can_of_corn]

On what strange planet are you living?

MLB had to win this case, for the benefit of baseball overall.

Now they need to step up their drug testing. Maybe they need to take random, unannounced blood samples during games? (Urine samples wouldn't work. Some people can't pee on demand. I once saw a soldier hold out for nearly 12 hours.)

The strange world I am living in is the one where I want all of MLB's dirty laundry comes out.

Do you think they should be able to behave this way with no repercussions?

(Mind you I don't think anything will come of this and I think that MLB will continue to behave in an unethical and illegal manner whenever it feels like it.)

[LayzieDES]

On what strange planet are you living?

MLB had to win this case, for the benefit of baseball overall.

Now they need to step up their drug testing. Maybe they need to take random, unannounced blood samples during games? (Urine samples wouldn't work. Some people can't pee on demand. I once saw a soldier hold out for nearly 12 hours.)

Are all players only tested one time during the season? I know they all get tested during spring training but I agree with why can't an agreement be made for increased testing. I'm sure the players association has to agree but helping clean up the game would only help them out in the eyes of the public.

Are they claiming inconvenience? Pride? They make millions of dollars to play a game. It's not that hard to take random weekly drug tests. I know plenty of guys from work that have to do it.

[The Wedge]

The strange world I am living in is the one where I want all of MLB's dirty laundry comes out.

Do you think they should be able to behave this way with no repercussions?

(Mind you I don't think anything will come of this and I think that MLB will continue to behave in an unethical and illegal manner whenever it feels like it.)

While I get your overall point, MLB doesn't give the first rat's ass about Bosch's activities, except in the context that they are now obsessed with "cleaning up" the game. Which makes every single one of their actions with Bosch completely understandable: they want the info on the elements inside MLB, they're targeting the players and problems within MLB. They don't care what happens to Bosch, whether he "gets away with it," or not, because they want him to tell them about who they really are after. Yeah, he makes out like a bandit, but he was never MLB's target. And as far as this tactic goes, this happens so often in our own judicial system (nail one element, use that element to gain evidence on bigger targets) that I have a heard time calling it unethical. Now, the legality of how they went about it is obviously up in the air.

[The Wedge]

Plus, Rodriguez is going to have a helluva time gaining any ground on a suit when the whole arbitration process exists to avoid that kind of thing in the first place, and like I pointed out last night, the fact that his team wants to keep part of the reports redacted is just...indescribably stupid.

[Frobby]

Interesting. Why do you think that is? I'd assume judges tend to have an extensive history with these matters, and would understand what generally does and does not get dismissed. I'm not a litigator -- have absolutely no clue.

I'm speaking in generalities here. As judges gain experience, they (1) get a better feel of when they are at risk of getting reversed by the Court of Appeal, (2) become more willing to take that risk when they feel strongly about an issue, and (3) become more concerned about resolving as many cases as they can quickly, to avoid a backlog building up. Plus, an experienced judge probably would have encountered dozens of cases where the losing party challenged an arbitration award, and would have a very good feel of where the line is between the vast majority of cases where the court must defer to the arbitrator and the rare cases where a court can find that extraordinary circumstances warrant vacating or modifying an arbitration award. The legal standards are pretty clear, but it helps to have encountered the issue repeatedly.