Collusion to Fix the 2015 Eastern American League Division Series

[AshGL1914]

If this goes through and Dan goes to the Blue Jays, and if lines could be drawn between the Blue Jays, the Yankees, and MLB - then this could go far beyond "tampering" but would in fact be tantamount to Collusion to fix the American League East.

I called in to Inside Pitch last night with multiple, tied-together questions that might lead to a discussion of Major League Baseball's role in all of this. I gave all of my questions to the producer and was put on hold. When I joined the show I asked my first question, (Can the Nationals continue to claim that they are hurt by the MASN deal when they just paid so very much for a player?) and before I could get more than two words into my follow up (which would have lead from MASN to Dan and the Blue Jays) the line was cut, a nervious and terse answer to the MASN question was given (that the two issues are or should be unrelated), and then they went very quickly into an unscheduled comercial break (there had been one just before the previous call).

There feels like there might be more to this story than "Tampering". Something more disturbing.

John

[Frobby]

I don't think the fact that the Nats have the resources to sign Scherzer has too much of a relationship to whether they are hurt by the MASN deal. The Nats have a very wealthy owner, and compared to the Orioles they have higher attendance, higher ticket prices, more extortionate concession prices, a stricter policy about bringing in food and drinks, and a bigger chunk of parking revenue. So, they can afford Scherzer if that's how the Lerners want to spend their money. None of that changes the fact that they probably could make a lot more money off their TV rights than they have made under the MASN deal -- not that I feel any sympathy for them. That was the price of admission for the Orioles not going to court to try to stop MLB from moving the team to DC, and the Lerners knew that when they bought the team and undoubtedly factored that in to the price they were willing to pay to buy it.

I don't think there is collusion between NY and Toronto, because Boston would be all over that issue if there was anything there. The fact that Ed Rogers is an idiot, and has a friend in the Yankee organization who thinks highly of Duquette, is unfortunate for us but I'm not buying any conspiracy theories. It doesn't help the Yankees for Duquette to stay in the AL East or for Toronto to be stronger than they are now from a management point of view.

[MagicBird]

If this goes through and Dan goes to the Blue Jays, and if lines could be drawn between the Blue Jays, the Yankees, and MLB - then this could go far beyond "tampering" but would in fact be tantamount to Collusion to fix the American League East.

I called in to Inside Pitch last night with multiple, tied-together questions that might lead to a discussion of Major League Baseball's role in all of this. I gave all of my questions to the producer and was put on hold. When I joined the show I asked my first question, (Can the Nationals continue to claim that they are hurt by the MASN deal when they just paid so very much for a player?) and before I could get more than two words into my follow up (which would have lead from MASN to Dan and the Blue Jays) the line was cut, a nervious and terse answer to the MASN question was given (that the two issues are or should be unrelated), and then they went very quickly into an unscheduled comercial break (there had been one just before the previous call).

There feels like there might be more to this story than "Tampering". Something more disturbing.

John

[AshGL1914]

Nice.

I agree it's out there, but it's not like Major League Baseball is above such maneuvers. They've done things like that in the past, and they'll do it again if so motivated. And the suggestion of collusion wasn't so much a charge with an absolute smoking gun, but was suggested as a suspicion that could merit further investigation or leading to legal action against MLB.

The Office of the Commissioner threatened harsh repercussions should Orioles ownership fight the MASN arbitration. Separating our club from the MLB Executive of the Year certainly qualifies.

As to the Yankees' input: can't you see how having a structurally unstable Orioles in the AL East benefits them?

[SeaBird]

I don't think there is collusion between NY and Toronto, because Boston would be all over that issue if there was anything there. The fact that Ed Rogers is an idiot, and has a friend in the Yankee organization who thinks highly of Duquette, is unfortunate for us but I'm not buying any conspiracy theories. It doesn't help the Yankees for Duquette to stay in the AL East or for Toronto to be stronger than they are now from a management point of view.

This is 100% correct. The conspiracy theorists and the "us against the world" segment on the board are amusing. Levine advising Rogers to seek out Duquette doesn't benefit the Yankees in any way.

[Three Run Homer]

There's no contradiction between the Nats having a bad MASN deal and the Scherzer signing. The Lerners have deep pockets and the Nats franchise is highly profitable overall despite their poor TV deal. They are not cash poor. Would they like more revenue coming from TV? Of course they would.

But I am sympathetic to the original post's take that MLB is conspiring against the Orioles. Based on what I've read about the MASN case, I don't think I'm in tinfoil hat territory in saying that I believe there was a secret deal struck between MLB (and in particular, Rob Manfred) and the Lerners at the time the Nats moved to DC. I believe that MLB guaranteed the Nats that they would be able to either get out from the MASN deal, or at least get a generous interpretation of fair market value for their TV rights by a certain date, and agreed to give them money otherwise.

I believe that MLB has already given the Nats $25 million under this deal and stands to keep paying money to the Nats if the MASN case isn't resolved in the Nats' favor. MLB therefore tilted the arbitration panel in order to give the Nats a favorable outcome. They were surprised and angry when Angelos challenged the arbitration result in court, and are looking for ways to threaten and intimidate the Orioles into backing off. Losing the All-Star game and working to transfer Dan Duquette to Toronto are the first two examples; there will be more.

MLB's interest is both financial (they are on the hook to the Nats until the Nats get the TV fees they were promised) and personal (Rob Manfred doesn't want his dirty laundry to be aired in open court, in particular his involvement in the secret deal with the Lerners).

[incubus]

There's no contradiction between the Nats having a bad MASN deal and the Scherzer signing. The Lerners have deep pockets and the Nats franchise is highly profitable overall despite their poor TV deal. They are not cash poor. Would they like more revenue coming from TV? Of course they would.

But I am sympathetic to the original post's take that MLB is conspiring against the Orioles. Based on what I've read about the MASN case, I don't think I'm in tinfoil hat territory in saying that I believe there was a secret deal struck between MLB (and in particular, Rob Manfred) and the Lerners at the time the Nats moved to DC. I believe that MLB guaranteed the Nats that they would be able to either get out from the MASN deal, or at least get a generous interpretation of fair market value for their TV rights by a certain date, and agreed to give them money otherwise.

I believe that MLB has already given the Nats $25 million under this deal and stands to keep paying money to the Nats if the MASN case isn't resolved in the Nats' favor. MLB therefore tilted the arbitration panel in order to give the Nats a favorable outcome. They were surprised and angry when Angelos challenged the arbitration result in court, and are looking for ways to threaten and intimidate the Orioles into backing off. Losing the All-Star game and working to transfer Dan Duquette to Toronto are the first two examples; there will be more.

MLB's interest is both financial (they are on the hook to the Nats until the Nats get the TV fees they were promised) and personal (Rob Manfred doesn't want his dirty laundry to be aired in open court, in particular his involvement in the secret deal with the Lerners).

I'll join the tin foil hat crew. I believe like you, that there is a direct correlation between the MASN dispute, the all-star game redaction, and the Tor/DD nonsense.

[wildcard]

I don't think the fact that the Nats have the resources to sign Scherzer has too much of a relationship to whether they are hurt by the MASN deal. The Nats have a very wealthy owner, and compared to the Orioles they have higher attendance, higher ticket prices, more extortionate concession prices, a stricter policy about bringing in food and drinks, and a bigger chunk of parking revenue. So, they can afford Scherzer if that's how the Lerners want to spend their money. None of that changes the fact that they probably could make a lot more money off their TV rights than they have made under the MASN deal -- not that I feel any sympathy for them. That was the price of admission for the Orioles not going to court to try to stop MLB from moving the team to DC, and the Lerners knew that when they bought the team and undoubtedly factored that in to the price they were willing to pay to buy it.

I don't think there is collusion between NY and Toronto, because Boston would be all over that issue if there was anything there. The fact that Ed Rogers is an idiot, and has a friend in the Yankee organization who thinks highly of Duquette, is unfortunate for us but I'm not buying any conspiracy theories. It doesn't help the Yankees for Duquette to stay in the AL East or for Toronto to be stronger than they are now from a management point of view.

You are no fun at all!!!

[weams]

I do not believe that their was a fix in on the ALCS. Just a real lucky team.

[weams]

I don't think the fact that the Nats have the resources to sign Scherzer has too much of a relationship to whether they are hurt by the MASN deal. The Nats have a very wealthy owner, and compared to the Orioles they have higher attendance, higher ticket prices, more extortionate concession prices, a stricter policy about bringing in food and drinks, and a bigger chunk of parking revenue. So, they can afford Scherzer if that's how the Lerners want to spend their money. None of that changes the fact that they probably could make a lot more money off their TV rights than they have made under the MASN deal -- not that I feel any sympathy for them. That was the price of admission for the Orioles not going to court to try to stop MLB from moving the team to DC, and the Lerners knew that when they bought the team and undoubtedly factored that in to the price they were willing to pay to buy it.

I don't think there is collusion between NY and Toronto, because Boston would be all over that issue if there was anything there. The fact that Ed Rogers is an idiot, and has a friend in the Yankee organization who thinks highly of Duquette, is unfortunate for us but I'm not buying any conspiracy theories. It doesn't help the Yankees for Duquette to stay in the AL East or for Toronto to be stronger than they are now from a management point of view.

I think the Nationals have great resources.

[sportsfan8703]

I think the original poster raises a valid point, and I guarantee Peter Angelos feels the same way. For all the Angelos hate he really has been screwed over by MLB the last few years. They moved their pet project, the expos, to DC and split our market into half. Now they are going back on the the agreement they made with Angelos. Then they are basically allowing open tampering and putting pressure on Angelos to let his GM just walk away to his division rival. Lawyers make a living off of tin foil people in ccourt. Asbestos causes cancer. Get outta here, that's crazy.

[Rene88]

Sirhan Sirahn was a patsy, so was James Earl Ray. Malcom X was an internal hit set up by the FBI and Gary Webb's suicide wasn't a suicide at all (Kill the Messenger was a great movie btw)....

[AshGL1914]

I do not believe that their was a fix in on the ALCS. Just a real lucky team.

LOL, Not the Royals debacle. This coming (2015) Baseball Season.

Recall for a moment that when the reserve clause finally blew up in MLB's face the charge was "Collusion on Behalf of Major League Baseball to Fix the World Series".

If one or more teams acted in this instance to cripple another team in the same division and acted with the assistance of Major League Baseball ("MLB urges The Orioles to release their GM to the Blue Jays). Then these actions (coming on the heels of threats of repercussions due to the MASN dispute) must be called into question. If, and this seems likely-these events are connected, then charges of "Collusion to Fix the 2015 AL East" demand an answer either by internal (useless in the case of MLB tampering) or external (court proceedings). Living with a lawyer must have rubbed off on me, but I see a case here.

John

[weams]

Jeter is gone.