[thehef]

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

First, I’m not ok with the main culprits not being punished, I just think it will be too hard of a fight for MLB to want the fight. I’d love for them to suspend everyone they say is involved and fight the union. I’m just telling my opinion of why they won’t.

Understood.

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

And if you don’t punish the owner more, then there is no deterrent for owners to do anything in the future and can maintain their ‘plausible deniability’.

Agree in general, but at the same time, when you don't punish players at all... well, you get the idea... Where is their deterrent? That their manager & GM might get fired and their owner might get fined? ... I don't see the merits in additionally punishing the owner in this case, especially when he's so low on the overall culpability scale... That said, as I wrote earlier in this thread:

Originally Posted by thehef

... the organization [should] be prohibited from displaying or advertising anything that references or alludes to their 2017 Division, AL, or World Series championships. In perpetuity. No 2017 banners or trophies in the stadium. No 10-year celebration in 2027. No 2017 commemorative promo items given to fans. Nothing in the team store that references 2017.

This ^^^ I would see less as punishment to the owner (though he would surely feel it), as it would be punishment to the organization as a whole and the best remedy (among very few realistic options) that there is to "correct" the BlackStros invalid 2017 titles ...

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

If the NBA can take an ownership away because of racist comments that weren’t illegal and not against any rule in particular other than the don’t make us look bad rule, then MLB can surely find a more severe punishment for an owner who was either too blind to see what his team was doing or knew completely what they were doing and covered his tracks really well.

Where I would agree is that if the NBA can take ownership away for doing something not against any rule in particular, then MLB could surely find a way - some way...any way... - to punish players for blatantly violating rules that affected the outcome of games. (I say that while fully acknowledging both the hurdles that the existence of the union present,a and MLB's understandable desire to not let this drag on for months and years.)