Friday Free For All #7

Hoo boy it's been a week for baseball, on and off the field.

Hello and welcome to Free For All Friday.

If you’re not a paid subscriber, you missed only one newsletter this week—Monday’s analysis of how the new rules are affecting game length and pace and whether any of that is contributing to a slight increase in attendance across the league. Wednesday’s newsletter was free to everybody and covered my experience at the reverse boycott organized by A’s fans for Tuesday’s night’s game against the Rays.

In commemorate Pride Month, I’m offering a 10% discount on monthly and yearly paid subscriptions to this newsletter. If you’re a free subscriber already, click here for the discount. If you’re not subscribed at all yet, sign up below.

Rob Manfred is a spineless lackey

On Wednesday evening, the Nevada Legislature approved a bill appropriating $380 million toward the construction of a new ballpark on the Las Vegas strip for the franchise now known as the Oakland A’s. Governor Joe Lombardo signed the bill Thursday afternoon.

As the linked-to article in The Nevada Independent points out, there are myriad items on the A’s to-do list that must be checked off before shovels go in the ground, including getting clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration, because the new ballpark site is only two miles from Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas. So, you never know. And if A’s owner John Fisher is leading the project, there’s always hope he’ll screw it up.

In her Thursday newsletter, Molly Knight said what needed to be said about how awful Fisher is—a billionaire nepo baby with no track record of business success who intentionally ran the A’s into the ground on the way to get a sweetheart deal in Nevada.

But Tim Kawakami nailed it in his column at The Athletic putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred:

The only thing that mattered to Manfred was pleasing Fisher and all the owners who sympathize with him. To that end, it seems Manfred was the key man for the Nevada politicians. He convinced Gov. Joe Lombardo that Las Vegas was not a top candidate for expansion, so appropriating the A’s would be the only shot at getting into MLB. Manfred said MLB would waive the relocation fee for the A’s if they got public funding. And Manfred clearly signaled that the owners will approve the relocation when it comes up for a vote.

Manfred’s actions greasing the wheels for the Fisher to abandon the city and the fans that have supported the A’s for 55 years weren’t enough. On Friday, Manfred stuck a knife in Oakland and A’s fans and twisted it by lying to the media by claiming Oakland never stepped to the plate to help the A’s build a new ballpark. In a press conference after MLB owners meetings in New York City, Manfred said:

Look, believe me, and I hear from ‘em, I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland. I do not like this outcome, I understand why they feel the way they do. I think that the real question is, what is it that Oakland was prepared to do? There is no Oakland offer, OK? They never got to a point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site. And it’s not just John Fisher. You don’t build a stadium based on the club activity alone. The community has to provide support and you know, at some point, you come to the realization, it’s just not going to happen.

When asked about the reverse boycott on Tuesday night, Manfred turned on the passive aggression, big time:

It was great. It’s great to see what is, this year, almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That’s a great thing.

As I wrote on Monday, the average per game attendance across MLB this season was 27,361 as of June 11. The A’s drew 27,759 on Tuesday night, which is, by my count, higher than the per game average. It’s also higher than the average per game attendance for 15 out of 30 teams in the league. And higher than what two division-leading teams drew that night: the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

(Oakland Coliseum, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Photo by author)

There was a time not that long ago when the A’s averaged between 26,000 and 28,000 fans in attendance each game: 2001-2005, before John Fisher bought the team, when the A’s were focused on winning. Even after 2005, and before Fisher’s overt destruction of the team as part of the plan to relocate, the A’s average attendance fluctuated but never fell below 17,000. Last year, the Rays, Royals, Pirates and Marlins all drew fewer than 17,000 per game, on average.

After Manfred’s comments went public, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s spokesperson shot back quickly and forcefully, making it clear that Oakland and the A’s were close on a deal to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal before the A’s pulled up stakes for the desert:

There was a very concrete proposal under discussion and Oakland had gone above and beyond to clear hurdles, including securing funding for infrastructure, providing an environmental review and working with other agencies to finalize approvals.

Lying to protect rich white guys? That’s just Manfred’s m.o. Indeed, Manfred began his career as a lawyer defending corporations against unionization efforts and employee discrimination claims. That’s what it means when it says in his MLB bio that he practiced law at and became a partner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in the law firm’s Labor and Employment Law Section.

Manfred’s retrograde comments didn’t stop at Oakland. He went on to tell reporters that MLB prefers to leave Pride Nights up to teams but has cautioned them against getting too into Pride stuff because some players may be offended.

We have told teams, in terms of actual uniforms, hats, bases that we don’t think putting logos on them is a good idea just because of the desire to protect players, not putting them in a position of doing something that may make them uncomfortable because of their personal views.

This is appalling but par for the course from Manfred who, again, made a living fighting discrimination claims against employers. It’s also counterproductive at a time when the league is desperate to attract new fans to the game.

Can you imagine how Manfred’s comments are received by LGBTQ+ employees of MLB? The 30 teams? The broadcast partners? What does it say to players in the majors and minor leagues who are thinking of coming out? Or to the high school or college player who is quietly out to his family but is worried about how it might affect his draft position?

Can you imagine Manfred saying something like that on Jackie Robinson Day or when honoring Roberto Clemente, when racists might be offended? Should teams stop promoting Jewish Heritage Nights, because anti-Semites will get upset?

Period. Full stop.

Thank you for reading hanging sliders. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Bullpen implosions

The Dodgers’ bullpen pitched well Thursday night and essentially won the game for LA after occasional starter Michael Grove gave up 4 runs to the White Sox in 5 innings. After that, LA’s bullpen held Chicago scoreless for 6 innings, Chris Taylor hit a grand slam in the 6th to tie the game, and Mookie Betts walked it off in the 11th with a bases loaded single.

Boy, did LA’s bullpen need a game like that.

A month ago, the Dodgers were 27-15 and in first place in the NL West, with a 3-game lead over the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers woke up Friday morning with a 39-30 record, in second-place in the NL West, 2 games behind the Diamondbacks, and only 2.5 games ahead of the Giants.

Dodgers relievers—save for Brusdar Graterol—have been an absolute mess over the last month.

Since May 15, the Dodgers’ bullpen has recorded three saves and four blown saves and taken nine losses. Collectively, Dodgers relievers have given up 22 home runs in that span and posted a 5.59 ERA, the worst in the majors. And that’s with Graterol pitching 13 innings and giving up only 1 earned run (but 5 total runs).

In the last month, Phil Bickford was placed on the injured list on June 3 but did a lot damage before that to the tune of 13 runs allowed on 11 hits and 9 walks in 10.1 innings. Yency Almonte gave 10 runs on 13 hits and 5 walks in 11.2 innings. Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia, and Taylor Scott all pitched poorly.

The Dodgers are not alone among teams in playoff position with bullpens that are seriously underperforming. The Rays still hold a sizable lead over the Orioles in the American League East, despite their relievers blowing 8 saves since May 15 while posting a 4.75 ERA. The Rangers, too, continue to lead their division, even after losing 3 out of 4 to the Angels this week when the Texas bullpen coughed up too many late runs. In the last month, the Rangers’ bullpen has a 5.53 ERA.

Most teams would be in a world of hurt with such awful bullpen performances. The Rangers, Rays and Dodgers, though, have the three most potent offenses in the league. Scoring a lot of runs can mask poor relief pitching for a time in the regular season. But that won’t work in the postseason. Expect to see all three teams active near the trade deadline for seasoned and dependable relief help.

Holy Shohei

For those who prefer pictures over words, here are a bunch of Tweets with absolutely insane stats about what Shohei Ohtani is doing this season on the mound and at the plate. He is a singular, incredible talent.

Do yourself a favor. Watch Shohei Ohtani blast baseballs into stratosphere this weekend when the Angels play the Royals in Kansas City.

Reply

or to participate.