Dodgers Cave to the Woke Mob

Posted By on January 6, 2023

Even though the majority of the Dodgers fans indicated they supported Trevor Bauer and wanted him back, Mark Walter and Guggenheim Partners decided that the woke mob carried too much clout, and so they decided to virtue signal how righteous they were. Mark Walter has no balls, as the woke mob evidently castrated him. It is going to be funny to see the Padres or Giants, or Yankees pick him up and watch him knock the Dodgers out of the playoffs… while the Dodger morons pay him to do so.

Add this to the list of things that Manfred is wrong about.. actually un-American is the right moniker. Fans have opinions. I get that. Fans also have assholes, and some are assholes. I get that too. Bluto wrote: “#2 is very debatable. For example, if you believe hitting a woman is wrong, he didn’t deny that.” This is simply a case of a person not understanding that an evidentiary hearing and a trial are two different things. Of course, he didn’t deny it (in so many words) at that time because that was not why they were there. If you have good attornies, you will not open that door at that time, but I get that most people do not understand that. Hell, half the dumb lawyers don’t get that, either. You do realize that half of the lawyers finished at the bottom half of their classes?

This is a case of the woke mob, led by the lead woksters Molly Knight, Bill Plaschke, and the Reverand Eric Stephen and their cabal of righteous guardians of Dodger, KarenLand exerted too much pressure on the Perfect Mark Walter. Andrew Friedman has nothing to do with this. I find it repulsive, sick, and anti-American, but it was the same as when Manfred canceled the All-Star game in Atlanta.

Winning is not important to the Dodgers… bringing in fans, and the Almighty Dollar is what is important. This just might be the last straw for me. I am sick of this shit.

This article has 141 Comments

  1. I do not always agree with you Mark, you know my stance on spending, but you are spot on. This is the Dodger organization selling out, your site is the only one likely to speak the truth. Like you said Nosler and Stephen and their minions are rejoycing. Sick of this shit, seriously reconsidering going forward as a season ticket holder. Bauer will be picked up very soon, just like Chapman years ago.

    1. I’m sure there are plenty of people or companies who will take those season tickets if you do give them up, Adam.

    2. I think the fix is in on Bauer. He’s going to be excommunicated by MLB and the owners. No owner is going to want to be accused of appearing to be condoning violence against women and incur the wrath of the entirety of the news media. Instead they ( like the Dodger Organization) will be lauded
      and celebrated for ‘taking a stand’ against domestic violence by banning him.

  2. Evidently they had been trying to trade him ever since he was reinstated. But they found no takers. I think both baseball wise and financially, it is a bad decision. But, it is not my money nor my problem. They have 7 days to find a trade partner or just place him on release waivers. Both sides have released statements. Some other team will no doubt take a chance and sign him for the MLB minimum and the Dodgers will effectively being paying him to pitch against them.

  3. I told you it was going to be a 22M virtue signal. The Dodgers just won the Woke World Series.

  4. Methinks Mark, you protest too much. You should be sick of this shit, it’s stupid and this post was borderline moronic post, but that’s fine. We’ll move past this. Referencing for the 2nd time in a week, Woody Allen:

    Comedy is tragedy plus time.

    Since you’ve evidently forgotten, here’s what we all have known the whole time:

    The woman said she also didn’t feel ready to take that step because she was “pretty shaken up still.” But she later
    decided to make the call, which police recorded that May 22. In the call, she confronted Bauer about allegedly
    punching her in the head and vagina.

    Bauer didn’t deny punching her — though he said he “just can’t even figure out how, like, the result was what it was”
    — and on a couple of instances appeared to acknowledge it.

    “I didn’t feel like I hit you that hard, you know?” Bauer said.

    At another point, the woman asked Bauer, “How many times do you think you, like, hit my head?”

    “I’m not sure,” Bauer said. “It wasn’t that many.”

    Bauer suggested that he was following the woman’s lead in having rough sex with her and that he frequently
    checked to make sure she was okay.

    If you or anyone ran the Dodgers and that (above) was the least problematic thing to come out about Bauer would you risk keeping him on your team? Of course not, it’s a sunk cost that’s now been sunk.

    To make us all feel better, here’s Graterol on the DFA’ing:
    https://twitter.com/dwuori/status/1611528283455094785

    And here’s JT on saying goodbye to LA:
    https://twitter.com/redturn2/status/1611541227081732096

    1. The vast majority of the attention in the Bauer saga focuses on the accuser from San Diego–and it’s easy to argue that she was setting herself up for a payday.

      But the MLB investigation involved two other accusers as well who were found to be credible. The behavior stretches back years and underscores that this is a pattern of behavior involving women who insist they were not fully willing partners in their involvement with a large, strong athlete who has admitted his indulgence in hurting his sex partners.

      “They wanted it” is often the claim, right? Accusing the accuser is a standard move.
      Anyone interested in deeper dive should look up the Washington Post’s coverage.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/22/trevor-bauer-appeal-decision-dodgers/
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/29/trevor-bauer-abuse-accusations/

      1. In the past 5 years, The Washington Post has ignored subjects that were true and reported things that were false based on political leanings, so their credibility is right up there with the rest of the Mob.

      2. One of the two other accusers kept contacting him by text for years after, wishing him Happy Birthday and trying to get back together.

    2. Didn’t realize that Walter not only had an affair with a female subordinate, but also bought her a $13 million house and then covered it up before paying her a $100 million severance package.
      Such morals from the Dodger ownership!

      1. I had a friend who used to say, “if money can solve your problem, it’s not a problem”.

  6. I felt 100% the same way, then I took a breath. There could be other rational reasons for this. Bauer put them in a tough spot. He didn’t do anything illegal, maybe immoral to some. But, we all can agree, he didn’t respect his contract by exposing himself to risk by engaging in behavior with a stranger to him, a member of the Padres organization, etc.

    Maybe it was as simple as everyone got a vote, and the vote decided the outcome. I would never run an organization like this, I don’t want the lunatics running the asylum. The final straw could have been any number of reasons. Maybe they made a side deal with MLB over something they want and sacrificed Bauer to get it. Who knows?

    I love the Dodgers, but there’s a line that might eventually be crossed. As they inch towards it, I spend less money.

    They’re in a no-win situation with this incident. For some future free agents, it sends a message that they won’t stand behind their player. For others, it sends a message that you better honor your contract on and off the field.

    While I stood up for Bauer in his legal matter, I still think he’s an idiot for putting himself and the Dodgers in this situation, so I’m not going to die on this hill. I still have a little hope that they get something in return during the DFA process. I couldn’t imaging coming up empty. If the Padres, Yankees, Rangers or Astros want him, they would have an incentive to send something back or risk losing him to any number of teams.

    1. Agree 100%. I will always root for the Dodgers and I will continue to be entertained by watching the game I grew up with, but I’m done buying Dodger hats, T-shirts etc. I won’t be attending ST as I had planned this year and I won’t be buying $20.00 beer, $14.00 Dodger Dogs and a $50.00 parking space at Dodger Stadium.

      Will the Dodgers revenue stream be impacted by my decision?…………….the obvious answer is no, but I certainly know where I’ll be spending my discretionary entertainment $$ and it won’t be at DS.

    2. Bluto, One simple fact blows up your whole argument: If that were truly evidence, Bauer would have been arrested for assault. That is among the most moronic things you have ever said!

      Bauer did say this and this is an actual quote: “I never assaulted her in any way, at any time. And, while we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct she described simply did not occur.”

      So when you say, Bauer did not deny… that is bullshit! He did deny it!

      1. Quit while you’re behind Mark. You obviously don’t know what constitutes assault in a court room.

        1. Assault is a specific intent crime meaning it requires the charged individual or person under investigation to intend to commit a crime. If one is having rough sex and one of the particpants is asking for rough treatment and being asked (as weird as that might sound) to be assaulted there is no crime and thus what might constitute assault in a court room is not proven.

          A left-leaning DA who thinks much the same way you do would have charged TB if possible, but the law did not support such filing.

        2. I would bet any amount of money that I have a better understanding of that than anyone on this board. You are talking out of your ass, little boy!

          Have you ever read Rules of Evidence or Rules of Court… cover to cover?

          How many Cases of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals have you read?

          I have read thousands!

          Have you ever read Black’s Law Dictionary Cover-to-Cove so that you could understand all the terminology?

          I have read it cover-to-cover!

          Has an attorney ever asked you to join his law firm as a paralegal and said that he would pay you to finish Law School?

          Has an attorney ever told you that your Brief was the best he had ever read?

          I don’t care if you believe it or not… but it is all true.

          1. What Is the Definition of Assault?
            Assault is often defined as any intentional act that causes another person to fear an attack or imminent physical harm. This definition recognizes that placing another person in fear of bodily harm is itself an act deserving of punishment, even if the victim of the assault is not physically harmed. This definition also allows police officers to intervene and make an arrest without waiting for the assaulter to actually strike the victim.

            Assault example: Snider is walking down a city street carrying a bottle of soda. Mantle, walking along the same street in the opposite direction, sees Snider approaching. Because of Snider’s reputation as a hothead, Mantle immediately becomes fearful that Snider will swing the bottle at him when their paths cross. As they walk past each other, nothing happens. Snider has not committed an assault. Snider has a right to carry a bottle of soda in public, and Mantle’s fear of being hit was not the result of Snyder’s intentionally threatening behavior. But now assume that, as they draw closer, Snider draws back his fist and tells Mantle “You’re going to pay for stealing my collection of baseball pennants.” As Snider begins to swing his fist in Mantle’s direction, Mantle sprints away and escapes harm. Here, Snider has committed an assault. His intentional conduct placed Mantle in reasonable fear of immediate bodily harm.

        3. Obviously, you don’t either, because he wasn’t ever charged with assault in a courtroom.

        4. Again, people here are focused on the most recent case.
          But the MLB investigation involved two other accusers as well, and their testimony and the evidence they could provide (such as text messages) may be more damning still.
          Taken together, the cases show a PATTERN of behavior, which is not so easily explained away–and that’s why Bauer got such a stiff suspension.
          “Rough sex” is sort of the polite way of saying sadistic sex. When people get choked out, they don’t always wake up. One of the accusers told of how Bauer became frantic because she apparently went into convulsions before coming around.
          Also, the fact that LA prosecutors did not file charges does not mean that no crime occurred. It means that prosecutors found insufficient evidence. It’s not an exoneration
          I drive pretty fast and often break the posted speed limit. The fact that I didn’t get ticketed doesn’t prove I was under the speed limit.

          1. People get choked out in jujitsu as well. I know black belts who have “choked out 1,000’s of people. Yet, that is OK? There are lots of sex practices by people I do not understand… even throughout the Dodgers ownership group, but that is their business. I find that choking someone out during sex as disturbing as some of these other practices, but that is evidently their business. They even write articles on how to do it:

            https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a26471117/choking-during-sex/

            It’s not something I have ever wanted to do, but there are lots of things that fall into that category.

            Experts say somewhere between 250-1,000 people die each year from autoerotic asphyxiation. Death from erotic and autoerotic asphyxiation usually happens because of pressure on the carotid arteries (two large blood vessels in your neck that supply your brain with blood).

            Anal sex deaths are also up the past decade but it seems no one keeps records of this.

  7. Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Dave Roberts, Mark Walters…I’m seeing a certain political slant in the ownership group and the leadership, and it ain’t leaning to the right… tell me if I’m reading it wrong.

    2. Irrelevant, but probably correct.

      Irrelevant because as many people to the “right” find hitting women abhorrent.

      Probably right (and I stress probably) because I think statistically, the more successful people tend to be highly educated, and the more educated people tend to drift more left word and politics. Not 100% sure about this.

      1. Wow! Then you must be a right wing fanatic because that was an uneducated and moronic statement!

        1. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you. CS Lewis

  8. Baseball is a business to the owners and shareholders. They are not in the game to lose money nor are they in it for the love of the sport. The fans are the ones who love the game, and most of the players feel the same. Obviously, the owners decided that the financial hit of just DFA and eventually releasing him would be less than the financial hit they would take retaining his services. They appear to be somewhat self-righteous in this since most of the polls conducted showed that a majority of fans wanted him back, I believe from many of the statements I have read that there is going to be a reverse backlash from this that will happen. The fans who feel Bauer has served his penance are not too happy with just letting a baseball asset walk and then sign with another organization. As stated by some here, and some I have personally talked with, they are no longer going to spend their hard-earned entertainment dollar by attending games, buying Dodger gear, or as in a couple of cases I talked with, purchasing the MLB.TV package. My main concern is that they have zero wiggle room now to improve unless they dump somebody’s salary, and there are really no options there. Mookie, Freeman and Kersh, who make the most money on the team are not going anywhere. Baseball and financially, this is a bad decision since it hamstrings the options to improve the team could have. Bauer, if ready to pitch and healthy is a solid addition to a large group of good pitchers, but just a wee bit fragile bunch too. Kersh, Gonsolin, May and Thor have all had problems with that over the last several years. The only real way this team gets a A plus talent infusion now is through a trade. And AF is going to have to make a doozy to make the team that much better. Even getting a veteran outfielder like McCutcheon in free agency now looks out of the question. Also in the baseball world, the Mets have become frustrated with the whole Correa debacle and may pull out of the deal. Boston fans not too happy that JT will be wearing #2 which belonged to Bogaerts.

    2. As the roster stands now and the Dodgers obviously wanting to reset the luxury tax there is little chance this team is a true contender for the WS title. To be honest I do not see them win the West and it will tough to make it as a WC entry. A lot would have to go right for them to do better than I expect which is 85 wins.
      Dodgers are miles away from the talent level of the Mets, Padres.

      The lineup has 4 spots in LF, CF, SS, 3b that come with complete uncertainty and is filled more with hope than anything else. If the kids (Vargas, Outman, Busch) and one of the veterans (Heyward, Duggar) do not come threw we are in deep deep trouble offensively.
      The rotation without even without Bauer looks good but nothing special unless Thor can return to his form of the beginning of his career, Clayton staying healthy and productive, Gonsolin staying healtyh and May returning to his pre TJ form.
      Bulllpen looks good but missing Treinen is huge. No clear cut closer yet.

      I expect an average season in 2023 which is okay with me if in the end the Dodgers make a run at Sasaki and/or Ohtani.

      Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. Not sure I buy the woke nonsense. I think the Dodgers removed a big distraction moving into 2023.

    Now they can focus on the season. The media circus can move on down the highway.

  10. The LA Dodgers have now become the LA Dufuses. What an offseason. First, the Dufuses fail to fire Dufus Roberts after he once again performed his annual Dufus moves in the playoffs. Failure to resign Tyler Anderson appears to be a Dufus move. Letting Cody Bellinger walk appears to be another Dufus move. I wouldn’t have signed any $300 Mil players either but they just about failed to sign any free agent on the market other than a couple of reclamation projects. That appears to be another Dufus move by the front office as it looks like they were trying to stay under the luxury tax but that may now be difficult to accomplish. The Dufuses completely screwed over JT and left him hanging and now this debacle. The whole off-season is turning into a shit show.
    Mark Walters, you are gutless.
    Bill Plaschke, Dylan Hernandez and the whole gang at the
    LA Times, you are all useless pieces of dog dung.

    1. One good thing about the 2023 Dodgers roster:
      Finally we will see Dave Roberts work with less talent than he ever had in all his years as Dodgers manager.
      And the finaly outcome will not be pretty on his resumee.

      Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. It’s about “optics.”
    The ownership group is willing to eat $22 million in favor of optics.
    The ownership group is willing to drop a former CY Young Award winner and probable #2 starter in favor of optics.
    The ownership group is willing to allow said player to receive $22 million to pitch against their team in favor of optics.
    It can be argued that the ownership group is putting optics ahead of winning.

    1. I now sincerely doubt any owner is courageous enough to sign him, and they will form an unspoken consensus to ban him.

    2. Definitely could be argued!

      I have a post that is in jail, but TBH can stay there without any great loss.

  12. I am not surprised that the Dodgers released him nor do I think that releasing him means that they have kicked away a chance to win a World Series this year. He had not pitched in a MLB game in nearly two years and he was one of the pitchers assumed to be most negatively affected by the rule change regarding foreign substances to improve grip. To state that releasing him is akin to giving up on a championship this year is an overreaction.
    This was not going to be a baseball decision nor a financial decision. It was a public relations decision. And making that decision is not caving to wokeness in my opinion. That is such an overused talking point. If wokeness is a professional sports organization deciding that it is not going to be represented by an employee who has been credibly accused of mistreating women (at a minimum) then so be it. I am presuming that the Dodgers organization knows more about this investigation and other allegations than any one posting on this site. I am in the camp of those who feel like he would be a distraction for the Dodger organization this year and better to cut ties and move on. I don’t feel sorry for Trevor Bauer or view him as a victim. He brought this on himself and the Dodgers decided he was not a man they wanted representing their team this year. Some other team may feel differently and may sign him. So be it.

    1. Interesting that you refer to him as “credibly accused”. So in matters of alleged assault, it’s enough to be credibly accused to be suspended and released from your job. There is something scary about that.

  14. Since we are all weighing in with our views; here is mine….

    GUGGENHEIM PARTNERS MEMO TO AF:

    First, this is an investment decision by Guggenheim Partners owners of one of the most valuable sports franchise assets – the LA Dodgers.

    Second, $22M+ in our investment portfolio is “chump change;” so pay Bauer off and move on.

    Third, we are making a major investment in our farm system so let’s find out what what the Return on Investment (ROI) actually is. IMO, it is very good at all levels in pitching; but we really don’t know the ROI on the offensive side, The best recent prospect you have produced has been Lux. So, let’s bring up some of the new everday talent and find out how our effectively our dollars are being spent.

    Fourth, while Bauer is a proven talent, he is not a public personna we want our name connected with. We have a much larger and more diverse investment portfolio; we don’t want to risk any of that because of how they perceive Trevor Bauer.

    Finally AF, we don’t want to pay the luxury tax this year so you need to find a way to get under the threshold. We know you can do it.

    So let’s play ball….and produce another World Series Championship for the 25 million+ people living in SoCal!

    1. To your last point: Who better to work roster magic with less money spent on the roster than AF ? He learned this trick in Tampa. We can only hope he has not lost his talent in that aspect of the game.

      Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  15. The only two people who know what truly happened are Bauer and the person accusing him. It boils down to a he said she said proposition. Now, our justice system has flaws. The guilty sometimes go free and the innocent sometimes spend a long time incarcerated, or in a worst-case scenario, are summarily executed. An arbitrator ruled that there was sufficient evidence to warrant the suspension imposed by major league baseball, then he also allowed that the time served was justice served. All of this without Bauer ever having been judged in a court of law. The DA refused to charge him because there was insufficient evidence that a crime had been committed. Now, do not get me wrong, I do not condone violence or abuse of another person at all. I think Bauer is a talented, but somewhat enigmatic and self-centered individual who has little caring for how his actions may affect others. But unless you witnessed the act, how do you or any of us know the actual truth? Telling the truth or owning up to one’s actions is something our society is seriously short on doing. I think he should have at some point come out publicly and apologized for the fact that his behavior affected more than just him. Even his post today is more about his own well-being than what his actions cost the team. They got 8 wins and 5 losses out of their initial investment. Overall, counting what they will have to pay him after releasing him at the end of the 7 days, they will have paid him 64,937,302.00 dollars for 8 wins and a ton of negative PR. In a lot of ways, the Dodgers are and were in an untenable situation. Damned if they did, and damned if they did not. They were truly faced with Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario. I have no clue if politics factored into the decision. It had to come from the top of the organization. I do not think ownership put it in AF’s lap. Whatever the reason, it was absolutely a business decision and not a baseball one. Emotions on this run the gamut. There are many on Twitter and other sites applauding ownership for the move, many others are bashing them for caving in. Again, whatever the reason, the circus has now left town. All that remains is picking up the pieces and trying to put the absolute best team on the field they can. The best way to win back fans is to at this point at least, can the lets reset and get under the CBT tax limit stuff and trade for a high salaried star. That would at least remove some of the vitriol caused by what is perceived by so many as just throwing in the towel on the season. I have zero idea what direction the team will make. But I think, and really believe a majority of the fans out there are really heavily disappointed with the way the entire Dodger organization has conducted itself and business this offseason.

    1. Good comments Bear!
      We don’t know exactly what happened between Bauer and the SD Padre hostess. Even the next morning video showing her smiling without any signs of abuse is not definitive.
      But before moving on, Andrew Friedman and management should be held accountable for the original decision to make Trevor Bauer the highest paid player in MLB history. After winning the WS title in 2020, Friedman decided to be a “pig” and guarantee Bauer $85 million for 2021 and 2022. He signed Bauer to this huge contract while letting longtime Dodgers Joc Pederson and Kike Hernandez walk instead of retaining them each for only $7 million per year. He also let Alex Wood walk for $3 million. Instead of bringing back 3 longtime Dodger contributors who had just won a WS title for $17 million, he spent $42.5 million per year on Bauer. The lack of loyalty to longtime Dodgers was telling, and the Bauer deal has hurt the team for the last 2 years and counting. Both Joc and Kike were outstanding in the 2021 postseason with Joc hitting 3 key HR including one to beat Dodgers, and Kike hit 5 HR that postseason. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were so desperate for OF, they were playing Souza, McKinney and Beaty in the 2021 playoffs.
      Yes we have the benefit of hindsight, but this signing never made sense to me, and I objected on day one purely for baseball reasons. Of course, Friedman could not have predicted the Bauer suspension, but he did prioritize and pay a volatile, unknown character like Bauer more than anyone in Dodger and MLB history. While the Dodgers were coming off the first title in 32 years, Friedman chose to subtract quality teammates and insert Bauer even though the Dodger rotation of Buehler, Kershaw, Urias, May, and Gonsolin was solid.
      I think the Dodgers mishandled the end of Bauer’s Dodger career, but even more so by initially signing him to a record contract.

      1. I think not resigning Wood was simply because he was not in the starting rotation in 2020 and they did not project him in the starting rotation in 21. As for Kike and Joc, although Joc performed at a high level in the playoffs, Kike was not that guy in the World Series.

        1. My point on the Bauer signing was broader than just Kike, Joc and Wood. They were just low cost no brainers to retain. And the lack of depth hurt them in 2021 and 2022. The Dodgers had many other options to invest in house in players who had just won the championship and instead gave record money to Bauer. They could have extended Seager, Julio, Buehler, as well. Or just run it back with the guys that won the World Series and had great chemistry. IMO, Bauer was a really bad signing from the start. But time to move on now…

          1. AF felt otherwise and with the Padres adding Darvish and Snell, he probably felt a little pressure to match their moves. In the end, it was the Giants who were the main competition. And losing KIke and Joc, and Wood did not really affect the team.

      2. America has lost its loyalty.I have seen it so much in business in the last 30 years . People don’t have heart.We don’t care for each other,who cares if I say something or do something that will hurt someone’s feelings. Most people don’t. I’m torn about the Bauer fiasco.But it upsets me that people on this blog get so ugly to one another,enough to want to fight.We need to thank God for all the wonderful blessings you have.If you don’t have any ,pray a little bit and you will realize God is so good.

    2. Again, this is not about one accuser, but three who claim to MLB investigators that he engaged in “rough sex” without their full consent–that he went beyond the boundaries they felt they had established.
      As the WP reported:”
      MLB’s public announcement of Bauer’s punishment was light on explanation. MLB only said that after a “lengthy investigation,” it was suspending Bauer for violating the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy it has with the players union.

      “The policy precludes “physical or sexual violence” and defines sexual assault as a “nonconsensual sex act” such as “when the victim is asleep, unconscious or legally incapable of consent.” The allegations of all three women included that Bauer choked them unconscious and was violent toward them during sex.”

      TB denies this happened, but his credibility is being challenged not by one person, but three. In some cases, the witnesses provided evidence such as text messages to support their claims.

  16. Everybody wants to rehash all this.

    Bauer is a moron. He did nothing worse than many other players did who got a fraction of the punishment. But he’s a loudmouth dumbass who pissed lots of people off for many years. Including MLB, as an organization.

    I don’t agree with this. But I don’t run the team nor do I have to deal with the blowback if they had put him on the roster.

    This was always the most likely scenario. We can all argue and debate until we are blue in the face. This is the world we live in. Players did worse than Bauer and got much less of a punishment. And Bauer never did anything to make anybody want to go to bat for him. His entire career. My sympathy is limited.

    As Bear stated. My primary concern is the position the Dodgers find themselves. MLB screwed this up big time. And that pisses me off.

    Bauer has piles of cash, millions of social media followers, his health and youth. There are literally several billion people on this planet that would trade places with him in a heartbeat. He will be fine. Even if he doesn’t pitch again. We won’t be seeing him man the drive thru at Starbucks any time soon.

    This played out exactly as I expected. Even if it’s not what I would have chosen.

    1. He is also very rich. And despite what several posters here seem to think, some organization is going to take a flyer on him and sign him for the MLB minimum. There will no doubt be some stringent moral clauses in his next contract.

  17. Completely agree with Marc.
    For me it proves once again what I learned many years ago as an 18 year old: Be VERY careful before you let a woman into your heart. Or bed.

    Another example how a couple of golddiggers ruined a mans career and life and the woke mob once again gets his way.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  18. Woken up this morning to this very disappointing news, but have to say I’m very proud of Mark for being true to himself and putting this Post up.

    Also proud of the way this polarising situation has been discussed here, with respect given by each Poster. This is what makes this place different to all the rest.

    For me, the biggest disappointment, probably because I guess I’m still rather Old School at heart, is that a man who hasn’t been found guilty of any crime, has had his career ruined, and I find myself wondering how I’d be feeling if I were Trevor Bauer today. What was the point of the whole Legal Process, if this was ti be the outcome? He would have been better served pleading guilty to something he hadn’t done in the first place, and putting this thing behind him a lot more quickly.

    The Shake Down ultimately was a success. Don’t forget where this woman came from and her ties to the Padres. Bauer’s season and career were derailed as was the Dodger’s season, and ultimately led to them having to spend some of their Prospect Capital on Scherzer to fill a big hole in the Rotation. Maybe Kaybear would have been the piece that could have swung Soto our way – the Nats certainly wanted him – but our package a year later, wasn’t deemed as enticing as SD’s without him.

    However, that being said, I have learned so much on this site over the years, both about Baseball of course, but also about the modern world, and how things are now perceived and understood.

    Is it Wokeness or is this just the new normal now, and I’m a dinosaur for having not moved on much faster.

    I think my definition of a “Karen” is slightly different to Mark’s. For me a Karen exemplifies White Privilege – being over demanding and thinking they are always right. I’m not sure the LAD’s are Karens, more that they are better versed in modern day culture.

    This whole episode and the way it has been commented on here at LADT, has shown me once again that certain Posters have a far better understanding of current circumstances and the modern way, than others.

    I was looking forward to poking Bluto and and those who clearly said that Bauer was done from the get go, but it transpired that they had a far better understanding of perceptions in the world we live in. Bluto was right all along. Is he a “ Woketard ” as someone called him the other day? No, actually he and others just have a greater understanding of the world as it is in 2023., and fair play to them, and for me, another lesson learned. Bluto has said it many times – not whether it’s right or wrong – it’s the perception that matters.

    This whole saga should put every single Sports Star or anyone famous or in the Public Eye on alert. You need to be very very careful of everything you do.

    I wish Trevor Bauer all the best in getting his life and career back on track. I hope someone takes a chance on him, he could certainly do with a friend right about now.
    Shame that friend wasn’t the LAD’s.

    1. I think the main mistake AF made was probably not doing a comprehensive background check on Bauer. The other allegation from the Ohio woman was already out there. How did they miss that? RC Dodger’s statement that the Dodgers were not loyal to longtime players is a little misleading. Joc had a bad 2020, then redeemed himself in the postseason. But he still was a strikeout machine, and not as good in the outfield as he had been before. Kike hit .230 in 2020, and although he hit well against Atlanta including the game tying homer that set up Cody’s game winning homer in game 7, his performance in the World Series was less than stellar. He was and still is a very streaky hitter. His age and his contract status allowed the Dodgers to just let him walk. Pederson was the easier choice to not pursue. The Dodgers prior to the 2021 season projected to have an outfield of Pollock, Bellinger and Betts. They could not have foreseen the two injuries added to his shoulder surgery that made Bellinger have the worst season of his career. As for Wood, he was not a part of the rotation in 2020 and was not projected to change that role in 21. He wanted to start, the Dodgers were not going to let him do that so he went to the Giants.

      1. It’s always interesting to read somebody’s very strong opinion…. and then later read, from the same person, “I said yesterday I had no opinion on the outcome of all this.”

        I certainly can imagine some team taking Bauer on… but I could also imagine no owner or organization wanting to assume the risk.
        And as some have noted, the political shorthand is confusing.
        A “Karen”–such a sexist term for an entitled person!–is not “woke.” A “Karen” is actually anti-woke. And I think actual Karens are being treated in a grossly unfair and un-woke manner!
        https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/style/karen-name-meme-history.html

  19. Bulldogs

    “Maybe this is a symptom of your condition.”

    You fuckin went there you son of a bitch. You can’t relate because you have never went through what I have went through and you never will. It goes to show what kind of fuckin person you are.

      1. Nope, the only thing I can say to you is refrain from the name calling. You are both entitled to your opinion. And I absolutely know what you have gone through because I went through it myself and my son deals with it every damn day. And it is spelled CLIQUE. Not click. Please Eric, do not act like you know me personally.

    2. Oh, boo hoo! Sorry Eric, but that comment is nothing compared to all the passive-aggressive barbs you’ve thrown my way. You don’t know me. You have no idea what I’ve gone through in my life because I don’t share things like that publicly on the Internet.

      I’m giving you a pass because of your condition this time. But, I’m not treating you with kid gloves anymore. You come at me and I’ll give it right back. Watch yourself.

  20. Eric is getting a onetime pass this time. We will not tolerate personal attacks on this site. That is what caused the problems before and is exactly the reason some of our regular posters left the site. As always, we will welcome all opinions. But let us all respect the opinions of all posters and let’s be civil.

  21. I read something on another blog that I found extremely interesting. After the Dodgers made their announcement and they posted a statement as to why they decided to cut ties, Bauer released his own statement saying that as late as Thursday morning the management had expressed a desire to retain his services. He thanked members of the Dodgers for their support. Later that statement was refuted by some members of management according to some sources, and it was stated that in their meetings, the Dodgers had not heard any apologies or remorse from Bauer pertaining to his actions. Believe what you like, but I also thought that Bauer would have had a much better chance of staying with the Dodgers if he had publicly apologized to the fans, the players and management for the chaos his actions caused.

    1. This makes much more sense and this is how I see it. Bauer, in his mind, is completely innocent. This is why he made no concessions and spent a hell of a lot of money in court, rather than just buy that psycho a condo in Encinitas. He still has active court cases pending and he’s not going to make any kind of public statement to the contrary.

      Both statements, the one from the Dodgers and the one from Bauer are bullshit and aren’t what happened in the meeting. What most likely happened was the Dodgers and Bauer met to discuss joining the team and after the meeting, the Dodgers decided he wasn’t going to go along with issuing a statement that they thought would be acceptable to satisfy the woke mob.

      1. Or getting Bauer to make a statement (showing remorse, regret or any responsibility ) that would increase the Dodgers chances of finding a team inclined to take him in trade and save some of the 22M.He wouldn’t or couldn’t do it.

  22. Credibly accused in the context I referred means that he was accused of the same or similar behavior by three different women and was punished after an investigation into those accusations. Fair point on the use of the term. Clearly, it took more than the accusations for Bauer to be released by the Dodgers. He was suspended longer than any other player in MLB history as a result of the investigation. MLB did not handle this well in my opinion and the suspension may have been excessive. An arbitrator certainly felt that way. But it can be true that Bauer deserved to be suspended and lose his job and also be true that MLB did not handle this well. For those who want to turn this into a cave to the “woke” culture – whatever that really means – I don’t think this is the hill to die on.

    1. You don’t think this is a hill to die on? He lost his job, and lost millions without committing a crime. Is this the world you want to live in?

  23. I said yesterday that I had no opinion of the outcome of this. I knew that the Dodgers could elect to waive him and I also know that Trevor Bauer is a knucklehead. I understand what happened but it violates my opinion of what is fair and right. I also think that Curt Schilling could be right. Bauer may never pitch again in MLB. It very well may be that Manfred has issued the edict to all the owners.

    I am going to Northern Indiana to visit my daughter today. See you later!

    2. I concur! Have fun Mark. I’m going on a nice, relaxing bike ride by the beach today. Might stop in at my son’s house to help him set up some vinyl recording software on this computer that works with the phone pre-amp I got him for Christmas. Tech support! Gonna make some pasta with peas for dinner tonight with leftover ham.

  24. Mark … I’m with you, going to spend today with my son and grandkids. As we were getting ready for bed last night, my ten year old pitcher/short stop who hit almost .700 last year, asked me, “So grampa, the Dodgers are going to pay Trevor Bauer to pitch against us this year?” I simply smiled and said, “Sometimes grown-ups can be pretty stupid. Let’s say our prayers and get to sleep. We’ll talk about it in the morning, while we’re playing some catch.”

    1. Sounds like a good Dodger grandad.I’ve got the Dodger part down.My 2 girls are in college at MSU. Gonna be a little bit on the papaw ,but I sure am looking forward to it.

  26. The Trevor Bauer Debacle will be officially over in 7 days as predicted. Time to move on and cheer for the present Dodger roster going into Spring training. I believe the Dodgers did the right thing from a PR standpoint. AF is human and can’t get them all right.

  27. Well folks, it’s going to be a sunny day here where I live. There always something to improve around the house. Always work to do. Let’s be the best we can be, think positive and enjoy our lives to the fullest.

  28. So, to further clarify the distinction between a Woke person and a Karen, I would use this as example of Woke – morally self-righteous with equal parts nastiness; hyper-obsessed with “justice” and not labelling people, but usually the first to denigrate a person based on age or color of skin.

  29. Well, the shoe dropped. Not unexpected. It’d be interesting to read a little about the efforts AF went into looking for a trade partner. Because he had this deadline and PR was clearly working against him, I suppose he really didn’t have a whole lot of leverage – at least that may have been the perception from a lot of the other owners. The pressure was on the Dodgers, not anybody else. Will be interesting to see if/where he lands up. I would have to think the Mets, being that it’s New York, and politically not dissimilar from LA, would want to avoid the PR mess. Remember, Bauer is not out of a job solely because he may have abused women. His real sin … his original sin … is being perceived as right wing, as being pro Orange Man. That may sound ridiculous, and it is, but it’s sadly also true.

    There’s a podcaster that I like and listen to and follow on Twitter. Lex Fridman. He has long form interviews on oftentimes cerebral topics with scientists, thought leaders, politicians and celebrities. He comes across as a really, really earnest and genuinely nice person. The twitter mob has gone after him and has tried to publicly smear and slander him and get him fired from his position at MIT. His sin? He’s friendly with, has interviewed, and interacts on Twitter with Elon Musk, who’s risen to near Trump status in the pantheon of people the Woke despise. If you don’t make a public pronouncement of virtue by expressing adequate amounts of hatred for the right targets, you will be hated.

    So, now the spectator sport in this whole mess will be to see if this ends this whole fiasco and the Dodgers and their fans can now move on. My hunch is, no. Once that critical mass of outrage is reached, it’s not always easy to stop moral panics. Witch hunts tend not to end with just one witch. You have to seek out anyone who may have been in contact with that witch, who may have given comfort or support to said witch, and thusly accuse them of witchcraft.

    I read a post in the last article from someone who was upset that AF didn’t release him immediately. So, already it may have started. Social justice warriors are never satisfied. I’d predict that a few of these social justice warrior/”journalists” will now start the slow drumbeat to holding AF accountable for ever signing Bauer. He enabled the witch. AF will have to be burned, too. I don’t know if it will be most, even among the Wokest, but some will be make the passive aggressive insinuation that AF needs to go, and they’ll justify it on other grounds, but his sin will be that he signed Bauer.

    1. Friedman is fine, this ends soon enough. It’s very reminiscent of Kaepernick.

      Do you listen to Tyler Cowan’ a podcast? Sam Harris? Andrew Sullivan?

      All have great guests and conversations.

      To me

      1. I too have listened to Lex. His long form discussions are interesting. And I’m also a fan of Andrew Sullivan. I’ve read his work for years.

        Where I disagree, a bit, with your statement is that Bauer political opinion played a large part of this. It was more how he handled himself with the media and social media. I’m sure there is a whole spectrum of political opinions in every clubhouse. Most athletes avoid making their politics public. It can only hurt you doing so. I haven’t a clue who Kersh, Urias or JT voted for nor do I care. But they are careful to avoid saying anything publicly that will creat a distraction for themselves and their team. That’s just called being smart. The world has changed an awful lot in the past decade. Fair or not.

        Kaepernick is a good example. I did not agree with how he decided to express his political opinion. It’s not something I would do. However, my biggest issue was he chose to express his opinion, controversially IN UNIFORM on the clock. Regardless what anybody thinks about his politics, that crosses a line for me. If you’re being paid an ungodly sum of money for any job, the least an explorer can ask is that you don’t become an unnecessary distraction to your team. Particularly when you’re on the clock. Especially in the hyper political environment we now live in. I believe that is the reason no team has offered Kaepernick a job for years. He has the ability to, at the very least, be a backup in the NFL. But you pay a player to help your team win. His presence on any team would cause a lot of unwanted attention that will not help the team win. I believe that Bauer has that similar issue. Even though the media attention isn’t related to the same kind of thing as Kaepernick. It’s still a distraction that no team wants to deal with. That said, Bauer (assuming he can still pitch at the same level) is a top 10 pitcher in baseball. I think it’s more likely a team is willing to put up with the media sh*t storm for a talent of his level.

        The world is what the world is. Regardless if we agree with it or not. Smart athletes (especially the elite ones) know they have to manage their public image. It’s not only in their team’s interest it’s in their own.

        1. I’ve always respected Andrew Sullivan, and see him much the same as I did Christopher Hitchens. I don’t always agree, but there’s enough overlap in our views that I can at least ponder the things in which I disagree, because they at least come from a place of good faith and intelligence rather than the usual blind partisanship that is standard fare.

          I’m not positive I really understand nor agree with you assessment of Bauer’s actions or non-actions and their relative contribution to our current state, and I think you did a decent job making the case against your own argument there with the Kaep example. I mentioned this before, but if Bauer, in his social media presence, had the proper hashtags – the little #BLM with the little darker hand emojis, made some LGBQ+ ally references, maybe a profile pic of him dutifully wearing a COVID mask – all the proper little pieties, the reaction and the outcome probably would have been radically different. Bauer was hated before all of this happened. And yes, it is good sense, if you’re in the public spotlight, to simply STFU and stay away from saying or posting anything controversial, but I think that rule is unequally applied when it comes to politics and, to me, that is at the root of the problem.

          One of the main demographics that watch the NFL are people that enjoy military flyovers over stadiums, respect the military, are patriotic, stand with the hand on their heart when the national anthem is played. Of course Kaep is fired. It’d be like having a PETA spokesman be the marketing chief of Outback Steakhouse. He’s absolutely toxic to the NFL’s brand and, as you mentioned, was probably going to be a backup. He was on his way out of the NFL, and he probably knew it, and he changed his brand. He has made millions upon millions upon millions of dollars, not from being a good football player, but from capitalizing on the current corporate and cultural appetite for grievance and social justice.

          One political opinion gets punished – severely and mercilessly. One gets rewarded. And it wasn’t as if Bauer that political. We’re talking a handful of tweets.

          I will say this, though, that his general boorishness and generally just being a jerk on social media didn’t help him. Being outspoken on social media, having edgy takes, sometimes from a branding perspective it’s successful. You come across as authentic and people often connect to that – even when you’re a jerk, but it comes at a cost.

          He never did apologize to the Dodgers and the team for engaging in reckless behavior that hurt his team. If I’m the Dodgers, that’s enough to let him go. After all that, does he expect them to take heat for him?

          Issues are complicated. That’s why we’re arguing and have so many opinions.

          1. Bauer hasn’t been punished for his politics, whatever those may be. He portrays himself as the victim here.
            Uh, no.
            He was punished because the MLB investigation found that he was credibly accused by three women of violating a policy that forbids sexual violence. Compounding this is the fact that Bauer, while admitting to his involvement in “rough sex,” has insisted that he never crossed the boundaries that the women say they set.
            If you think a policy that forbids sexual violence is “woke”… well, you might want to do some more thinking.
            You might ask the women in your life what they thinks of the accusations of the three women .
            This pattern of (alleged) abusive treatment of women stretches back to his rookie days–and Bauer’s defense has been basically, “They wanted it.”
            But remember that Bauer’s various statements–including one related to the Dodgers decision–have called his credibility into question.
            I hope the Dodgers find a team that will take him on, and that Bauer has learned his lesson and behaves himself. Go forth and sin no more.
            What MLB owner will take him on?
            But let’s remember that, even before the sexual abuse allegations, Bauer had earned a reputation as royal jerk before AF signed him.
            And I tried to tell AF not to do it! The jerk factor, I admit, was a secondary factor in my sage advice. Mostly I just thought Bauer was unnecessary and the $$ would be better invested elsewhere, like maybe an extension for Julio.
            Or something.

  30. I agree 100% with Mark but I’m ready to move on.

    Guy hasn’t pitched in almost 2 years. We got guys behind him that will probably be better.

    I’m ready for the season…this team WILL be a good team. And then its get hot at the right time….

    1. Agree. It’s done now, so time to look forward to spring training and the most fun part of this spring training will be seeing our Top 5 farm actually show us why it’s top 5.

      I’ve never seen Jacob Amaya play, but man, if he can have a big spring, it could change the dynamics of this team.

      1. I’ve watched a lot of video on him. He’s awesome with the glove, like a machine. He can throw from any angle and from either foot. He’s not overly flashy. He’s a real blue-collar shortstop. A machine with his glove.

        1. So I’d say the flashiest we’ve had the past several years was Izturis (Furcal was sexy flashy, but I’d take Izturis on defense)

          Any comparison to that? Or no? I still value defense at SS, and I’d LOVE if Amaya took that job so we could keep Lux at 2b.

  32. Chris, read what you just wrote. You are disguising your own aggressive behavior as self-righteousness. Those who stand up for a legal system that’s supposed to protect the innocent until proven guilty are all wife-beaters according to you? Those that took the time to dig into the facts to come up with their own viewpoints instead of just reading headlines are the bad people?

    My wife called this blackmail as soon as the story came out. She’s been a Paralegal and Legal Assistant for 20 years.

    I feel sorry for the woman in your life having to live without a strong man by her side. Another loser calling names from behind a keyboard.

  33. A lot of words of passion from a lot of Dodger fans. I like BP’s notion of trying to get something from this mess over the next seven days. It pains me the team has to eat the $22.5M and we may have to pay for Bauer pitching against us. This too will pass.
    What I do appreciate is that Bauer didn’t try the Hershel Walker crap by saying the Lord has changed his course and all those types of lies. Bauer is clearly an A Hole who can pitch. He will pitch somewhere and I hope we can light him up if he pitches against our beloved Dodgers.
    I am excited about the notion of the kids getting a chance this season. Mostly sad about not being about to use that $22.5M to strengthen our current team. I’m hoping to make it to ST to absorb more of my joy for Dodger baseball this March.

  34. Thanks me the interesting thing is how the Dodgers stay under the threshold still.

    A trade partner for Bauer would help immensely, but is doubtful.

    Otherwise it’s going to be really hard, and would that portend resetting the cap next year!?!?!?

    1. They will have to package CT3 and a prospect to dump Taylor’s salary. Or maybe restructure someone’s contract.

  35. I do not think any team will trade for him… even if you throw in a couple of top prospects.. AF could offer Bauer, Taylor, Pepiot, Miller & Pages and there will be no takers Maybe someone signs him for the minimum but he is a leper!

  37. From a pure baseball standpoint, I hate this decision because it’s a waste of $22.5M, a sunk cost or “Bad Contract Debt”. I wonder how this would have worked out if the Dodgers signed him to a long-term contract instead of the short-term High AAV contract that he’s currently under. Do you think they would have cut him if they had 7 more years to go?

    The loss of Bauer, at first glance, makes the team weaker. Take the blinder’s off and see him for what he is. He’s a very good, not great pitcher that helps the bullpen because he pitches deep into games. He’s a workhorse, something this rotation clearly lacked last season, especially in the playoffs where Doc, once again, overused his pen. He’s a very good number two that’s capable of matching up with number one’s and keeping your team in the game.

    AF covered his bases with the pending possibility of Bauer not being on this team when he signed a “hot rod garage” candidate in Noah Syndergaard. At Noah’s best, he’s a very similar pitcher. Hopefully, the Dodgers can get him right. The rest of the rotation is pretty much the same as last season, May takes over for an injured Buehler and Kershaw, Gonso and Urias round it out. In a sense, Bauer would move another rotation piece into a depth piece. Now, we clear a depth spot and give it to another rookie. Miller, Stone, Pepiot or Grove. Could any of them fill Bauer’s shoes on the hill? Well, they are some of the best pitching prospects in baseball. The rest of the rotation could be as good as Bauer in any given year. Not having him doesn’t hurt the team that much. This move does not make or break us for the upcoming season.

    As more information comes forth, I consider the information to form new opinions. Now, we’ve seen a comment posted by Bauer and the team’s response. Each side is telling it as they see it. From Bauer’s perspective, he met with team officials about coming back to pitch on this team. From the Dodger’s perspective, they met with Bauer and he showed no contrition. What actually happened, might be somewhere in the middle. The Dodgers have a track record of not being truthful in their releases, especially with injured players, so it’s hard for me to trust anything they say. They are run, at the tippy top, by business executives who toe the line between telling the truth and lying for a living. Bauer seems to be the OCD type that sees things very black and white. In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in between.

    The more likely scenario is the Dodgers have been fielding trade offers for the last two weeks and didn’t get anything that knocked their socks off. Maybe they received no interest at all. Maybe they have a deal in place that involves another player on the 40 and the DFA allows them to keep a player on the roster that they would have had to cut when they added Bauer back on it. Then they met with Bauer to see what was in store for the upcoming season, through conversation. Maybe they even told him what was needed as far as a public statement goes and Bauer had a different opinion. But, just the fact that they met with him before a DFA means the door was at least cracked open for a return.

    It’s not entirely a baseball decision. It’s not entirely a political decision. The Dodgers brass are financial experts. They manage risk for a living, for their entire careers. The run the team like a mutual fund. Diversify to strike a balance between limiting risk and optimizing performance.

    In the upcoming week, we will see if there is any trade value remaining. Here’s the DFA definition from MLB.
    When a player’s contract is designated for assignment — often abbreviated “DFA” — that player is immediately removed from his club’s 40-man roster. Within seven days of the transaction (had been 10 days under the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agreement), the player can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.

    If the player is claimed off said waivers by another club, he is immediately added to that team’s 40-man roster, at which point he can be optioned to the Minor Leagues (if he has Minor League options remaining) or assigned to his new team’s 26-man roster. If the player clears waivers, he may be sent outright to the Minor Leagues or released. Players with more than three years of Major League service time or who have been previously outrighted may reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.

    Clubs may utilize this option to clear a spot on the 40-man roster — typically with the intention of adding a newly acquired player (via trade or free agency), a Minor Leaguer or a player being activated from the 60-day injured list.

    Here’s more on waivers…
    Release Waivers
    Definition
    Before a club can formally release a player, that player must first be passed through unconditional release waivers. All 29 other clubs in the Majors have the opportunity to claim the player and add him to their 40-man rosters. A player that is claimed on release waivers has the option of rejecting that claim and instead exploring the free-agent market. Release waivers are often requested after a player’s contract is designated for assignment or in cases when a veteran player would otherwise refuse an outright assignment. Players are rarely claimed off release waivers, as the claiming club is required to pick up the remaining contract. Once the player clears waivers, the releasing club is responsible for the old contract.

    There’s at least a couple of scenes where the Dodgers could free up some of his salary.

    1) They can negotiate a trade with another team. Maybe getting a good player in return, or a prospect, eating some or all of Bauer’s remaining salary in the process.

    2) Another team can claim him off waivers, give the Dodgers nothing, but will have to pay his salary. Mostly an unlikely scenario, but considering that Thor got a one year, 20M contract from Angels while coming off an injury, a team might be willing to eat Bauer’s remaining $22M for a healthy Cy Young winner.

  38. I went back and watched all of his starts from 2021. He was very good at going deep into games, then in mid June, he started giving up a lot of home runs. After his 8-5 start and being placed on administrative leave, his HR’s allowed total stood at 17. Had he pitched a full season, he might have given up 30. But he was a strikeout machine and had over 10 in 4 games. Also, most of the long balls he gave up were solo shots. It does look like after the ban on the sticky grip stuff pitchers used, he lost a little something. But any guesswork of how the season might have played out is a wasted effort. One thing to remember, had he not been placed on admin leave, and none of this happened, they probably would not have traded for Scherzer and Turner.

    1. Another thing to remember, is when the goop got banned, this incident happened around the same time. After the goop ban, his ERA was around 3.5 until he was banned. Was it the goop, or was it the distraction that affected his numbers?

  39. According the WSJ, he sunk his own ship with a recording where he admits striking the ladies, an infraction which violates the MLB rules according to the article. I hope there is a team willing to step out and mitigate our situation based on their desire to sign him.

  40. I am holding out hope the Dodgers are executing a strategy that none can see:

    1. Announce release of Bauer, score PR win, remove distraction, and negative influence on rookies.

    2. Trade Bauer this week, thus controlling his destination and reducing our financial obligation.

    3. Use recouped $’s on deal to land another pitcher.

    This would restore my confidence in Dodger brass.

    1. It’s fine Eric. We all to some extent have things related to life that we have to deal with. Pressure affects everyone differently. I am a lot more at peace with myself since I retired. Writing for this site gives me a lot of joy and I really enjoy the research I have to do for a story. I love baseball, and I love the Dodgers. I do not get attached to the players since in this day and age, they come and they go. I am as you and many others well know, more old school than new. I look at the numbers that way and I still think BA, RBI’s, wins and losses mean something. ERA can get bloated for a reliever with one bad outing, starters, not so much. But those stats were the ones I grew up with and understand. I let the stat geeks worry about the saber metric stuff. I hope you get in a place where you can feel some peace yourself.

  42. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw parties. The bigger a person is in the eyes of the public is going to be looked at harder and anything of controversial behavior will be magnified and judged motivated as an example. The massage sent By MLB and the Dodgers Is probably more about keeping or putting in line or future players that the job puts their lives viewed through a microscope so beware or else. Either secure or free but can’t be both. So pass me the bong, I ain’t running for President.

  43. Right or wrong, the Dodgers opted to part ways with Trevor Bauer. I’m marginally surprised that they chose to eat 22.5 million (chump change claimed one poster. Tell that to a minor leaguer) and give a competitor a shot at him for the minimum while LA picks up the tab. Odd. I predicted that they would make a deal for Trevor to be elsewhere and split the cost; 11.25 per team. I bet this was put out there but no takers.
    Can he still pitch? I think we’ll see.
    I’m no math major and lots of numbers are tossed around. Correct me if I’m in error but the best I can figure is:
    Bauer signed in Feb. 2021 for 3 years for 102 million including a bonus.
    He last pitched on June 28, 2021. In 2021, he was 8&5 w/ a nice 2.59 ERA. 17 starts in 107.2 innings.
    Those are his total 3 year contract contributions to the Dodgers.
    He 3 year contract was for 486 games. You would have hoped for 90+ starts for that money
    A 192 game suspension takes that down to 292 games for which the Dodgers are obligated to pay his salary. That is $64.8 million according to my math.
    So for $65 million, the Dodgers got 17 starts and 107.2 innings. That’s 3.8 million per game started and $600,000 per inning pitched.
    So, this was a financial disaster only exacerbated by paying the last 22.5 million for him to pitch elsewhere.
    I don’t know AF and the organization’s reasons and I don’t care. I do blame Bauer for stealing the Dodger’s money and being an idiot.
    I think there was so much wrong here including the length of the suspension, Manfred and MLB dragging there feet costing the Dodgers in many ways and adding the need for a cut in payroll for 2023.
    But it is what it is. And time to move on. Maybe there is still some deal to be done.

  44. Ken Rosenthal’s new article at the Athletic is garbage. Essentially lecturing the Dodgers for taking all 14 days to DFA Bauer. I know he’s a very connected baseball reporter, but this is a very one sided take.

    As if just eating $22m and letting a good pitcher potentially play against you in your own division is something that requires no thoughtful consideration.

    This kind of condescending reporting really irritates me. Things are almost never black and white. But acting like they are sure makes it easy to think your own “sh*t don’t stink”.

    https://theathletic.com/4065876/2023/01/06/rosenthal-dodgers-trevor-bauer-decision/?source=user_shared_article

    1. Unlike many others here, I’m a Rosenthal fan.

      That said, I completely agree with your take. Very one-sided article and quite condescending.

      And, not that anyone asked me, but your point about things almost never being black and white is exactly what is wrong with this country today. Way too many people, no matter which side of an argument they are on, bother to try to see the other side’s viewpoint. And God forbid they should find a point or two of value in the other guy’s argument.

      1. 100% agree.

        I hang out a couple afternoons per week at a friends sports bar. We have an eclectic group of 6 or 8 close friends. Ages range from 35 to 84. They include a retired cop, retired Marine Major, math professor, a pool guy, a stock broker, a public school teacher and my dumb ass. We have every political opinion across the entire spectrum. Catholics, evangelicals and atheists. But we also have respect for each other and a strong sense of brotherhood. If people can get off their high horses and actually listen to opposing opinions, and people’s experiences in life, you come to find that you won’t always agree, but very few people believe in things for bad reasons. And there are two sides to every story. Too many people today think real life is Twitter. Which is making real life much more like Twitter. Unfortunately.

        1. Sounds like a very interesting group of people. Enjoy the time you have with them. I’m sure it’s very thought provoking, as opposed to anger provoking.

          As they say, life is what you make of it.

          1. If you’re ever in the Inland Empire in Southern CA, let me know. And almost all of us are Dodger fans. Unfortunately there are a couple Angels fans. We let them stay out of pity.

      2. Rosenthal followed in the footsteps of Molly Knight, it is just too bad that he won’t be let go too. That article was absolute trash and they turned off the comments so you couldn’t even vote up or down. I wrote a letter to the editor expressing my displeasure and I encourage others of you to do the same.

    4. 1. Anal Sex Death, good band ….I think I saw them open once, along with Nashville Pussy, for the rather tame headliners, The Butthole Surfers…..

      2. Happy New Year to all! I don’t post much, but I still lurk from time to time to see what you wild and crazy guys are up to…..

      3. I think the comments section to this post are Sergio Leone’s long-awaited sequel to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”…..

      Salut!

  46. One thing is quite obvious to me, the subject of Trevor Bauer incites a lot of passion in fans one both sides of the issue. The cold hard fact is that the Dodgers, meaning ownership, have made the decision to sever ties with the talented pitcher. Thus, the circus is leaving town and the arguments from either side are moot now. I agree with the analysis of Rosenthal’s column that it is nothing more than drivel and one-sided drivel at that. Whether charged or not, guilty of same or not, Trevor Bauer will never wear a Dodger uni again. And also obvious is the fact that unless he made some sort of contrite statement and apology, the chances of him returning to the Dodgers were absolutely zero. He has no trade value at this point, and the Dodgers are getting nothing for their investment. He will be released and although most believe he won’t, there are a couple of teams out there who are willing to take a flyer on him, especially since all it will cost them is the MLB minimum. Some say there is no way this happens, but it has happened with other players where there was way more evidence of misconduct. Of course only time will tell us the outcome.

  47. Pretty good analysis of the Dodgers, off-season strategy by Jack Harris in LAT. If I’m reading it right, he thinks AF could angle for Adames and/or Reynolds at midseason.
    A common opinion, it seems, is that the Dodgers need another proven bat. I tend to agree, because the rookies aren’t proven, Trayce is sketchy, and we need bounce-back performance from Max, Taylor, JD Martinez and (to a lesser extent) Lux.
    I’ll put in another plug here for McCutcheon if the price is OK. Good platoon possibility.

    1. JD Martinez had a decent season. He hit over .270 with 17 homers. Not his usual power output but he also hit over 40 doubles for the second year in a row. He has 85 doubles over the last two seasons, no Dodger has come close to that. So all he really needs to do is get that HR number up. Max and Taylor need to be better. Lux should hit in the .270 range since he is perfectly capable of that with around 10 homers if he stays healthy. So you will have Betts, Freeman, Smith, Martinez and Lux as about as close to sure things as there is. You get the usual season out of Taylor and Max, which would translate to .256/17/66 with 13 bags for Taylor, and .231/33/87 for Muncy with an OBP of .355 and OPS .828, that would be seven solid bats in the lineup. I think both Taylor and Muncy will be much closer to those numbers that what they posted last season. Taylor recently said he never really felt right all season and the little nagging injuries he had made it worse. Muncy will be over a year and a half removed from his season ending injury in 21. If Thompson plays anywhere near as well as he did last year, offensively they will be ok. They would just need a decent rookie season out of Vargas and Outman. They are right up against the tax. McCutcheon would put them over for sure, and they still have some arbitration numbers to add. Pollock signs a one-year deal with the Mariners.

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