Shows how being a toxic person can kill you professionally. From $40 mil potential to $4 mil. Big drop to put it mildly.

Yeah, but...

He's getting his full MLB salary this year PLUS $4M from the team in Japan. If he had gotten an MLB job somewhere, his salary from that team would have been deducted from his LAD salary.

BL: He's actually making (at least) $4M more now than he would have if he had stayed in the majors. If he played with the LAD, more than half of his salary would have been subject to CA state taxes. Depending on where he makes his residency (FL has no state income tax), he could be saving several additional million by not playing for the LAD.

2. Correct on all accounts. Plus he puts a year between the issue and when he is next looking for a job. I expect to see him on someone's team in 2024. And if he plays well in Japan, he'll come back at a good rate

Do they...not care about this type of thing in Japan? Or does the team assume that it won't be known by a majority of their fans?

i think people tend to get a cleaner slate when they move from one country to another to play ball.

separate question i've wondered about for awhile: the dodgers would have really benefitted by dumping bauer's contract on another team before cutting him. what would they have been willing to give up in order to do so? (that it didn't happen suggests that the answer might be less than what i think i'd've been willing to do.) also, would mlb permit it? i'd think so, given that appeared to be trying to move him. (all this presumes that the new team would've cut him and paid out his salary ... that the dodgers would send prospects to make this happen and to duck under the cap, which would help them a lot for next offseason.)

Good question. The actual money owed this year was $22.5 plus whatever tax hit they would have taken on the $34 CBT hit vs whatever payroll flexibility they get this year and, from the reset, next year. Keibert Ruiz just signed a buyout of 8/$50 -- a player of that caliber maybe, I suspect below that. Or, if you're the Red Sox, Mookie Betts. :-)

Won't be surprised if he gets into similar trouble over there.

Won't be surprised if he gets into similar trouble over there.

He'd probably get away with it over there.

7 - my first thought was (at the time when they were shopping him ) gavin stone, who baseballtradevalues has as worth 22.2m -- i think his "real trade value" is in excess of that and that the dodgers wouldn't let him go but that it would've been worth it?

(fwiw, same site has ruiz worth 57.7m -- i agree that dumping bauer would've been worth less than that to the dodgers.)

8. If you mean, he gets set up by someone who's trying to get his money, yes all ball players have that issue and a history of it makes you even more susceptible.

He'd probably get away with it over there.

He wasnt actually punished by the criminal system here, although yes he was suspended if thats what you mean.

He wasnt actually punished by the criminal system here, although yes he was suspended if thats what you mean.

He wasn't tried or convicted. But merely being a subject of a criminal investigation resulted in him giving up 1.5 years of his livelihood, and having to move out of his preferred country of employment.

It's a little ridiculous to use an example of a multimillionaire white dude, but the criminal justice system results in a lot of very real and very significant punishments that it doesn't directly impose.

Bye! Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!

But merely being a subject of a criminal investigation resulted in him giving up 1.5 years of his livelihood, and having to move out of his preferred country of employment.

Sometimes, the process is the punishment.

i think people tend to get a cleaner slate when they move from one country to another to play ball.

Does that apply to owners? If that's the case, maybe we can entice Putin to withdraw from Ukraine in exchange for the ownership of the Washington Commanders.

I once visited an accused felon athlete in Idaho, where he played briefly.

While I expected negative feedback from fans, the overwhelming consensus was that those from the East who come West do it to gain a fresh start - and that was fine with them.

never could figure out what to make of that, but it's a real thing.

15. And this is a big problem with the kind of power the various govts wield. The process is the punishment and it's meted out specifically for that reason. You can see this with our former president - regardless of how you view him, the prosecutorial process is simply to wear him down, bleed him of cash, destroy allies. After 7 years all they have is a 130k payment to Stormy Daniels which they are trying to say is a campaign finance violation. Pretty thin gruel.

Bauer is the same. Gets shaken down for money and MLB uses it as an opportunity to blacklist him. Being a lousy person shouldn't be a crime.

After 7 years all they have is a 130k payment to Stormy Daniels which they are trying to say is a campaign finance violation.

Uh huh.

Sometimes, the process is the punishment.

And this is a big problem with the kind of power the various govts wield. The process is the punishment and it's meted out specifically for that reason.

Out of curiosity, based on these statements do either or both of you support no cash bail?

Uh huh

Well said. If someone thinks that’s all “they have” on TFG, then they are being willfully ignorant.

Out of curiosity, based on these statements do either or both of you support no cash bail?

Wasn’t directed at me, but absolutely.

Ahem.

OK, here’s what we've got: the Government — in conjunction with the woke people — under the supervision of the Rothschilds — are forcing our Ubaldo Jiminez-level pitchers and Papa Doc-level leaders to go to pitch in Japan or be investigated for charges in a fiendish plot to eliminate multiple pornhub channels!

We’re through the looking glass, here, people...

OK, here’s what we've got: the Government — in conjunction with the woke people — under the supervision of the Rothschilds — are forcing our Ubaldo Jiminez-level pitchers and Papa Doc-level leaders to go to pitch in Japan or be investigated for charges in a fiendish plot to eliminate multiple pornhub channels!

No mention of reverse vampires or the Rand corporation. I see they have gotten to you.

I just don’t want to cross those Egg Council creeps. Again, I
Mean.

And this is a big problem with the kind of power the various govts wield. The process is the punishment and it's meted out specifically for that reason.

You will have to forgive me for not starting with the two rich guys (who will continue to be rich) when I decide who to feel bad about stuff like this happening. A whole lot of others who are really hurt by this type of stuff are way ahead of these two in line.

I once visited an accused felon athlete in Idaho, where he played briefly.

I'm confused. Is this like some guy playing on a prison team or some guy playing A ball?

..

There’s a scene in the TV drama Succession in which the media mogul Logan Roy tests would-be candidates for the Republican presidential nomination by ordering them to bring him a Coke. The man who eventually gets the nod is the one who didn’t even wait to be asked—he arrived at the sit-down with Logan’s Coke already in hand. That’s the candidate DeSantis is showing himself to be.

ouch.

I once visited an accused felon athlete in Idaho, where he played briefly.



I'm confused. Is this like some guy playing on a prison team or some guy playing A ball?

Me too. It sounds like a story that would have happened in the 1920s, and I'm almost sure Howie isn't that old.

the point wasn't who the athlete is, but the attitude of the fans in Idaho that I found surprising.

Antoine Walker, former Celtics forward?

I think he played in the CBA in Idaho after his legal issues...

21. Re cash bail, nor me either.

Consider unintended consequences, first bail should guarantee a person's appearance in court.
If the person is neither a flight nor public safety risk, release on a promise to appear should be appropriate.
Even if the person has committed a violent crime, steps may exist to reduce the risk of harm to the public and the person can still be reduced without posting a bond.
But, courts will rely on formulas, maybe they're called algorithms now. So, what if the algorithm says don't release.
That's the place where bail can come in. But, it has to be proportionate to what the person can afford.

What happens when a judge relies on public safety and says no release (which I have heard happen on misdemeanors). Judges certainly try their best. But, should the accused be left with no option?

It seems anomalous for the 8th amendment's guarantee of reasonable bail to be written out of the law.

I voted against the elimination of cash bail in my state; it has a place if after a risk analysis the person remains in custody. But, it must be commensurate with the accused's ability to pay. So, some opaque algorithm shouldn't decide a person's pretrial freedom, nor should unreasonable cash bail requirements.

On Stormy D, it seemed like an update of lewinsky/clinton. It's between Trump and his wife; I really don't care about it, as I felt about clinton/lewinsky
If there are other avenues of prosecution, focus on them. $130K to Stormy D

If there's more, fine prosecute it.

28. Well, doesn't that show Gov Des is smart? Battling the woke corporations does not strike me as a particularly attractive platform. But, if you dig tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and bailing out multimillionaire bank depositors, vote for him

I saw a tweet that said $1 million of his deal was for marketing, which seemed counterintuitive.

28. Well, doesn't that show Gov Des is smart? Battling the woke corporations does not strike me as a particularly attractive platform. But, if you dig tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and bailing out multimillionaire bank depositors, vote for him

i mean, it doesn't really show anything, aside from one republican anti-trumper's imagined perception of ron desantis. this, on the other hand, is a bit more concrete:

The chatter over DeSantis’ public engagement has also surfaced past unflattering stories about his social skills—particularly, his propensity to devour food during meetings.

“He would sit in meetings and eat in front of people,” a former DeSantis staffer told The Daily Beast, “always like a starving animal who has never eaten before… getting #### everywhere.”

Enshrined in DeSantis lore is an episode from four years ago: During a private plane trip from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., in March of 2019, DeSantis enjoyed a chocolate pudding dessert—by eating it with three of his fingers, according to two sources familiar with the incident.

link

4. Tin Angel Posted: March 13, 2023 at 04:38 PM (#6120335)
Do they...not care about this type of thing in Japan? Or does the team assume that it won't be known by a majority of their fans?

Initially, it would seem the answer to these questions is, yes. The Washington Post, with the headline "Trevor Bauer signing met with little reaction in Japan," has these nuggets:

An informal survey of young fans outside the Tokyo Dome buying World Baseball Classic tickets yielded a mix of responses. Several knew Bauer was coming to Japan, but only a few knew about the allegations against him.

“Some Japanese baseball fans will know his name, but most don’t know anything about him,” said Ichiro Mizutani, an 18-year-old fan of the Tokyo Giants.

Mitsuki Akazawa wore a blue Los Angeles Dodgers cap and said he knew all about Bauer.

“I know he has some difficult issues,” the 21-year-old said, calling them “domestic problems.”

“But he was not found guilty in court. So I’m not sure if he was in the wrong,” he added.

The article also notes Roberto Osuna played there last year and has already signed with another team for next season.

@32, cash bail is probably a necessary evil. My time as a criminal defense attorney left me pretty liberal on the criminal justice system, but I've had clients who definitely only showed to get their money back.

Look up Sheriff's bonds if you want to see the real travesty. Whole counties outlaw private bail, and only allow bail through government funded bail bonds. Of course, the Sheriff's bond takes a bigger percentage as profit than the private bond, and on average bail is set higher than surrounding jurisdictions, turning the whole bail process into a state run cash grab on par with speed traps.

“But he was not found guilty in court. So I’m not sure if he was in the wrong,” he added.

More precisely, Bauer was never even charged, which should give folks some pause about continuing to rely on the initial press accounts of his actions. He may not be a great fellow, but one wouldn’t expect other countries to ban him in the absence of any criminal charges.

There’s a scene in the TV drama Succession in which the media mogul Logan Roy tests would-be candidates for the Republican presidential nomination by ordering them to bring him a Coke. The man who eventually gets the nod is the one who didn’t even wait to be asked—he arrived at the sit-down with Logan’s Coke already in hand. That’s the candidate DeSantis is showing himself to be.

Unimportantly, and as a fan of the show, I would like to say that the lack of Succession blooper reels and outtakes is a crime against humanity.

More precisely, Bauer was never even charged, which should give folks some pause about continuing to rely on the initial press accounts of his actions.

That's not how these things work. Pockets of the internet were apoplectic when Mike Clevinger went unpunished by MLB. It's all about getting a pound of flesh, flashing your bonafides that you play for the right team.

Then Clevinger should have signed with the Cubs.

Pockets of the internet were apoplectic when Mike Clevinger went unpunished by MLB.

That's to be expected, when MLB gets into the business of punishing off-the field actions. Some players get significant suspensions that de facto end their careers, while others, the allegations against whom seem based on public reports to be just as credible and similarly terrible, get to continue with little or no penalty at all.

Selective enforcement is frequently weaponized to punish the "wrong" people while letting the "right" people off the hook. It's hard to look at MLB's actions in this space (and the PED space) and not see selective enforcement in action.

4. Tin Angel Posted: March 13, 2023 at 04:38 PM (#6120335)
Do they...not care about this type of thing in Japan?

It seems Bauer's past is irrelevant to the Japanese press.

Before about 75 reporters in a Yokohama hotel, [Bauer] slipped on the BayStars uniform – No. 96 – on Friday and said all the right things. Not a single Japanese reporter asked him about his suspension in the United States over domestic violence allegations or the reasons surrounding it.

The only question about it came from The Associated Press.

Source

What makes Bauer the “wrong” people and Clevinger the “right” people?

@32, cash bail is probably a necessary evil. My time as a criminal defense attorney left me pretty liberal on the criminal justice system, but I've had clients who definitely only showed to get their money back.

My position is to start with this basic premise. If a person is deemed a flight risk or a danger to others, remand, regardless of how much bail they can afford, If not, release until trial, regardless of how much bail they can afford. I know it can never be as simple as this, so do a little more nuanced tweaking if you must, but the basic principle should be the goal. This seems to be working well in jurisdictions where a good faith effort is being employed.

far too often, bail, and the accused inability to pay it, are a substitution for incarceration and ultimately securing a conviction without the hassle of going to trial.