The Truth About Trevor Bauer

Will the players will accept Bauer back? If they’re overwhelming against it, I think Friedman will respect their feelings and they’ll keep Bauer benched at home (paid) and will look for a trade suitor. If the charges drop, I’m sure someone will want him provided the Dodgers pay a big chunk of the remaining money. Bauer will have to convince the clubhouse he’s as guiltless as he’s hinting. Admitting the physical stuff happened, but it was consensual probably won’t get a pass based on the personalities of the team. Wonder what kind of ground work he’s doing with the players trying to re-establish trust, if anything? I’m sure his attorney is advising him to stay holed up.

There is no actual news on Trevor Bauer. Just speculation. Lots and lots of speculation.

Will Bauer be charged? Just a guess, no he won’t. The DA, who is facing recall, has bigger problems. The case is unlikely to produce a conviction.

What he did was sell out his teammates by doing something incredibly dumb. He had to know that it could go bad and embarrass the Dodgers who are paying him a lot of money to be focused on helping them win a championship, not create a circus. I don’t know what he actually did, very true.

But I think his judgement was beyond bad. He let down his teammates, the organization and the fans. Have no desire to see him playing for the Dodgers again.

Guilty or not, he was given a golden opportunity. He blew it. Time to move on.

Many here post about the “presumption of innocence” and the standard for being charged with a crime without apparently knowing what they mean.

1 – The presumption only applies in criminal cases. It will not apply to MLB’s investigation or any punishment that results therefrom. Mostly, they use a preponderance of the evidence standard – 50% + 1.

2 – Crimes aren’t just against victims. They are against society. That’s why criminal cases are called The People v. Bauer (or whomever). Even if the woman isn’t honest or acted out of suspect motives, consent may not matter. You can’t consent to murder, etc.

3 – It’s the same thing with MLB. IT has to decide whether its standards have been violated, or whether the terms of his contract with the Dodgers (which will include a “morals clause”) or the MLB CBA. This has nothing to do with innocence or guilt of a criminal offense.

4 – MLB’s decision will be based in part of the jury of public opinion. Bauer already looks bad. He hasn’t been able to address every allegation yet due to the fact that the DA hasn’t decided whether to charge him, but some of the stuff that he has admitted looks bad. “Bauer denies anything nonconsensual occurred between them, which his representatives expect him reiterate at a July 23 hearing. In a statement, Bauer’s reps said, in part, “Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021. We have messages that show [the woman] repeatedly asking for ‘rough’ sexual encounters involving requests to be ‘choked out’ and slapped in the face. ” (Los Angeles Magazine, 7/1/21.) So this is what he has admitted to – not just rumor and innuendo. The question here is how much brutal punishment that the other party may consent to.

5 – There is the jury of the clubhouse as well. We don’t know what other players will put up with, but we know that one of the 1st things that Friedman did after he got to LA was to weed out the malcontents and bad actors.

6 – Then there is the jury of team owners. Will the owners of the Dodgers want their “brand” represented by someone who has admitted to doing, at the very least, what Bauer has admitted?

Hall of Fame announcement tomorrow. Players presenting their counter-proposal today. Trey Hillman has joined the Angels.

If a woman asked me to lightly spank her butt, sure, I’d do it.

If a woman asked me to punch her vagina? Regardless of how many times she asked? I won’t do it because I’m not a complete and total idiot. I don’t find that sexy, sexual, or even remotely feasible in my mind.

If Bauer did in fact willfully and intentionally punch a woman’s vagina, it shows me he’s an utter piece of trash human being. I don’t care if he had consent. Morals, common sense, and the lack of stupidity on my part would prevent me from saying “uhhhh ok, if you want me to punch you in the vagina, I guess I have consent so I’ll do it”

Even if she set him up. Even if the Padres helped set him up. Even if she was awake and said “keep punching my vagina”. My gut would tell me to get the hell out of that situation. Perhaps I have more respect for women than he does.

I don’t go around punching women in the vagina, and I don’t go around grabbing women by the p###y. Some men are trash, but thankfully most aren’t.

Bauer may have a very good legal case that he was set up, that rough sex was consensual, and/or it was the norm for him and this woman. But moral case? He’s trash. I’m guessing JT, Kersh, Kenley, and others found that to be beyond idiotic and hence dind’t want him back. I’m also quite sure that although Friedman knows he took a risk signing Bauer, he never in his wildest dreams imagined this.

How about this, since 2010, the Dodgers have won more games than any other team in the majors, 1068. That is 22 wins more than the Yankees. Over that time the Giants are 111 games behind them. The Padres are under .500 at 855-987. 213 games back. Colorado is 216 games back. The Marlins and the Orioles are the only two teams with 1000 or more losses over that period.

Reading some of the commentary leading up to the HOF announcement I can’t help but see parallels with TB. There seems to be a great deal of inconstancy with regard to how baseball, as a sport, handles players with perceived behavior issues.

The roids issues has been beat like a dead horse, so I won’t ‘go over that again. Even though voters seemed inclined to give Big Pappy a free pass on that all together.

I find the case for Curt Shilling interesting in this context. Several lesser players (in my opinion) have been inducted since he was eligible. His career stats certainly are compelling. His post season stats are even more compelling. But the issues is his personal opinions and social media behavior. And he certainly hasn’t helped himself in that regards. He also has had some spectacular business failures that haven’t exactly helped his reputation (or his net worth). His arrest associated with a political PAC also hasn’t helped. But none of these things are baseball related. And none of these controversies existed during his playing career. They never hurt any of his teams. And none of those controversies rise to the level of gambling, steriods or spousal abuse. The primary issues that keep people out of the HOF.

TB, on the other hand, did hurt his team with his off the field behavior. Now the situation is different as TB’s issues are taking place during his playing career and have nothing to do with the HOF. But TB’s behavior hurt his team. Both financially and in terms not having him available in the rotation. In my mind, when bad (not necessarily illegal) behavior has a negative effect on a player’s team it rises to a different level.

I just find the inconsistent application of the sports “ethics” to be concerning. Shilling is largely Persona Non Grata for political opinions he expressed after he retired. None of that ever hurt his team. He was a key part of several WS championship teams. In my mind, that should be a significant factor. Did a player’s perceived moral infractions effect baseball? Did bad decisions (or poor judgment on social media) effect the team that was paying the players salary? In Shillings case, it did not. Yet he’s paying a heavy price.

Anyway, I just thought I would throw that out there.

Interesting time we live in.

The MLPBA has allegedly made some concessions on the FA discussion but both Drelich and Passan described the meetings between MLB and MPBPA as “contentious and heated.”

They’re scheduled to meet again tomorrow. Just spitballing here, but I think they got about a 10-14 day window to come to an agreement or ST is sure to get impacted with games canceled and perhaps a delay to the start of the regular season. Just a guess

MLB expressed a willingness to cancel some games. That was on MLBTR this morning. Nothing like cutting your own throat.

Revenue Sharing issues for me are the most interesting aspect of these negotiations. The owners don’t agree on how to go forward and the players and the big market team owners are on the same page. It is the small market owners that are alone but winning the negotiations.

Losing teams that have large payrolls are basically using bankruptcy to reboot. They sell off higher paid tallent, save revenue sharing handouts, race to the bottom of the standings so they can be first in line to draft prospects.

I hope that at least the first 5 draft picks are chosen by lottery with all teams allowed into the lottery.

The P-51 Mustang isn’t the best looking airplane but it’s the greatest fighter ever built It’s beauty is in the facts not in it’s appearance. We don’t have the facts on TB as of yet and MLB has already taken quite a slice of what shelf life a pitcher has. Sports careers are not long usually and to take one at their prime should be more than being accused. I hope TB sues MLB and we get a change in it’s management.