[ColoradoTree]

Punishing individual players was much more complicated than going after management.  From what I read (all second hand), MLB had a hard time figuring out to what extent individual players were involved.  Plus some of the involved players are on new teams now--how do you handle that without punishing the new team, which was likely unaware?

Of course it's complicated. You need to interview every player, and get some sense of who the ringleaders were, and that requires some players to roll over and give up the names of those that were more central to the scheme than they were. (Guys who talk get suspensions reduced, those who don't get them lengthened.) Some investigations are complicated. That doesn't mean they're not worth doing. There would almost certainly be challenges to whatever suspensions would be handed out, with players arguing they weren't as culpable as others. That's fine. That's part of the deal. Maybe some of them win and get suspensions reduced. That's fine! But the message is still sent, and their is a process for determining whether the Commissioner's judgment was appropriate. My fundamental gripe is that Commissioner's judgment was that he shouldn't make a judgment about the players. There is a rot inside the Astros' culture, and MLB decided to put a band-aid over it. 

And yes, the new team would feel the brunt of any suspension of one of its players. But that kind of thing can be remedied by granting supplemental draft picks, luxury tax relief, etc. MLB has tools to ease the sting of a suspension. 

When you don't suspend players when it's a player-driven scheme, then how does that disincentivize players from doing something similar in the future? They're all getting every last check. So their manager got fired--they still got theirs.

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At least the owner acted with some level of integrity in firing Hinch and the GM.

I'll credit the owner's integrity when he suspends any of his players in what, again, was a player-driven scheme. Until then, I'll presume this is an attempt to draw a line under the scandal and get back to getting positive headlines. "Look at me, I'm virtuous!" And yet, he is punishing none of the central players in the saga.

[ColoradoTree]

Punishing individual players was much more complicated than going after management.  From what I read (all second hand), MLB had a hard time figuring out to what extent individual players were involved.  Plus some of the involved players are on new teams now--how do you handle that without punishing the new team, which was likely unaware?

Of course it's complicated. You need to interview every player, and get some sense of who the ringleaders were, and that requires some players to roll over and give up the names of those that were more central to the scheme than they were. (Guys who talk get suspensions reduced, those who don't get them lengthened.) Some investigations are complicated. That doesn't mean they're not worth doing. There would almost certainly be challenges to whatever suspensions would be handed out, with players arguing they weren't as culpable as others. That's fine. That's part of the deal. Maybe some of them win and get suspensions reduced. That's fine! But the message is still sent, and their is a process for determining whether the Commissioner's judgment was appropriate. My fundamental gripe is that Commissioner's judgment was that he shouldn't make a judgment about the players. There is a rot inside the Astros' culture, and MLB decided to put a band-aid over it. 

And yes, the new team would feel the brunt of any suspension of one of its players. But that kind of thing can be remedied by granting supplemental draft picks, luxury tax relief, etc. MLB has tools to ease the sting of a suspension. 

When you don't suspend players when it's a player-driven scheme, then how does that disincentivize players from doing something similar in the future? They're all getting every last check. So their manager got fired--they still got theirs.

---

At least the owner acted with some level of integrity in firing Hinch and the GM.

I'll credit the owner's integrity when he suspends any of his players in what, again, was a player-driven scheme. Until then, I'll presume this is an attempt to draw a line under the scandal and get back to getting positive headlines. "Look at me, I'm virtuous!" And yet, he is punishing none of the central players in the saga.