If Manfred was gonna pressure Crane to fire him, why not just ban them outright? It doesn't make any sense to me. it isn't as if somebody was gonna leap to their defense like the players union would. It also sends the strongest message possible.
I agree. They should have turned in Cora in 2017 and none of this would have happened. They could have still won the WS without him
Because he knows it doesn't deserve a lifetime ban, but he also knows its more than a one year suspension? I think he's also ultimately worried that you can't really prevent all possible communication between a GM and the team, or a manager and some of the coaches... and this pretty much severs that possibility. But in the end, Crane decided to do what he did. Its not like other sports GM/coaches haven't come back from similar suspensions/issues and still run a successful program. Like I said above, there's not any clean slate obtained right now... if the Astros lineup starts killing the ball at home this year (like they did last year), everybody is going to cry about cheating.
On top of which how do you have an interim GM for a year? I could see an interim coach for a year, but an interim GM? That's having someone run your company for a year with no real ownership or consequences. I don't blame Crane for this at all.
I say someone should conduct an investigation into what made Mike Fiers come forward. And if the repeat offender punishment for Boston isn't as severe, into why that's the case. Perhaps get Mattress Mack involved. Let's go Mark Cuban back at the authorities. Because I want to make sure we're not just the easy fall guy for MLB while they shelter their more popular franchises in the northeast. Sure sounded like a lot of current, and former, Yankees were butt hurt be it in the dugout or in the announcer's booth. It's Cui Bono time!
What to do with an interim manager who wins 100+ games? I agree. Jim Crane did the best thing, with a clean break for both.
Random question. Given that they both have 1 year ban so no one would hire them now anyways, could firing them be a PR move. After 1 year and the smoke/headlines clear some, Crane could just go back and hire them to lesser positions in the organization?
Pretty good comparison if it plays out similarly and more information comes out supporting it. Then again, Jimmy Johnson never openly cheated (or oversaw a team that cheated).
That wouldn't slip through the national radar. And to say it would undermine our potential new GM is more than a slight understatement.
The Yankees did it when Steinbrenner was banned... hell, they actually acquired the saplings of what would become their eventual dynasty during that time as well (drafted Jeter, drafted Posada, developed Bernie Williams, developed Mariano Rivera. Of course Steinbrenner was a different hands-on type of owner... and there's some revisionist concerns that he likely would have traded at least one of those guys for a win-now player had he not been banned.
