Major Lawsuit Baseball and Other Bullets

Oct 06, 2013

It was a good wedding last night, and I’m glad to see that I didn’t miss any breaking news on the managerial front while I was breaking it down on the dance floor. Smooth.

It was a litigious Friday for MLB, with Alex Rodriguez suing the league in connection with his PED suspension, and Albert Pujols following through on his threat to sue Jack Clark for claiming that Pujols used PEDs. The former is salacious reading, with Bud Selig in the crosshairs for most of the complaint. The latter would be very interesting if it proceeded to the discovery phase (i.e., the exchange of documents and interviewing of witnesses). Does Pujols really want to be deposed about all of this stuff? Then again, should he let people make PED claims without responding? Friday also saw MLB in a San Jose court defending itself against claims that it is unlawfully preventing the A’s from getting out of Oakland. As I said, it was a litigious day.

That extremely expensive amusement tax on Chicago Cubs tickets could be getting even more expensive. Chicago is considering raising the already 9%(!!!) tax on large sporting event tickets, which is one of the highest in the country (and artificially depresses the price the Cubs can charge for their tickets). An increase could easily make it the highest ticket tax in the country. Try not to break any teeth when grating them so hard as you think about the money your Cubs ticket purchases are directly contributing to Chicago, while also thinking about how the Wrigley renovation process has proceeded.

Mark Gonzalez writes that, whoever takes the Cubs’ managerial gig, will find it a difficult balance of many tasks.

A local (Baltimore) take on the Scott Feldman trade, where it seems like they are generally satisfied with how the deal worked out, even if the O’s missed the playoffs and the Cubs saw Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop turn their seasons around.

CSN Chicago looks at the state of catching in the Cubs’ system (up to the big leagues).

A reminder that tends to be particularly useful this time of year: online communities can be awesome, and ours is no exception. But the barriers to entry when it comes to commenting are extremely low. That is to say, pretty much anyone can say anything at any time. And some folks get their jollies out of getting a rise out of you. I know it can be difficult to resist the urge to put them in their place or “prove” them wrong, but I’d encourage you to resist. With these kinds of commenters, you can never win. That’s because, when you respond in any way – ANY way – they win. You’ve given them precisely what they’re looking for. The solution, as difficult and painful as it is? Stop responding. Let them shout themselves into tizzy while their words drift in a vacuum where no one will hear them. It’s the only tried and true solution to getting those kinds of people to move along. This applies to a tiny minority of posters here, and you’ll know it when you see it. Otherwise, carry on and enjoy the discussions.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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