Top News:
The Athletic:
MLB report pins Red Sox violations on staffer, issues suspension, takes draft pick — Major League Baseball's ruling on the Boston Red Sox's illegal sign stealing in 2018 determined the primary culprit was not the front office, manager Alex Cora or the players, but the team's video replay system operator.
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The Athletic:
Rosenthal and Drellich: MLB's Red Sox report is finished, but plenty of questions remain — Major League Baseball interviewed 65 witnesses and reviewed tens of thousands of electronic communications. Its 15-page report on the Red Sox was six pages longer than its report on the Astros, a team it disciplined more harshly.
Discussion:
Over the Monster, MLB Trade Rumors, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Sox Machine and baseballmusings.com
ESPN:
Red Sox remove interim tag from manager Ron Roenicke's title — The Boston Red Sox removed the interim tag from Ron Roenicke's manager title, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday night. — Bloom added that Roenicke is under contract for only the 2020 season.
Discussion:
Over the Monster
New York Post:
Wilpons insistence on keeping SNY could stall any potential Mets sale — The Wilpons are still interested in selling the money-losing Mets, but they are still not interested in selling money-making SNY, their regional sports network, sources tell The Post. — “I don't think that will change,” a source close to the auction said.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, New York Mets on Yahoo! …, Syracuse Post-Standard and Variety
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Jorge Castillo / Los Angeles Times:
Former Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully hospitalized after taking a fall at his home — Vin Scully took a fall in his home Tuesday and was taken to the hospital, where he was “resting comfortably,” the Dodgers announced Thursday. — “I won't be doing anymore headfirst sliding, I never liked it …
Discussion:
True Blue LA, The Wrap, Sports Illustrated, AM New York and MLB Baseball News …
Yonhap News Agency:
ESPN seeking free rights to broadcast S. Korean baseball games: sources — U.S. sports media giant ESPN was seeking free rights to broadcast South Korean professional baseball games, leading to a stalemate in its negotiations with its counterpart in Seoul, informed sources told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated and MLB Trade Rumors
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Jess Bidgood / The Boston Globe:
Elizabeth Warren's oldest brother dies of coronavirus in Oklahoma — Donald Reed Herring, the oldest brother of Senator Elizabeth Warren, died on Tuesday night in Norman, Okla., about three weeks after testing positive for coronavirus. — Herring, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, was 86.
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Independent, New York Post, Vanity Fair, Politico, The Wrap, The Hill and WGN-TV, more at WeSmirch »
Tim Dierkes / MLB Trade Rumors:
Offseason In Review: Chicago White Sox — The White Sox made clear their three-year rebuild is over, aggressively pursuing veteran free agents and landing several of them. They also locked up multiple core pieces with extensions. — Major League Signings — Yasmani Grandal, C: four years, $73MM
Discussion:
South Side Sox and MLB Baseball News …
Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Jordan to the A's? His Airness had MLB offer — Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Dennis Eckersley ... and Michael Jordan? — It could have happened on the 1994 A's. — When Air Jordan made his bold and bizarre jump from basketball to baseball that year, it was only natural …
Discussion:
New York Post, MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, AZ Snake Pit and MLB Baseball News …
John Hickey / Sports Illustrated:
A's and Blue Jays Have a Frequent Trading Partnership That's Unrivaled — When the A's picked up pitcher Burch Smith in a Feb. 15 trade, it was a big deal. — Why was it a big deal? Smith pitched for three teams last year and before than hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2013 while fighting a series of injuries.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and Over the Monster
Jessica Golden / CNBC:
Legendary baseball agent Scott Boras has a plan to bring the game back — Baseball could serve as a great unifier during this time of crisis — Boras envisions players wearing rubber gloves in dugouts, masks during batting practices — Games would return spectator free to record ratings
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated and MLB Baseball News …
J.J. Cooper / Baseball America:
Sources: MiLB Ready To Agree To Significant Reduction In Teams — When MLB proposed to MiLB last year its plan to cut the minor leagues from 160 teams to 120 affiliated teams in negotiations for a new Professional Baseball Agreement, such a proposal was greeted by many MiLB teams as unthinkable.
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, Star Tribune, National Review, MLB Trade Rumors, Atlanta Business Journal, Pinstripe Alley, Associated Press, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Bless You Boys, Purple Row, Talking Chop, Fish Stripes, Royals Review, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Beyond the Box Score, MLB Baseball News …, Phillies Nation, Forbes, FanGraphs Baseball, Halos Heaven, Gaslamp Ball, Red Reporter, Bluebird Banter, MLB Daily Dish, True Blue LA, Lone Star Ball and McCovey Chronicles