2019 Misc MLB News

[LouisEly]

Yet he freely admitted guilt in a court of law.

This is not accurate. He did not "freely" admit guilt - he followed the advice of an attorney. And it wasn't entirely his decision, it was the decision of his family.

Playing baseball, or any professional sport is a privilege,

So is living a life never being accused of something you didn't do. Or not being a pawn in a family dispute.

[MrTPlush]

I can't really imagine being 15 years old and getting accused of such crimes...especially if I didn't do it. Sit there as a prosecutor threatens to ruin your entire life if you don't take the plea. Pleas are also highly attractive to minors as they usually can get it wiped off their record forever with a plea in a lot of cases after a few years of good behavior. Countless people get falsely accused and prosecuted a year...there are people in jail for life wrongly accused. Why even risk it in a "he said she said" situation when you can just plea and have it disappear in 5 years or whatever?

 

But end of the day he took the plea and knew the consequences of doing so. Hard to feel bad for him and now the world will view him guilty whether he likes it or not. That's what he signed off on.

[pacopete4]

Seth McClung & Aubrey Huff duke it out!

 

 

More

[brooks_quichenick]

Aubrey Huff is such a miserable human. He proves McClung's point instantly in that twitter spat

[SeaBass]

Yet he freely admitted guilt in a court of law.

This is not accurate. He did not "freely" admit guilt - he followed the advice of an attorney. And it wasn't entirely his decision, it was the decision of his family.

You and I have different definitions of free then. He had a choice to accept or reject a plea deal. And how weird, he made a choice of extreme benefit to himself in the short term by guaranteeing he would not have to stand trial and would not have to serve time.

 

More from this link:

"It’s worth noting that, despite his repeated professions of innocence, Heimlich has not sought to vacate his guilty plea. He hasn’t claimed he was coerced into it. He hasn’t said it was involuntary. He hasn’t charged his attorney with ineffective assistance of counsel. He hasn’t sought to expunge his record."

 

Playing baseball, or any professional sport is a privilege,

So is living a life never being accused of something you didn't do. Or not being a pawn in a family dispute.

This is a false statement. We have all probably been accused of doing something we didn't do. That falls nowhere on the privilege spectrum. And once again, he pled guilty.

 

Aside from all that, you are speaking as if you definitively know the facts of what happened which you absolutely, 100% do not. At all. Period. I'm supremely confident stating this as fact.

[homer]

There are many people who are innocent that plead guilty.

 

Not saying that's the case here but it happens probably every day in this country. Plead to a lesser charge and stay out of prison, or take your chances in court on what amounts to a coin flip.

[trwi7]

Heimlich before the draft in his junior year.

 

“I have taken responsibility for my conduct when I was a teenager,” Heimlich wrote. “… I understand that many people now see me differently, but I hope that I can eventually be judged for the person I am today.”

 

Doesn't get drafted.

 

Heimlich before the draft in his senior year.

 

I didn't actually do it.

 

So what changed in that year that caused him to write a statement saying he did it to a year later saying he didn't do it? If you're so adamant that you didn't actually do what you were accused of, why say you did it and then do an about face a year later?

[RollieTime]

Thought that it was kind of funny how after the Rays and Dodgers game on Wednesday, Bellinger stated that he never wanted to play the Rays again in September since they change pitchers so much.

 

“Hopefully we never have to play them in September. No flow to the game, but we did a great job of grinding“.

 

The best part of the 11 inning, 4:40 affair was that for Bellinger to be so upset with how the Rays used 9 pitchers in the game, the Dodgers countered and used 9 as well. Tough to blame one team when yours is slowing down the game just as much as they are.

[homer]

I think that came out when the story broke:

 

"six days later Heimlich's statement announcing his withdrawal from the College World Series began: "For the past six years, I have done everything in my power to demonstrate that I am someone my family and my community can be proud of, and show the one person who has suffered the most that I am committed to living a life of integrity." He went on to mention "turmoil for my family,"and a fear of directing "even more unwanted attention to an innocent young girl."

 

Maybe it's worth noting that Heimlich, at that time, was still 10 weeks short of his five years, the August 2017 date when his juvenile record could be sealed and his sex offender status lifted. Maybe innocent Luke had been feigning official guilt for so long that he thought he should finish out the job. But sorting through such dissonance, trying to reconcile the first and second Lukes, seems a task beyond the powers of your average major league team."

 

Here is the whole story for those interested

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/05/16/luke-heimlich-oregon-state?utm_source=si.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_content=20190920

[DHonks]

He hasn’t sought to expunge his record."

 

His record was sealed. He has no record that needs to be expunged. It disappointed at the court's expiration. He should be suing over the release of records.

 

Heimlich and his family faced the basic Prisoner's Dilemma. He faced a vengeful soon to be ex-sister in law. Despite no evidence, the risk of facing serious long-term consequeneces (or possibly clearing his name) in a trial vs rather short-term pain with a clear future. It's an obvious one that many people take.

 

Last night I posted two additional times, but I deleted them after I realized I was going up against someone that sees the world as black and white, instead of many shades of gray. trwi7, many people are seen as guilt until proven innocent. That's the situation Heimlich was up against when he had a vindictive future ex-sister. The family denies he was ever at home when his mom watched his niece. He was always busy with sports. I think this should have gone to trial as there's too much he said/she said to ever get a logical jury to convict. But the allegations would have been made public and his life--and his family's--would have been ruined.

[Ennder]

There was no reason to think the Pirates would be good this year, it was a bad team going into the season that if anything had a number of guys play way over their heads. Their best season they just played way over their heads, they just have not been a good team. The 2013 team was good, the 2014 team was pretty good, the 2015 team played way over their heads.

[PeaveyFury]

They're also a great example of why you don't make a desparate trade to try and salvage a season that isn't there. The Archer trade is truly horrible- was at the time, is even more so now, and the Pirates have nothing positive to show for it.

[LouisEly]

Aside from all that, you are speaking as if you definitively know the facts of what happened which you absolutely, 100% do not. At all. Period. I'm supremely confident stating this as fact.

1) I'm supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know the facts of this case either. I'm also supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know what their attorney advised them of.

 

B) This from the person who, when I referenced this article, responded by saying, "I've read enough."

 

3) You seem to be ignoring one major implication of pleading not guilty and going to trial, which is that the case then becomes public. (Never mind the financial cost of hiring an attorney for a court case, which you assume they had the money to do.) You don't need to look any further than Quintez Cephus to see what happens when criminal allegations become public. Cephus was kicked off of the team when the allegations were made, and he was expelled from school when he chose to take the best path to defending himself against the criminal accusations. Heimlich was in an even tougher situation - he wasn't in college or the pros yet. He couldn't apply for reinstatement because he wasn't in either yet. If the case became public, would any college have offered him a scholarship? What implications would that have had on his future? What effect would that have had on any career beyond baseball? What if that had showed up on a background check - would an employer then offer him a job? How do you know what was best for him and his future?

 

4) Criminal defense attorneys on this board have told you that it is common for innocent people to plead guilty to lesser charges to avoid court and/or take certainty of outcome. Yet you assume that simply because someone pleaded guilty means they are guilty. To paraphrase what a high school teacher on this board said, would you want you on a jury?

 

5) Even if he is guilty, should mistakes made by teenagers be held against them for the rest of their life? The human brain isn't fully developed until around age 25; that's why teenagers (and younger) do stupid things. I sure hope that you never made any mistakes when you were a teenager.

 

6) Have you ever had to stand in front of a judge as a young person and enter a plea, not having any idea how any of your options will affect your future? I have.

[Brew crew 92]

Aside from all that, you are speaking as if you definitively know the facts of what happened which you absolutely, 100% do not. At all. Period. I'm supremely confident stating this as fact.

1) I'm supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know the facts of this case either. I'm also supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know what their attorney advised them of.

 

B) This from the person who, when I referenced this article, responded by saying, "I've read enough."

 

3) You seem to be ignoring one major implication of pleading not guilty and going to trial, which is that the case then becomes public. (Never mind the financial cost of hiring an attorney for a court case, which you assume they had the money to do.) You don't need to look any further than Quintez Cephus to see what happens when criminal allegations become public. Cephus was kicked off of the team when the allegations were made, and he was expelled from school when he chose to take the best path to defending himself against the criminal accusations. Heimlich was in an even tougher situation - he wasn't in college or the pros yet. He couldn't apply for reinstatement because he wasn't in either yet. If the case became public, would any college have offered him a scholarship? What implications would that have had on his future? What effect would that have had on any career beyond baseball? What if that had showed up on a background check - would an employer then offer him a job? How do you know what was best for him and his future?

 

4) Criminal defense attorneys on this board have told you that it is common for innocent people to plead guilty to lesser charges to avoid court and/or take certainty of outcome. Yet you assume that simply because someone pleaded guilty means they are guilty. To paraphrase what a high school teacher on this board said, would you want you on a jury?

 

5) Even if he is guilty, should mistakes made by teenagers be held against them for the rest of their life? The human brain isn't fully developed until around age 25; that's why teenagers (and younger) do stupid things. I sure hope that you never made any mistakes when you were a teenager.

 

6) Have you ever had to stand in front of a judge as a young person and enter a plea, not having any idea how any of your options will affect your future? I have.

 

One of the best posts I’ve read all year.

[trwi7]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

[MrTPlush]

Miami Marlins aren’t even going to get close to 1mil attendance (not even 10k a game). Mind you that is PAID....PAID, not actually coming in. Their attendance dropped over 50% from 2017 to 2018. That is like us going from 3mil this year to 1.5mil next year. That is...hard to even comprehend. Most teams probably fluctuate less than 10% and certainly nowhere near the Marlins levels between those two years. Even the next worst team brings in over 50% more fans than Miami.

 

These numbers haven’t been sniffed since the Montreal days.

[SeaBass]

Last night I posted two additional times, but I deleted them after I realized I was going up against someone that sees the world as black and white, instead of many shades of gray.

Thanks for your conclusion that I must be too stupid to have considered information on both sides of the argument and just jumped to a black and white view of the facts. Cool. Feels good.

 

Aside from all that, you are speaking as if you definitively know the facts of what happened which you absolutely, 100% do not. At all. Period. I'm supremely confident stating this as fact.

1) I'm supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know the facts of this case either. I'm also supremely confident stating as fact that you absolutely, 100% do not know what their attorney advised them of.

Wow, this whole post. Filled with frankly insulting amounts of assumption regarding what I have or have not read and what I supposedly don't know or understand. I don't think I should be required to type a college thesis to further explain or defend why I have an opinion.

 

But I'm pretty sure I already said nobody can know what happened between Heimlich and the victim. So I don't understand the "Gotcha!" response. Then you say I don't know about what the attorney advised... uh, ok. Was I making some kind of claim about his attorney? Forget it, rhetorical question.

 

Bottom line is I have an opinion that I don't think he deserves the chance to play pro ball. I wouldn't describe this as an overly vindictive opinion, I don't have some irrational anger towards the guy, it's more about the semantics of the word "deserves". I was using his guilty plea as a basis of this, not because I don't think it's possible he's actually innocent, but because I think it is MORE LIKELY that he is actually guilty than it is that he's innocent. And yes, that like it or not legally he was guilty in the eyes of the law. That has to carry some weight. Do I really know? Of course not. The burden of proof isn't on me, and what I think has no actual bearing on his life.

 

A he said, she said case is a really flimsy reason for a prosecutor to bring charges against someone. Prosecutors do not like losing trials, it tends to make the people that they need votes from to instead vote against them. So I have to believe the prosecutor felt they had the evidence to actually win. A disgruntled ex-wife that people think might have shady reasons for concocting some scheme for custody doesn't have the power to force a prosecutor with an otherwise hypothetically flawed case to charge someone with a crime. If a prosecutor made decisions like that they'd never have a free moment to themselves they'd be buried in so many similarly flawed cases.

 

The rest of it, his plea deal, his records being sealed, fulfilling the conditions he accepted as a result of his plea deal, all that is done. His legal responsibilities are concluded. No issue with that. He's a free man. He's playing baseball in a Mexican pro league.

 

Most importantly, again, just because I don't think MLB teams should give him the opportunity has zero real life bearing on what actually happens. I'm just an insignificant guy in Wisconsin with an imperfect understanding of the events that lead to this debate. I have no power to prevent him from getting a blizzard at Dairy Queen much less prevent him from playing pro ball if an MLB team ultimately decides to give him the chance.

[homer]

I suggest we move on from the Heimlich discussion.

[stalton]

After noodling around on Bref, I saw Brauny was 1 homer away from Granderson on the active HR list and was curious to see how he was doing. He is sporting a .186/.285/.356 slash line for Miami in over 300 ABs. Certainly a shell of her former self.

[DHonks]

Brewers are now -2 run differential. Could finish positive at this pace.

[IIAY]

For those with a membership to The Athletic, there was a great article this morning about the 2009 U-18 USA team. The team was headlined by Harper and Machado but also included former Brewers farmhands Nick Delmonico and Garin Checchini.

 

https://theathletic.com/1199894/2019/09/23/the-750-million-teens-the-untold-story-of-bryce-harper-manny-machado-and-the-remarkable-2009-under-18-u-s-national-team/

[Ennder]

Yost to retire after this season.

 

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article235384632.html

[nate82]

Yost to retire after this season.

 

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article235384632.html

 

I wonder if the Royals will promote Sveum to manager if not I would really like to see the Brewers bring him back as the hitting coach.

[Jopal78]

Yost to retire after this season.

 

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article235384632.html

 

Good manager, nice managerial career with 16 years as skipper. Too bad he was fired in 2008 as a knee jerk reaction, probably would have gotten more out of the 2009 and 2010 clubs than Ken Macha.

[TURBO]

Yost to retire after this season.

 

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article235384632.html

 

Good manager, nice managerial career with 16 years as skipper. Too bad he was fired in 2008 as a knee jerk reaction, probably would have gotten more out of the 2009 and 2010 clubs than Ken Macha.

 

I disagree. He lost his clubhouse, his players, and I was as happy as everyone else to see him go.