MLB is implementing its new lineup protocols with the intent to reduce suspicions among gamblersGETTY IMAGES
With news that lineups "will not be posted in clubhouses until they are first sent to MLB so the information can be quickly forwarded to bookmakers," the "door to scandal, long sealed shut, is now cracked open," according to Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. While there may be no "danger of players throwing games," the "smallest bits of insider information -- who's not feeling well, which reliever is unavailable that day, who may get called up from Triple A, etc. -- becomes something a player or team staffer could sell to get what they consider their share of the pie" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/10). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick noted MLB's new lineup rule is "designed to reduce suspicions among fresh legions of gamblers." But MLB managers "owe gamblers no protection or handicapping services." What MLB did is the "last thing it should have done." Mushnick: "Take your greedy cut then get lost. You don't combat suspicion by inviting it." Now MLB has "encouraged gamblers to be suspicious of managers" (N.Y. POST, 3/10).
THE RIGHT MOVE? Twins P Kyle Gibson said of MLB's partnership with MGM Resorts Int'l, "It's a bad look. I don't think baseball should be taking gambling money." He added, "When the players are saying we are the product and the players association should get a share of the money that has rolled [in] the last few years from MLB Advanced Media, the owners say no. And now that gambling is opening up in more states, baseball management is saying to that industry, 'We provide the product; we’re entitled to a share.'" Meanwhile, Twins Exec VP & Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said the team has "no issue with providing a lineup," as they have been "one of the teams sending ours to the commissioner's office as a dry run" in Spring Training. But Falvey wonders, "Is this it -- or will there be requests for more information down the road?" Falvey: "If there’s a concern, that would be it. Teams are spending an enormous number of hours and dollars analyzing all aspects of a game, looking for small advantages. I don’t think any of us would be in favor of sharing that" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/10).
