So last night, Otis Livingston on the local CBS sports news reported that Domingo German is being investigated for an incident involving his girlfriend at a public event.
About half the media agrees. The other half says the "event" happened at their home, as mentioned by JM.
Exactly what the event was—most say a slap—we do not know. The Yankees have severed all contact from their young employee. German is incommunicado.
MLB, which made the accusation—supposedly on the basis of something one of their employees saw—has determined that this investigation cannot be decided, apparently, for at least another month, and so is keeping German suspended—and let's face it, he is "suspended," there is no "administrative leave" in baseball, as Tom Hanks told us—for at least that amount of time.
I'm sorry, but WTF?
Right now, a single whistleblower has managed to get the president of the United States investigated by a House committee. We have already seen the transcript of the phone call in question, and his advocates are saying he's innocent, etc.
This is all right and proper in a democracy, and in the interests in keeping politics off this site I will not offer an opinion on Mr. Trump's guilt or innocence.
But how is it possible that we can have this level of openness in something involving the very highest levels of state, but a 27-year-old pitcher who barely speaks the language can't be given his day in court?
I will say, for the umpteenth time, that domestic violence of any sort is a very serious thing, and that professional sports is right to lower the boom on it. I also realize that investigations of this nature should be delicate, and that a big goal should be to preserve the privacy and dignity of the victim.
And sure, chances are Domingo German will have found to have slapped his girlfriend in public—and maybe much worse—and he will get the punishment he has coming.
But what if that's not the case?
What if—and again, I'm talking a very far-fetched hypothetical—a month from now said, anonymous MLB employee confesses with tears in his eyes that he has a serious gambling problem, and he had gone all in on the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS?
Unlikely, I know.
But how unlikely will it be the next time, judging by what happened this time out?
How long before somebody, trying for some reason to affect the outcome of some game or another, swears up and down that he saw Roy Hobbs battering his wife—hoping that Mr. Hobbs will be immediately disappeared without a hearing, like our Domingo?
One of the first tenets this country was founded on was habeas corpus—produce the body, the idea that you can't simply be thrown into prison indefinitely while awaiting trial. Another is that you get to face your accuser.
How exactly does German's forced, unexplained, silenced "administrative leave" NOT violate those supposedly sacred principles?
Thursday, September 26, 2019
We Need a German House Investigation
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One highly fearful answer is that those principles are no longer part of the US.
I agree with you. My first reaction was that the whistle-blower, in this case, had something against the Yankees. ( naive, of course).
That German's "suspension" extended from a week; to the playoffs; and now, for the undefined future...is troubling.
The public is given nothing but a vague innuendo
that " someone important witnessed something, somewhere?"
Is MLB controlled, now, by Putin?
Someone must have taped the incident. There has to be unassailable evidence somewhere, doesn't there? And if it is a brutal attack on a woman, that would seem a
crime ( to me ), which must be reported to the police.
But the silence on this, controlled by an independent, profit driven , corporate entity is baffling. This is not a law enforcement matter, or one under review by the Justice department?
How will baseball justify their actions here? And when? How can they wield this much power? With a complete lack of transparency?
It is strange.
Just to keep stirring the pot, does anyone find it odd that German is being complicit by not speaking out? No defense at all? No attempt to explain ? Or accept full responsibiity?
Silence can be damningas well.
Indeed. And the trouble is, we don't know why German is not speaking out. Very likely he doesn't trust his own command of English.
And most likely of all, suits from MLB and/or the Yankees have told him to keep his mouth shut, maybe under threat that he will be released or fined heavily if he does speak out.
But we're not allowed to know that.
Also: how can it possibly be that this incident takes this long to investigate? We are supposedly talking about, after all, one slap, one person, one time.
Of course, MLB—or those other people who are supposed to be in charge of protecting us, you know, who are they again? Oh, right! The police and the district attorney's office!—should look deeper into whether or not this is part of a constant pattern of abuse.
But how long can even that investigation take? And are all actions to be considered equal? Is one slap the same as regular abuse? What sort of abuse?
Understand, I DO think that one slap is bad.
But different punishments fit different crimes, don't they? Which is why the punishment is usually meted out AFTER all the parameters of the crime are determined—such as if it occurred at all.
Not in baseball today...
agreed. knee-jerk responses driven by PR messaging have put German on ice. Not a defense of the slap or whatever, just a complaint about the "process" of penalty first, investigation second.
The thing here is, laws and rights are made for the times when people DO NOT behave well.
Sure, chances are the MLB whistleblower saw what he saw, courageously reported it, and now Domingo will get whatever he deserves and his girlfriend might get some help.
But what if that's not the case?
What about:
—Oh, THAT'S Domingo German? Sorry, wrong guy!
—Hey, look, I got fifty large on the Twins and without those simoles I can't score anymore heroin.
—Yankees suck! Heh-heh, I got 'em good!
—That sonofabitch wouldn't give me an autograph! I'll fix him!
Etc. That's why we have due process. To weed out the claims of the stupid, the delusional, and the self-interested.
It doesn't always work out. But by and large, it beats disappearing someone into the Star Chamber.
I'm sure German was told by many people to keep his mouth shut. Those people are probably from MLB, the Yankees, his agent, and many friends.
The Yankees were told by their lawyers to not say a thing.
MLB has ALWAYS been above the law. It's exempt from monopoly laws - the only business in America with an anti-trust exemption. It's had its own ruthless and radical system of justice since Kenesaw Mountain Landis stuck it to the Black Sox 8. It's going to make sure that Pete Rose goes to his grave as an outsider from the game.
It's an entity unto itself.
And in more important news, the Twins hit home run no. 300 today. Fuck.
I know, I know: it's means little or nothing these days. The ball, the juicing...in a way it's appropriate that the Twins, a team made up mostly of classic, one-dimensional beer league sluggers (and juicers) should do it.
Still, I tend to think of the home run as our thing, and I want the Yanks to always have the record. Too bad they couldn't get it done with all that swinging at the fences yesterday.
Sunday is gone for a month of Sunday's. The Yankees (and we) just have to deal with it.
Two pieces of good news: Urshella does not seem to be hurt badly.
and:
https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/1177041938874163205
YES's best announcer will be back.
Any word yet on The Master?
It’s a business.
Domestic violence is bad press.
It’s dollars not justice.
You’re wrong.
Bad press DG has to disappear.
"Dollars not justice" may soon replace E pluribus unum as our national motto.
All good points and comments on German. But the thing that baffles me the most is where is the MLBPA? They have stayed uncharacteristically mute. I don't know why Tony Clark is the union executive director. Sure, he is a former player and union rep. But so what? He has no law degree or MBA. In fact, he has no degree at all. No experience as a big time negotiator. In fact, his last negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement with MLB is generally agreed as a give away to the owners.
Clark reminds me of Alan Eagleson the disgraced former NHLPA president who was sent to jail and disbarred for fraud and embezzlement. His too personal relationship with NHL president John Zeigler and several NHL team owners has in retrospect caused many to believe Eagleson was paid off to lead the hockey players astray and give up a lot of money on the table in favor of the league.I'm not saying Clark is dishonest but you never know. What I can say is that the players can do much better and their union is no longer the most powerful union in the country.
Everyone seems to think that Clark is a great guy—but he may be naive or ineffectual.
Or, quite possibly, the evidence may be so overwhelming and grotesque that the union doesn't want to step in.
But that's exactly what you need a union for: when things are looking bad for you, and no one else is on your side.
German does not have to be innocent to have the union demand due process for him—and, maybe demand that he be allowed to play until the investigation reaches a conclusion.
FREE DOMINGO!!!!!
HOSS - let me dispute one statement you made; " homers are our thing."
I beg to differ; " strikeouts are our thing"
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