Trevor Bauer suffered a set-back in court:
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer and his attorneys misrepresented the findings of the judge who denied a restraining order to a woman who accused him of sexual assault, according to a tentative ruling posted on a federal court website Friday.
LATimes.com
That could lead to the dismissal of that particular defamation suit.
Police arrested Marcell Ozuna of the Braves for driving under the influence:
Ozuna spoke to reporters for 18 seconds before the game against the Houston Astros. He made a statement, but didn’t take any questions.
“I disappointed my team,” he said. “I disappointed my family. I don’t have anything to say more. It’s a legal matter.”
CBSNews.com
That’s a continuing disappointment. Ozuna was already known to the police for attaching his wife. It seems like he’s not a very good citizen.
Freddie Freeman‘s former agent filed a libel suit against radio personality Doug Gottlieb.
Thursday’s lawsuit, which was filed in a New York court, centered on a report Gottlieb posted to Twitter in the wake of Excel’s firing by Freeman last month, when the Fox Sports radio host alleged Close never told Freeman of a supposed final offer the Atlanta Braves made during the free-agency process.
Excel issued a statement days later denying Gottlieb’s report, and in Thursday’s lawsuit accused him of damaging the reputation of Close and the agency by “falsely and recklessly” publicizing the information on Twitter.
News.Yahoo.com
Freeman would not comment on the case.
Meanwhile, the US Government is suing the Chicago Cubs over accessibility at Wrigley Field. According the to suit, the Cubs down graded wheel chair seating when they remodeled the stadium. The Cubs disagree:
The Cubs said in a statement that they are disappointed that the lawsuit was filed and said they hope the matter can be resolved amicably. The team said the renovation of the ballpark, a national and city landmark, “greatly increased” accessibility in accordance with the law and the historic preservation standards, with 50% more accessible seating options, 11 more elevators and enhanced audio assistance for fans with hearing impairments.
ESPN.com
It’s possible the Cubs paid off the wrong politicians.
MLB suspends Matt Harvey sixty games for distributing prohibited drugs:
Harvey’s suspension date was retroactive to April 29. He has yet to appear in a game this season.
The discipline appeared to be related to testimony Harvey gave during the Eric Kay trial in February.
FoxNews.com
A plane used for a Washington Nationals pregame show caused an evacuation of the Capitol. The Nationals are bad, but not so bad that Congress can’t be in session while they’re playing. 🙂
Trevor Bauer is suing Molly Knight and the Athletic:
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer filed a defamation lawsuit against the Athletic and one of its former writers Tuesday, alleging “a campaign to maliciously target and harass” him.
The complaint, filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, claims the website and the writer, Molly Knight, published knowingly false information about Bauer online and on Twitter “with hatred, ill will, and spite, with the intent to harm Mr. Bauer or in blatant disregard of the substantial likelihood of causing him harm.”
LATimes.com
I really wonder if Bauer’s lawyer think this is a good idea. Does Bauer really want the The Athletic, now owned by the New York Times, digging into his past relationships? On top of that, there types of suits are extremely difficult to win.
Bauer may be setting up, however, to fight an MLB suspension. So far, Bauer won in all the legal proceeding brought against him. If Bauer wins the suit, or even if he loses and his opponents bring no other damning evidence against him, he can turn around a sue MLB for suspending him.
Of course, it could be that Bauer has a huge ego, and has to grind any opponent into the ground. Whatever the reason for the lawsuit, I’m very interested in the eventual outcome.
A drug kingpin targeted David Ortiz.
Boston Red Sox great David Ortiz was targeted by drug kingpin César “The Abuser” Peralta in the June 2019 shooting that sent the Hall of Famer to the hospital for nearly 50 days, a private investigation by former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis found, according to Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe. Ortiz was shot point-blank in the back at a club in the Dominican Republic.
“Peralta said he had David shot,” Davis said, citing information gathered by U.S. law enforcement officials. Officials in the Dominican Republic originally said it was a case of mistaken identity and that the intended target was one of Ortiz’s friends who was believed to be an informant.
CBSSports.com
I am not surprised by this. David Ortiz’s identity is tough to mistake. According to the article, Peralta felt disrespected by Ortiz. That’s a pretty serious reaction to disrespect.
A jury took three hours to find Eric Kay guilty in the death of Tyler Skaggs:
USA Today reported that Kay faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, and could spend the rest of his life in prison. The Washington Post reported that Kay’s defense team will appeal after his sentencing date, which is set for June 28.
SportingNews.com
If baseball ever gets back on track, we’ll see what kind of crackdowns on drug use happen. It looks like Matt Harvey will be suspended if he signs a contract.
I mostly enjoyed the 1980s, but I’m sad to see the recreational drug use of the decade made a return.
Pitchers Matt Harvey, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian and first baseman C.J. Cron all took the stand and described bits and pieces of recreational drug use allegedly going on in and around the Angels three years ago, when they played for the team. They were with the Angels at some point from 2017 to 2019, the years federal prosecutors say Eric Kay obtained drugs for players. Kay faces drug distribution and drug conspiracy charges.
ESPN.com
Harvey’s drug use goes back to his Mets days, providing a much better explanation for his decline.
This came out at the trial of Eric Kay, accused of providing drugs that led to the death of Tyler Skaggs:
The day began with cross-examination of Skaggs’ onetime teammate Andrew Heaney, who admitted on the stand that he smoked marijuana with Skaggs and that a number of players use opioid painkillers.
Defense attorney Michael Molfetta asked, “A lot of guys go outside of team doctors for those drugs, yes?” Heaney responded, “I don’t know how many. It’s safe to say there’s at least a few.”
Prosecutors objected when Molfetta first asked Heaney about marijuana use, but Judge Terry R. Means allowed Molfetta to proceed. That decision could be an ominous precedent for the players, such as former All-Star Matt Harvey, who are expected to testify about their own alleged drug use.
ESPN.com
Given our experience with PED abuse, “at least a few” might mean “a whole lot.”
The impression I get reading about the CBA negotiations from various sources is that the players are winning the public relations side, especially since they are being portrayed as fighting for the little guy. This trial, if it winds up exposing a new drug scandal, might derail that. The players and owners spent 20 years trying to clean up the game from PED abuse, only to find players using a substitute. Amphetamines, PEDs, and painkillers all have one thing in common; they allow the players to get on field when they otherwise could not. Fans appreciate playing through pain, but I’m starting to believe that is wrong.
Will the owners use this against the players in the CBA talks? Will they say something like, “This is going to cost us a lot of money to clean up the sport again. What are you going to give up?” Maybe the problem is unsolvable. The rewards in the game are high for success, and a player can’t be successful if he’s not on the field. The incentives have always been pushing toward playing by any means possible. While the core economic issue is at the forefront of this negotiation, it might be time to address the incentives that lead to people being willing to use drugs to gain that payoff.
Trevor Bauer addresses the allegation against him in a video.
The Eric Kay trial started in Texas. Kay is charged with providing the pills that led to the death of Tyler Skaggs. Both the prosecution and defense are calling in players to testify, but the defense is accusing Matt Harvey of providing some of the pills:
During the defense team’s opening statement, attorney Reagan Wynn indicated that the defense will name former All-Star pitcher Matt Harvey as a potential drug source for Skaggs. While laying out the defense’s version of events, Wynn told the jury that Kay saw Skaggs snort lines of crushed pills the night he died, two blue and one pink, and asked Skaggs where the pink pill had come from.
“Tyler Skaggs told him, ‘Those are Percocets I got from Harvey,'” Wynn said. The government did not name Harvey during its opening statement, but said a player will testify that he had previously given Skaggs pink pills but denied that he did so before the fatal road trip. Harvey is expected to testify as a government witness later this week. Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, said he was unable to comment.
ESPN.com
Drug abuse has a long history in baseball, from alcohol to amphetamines to cocaine to PEDs. I’m not surprised pain killers are now part of that.
Prosecutors decided they did not have a good case against Trevor Bauer:
After reviewing physical evidence, witness statements and court proceedings when the woman sought a restraining order, prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to win a conviction.
Chron.com
Now that the legal proceeding are over, MLB will likely act. As we’ve seen in the past, lack of prosecution has not stopped baseball from disciplining players.
The Los Angeles Times answers questions about the state of the Trevor Bauer investigation:
If the district attorney decides not to charge Bauer with a crime, then what happens?
LATimes.com
Baseball’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, collectively bargained between the commissioner’s office and the players’ union, empowers Manfred to suspend a player for violating the policy. A player need not be charged or convicted.
Most of the suspensions MLB handed down came when charges were dropped or never prosecuted.
Trevor Bauer is asking the court to order his accuser to pay Bauer’s legal fees stemming from defending the restraining order against him:
Under the California Family Code, a court can order attorney fees paid to the prevailing party in a restraining order case.
If the party seeking protection prevails, the court must consider “(1) the respective incomes and needs of the parties, and (2) any factors affecting the parties’ respective abilities to pay.” However, the code does not specify what factors the court should consider if the party defending himself or herself prevails.
LATimes.com
One might think that Bauer should be happy for the win and go home. Bauer may see this as a way to fight for his job. Not only did she lose, the case was so egregious that the judge made her pay my legal fees! How can you suspend me?
I’m not surprised by this at all. Hyper-competitive professional athletes can’t lose at anything.
Trevor Bauer wins against the woman who sought a restraining order against him:
Gould-Saltman determined that Bauer did not pose a threat to the 27-year-old woman, who accused him of sexual assault over the course of two sexual encounters, and that her injuries were not the result of anything she verbally objected to before or during the encounter.
The judge said the “injuries as shown in the photographs are terrible” but added, “If she set limits and he exceeded them, this case would’ve been clear. But she set limits without considering all the consequences, and respondent did not exceed limits that the petitioner set.”
ESPN.com
Now the ball is in the hands of the police and Major League Baseball.
Cross examination of the woman seeking a restraining order against Trevor Bauer revealed she had relationships with Fernando Tatis Jr.and Mike Clevinger. Clevinger and Bauer were teammates in Cleveland, and it appears they might have something more in common:
About the time of her first sexual encounter with Bauer, the woman said in a message to her cousin: “Trevor is a wackadoodle like Clev.”
LATimes com
Maybe MLB should be looking into Clevinger as well.
Felipe Vazquez, formerly of the Pirates, was sentenced today to two years in prison for statutory sexual assault.
Another woman filed a restraining order against Trevor Bauer in June of 2020. Here is the original Washington Post article, but you need a subscription. I’m pulling this information from MSN.com:
The investigation by the Post outlines that an Ohio woman filed a temporary order of protection in June 2020 when Bauer pitched for the Cincinnati Reds. The Post reported that it obtained photos showing facial injuries that the woman’s attorney said Bauer caused by punching and choking her during sex without consent. The story also reports that the woman attempted to show police officers photos of her injuries in an incident at Bauer’s apartment in 2017.
“This is a continuation by the woman and her attorneys to make good on their threats to harm me by perpetuating false narrative,” Bauer said in a post on social media. “This has been a game to her from the beginning but my life is not a game and I won’t stand by idly and allow this conduct to continue.”
MSN.com
Stay tuned, but a terrible situation just managed to get worse.
Two east coast games failed to finish on Saturday. The Nationals game stopped in the sixth inning with the Padres leading 8-4 after multiple people suffered gunshot wounds outside the park.
The District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department had earlier said on Twitter that two people where shot outside of the ballpark. Later, it was announced that the shooting happened at N Street and South Capitol Street SW, near the park’s third base gate.
It said in a follow-up tweet that “two additional victims associated with the incident walked into area hospitals for treatment of gunshot wounds.”
TimesOfSanDiego.com
No deaths resulted from the shooting, thankfully.
The Marlins at the Phillies played into extra innings tied at two when the rains came and stopped play. Both games resume at 1 PM EDT Sunday afternoon.
All the stats from the games are included in updates.
Major League Baseball placed Starlin Castro of the Nationals on administrative leave due to an accusation of domestic abuse.
A source says MLB extended Trevor Bauer‘s leave based on a domestic violence charge to two more weeks.
Major League Baseball and the Pasadena Police Department are conducting separate investigations into Bauer after the woman said in the order that he choked her until she lost consciousness on multiple occasions, punching her in several areas of her body and leaving her with injuries that required hospitalization over the course of two sexual encounters this year, the last of which occurred on May 16 at Bauer’s Pasadena, California, home.
ESPN.com
Bauer’s representatives say the relationship was consensual. That brings me to an aspect of this story I have not seen discussed. Given the various articles on the subject one might infer that Bauer is aroused by violence. Does MLB, the Players Association, and opposing batters really want someone like that throwing baseballs at people? This isn’t an anger management issue, this is a personal preference issue. How MLB deals with that aspect of the case will be very challenging.
Major League Baseball put Trevor Bauer on leave:
Major League Baseball placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on a seven-day administrative leave Friday amid allegations of sexual assault.
Bauer, who had been scheduled to pitch Sunday in Washington, D.C., has denied the allegations and released a statement that he will not appeal MLB’s decision.
As we await the next development in this case, let’s take a closer look at Friday’s news, what it means, where the investigation stands and what could happen next.
ESPN.com
This is not a suspension, but it gives MLB time to investigate the allegations without Bauer causing a bigger distraction to the team.
The Athletic details the allegations that led to a restraining order being taken out against Trevor Bauer (may require a subscription). If this turns out to be true, I suspect Bauer’s career will be over, as it will be difficult to pitch from a jail cell.
The alleged assaults described by the woman, which are extremely graphic in nature, happened during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between the two. According to the woman’s declaration attached to the request and obtained by The Athletic, she suffered injuries as a result of the second encounter, including two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face. In the woman’s declaration, signed under penalty of perjury of California state laws, she said that her medical notes state that she had “significant head and facial trauma” and that there were signs of basilar skull fracture.
TheAthletic.com
A hearing is scheduled for July 23.
Trevor Bauer of the Dodgers faces an assault investigation:
Authorities were looking into an assault allegation against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, Pasadena police said Tuesday.
Lt. Bill Grisafe of the Pasadena Police Department said officials were investigating an allegation from a woman about an incident that allegedly occurred in Pasadena on or about May 16.
He said police opened an investigation a few weeks ago and could not provide more information about the allegation. Court records show a woman filed a restraining order against Bauer during that time frame.
LATimes.com
Bauer’s agent denied the charges.
It sounds like Marcell Ozuna may not need a major league investigation to lose playing time:
Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was arrested Saturday and charged with felony assault after he choked his wife and threw her against a wall, according to Sandy Springs, Georgia, police who said they witnessed the incident.
Police charged the 30-year-old Ozuna, who is being held in Fulton County jail, with aggravated assault by strangulation — a felony that carries a minimum of three years and maximum of 20 years in prison — and misdemeanor battery.
ESPN.com
It was one year ago that the wife was arrested for domestic battery. The police witnessing the assault I hope makes it more likely that Ozuna is punished by the law, not just MLB.
A jury found former pitcher Felipe Vazquez guilty on a number of charges involving sex with a minor.
A jury in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, found Vazquez guilty on 15 counts, which also included corruption of minors. It found him not guilty on 10 counts of unlawful contact or communication with a minor.
The girl in the case was 13 at the time; Vazquez was 26. Vazquez’s defense argued that she misled him about her age.
ESPN.com
Vazquez last pitched in 2019 for the Pirates, posting two good seasons in a row. That career is over.
ESPN details the sexual assault lawsuit against Yasiel Puig. The case is keeping teams from signing the outfielder:
“Nobody wants the headache,” the front-office source told ESPN.
ESPN.com
MLB’s investigation is tied up in the anonymity of the accuser. Until the law suit plays out, or the accuser comes drops the anonymity, the owners effectively suspended Puig by not signing him.
ESPN carries an AP report on a professional gambler who threatened violence against professional athletes. He pleaded guilty to threatening four Tampa Bay Rays players after they lost a home game:
He had made numerous violent threats in 2019 against athletes and their family members through anonymous Instagram accounts, according to a criminal complaint. In many messages, Patz threatened to enter the athletes’ homes and behead them or their family members, the FBI said. Some of Patz’s threats also contained derogatory terms and racial slurs, investigators said.
ESPN.com
The story does not spell it out, but I assume he lost money due to the outcome of the game.
Major League Baseball suspended pitcher Sam Dyson for a year. The league decided he violated the domestic violence policy.
MLB began investigating Dyson in 2019 after a woman wrote two lengthy social media posts alleging domestic violence by an unnamed individual. The woman later told The Athletic that Dyson physically abused her.
The Athletic reported she provided photos showing bruises on her arms she said were caused by Dyson. She also claimed Dyson physically harmed her cat.
Chron.com
Dyson last pitched in 2019 for the Giants and the Twins. He has been a free agent since the end of that season, and I doubt he’ll play at the major league level again.