Jim Ingraham: MLB cheats the game by going easy on arrogant Astros

Given the laughable how-not-to-handle-a-crisis behavior by the arrogant-to-the-end Houston Astros for creating arguably the worst scandal in major league history, it's unfortunate that Major League Baseball is saddled with one of the most weak-willed commissioners in the history of the sport. If overseeing the implementation of such breathlessly important issues such as how may batters a reliever must face, pitch clocks, robo umps and players choice uniform designs is your idea of a good time, Rob Manfred is the pooh bah for you. If adjudicating the worst cheating scandal in history, one that cuts to the very core of the sport, to the spirit of competition and fair play, and threatens the very integrity of the game itself, well, um, not so much. The disgraceful, tone-deaf performance by the Astros last week and, really, since the lid was blown off this tacky tinderbox, underscores two sobering realities: 1.) Manfred grossly misinterpreted the seriousness of the offense and the pulse of the industry he oversees, and 2.) As punishments go, the Astros deserved a cranial massage from a free-falling anvil, not the polite feather dusting they received. Does the punishment fit the crime? No! Because there was virtually no punishment. That's the problem. Here, then, a respectful review of the "punishment" the Astros received, followed by the punishment they deserved. Received A $5 million fine. General manager Jeff Lunhow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for one year. The organization forfeits its first- and second-round picks in the next two drafts. (Frame of reference: in last year's draft, Houston's first two picks were the 32nd and 68th picks overall). Deserved A one-year suspension to owner Jim Crane. In his disastrous don't-blame-me-I-only-own-the-team speech last week, Crane actually said, "This will never happen again on my watch."Sorry, cowboy. Too late. It's already happened once, and in a scandal that produces a mushroom cloud this size, once is too many. If you're the boss of bosses, you forfeit the right to play the hey-I-just-work-here card.Any owner who, in trying to apologize for his team cheating, says, "It didn't impact the game," followed, a few seconds later, by "I didn't say it didn't impact the game," is ... well ... actually, the ideal owner for a team that cheats. Forfeit the 2017 World Series Trophy. It was won illegally. This isn't that difficult. Take the trophy away from the Astros and strike their name from the record books. Under "2017 World Series Winner" simply note "No winner, due to cheating scandal." Fine the Astros $15.1 million. That's $5 million, which was the original fine, plus $10.1 million, which is the difference between the winners and losers pool in the 2017 World Series. The Astros' winners' pool was $30,420,155. The Dodgers' losing pool was $20,280,103. Donate that $10.1 million to various charities. Fine all 2017 Astros players $179,000. That's the difference between a full winners' share ($438,901), which the Astros received, and a full losers' share ($259,722) which the Dodgers received. That money could be dispersed to each of the Dodgers who received a full losers' share in the 2017 World Series. Suspend all 2017 Astros players for the first 54 games of the 2020 season. This is a tricky one, because the Astros players were all given immunity for their testimony during MLB's investigation. So that pretty much eliminates this as a punishment option. But it doesn't excuse the decision made by MLB to give immunity to a group about whom strong suspicions existed of its guilt. That would be like giving immunity to a couple of bank robbers, who then admit they robbed the bank, leaving authorities with no alternative but to issue a stern "Don't do that again!" scolding. In the Astros' case, however, subsequent events, including, but not limited to the dismissive attitude, the lack of remorse and continuing arrogance of these hardball perps has led to mounting rage by the rank and file among the non-trash-can-banging teams. For much of last week, players from other teams were routinely taking undisguised shots and making not-so-veiled references to the repercussions that could be awaiting the Texas Cheaters, falling under the general heading of "the game policing itself." Newly hired Astros babysitter Dusty Baker — talk about walking into a hornets' nest — is already soliciting help from MLB to prevent "premeditated retaliation" by opposing pitchers throwing at Astros hitters. The game is becoming a roiling caldron of bitterness, a two-way "us against them" mentality, with one team on one side and the other 29 on the other side. This could get ugly right out of the chute, and The Dust Man knows it. Long suspensions of the guilty players would give everyone time to cool off, and provide the pound of flesh The Other 29 are demanding. There should be suspensions, but there won't be. There can't be. So there will be blood. Bad, if not literal. Contact Jim Ingraham at ctsports@chroniclet.com or jingraham4@gmail.com and follow him @Jim_Ingraham on Twitter.