What’s one more losing season if it meant getting rid of the Pohlads, right? Wrong. Instead of moving forward with a majority sale, the Pohlads found a couple minority partners to be named later, a sweetheart deal that’s believed to have paid off most, if not all of their $400+ million in debt.

Once the minority investor deal was unofficially wrapped up, the Pohlads took the rest of their shares off the market, and announced their intentions to move forward as Twins majority owners… at least for now.

The Pohlads’ decision to keep the Major League Baseball team they have owned since June 22, 1984 has not gone over very well around Twins Territory, where fans would cheer a billionaire paper sack, if it meant they didn’t have to deal with the Pohlad family any longer.

Rob Manfred mad at Pohlads for not selling Minnesota Twins

But according to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press), fans weren’t the only ones mad at the Pohlads for being bamboozled. Interested purchasing parties were caught off-guard, too, as was the MLB commissioner himself.

In fact, “a little birdie” tells Walters that, not only was Manfred surprised when he found out the Twins were being pulled off the market, but he’s “not happy” about it either.

A little birdie says baseball commissioner Rob Manfred wasn’t happy with the Pohlad family’s announcement two weeks ago that it had decided to retain ownership of the Twins after exploring a sale for nearly 10 months.

At least one member of the prospective buyer’s group was taken by surprise at the Pohlads’ reversal to sell and immediately called Manfred’s office, seeking explanation. Manfred also was taken by surprise — he had indicated to a group in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the recent Hall of Fame inductions that a Twins sale would soon be announced.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

Related: Twins’ New Ownership Groups May Include Familiar Billionaires

We knew the Pohlads surprised a lot of people a couple of weeks ago, when they decided to keep the Minnesota Twins. Still, it is surprising to find out that Manfred was appalled by their decision-making process, just like fans were. Even more surprising was that he seemingly had no idea it was about to happen.

I figured, if there was one person Joe and Jim Pohlad would have called before voiding their sale and bringing on two minority partners would have been Manfred. But, that’s not at all what it sounds like Charley’s sources are telling him.

Down in Georgia this week, you can also find most of MLB’s top executives and recognizable media members too. And no doubt, the MLB went all out this week, trying to grow the game of baseball to those who may not consider themselves fans.

They even called on Pat McAfee to host his show from Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves and the 2025 All-Star Game. McAfee, who admits he’s never been a baseball fan, also MC’d the Home Run Derby introductions.

Rob Manfred confident a Minnesota Twins sale is as good as done

All-Star week also has its own media day, which is where we found out how both Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan feel about being mentioned in recent trade rumors.

But it was actually MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s sit down on Tuesday, with the Baseball Writers Association of America, that is sure to catch the attention and imagination of MN Twins fans.

When asked about the ongoing sale of the Minnesota Twins, Manfred didn’t hesitate to dive in. In fact, he pushed the conversation further than anytime since the Pohlads made it known they were selling.

The commissioner told BBWAA members that he “knows some things [we] don’t know”, confidently assuring Twins fans that, with patience, a transaction will be completed.

Related: Minnesota Twins Reportedly Have Offer on the Table

Not only is a sale coming down the pipeline, though. Rob was also confident that the price will be consistent with other clubs sold recently, like the Orioles and Rays, which went for ~$1.7 billion each. Conveniently enough, that happens to be the exact Pohlad asking price for the MN Twins.

“I know some things that you don’t know. I can tell you with a lot of confidence that there will be a transaction there, and it will be consistent with the kind of pricing that has taken place. There will be a transaction. We just need to be patient while they rework.”

MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred – BBWAA Interview (via The Athletic)

Ishbia dropping out of the race ruined early sale timeline

According to Manfred, the Minnesota Twins sales process was slowed significantly after Justin Ishbia jumped out as the frontrunner early on, only to bail, in exchange for 35% ownership of the Chicago White Sox.

Rob suggested in his interview with the BBWAA that the baseball world is a small one. So when Ishbia was believed to be closing in on a deal with the Pohlads, other billionaires with interest moved on. Thus, when the Suns/White Sox minority owner dropped out, it was like hitting the reset button on the entire process.

“You know this is a small business, right? All those bankers that are out there, there ain’t that many of them, they all talk to each other. When it becomes clear that you have a leader in the clubhouse, everybody else kind of backs away, right?

Because they kind of get a feel for price. And unless they’re prepared to top, they’re going to move on and do something else. So a big part of the delay in Minnesota was associated with the leader in the clubhouse made a decision to do something else.”

MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred – BBWAA Interview (via The Athletic)

Related: MN Twins Swing Trade for New Bullpen Arm

There you have it, Minnesota Twins fans. Have no fear, Rob Manfred is here… And, as the commissioner conveniently pointed out, he knows a few things. And if he says this deal is as good as done, then I actually am inclined to believe him.

At the end of the day, you cannot convince me that — even with $400 million in non-baseball debt on the books (which The Athletic confirmed is one of the highest in the league) — that the Twins are less valuable than the Tampa Bay Rays… an organization that does not even have a home stadium right now.

Now that both the Rays and Baltimore Orioles have sold for $1.7 billion-plus, I have little doubt that Twins ownership will exchange hands at approximately that same price, and that it’ll happen sooner than later.

Major League Baseball in 2020 continues to look more like a long shot. The latest bad news in this saga, comes straight from commissioner Rob Manfred. Manfred mentioned to ESPN on Monday afternoon, he is “not confident” there will be a 2020 season.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledges to Mike Greenberg that the optics of billionaires fighting millionaires over money in the midst of COVID & racial unrest are:

“JUST A DISASTER FOR OUR GAME.”pic.twitter.com/wpLHPnvG3s

— Dave Briggs (@davebriggstv) June 15, 2020

“It is a disaster for our game, absolutely no question about it. It shouldn’t be happening, and it’s important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans.”

Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner

Manfred cited a lack of dialogue with the MLB Players Association. These comments came after he just said last week: “unequivocally, we are going to play Major League Baseball this year.” Manfred put the likelihood of a season happening at “100%”.

That big of a swing in less than a week showcases the lack of leadership at the top of America’s Pastime.

COMING TO A HEAD

This has all come to a head, over the weekend, when the Players Association rejected MLB’s latest return-to-play proposal. The proposal called for a 72-game season with players guaranteed 70% of their prorated salaries. They would earn a maximum of 83%, if the playoffs occur. This completely ignores the agreement both parties made back in March.

Manfred believes the MLB proposal is being done in “good-faith”. But it’s easy to cut through the veil of lies. MLBPA lead negotiator Bruce Meyer replied: “Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end.”

It doesn’t sound like the MLB proposals were done in good-faith…The agreement back in March noted players were to make their full salary based on how many games were played.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark even went as far to say: “It unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”

Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/ibyOqB93WC

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 15, 2020

Yet the league has become even more fraught with disillusion. Manfred apparently sent a letter to teams and players stating they would have to waive any legal claims if they want the season to begin. This comes after Manfred believed the union would file a grievance, stating the league had not upheld their end of the March 26th agreement.

That smells like blackmail.

Source: In a letter today, MLB told the MLBPA there would be no 2020 season unless the players waived any legal claims against the league.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) June 15, 2020

MANFRED’S OPTIONS

With players wanting to play, Manfred has stated the owners want to have baseball too. Billionaires need to make a living somehow!

But the biggest issue surrounding the league is the owner’s greed and lack of perspective. The players have stated time and again that their number one issue, is pay. With each proposal MLB has submitted, they have failed to recognize the initial agreement for prorated salaries.

#WeReady #LettttsGooooo https://t.co/e2EL5CHAHN

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) June 14, 2020

Even if owners are claiming they will lose upwards of $640,000 per game with no fans, that is a drop in the bucket for most clubs. So why hasn’t the league figured it out? You tell me.

While it appears negotiations have come to an end, Manfred still has the ability to schedule a season. Per the March agreement, Manfred has the power to make the season happen. Although it will likely be in the range of 42-60 games. That number is not ideal, but it is still something.

It remains to be seen if a majority of players will come back for the 2020 season without the guarantee of their full per game salaries. They may instead opt to sit out and face potential punishment. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

Manfred works for the owners. That is a commissioner’s job. It makes sense that he would heed the wants of the billionaires instead of the players. But for the league to botch these negotiations at every turn highlights the lack of owner’s understanding of their employees. Which is never something an organization should have to encounter.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

Every time someone from the MLB speaks about this Houston Astros cheating scandal, in hopes of making it better… it gets worse. This morning, that person speaking, was MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred.

We haven’t seen all of the interview yet. SportsCenter is slow rolling it out this morning, in cut-up clips so people will watch them again… I’ll embed clips into this blog, as they become available, along with more commentary if necessary, until the full interview is available.

Can We Get Any Sincerity or Honesty…?

Everyone who was involved in the actual Astros cheating scandal OR in the investigation afterward, are ALL hiding shit when they talk. That’s been the biggest problem since this investigation started (Manfred says that in the beginning of the clip above) and it remains the biggest problem to this day..

What Manfred doesn’t realize in this respect, is he’s a big part of the problem. He granted immunity to all players involved, in order to get answers. Imagine if we gave immunity to all criminals in the world, so they’d give us the truth in what they did…

He also picks his own words VERY carefully and clearly hides half of the truth when he is giving this interview to Ravich. The deception is so obvious, Spongebob Squarepants is skeptical…

via GIPHY

Maybe the MLB should just hire people who are better at their jobs, including someone to replace Manfred, himself?

The fans and players are sick of being lied to by the MLB and the Houston Astros so those two entities can “move on” from this, as Manfred so carefully chose his words this morning.

Fans don’t give a fuck that you are trying to “move on”. We are still trying to figure out what happened, before we can even discuss “moving on”.

What a joke. How about we worry less about “moving on” and more about investigating and then punishing (properly) everyone involved?

For example, it hasn’t even been 24 hours since Carlos Correa gave his ridiculous interview where he stanned for Jose Altuve’s 2017 MVP, after Cody Bellinger said he doesn’t deserve it, earlier this week.

During that interview, he said the Astros didn’t do any cheating in 2018, which is false (pointed out to him by Ken Rosenthal during the interview). Apparently, they don’t believe that using centerfield cameras to decode signs, then relaying them to the runner on 2nd base, is cheating?

.@TeamCJCorrea addresses his fellow players’ reaction to the Astros investigation and his teammate @JoseAltuve27.

Full ? – https://t.co/0JwtkFtE8B
#MLBTonight | @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/lkfoAfLpTC

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 15, 2020

Carlos Correa literally tells Cody Bellinger to shut the fuck up. Those were his exact words.

I couldn’t think of a worse group of individuals than the Houston Astros. pic.twitter.com/MjGgTeoWYL

— Joe Randazzo (Bronx Pinstripes crew) (@deflategator) February 15, 2020

Multiple things that Carlos Correa said in his interview on MLB Network were proven to be false. Maybe he should take his own advice. pic.twitter.com/7RmgjshxFq

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) February 15, 2020

Carlos Correa says Altuve didn’t want jersey ripped off because of a tattoo on his collarbone. The internet remains undefeated pic.twitter.com/LNxWiiTOGH

— Starting 9 (@Starting9) February 15, 2020

The Astros Aren’t Sorry

“If you don’t know the facts, then you should shut the fuck up.”

Those words were actually said on a major TV interview. WE WANT ALL OF THE FACTS, CARLOS SO WHY DON’T YOU BE THE ONE TO SHARE THOSE WITH US????

How do you even give that interview with a serious face? How do you talk about everyone not knowing the facts, when you have them… and are lying to hide them. It’s almost so stupid that you have to laugh.

At least they apologized a little bit… kind of… I guess… but not really.

First, it was complete bullshit. Then, their owner spoke and made it way worse… before we finally got ahold of a couple players at their lockers who at least seemed apologetic. And then Carlos Correa called Ken Rosenthal for that terrible interview above….

The only reason they are sorry is because they got caught. That’s clear. The players need to take some fucking responsibility. They keep on pointing to this stupid fucking memo that was sent to the Astros sometime in 2017, that reiterated the illegality of using technology to steal signs, but was never shared with the players…

… as if we are stupid enough to believe they didn’t know it was wrong and illegal to steal signs using centerfield cameras. Again, we aren’t being told everything and instead, we are treated like we are too stupid to realize it.

MLB is About to Ban Astros Players from Being Thrown At:

We also found out that Manfred and Co. are going to send out a memo to all MLB teams with a list of punishments for purposefully throwing at Astros players, in retaliation for their cheating….

…which is fucking hilarious!

The same league that has refused to punish pitchers who throw at guys for watching home runs too long, is now concerned about player being thrown at? Does this guy live in the same world we do?

First, you protect the players from any real punishment, by giving them immunity for telling the truth. Then, you are going to protect them from baseball’s classic player-run legal system, by punishing those who enforce the “unwritten rules” that were so crucial to protect, before?

This Shit Show is Just Getting Started

Through all of this, one thing has become incredibly clear. This scandal that is flipping baseball upside down, is nowhere near over.

With the Astros getting more defensive, instead of apologetic; the MLB defending them at every turn, instead of levying worthy punishments; and the Boston Red Sox cheating decision still looming…… Manfred get comfortable in front of cameras because this issue is around to stay.

This looks like it will follow the Astros, the MLB, and Manfred’s legacy forever.

If any of those entities cared about saving baseball instead of their own asses, we would know the truth to all of this, the Astros wouldn’t have a banner hanging or rings on fingers, and there wouldn’t be Astros players to throw at this season because they’d all be suspended or banished for good.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Outside of Bill Nye, nobody has the ability to make science entertaining like the extremely talented John Brenkus. The creator, host, and producer of ESPN’s Sport Science (who is also a musician on the side) has amassed 6 Emmy Awards for his roles in the four letter network’s popular series.

In regards to their recent work, the critically acclaimed program has stirred the once-exorcised demons  of “America’s pastime” with the word, “JUICED”. However, this time, it’s the MLB accused of juicing. Also different this time around; we are accused of juicing baseballs, not humans.

Last season, while more than half of MLB team’s saw their TV ratings decreased, the opposite was true for the sport’s home run totals.

The 3,170 total American League HRs and 6,105 total MLB HRs in 2017 (highlighted above) are both all time records. 

ALMOST 2000 MORE HOME RUNS IN 2017 THAN 2014…. Two Thousand….

via GIPHY

In hopes of explaining the spike in deep shots, the Brenkus-run program had research done by the Keck School of Medicine. The USC-based institution took a deep dive into the possibility that the MLB (now commissioned by Rob Manfred) has been using juiced baseballs.

As for the study’s results, they are f*cken wild scientifically fascinating:

Goal of Research: To “see if the internal composition of the baseballs had changed in ways that would affect the ball’s performance.“

Preface: Statistical evidence indicates the rate in which home runs are hit in the MLB, started to increase in the middle of the 2015 season.

Research Format:

• Eight official game balls were obtained and separated into two groups:
  • Old Group: Four balls from prior to mid-2015 spike (between Aug. 2014 and May 2015.)
  • New Group: Four balls from after mid-2015 spike (between 8/2016 and 7/2017; except one of four is brand new)

• The research team used a CAT scan to examine the baseballs.
  • A CAT scan is usually used to examine a human head or body.
  • This method allowed the professors to inspect the interior of the Rawlings made product without having to crack them open.

Findings: There was little to no variation between the test groups, except for one glaring difference in the DENSITY OF THEIR CORE.

Per the below diagram, the core of a baseball is made up of three parts:

Per the below picture, this is how the three core components (plus the yarn and cowhide shell) actually appear:

The disparity between the pre and post mid-2015 subjects existed in the “Pink Rubber,” or outer most part of the core. The researchers found that part was “on average, about 40 percent less dense in the new group of balls.“

Once the Cat scan of the patients baseballs was complete, the eight of them were sent for additional examinations. As you’d expect, the results of that testing showed a difference in the chemical composition of the “Pink Rubber.”

Additionally, the weight of the cores from new set of baseballs were, on average, 0.5 grams lighter than the old set of baseballs. It can be determined that if a ball from each group were hit exactly the same way, the one from the new group would travel slightly farther.

In a tweet from Justin Verlander (HOU – Starting Pitcher) he found a chart that shows exactly that:

Been sitting on this… Exit velo and launch angle and it’s correlation to % chance of becoming a homer. 2014 vs. 2017 pic.twitter.com/UrfVVFVuJB

— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) March 2, 2018

In July of last year, the MLB sent a memo to all 30 clubs that claimed there wasn’t any evidence that the leagues’ official game ball hand changed. Whenever commissioner Manfred addresses this controversy, he seems to continuously take the rat-boy style approach of “deny, deny, deny.”

via GIPHY

Before this study was released, because of previous findings, I would have bet that the MLB baseballs (like many of their athletes from the infamous Steroids Era) were on the juice.

Thanks to Sport Science and their contacts, for the first time, we can confirm changes in the way the official baseballs from before and after the HR jump are composed. With those previous findings, parlayed with this new information, I’m extremely confident in saying that these non-living items are on their own version of that Mark McGwire shit.

For a non-baseball purist like myself, I am all for the extra entertainment that has resulted from, what I view as, a deliberate and calculated change made by the league’s big wigs.

If you’re a baseball purist, this probably drives you crazy. Like my Minnesota Sports Fan colleague, Brandon Strack (IG: @BStrack21), discussed in an MLB pitch-clock discussion on our “No Shirts, Just Skins” Podcast, stuff like this tampers with the ultra-coveted baseball record books. And, you don’t want to piss people like Brandon off.

No, no, no. There aren’t any steroids involved with Brandon (at least we don’t believe so), nor did the man’s composition change (that I know of).

As Welch’s, Lance Armstrong, Rawlings, and P.J. Fleck have shown us, the term juice(d) has many different interpretations:

“#JUICEWEEK LET’S GOOOO!! LET’S GOOOO!!” – @BrandonStrack

PJ Fleck has us INSPIRED. #SkiUMah #RTB @TheJohnnyMN pic.twitter.com/aNu9iOSXnm

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) March 5, 2018

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com