MLB Bullets are issuing very moderate punishments

Happy Friday friends! If you needed a sign that baseball is much-needed, I bought myself a Roomba this week and I have been watching it, engrossed, as it seems to tactfully avoid picking up the most obvious piece of dirt in a room. It’s actually impressive.

I miss baseball very badly.

In baseball news, though, MLB announced the so-called punishment of the Red Sox on Wednesday and it was very light indeed. As Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich first reported for The Athletic, the team would lose a second-round draft pick, their video replay operator J.T. Watkins has been suspended for two seasons, and Alex Cora is suspended for 2020 (but only for his part in the Astros scandal).

It was light punishment to say the very least, especially when contrasted with the fines and penalties faced by the Astros earlier this year (does anyone else feel like that was a decade ago?)

• FanGraphs writer Jay Jaffe looks at the Red Sox punishment in depth.
• Ben Kouchnerkavich, an SB Nation writer for Purple Row, takes a look at how the current situation for sports journalism is impacting those at SBN. (Our own Al Yellon shares his thoughts.)
• Speaking of Purple Row, AJ Hendrickson has a poll up to pick the best dogs in the NL, and Kevin Rizzo could use some help.
• Two teams are going above and beyond for their employees during these difficult times, and Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli look at how the Tigers and Rockies are supporting their staff. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Sean Doolittle is interviewed by his wife Eireann about his current reading selections (and he mentions a library option, much to my delight).

• We’ve spent a lot of time looking at how fans might be able to return to major league games, but how will coronavirus impact the minor league experience? Josh Norris takes a look.
• Adam Sanford does a deep dive into the history of a single baseball card for former Cub Rene Rivera during his time with the Rays.
• John Shea shares a truly unique story about former San Francisco Giants third base coach Tim Flannery.
• We’ve all been craving familiar takeout these days, but Lance McCullers Jr. has one heck of a dinner delivery story.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.