House That Hank Built
Fansided

Former Atlanta Braves prospects begin signing elsewhere

By Fred Owens

DENVER, CO - JUNE 11: The ball lies on the grass as the Atlanta Braves face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 11, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JUNE 11: The ball lies on the grass as the Atlanta Braves face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 11, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves receives formal word of their punishment for rules violations today
Atlanta Braves receives formal word of their punishment for rules violations today /

Blakeley to blame high-ranking team officials

Last Friday David O’Brien writing for the AJC reported that Braves ousted special assistant and international scouting chief Gordon Blakeley seeks vengeance (Blakeley would say justice) from LMC.

He meets with LMC representative on Dec. 14 to lay out what he believes team officials not yet mentioned implicated, knew about the rule-breaking.

". . . Blakeley said he will discuss with Liberty Media officials what he said he told MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a Nov. 9 meeting in New York about the involvement and/or awareness of those other team officials in the infractions."

It’s hard to know what he said that LMC doesn’t already know. Early in the investigation we were told that LMC’s lawyers sat in on every interview. Perhaps he said things in a private meeting with Manfred that wasn’t considered an interview.

Whatever he has to say should be taken with a grain of salt and two aspirin. Blakeley is hardly pure as the driven snow.

Sins of the past?

Back in 2005 the White Sox began some international dealings that ended with three employees going to a federal penitentiary for some R&R. As a result, MLB started their own investigation and by 2009 the investigation spread to half-dozen or more teams including the Yankees.

More from Tomahawk Take

At that time Blakely was vice president of pro scouting with a focus on the international market for the Yankees.  As a result of MLB investigations into accusations of bonus skimming in his department, the Yankees fired:

  • Director of Latin American scouting Carlos Ríos and
  • Dominican Republic scouting director Ramón Valdivia.

It’s unlikely Blakeley has a smoking gun he can put in John Schuerholz’ hands regarding this.  MLB had reams of emails providing a paper-trail for the events investigated.

Blakeley met on multiple occasions with MLB investigators over the last two weeks of their work, effectively turning states evidence against the Braves for a lighter sentence.

Maybe he knows something MLB heard but failed to act on involving JS or Terry McGuirk. It’s hard to know what that might be, particularly with a Lawyer like Rob Manfred running MLB. According to O’Brien, McGuirk doesn’t seem bothered by this revelation.

"“Braves CEO Terry McGuirk said at a Wednesday breakfast with Braves season ticket holders at SunTrust Park, in a quote that an attendee posted on Twitter, that a “rogue employee” focusing on Dominican prospects would not bring down a proud franchise.”"

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