Looks like the situation in Cleveland is at a new level of seriousness.

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase's locker was empty the day after the MLB trade deadline, but not for the reason many expected this time last week.

With both Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz on paid leave amid an investigation into gambling allegations, the Guardians cleared out their lockers before Friday's game, according to The Athletic's Zack Meisel.

I would not at all be surprised if both the Guardians and MLB are fine with this running out the string until the off-season.

Re the Ortiz suspicious pitches that have been flagged?

The first came June 15, when someone bet an unusual amount of money on Ortiz to throw a ball or hit a batter with his first pitch of the second inning (yes, you can do that). The pitch in question ended up in the dirt.

I blame the ridiculousness of all the prop bets you can do in sports betting.

So do other people:

The situation has become notable enough that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove these kinds of prop bets from the state's sportsbooks.

Boy, be nice if a guy by name of Robert D. Manfred called for bans like this and more in all 50 states, wouldn't it?

Sports betting in general may be out of the bottle, but stuff like this can and should be put back in .

20 comments

  1. So sick of gambling in baseball and sports in general. It hasn’t made it more entertaining, more fun to watch, or even more fun to talk about. Maybe the boomers were right.

    At least I get to see someone comment “THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FANDUEL 🤣😂” in every god damn thread though.

  2. Such a simple solution but as usual these days making money is the only concern

  3. Lot of people on the cincinnati sub that are upset the governor has an opinion on the matter at all. 

    In Illinois, you can’t wager on any event involving an in-state college. Which I’m sure is frustrating for gamblers, but I’m sure it cuts down on some of the more extreme points shaving issues

  4. It all needs to burn down. Sadly there are too many people making too much money, including MLB itself. This nasty genie will never go back into the bottle.

  6. Idc if you ban gambling or not, but you need to stop advertising this shit nonstop and treat it like cigarettes. 

  7. The gambling kickbacks MLB owners get from prop bets are more than they get from merchandise sales. For this reason alone the owners need to create a betting pioneer’s wing in Cooperstown for Pete Rose.

  8. Completely agree. Gambling is a tax on the stupid and will ALWAYS lead to corruption. All the major sports leagues should ban these parasites immediately, simply to protect the integrity of their games. THe greed factor on the part of the owners will not permit that to happen, I’m afraid.

    It took congressional hearings to embarrass the team owners to appoint Landis after the Black Sox scandal. Something similar might be needed currently…..

  9. You don’t blame the players for knowingly betting? They are adults and know the rules.

  11. Ah yes Pandora doesn’t go back in the box. The leagues are in bed with the sports books now, it’s not going anywhere the money is too high. This is the by product, more players betting on their own games and themselves

  12. Did they look into what pitches Ohtani threw when his interpreter was placing bets?

  13. Why would Manfred punish gambling at all when he just lifted the bans on Pete Rose and players who threw the World Series.

  14. “You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube”

    Well, I just tried, and you can, at least, get some of it back in there.

  15. I think Cocaine should be legal.
    I do not think that Cocaine should be advertised on television.

    See what I did there?

  17. I personally would like to know what happened. Is there a ring? Is he being threatened? Just whoa

  18. I think Pete Rose is guilty, and a huge piece of shit on top of that, but when baseball allowed draftkings into the room, they lost all credibility with “the unbreakable rule.” Let that be manfred’s legacy: the commissioner who allowed gambling and called the World Series trophy “a piece of metal.”

  19. I would rather legal gambling than the past option of using criminal organizations to place my bets. But the advertising has gotten out of hand.

    I agree with most comments that the advertising needs to be curbed like cigarettes. Permanent bans for anyone caught throwing games etc.

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