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MLB SECURITY AGENT TO TELL ALL

By Murray Chass

August 26, 2018

Commissioner Rob Manfred and his predecessor Bud Selig are unlikely to be thrilled with a book that is scheduled for publication Aug. 28.

Although “Baseball Cop” by Eddie Dominguez has been embargoed until its release, some details are disclosed in a description of the book obtained by a former major league umpire, who forwarded it to me. More about the book’s disclosures will follow after the book’s release:

“In the wake of 2005’s sometimes contentious, sometimes comical congressional hearings on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball and the subsequent Mitchell Report, Major League Baseball established the Department of Investigations (DOI). An internal and autonomous unit, it was created to not only eliminate the use of steroids, but also to rid baseball of any other illegal, unsavory, or unethical activities. The DOI would investigate the dark side of the national pastime-gambling, age and identity fraud, human trafficking, cover-ups, and more-with the singular purpose of cleaning up the game.

Eduardo Dominguez Jr. was a founding member of that first DOI team, leaving a stellar career with the Boston Police Department to join four other “supercops”-a group that included …

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IN THE DAYS OF DOYLE AND CC

By Murray Chass

August 20, 2018

When the Detroit Tigers made a trade at the winter meetings many years ago, their modest manager, Sparky Anderson, proudly proclaimed, “I just got smarter.” When the Tigers acquired a pitcher, Doyle Alexander, Aug. 12, 1987, Anderson had no clue how much smarter he had just become. Alexander started 11 games for the Tigers and won nine, pitching three shutouts. The Tigers also won the other two. In those 11 games, Alexander registered a 1.58 earned run average. The Tigers accomplished what they wanted when the traded for the right-hander. They won the American League East championship.

Will Cole Hamels be this year’s Doyle Alexander? Or maybe it will be J.A. Happ. What about Lance Lynn? And let’s not forget Nathan Eovaldi.

All four of those pitchers were acquired in the last month in the annual game of roster resurrection, in which teams with high-priced players they don’t plan to re-sign trade them to contending teams willing to give up promising youngsters for the rare chance to go to and win the World Series. Few of the moves accomplish the trading teams’ goal. Sometimes the results are mixed …

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FIRE OR PROMOTE SPORTS EDITOR?

By Murray Chass

August 12, 2018

Not to belabor the unappetizing issue, but the coincidence is too much to ignore. In last week’s column I wrote about readers’ reaction to the sports coverage of the once worthwhile and important New York Times. Within days, a reader sent me a notice the Times had posted online.

My former employer is seeking a new sports editor.

However, before readers of the Times sports section get excited, they need to know the Times is not booting the current sports editor, Jason Stallman, out the door because he prefers cupstacking to baseball. The newspaper’s editors feel Stallman has done such a good job they are …

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