No tolerance for beanballs in wake of Astros’ scam
Associated Press
NORTH PORT, Fla. — With baseball ablaze over the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal, commissioner Rob Manfred met with nearly half of the major leagues managers Sunday and told them to knock off any notion of geteven beanballs.
“I hope that I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it’s Houston or anybody else,” Manfred said. “It’s dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation.”
Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Correa were among the All-Stars recently trading threats, accusations and barbs as spring training opened. The revelation of Houston’s sign-stealing scam, the punishment imposed by Major League Baseball and poorly received apologies by the Astros further enhanced anger across the sport, with players, club management and fans all joining in.
“I think that the back and forth that’s gone on is not healthy,” Manfred said.
Manfred had previously planned to attend a news conference at the Atlanta Braves’ new camp, along with managers and representatives of teams training in Florida to talk about the upcoming season. Instead of an uplifting look at the upcoming season, as this annual press session is, there was no doubt what was the No. 1 topic.
Manfred said he would
Sonoraville Phoenix soccer returns to the pitch, and a winning record is the 2020 focus. However, the Phoenix begin the decade with a new man at the helm of their program, Marcus Palazzolo.
Palazzolo is a familiar face in Gordon County. His wife, Jackie, coached girls soccer at Calhoun High School from 2003-09. Marcus assisted for a few years with her.
While Palazzolo takes over for Ken Walraven, he is also no stranger to Phoenix Nation. Palazzolo was an assistant during head coach Dan Melick’s tenure, during which the Phoenix made their first appearance in the state playoffs.
In 2019, the Phoenix went 6-7 overall with a 6-4 Region 6-AAA mark for fifth place. Region 6-AAA is highly competitive, as region champion Coahulla Creek went all the way to the Class AAA state final.
Palazzolo said this year’s squad did a good deal of conditioning through preseason practice.
“The boys in came in in shape,” Palazzolo said. “(We’ve been) working on the basic structures, drills, discipline, structure on the field. That’s been a good plus. Had a lot of strong boys that are ready to step up.”
Palazzolo said he has six seniors on his 2020 roster, and Braden Camp is an experienced leader he’ll have on the field this season. Camp is enrolled at both Sonoraville High School and Georgia Highlands College.
“He’s going to be an impact player. I’m going to expect a lot from Braden,” Palazzolo said. “He’s already traveled across the southeast