“The real trouble starts when you bet AGAINST your team.”
Or if you don’t bet every game. That’s the crux of the matter. How does managing to win affect the odds of winning the next game, when his bookies know he didn’t have a bet riding? Do you burn pitching when you know it is going to be needed in the next series when you know nothing is going to be riding? Or use players when they should have the day off in consideration of finishing strong down the stretch?
If you were a bookie making odds, would you pay attention to what games Rose bet on and which games he didn’t? How about when he bet 2000 bucks as opposed to 500? So then what do you do to reward Pete Rose for using your book? Because he’s a pretty sweet client and he knows it.
FReegards
I agree with both of you that there are ways to bet against your team while still trying to win. That’s why I stated that Rose needed to be punished for breaking the rules - after all, betting nearly destroyed baseball in the Black Sox scandal. My real question is whether Rose should continue to be punished...and I think that he’s paid the price at this point in terms of both reputation and money. Others may disagree, and that’s OK - this is just my opinion.