…And Justice For Miggy: A Little Clarification, Please?

For anyone who was wondering what the “community service” part of Miguel Tejada’s sentencing will be, here is a little clarification from astros.com:

“Miguel Tejada’s punishment for lying to federal investigators about performance-enhancing drugs consists of three parts: a fine of $5,000, probation and community service."

The first two elements are self-explanatory. Tejada has to pay money, and he needs to be on his best behavior for the next year if he doesn’t want to suffer more consequences for his actions.

The community service part, however, isn’t nearly as clear.

How will he serve these 100 hours? What will he do? Where will he do it? Explanations given by Tejada and his lawyer, Mark Tuohey, suggest this portion of Tejada’s punishment will be what every Astros player is expected to contribute, community-wise, every year—only more of it.

Tejada’s program will be handled in conjunction with the Astros’ community program. He’ll talk to kids about, according to Tuohey, “baseball, baseball-related skills, educational outreach and life situations.”

“Like his colleagues in professional baseball, he is a role model for kids,” Tuohey said. “He made a mistake. I don’t view this as punishment. It gives Miguel a chance to spend time with the kids. He’s very committed to this.”

Tuohey anticipates Tejada will complete the 100 hours during homestands through the upcoming six-month baseball season. For his part, Tejada said he would gladly exceed the 100 hours.

“For me, community service is going to be all my life,” Tejada said. “I know it’s 100 hours, and for me, I don’t need to track the hours. I can do it every year, every season. It’s not like I’m going to try to do 100 hours just to do it. I do clinics with kids because I love it. I’m going to enjoy it.

“Tracking the hours, it’s not going to be a big deal for me. I want to do more than 100 hours.”

Tejada is so happy he isn’t going to jail. I do think he is being genuine in what he says about going beyond the 100 hours, because that is just the kind of guy Miguel is.

So for all of you expecting to see Miguel in an orange jump-suit on the side of the road picking up trash, no dice.

By the way, Miggy went 3-for-3 with a dinger in today's game.