Well this has just turned into a sideshow of crap

Okay, so there's a little Houston-based controversy regarding the Dan Le Batard saga. If you didn't know, Dan Le Batard gave his Hall of Fame vote to Deadspin. The Deadspin readers chose: Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Edgar Martínez, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Curt Schilling. This is a better ballot than 90% of the ones the voting members of the BBWAA sent in.

Anyhow, yesterday, the BBWAA decided they would put on their Big Boy Pants and Take Some Action and Make A Statement by banning Le Batard from the BBWAA for a year. He will also never be allowed to vote in another Hall of Fame election.

Richard Justice took a flamethrower to the Houston chapter of the BBWAA.

We had a guy in Houston who voted for Jim Deshaies so he could write a column about it. He still votes.
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) January 9, 2014

That was John Lopez. This is the column.

Houston BBWAA voted to give one guy the "Nice Guy" award. Only later did someone point out the voters hadn't actually been in the clubhouse
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) January 9, 2014

We had a guy in Houston ask for fan help in filling out his HOF ballot. He still votes.
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) January 9, 2014

That's Jose de Jesus Ortiz. And that is starting to get some attention.

For the record, none of this bothers me. Ortiz asking for opinions and getting fans involved is okay with me. Le Batard selling his ballot to Deadspin is okay with me. If the BBWAA isn't going to get involved on Ken Gurnick's ridiculous ballot, or let Murray Chass skate on spite and laziness, what does it matter if Le Batard let Deadspin fill out his ballot? If they're going with the "It's Only One Vote Out of 571" defense of some writers, they could at least have a little consistency. Or maybe that's asking a little too much from the BBWAA.