Astro fans, now what do we do with this?

After writing the previous tome on the difficulties of modern fandom …..

Is this the hardest time ever to be a baseball fan?

….. I sure did not expect to be confronted with an immediate “in yo face sucka” conundrum that makes being a modern fan even more difficult.

Y’all have already put out some interesting thoughts on the “cheating” story.

There’s old pro’s old school hang ’em long and hang ’em high thoughts…..

How Ironic that this particular scandal comes to light in the midst of this particular post in our blog.
I’m an old time baseball guy. It’s actually part of my blog name.
If the Astros did this, they should fire the manager and the GM, if he knew it was happening, and start over.
If it’s true, admit it, remove those responsible and keep going with the plan.
It’s not like Crane isn’t willing to replace guys who mess up. He did it with the removal of Reid Ryan, who oversaw Media and Communications during the Taubman fiasco
This team is too important to its fan base to put up with this BS. And this team is too good to let this drag it down.
Find the culprits, make the necessary changes and let’s go back to real baseball. Nobody is bigger than baseball itself. If it happened, heads should roll.

There’s rj’s stream of consciousness – mulling it over out loud rant ……

now wait a minute. i know my memory is not what it once was but didnt cora and beltran receive praise for their abilty to steal signs? didnt beltran have conversations with players while here and later after he left, that suddenly had bats coming alive? wasnt a part of that anticipating pitches and stealing signs? where are cora and beltran now? were they punished or did they advance? stealing signs (or the attempt to) has been a regular part baseball for a long time.
now using technology to do it is a new development, at least to me. does this make it suddenly worse? i would say yes.
is the ability to be a careful observer and see a pitcher holding his glove a certain way on a certain pitch thereby tipping his pitches the same? i say no.
watch the third base coach. doesnt he give an extensive amount of signs to the batter? why? to keep the opposing team from knowing the batters instruction. is it the same to try to read these signs as well? i say no.
when a runner is on second base the catcher routinely changes the way he is giving signs to counteract the runner trying to determine the upcoming pitch.
is this the same? i say no.
get any and all electronic devices, lenses or other non-human devices out of the equation by making them illegal and enforcing it.
leave the human interaction alone. if you are clever enough to see a pattern and take advantage of it (using nothing other than your baseball acumen) good for you and its on them to correct their mistake.
baseball has been changed enough lately, correct the electronic crap and leave the human factor alone.

There’s Sandy’s short – to the point X-Files (We are not alone) comment…..

Or maybe it’s allowed for certain teams not based in Houston.

Mr. Bill’s defense….

Folks . . . the video they have doctored to argue that the Astros were cheating in 2017 was of Evan Gattis swinging and missing at a fastball, then not getting a hit. This is their smoking gun?

Zanuda’s righteous disgust…..

Ok, then let’s remove Ipads in the dugout and any other electronic devices for all teams. Then we’re all back to the same rules. This is BS! At least I hope so. And Fiers can ESAD for all I care. Sure as hell didn’t mind it when he played for us.

Dave b’s explanation of why this may be happening to the Astros….

A whole lot of people have always hated the Yankees. They’re winners. They are arrogant. We’re similar, including the arrogant part that I could do without. This is todays version of the spitball as far as I’m concerned. I hope we’re not guilty. I don’t like having an asterisk . Regarding Fiers, he led our team in innings pitched in 2017, then got left off the post season roster. I’m pretty sure he does not like us.

Devin’s questioning….

It’s obviously premature to comment before we know all the facts, but just the other week we had an article published talking about Gerrit Cole which included mentions of how he improved his approach since joining the Astros. One reference was to video study and the author noted that MLB has employees in the dugout, in the tunnel, and in the clubhouse watching so players cannot go watch video during the game. How is it possible the Astros had secret cameras providing a live feed to a monitor just inside the door to the tunnel but the MLB employees never caught it? Why was it not a national story that Aaron Judge and another Yankee were viewing iPads in the dugout during the ALCS until the cameras caught them at which time they hid them from view?

Sarge H’s indifference …..

I really do not care, does anybody here?

AC45’s logical conclusion….

Well, if the Astros are using cameras to steal signs, they turn them off with runners on base and in the late innings.
Or maybe the Nationals, with the help of the Russians, hacked the cameras.

Becky’s straight ahead down home statement….

WELCOME TO THE *NEW* AMERICA. I can accuse you of ANYTHING and you have to just shut up. That’s it in a nutshell. It doesn’t matter if Mike Fires is a liar or not…….he said it so THAT means it’s true, it’s up to the Astros organization to prove it’s not. Have a nice day.

And Dan P avoiding the subject through humor (and I apologize if I missed anyone)

It was Colonel Mustard with a candlestick in the Kitchen

What we are left with….

In the end, it is again the fans that are left with the emotional crap from all of this. We pay good money to see this team in person or at home. We give away hundreds (thousands) of hours of our time to the sport and team we love.

This is all supposed to be a distraction for us. A distraction from life’s problems as we somehow deeply care about a billionaire’s toy made up of young millionaires who will gladly entertain you this year and someone else the next. Where’s the fun and distraction in this, if after 50+ years we finally cheer for a team and a championship that may have an asterisk attached to it.

In our hearts we despise cheating and there is no way to talk about electronic “surveillance” and sign stealing through technology and not consider it that. It may help us a bit to throw out the “everyone does it” argument, which may even be true. But we hate to be placed in this position. We look back and see someone like George Springer getting a hit and reaching base and turning towards the dugout and giving them two thumbs up. Was that the glee of the start of a rally or was it a thank you to whoever banged the trash can lid to signal the next pitch after seeing the catcher’s sign on video?

Through the years players and teams have cheated in many different ways. It has been revealed that the Giants likely stole signals from someone hidden in their scoreboard to help them erase a 13 game Dodger lead in the last 6 weeks of the 1951 season. Gaylord Perry made the Hall of Fame thanks to a “Little dab will do ya” from his hat and hair. Pitchers have scuffed, cut, marked up and beat up balls to get a little more break. Hitters  have used corked bats (Say it ain’t so Billy Hatcher) and steroids (Sosa, Bonds, McGwire and too many to count)to launch balls higher and farther. We’ve always wondered if Mike Scott had thrown more of a spit finger than a split finger fastball. Trevor Bauer a couple years ago said the Astros pitchers had to be using pine tar or its equivalent to get some of the velocity and spin results they were seeing.

We can say “everyone’s doing it” but wasn’t that part of Chris Correa’s defense before he was carted off for hacking the Astros treasure trove of information? Remember he said he was only doing it because he believed the Astros were hacking the Cards first.

What do we believe and again why are we put in this position? It is most likely that baseball will slap someone on the hands over this and hope to bury the story and “handle” things behind the scenes. But if it is too deep and too pervasive what will they do? OP suggests deep sixing Luhnow and Hinch. What if they decided to vacate the Astros championship? Would we still want to pull for what we thought was the little engine that could?

This is unfair to the faithful, whose faith is being shaken as I write these words.

 

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81 responses to “Astro fans, now what do we do with this?”

  1. Forget our pain and what we’re gonna do with this. I think you fabricated this whole baseballian melodrama to counteract post-playoff blues.

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    • There you go Diane. Women are so much smarter than men. This is DanP’s attempt to be the latest newscaster as they predict the future incorrectly, while they report the news incorrectly. I think DanP should be banished from baseball and be forced to write about Wrestlemania or Roller Derby, which we know are “honest” sports.

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  2. As most of you know, I am in the legal field. I have practiced litigation law, mostly on the defense side, for over 40 years now. In this field, one learns quickly that allegations and proof are two very different things. It is a ‘free country’, as they say – so anyone can allege pretty much anything they want. If/when scrutinized, however, most allegations turn out to be false. Often they are exposed as the product of bias, prejudice, animus, or greed.

    Any time an accusation is made, there are two basic ways it can be adjudicated. The time-honored way – the only fair way -is through the legal system. The implicated party is deemed innocent until proven guilty. The accuser can’t just throw shade; he/she has to call witnesses, produce evidence, and prove his/her case to a neutral body of fact finders. One accused of wrongdoing gets to confront and cross-examine his/her accusers as well as any witnesses the accuser calls. He/she also gets to thoroughly review, and is given an opportunity to explain, any documentary evidence that was offered against him/her. Through these safeguards, the parties are afforded due process.

    The 2nd way to adjudicate accusations – which is being increasingly used by people who know they cannot prevail if due process is afforded – is through media/social media hype. The accuser counts on, and plays into, the public’s love of slander. He/she plays to biases, and tries to engender a great ‘rush to judgment’ amongst the uninformed [especially the media]. In this strange realm, there is no such thing as due process. Every accuser is automatically believed to be pure as the driven snow, and every accused is automatically considered – and adjudicated – guilty, heinous, and undeserving of life. No evidence whatever is required; no witnesses with actual knowledge need be called, and no scrutiny of the claim being made, or the one making the claim, is even considered, much less allowed.

    Beware the 2nd type of adjudication, Dear Friends. Demand that the accused be afforded due process. Disbelieve all accusations until they are scrutinized, confronted, cross-examined and proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence, if not beyond a reasonable doubt.

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      • I think there is a case very close to home for the Astros that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the MLB has no interest whatever in due process – only in public relations. I would mention the name of the player adversely affected most recently, because no right of confrontation or cross-examination of his accuser, was afforded, and accusations were assumed true without a conviction being gained through the legal system, but I am pretty sure I would get stoned.

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  4. Unfortunately, I think at some point soon we’ll be made an example of, maybe for multiple reasons. I don’t like cheating in any application. But I do believe each and every club is trying to get an edge, even it it means bending and breaking the rules. Let’s face it, a team that wins 100 games regularly is going to be on everyone’s hit list. Not the Orioles. Bottom line is that the Houston Astro organization needs to set a positive example in all areas, everyday. We can’t throw spitballs anymore.

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    • It’s funny uncle k (daveb) – I always go back to NCAA football where they punish the Alabamas by doubling up the punishment on the Tennessee-Chattanoogas……If they were running mlb they would be punishing the Orioles and Marlins first….

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  5. How about playing a game with no analytics, technical/electronic equipment, replays, the strike zone box, bat speed, launch angles, pitch speed, run speed, juiced balls, corked bats, etc. Just an old fashion baseball games where the two teams go out on the field and “slug it out”. Also for those that have been to games, no in between inning comercials, loud obnoxious music, or other distractions that take away form the pure enjoyment of watching the game.
    You’d probably see a game played in less than 3 hours. That’s probably too much to ask but worth a try.

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  6. A Couple Of Random Thoughts:
    1) I wonder how bad it would have to get for MLB to force the sale of a team? Maybe if the owner ordered the activity or there was proof of his knowledge / consent.
    2) If this somehow ties back to Reid Ryan than the whole off season will have come full circle.

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    • Suddenly we will see pictures of Brandon Taubman holding a garbage can lid in the dugout while Reid Ryan has a video camera with a telescopic lens in the CF bleachers.
      They will pin it all on the guys who left or were demoted
      But to your point – this could get a little out of control

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  7. Oh and in totally unrelated news – forgot to mention that Carlos Correa and his former fiancée were married on Tuesday. No word if Carlos needed the presider to signal him when to say I Do …….

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  8. People who actually had at bats for us at home in 2017, hence who might have actual knowledge of what happened or didn’t, do not include Mike Fiers. Fiers was a pitcher who never batted for us in a home game, because we are – and were then – an American League team utilizing a DH. Fiers has no credibility or personal knowledge whatsoever – unless he’s saying he was the alleged ‘signal’ guy, beating on a bat rack or garbage can. Your honor, may I take the witness on cross?

    Those who batted for us at home in 2017, who are no longer with the team, include Carlos Beltran, J.D. Davis, Derek Fisher, Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzales, Teoscar Hernandez, Tony Kemp, Cameron Maybin, Brian McCann, Tyler White, Max Stassi, and A.J. Reed. We know Beltran denies the allegations. I wonder what the rest of those guys – not to mention regulars from 2017 who are still with us like Springer, Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Gurriel, and Reddick will have to say.

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    • My other thought is ‘the nuclear option’. Do either the players, the owners, or the Commissioner of the MLB really want to open this particular can of worms? I think it is safe to say that whatever one team does, they all do. If you thought the PED scandal rocked baseball and affected attendance, what do you think the ‘spy-gate’ scandal is likely to do?

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      • lol dan. i didnt really dislike it. i was gonna comment about a marx brothers movie where groucho is called ‘upstart’ and compare them, but then the phone rang.
        i would call it a rant if i had said something like “i would GIVE correa to the yankees”…..

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  12. Verlander, Cole, Morton. That’s pretty incredible. The Astros do know how to make good pitchers the best pitchers. And as the locals here say, Big Up Coach Strom.

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    • The top three candidates for Cy Young, current or former Astros. Obviously there’s something amiss here. No team is able to have that without some kind of suspicious activity going on in the dugout or in the field. (sarcasm font)
      Let’s see what they say about this.

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  13. Justin Verlander deserved to win the Cy Young award. Cole will get at least one before he stops pitching.
    This whole mess with what who said what about stealing signs……makes me so DAM mad I could choke someone. Two simple words *P R O V E I T*.
    GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. It’s a very good thing your not in my line of sight right now.

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  15. Hey, we got our ROY and our Cy Young. MVP might be tougher. It’s not all gloom and doom folks.! We’ve already a pretty good club for 2020. And we’ll get to watch some reshaping over the next three months. We will be right in the mix again.

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    • Ironically in the NL the same team – the Mets – took the ROY and the Cy Young with Alonso and deGrom.
      Of course – they fell short of the Wild Card by 3 games

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  16. What am I going to do about this situation? What am I not going to do about this situation?
    -I’m going to wait and see what happens.
    -If it turns out to be true, you will not hear me say ” well, everybody else is doing it”. That is not my style.
    -If it is true, the only way to completely prove you are sorry is to make sure the guys in charge of it are gone.
    -If it is true, there will be a price to pay from the league, and that will hurt. And the league will have to do a better job of policing this situation league-wide.
    -If it is true, I will not change my allegiance. The Astros are my team. They are my family. Every family has some problems. Fix the problem and then move on.
    -If it is true and there are ramifications on the horizons, those will affect how I handle this offseason. I might sign players that I ordinarily wouldn’t. I might trade players I ordinarily wouldn’t, simply because I won’t have high draft picks to restock my minor leagues.

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    • It makes perfect sense. The bench coach and DH have plenty of free time once a game begins. Who knows, Cora might have done the same thing to us in 2018. I suppose Fiers took the high road, but I don’t think too many fellow players are going to be giving him a pat on the back. I’m reminded of the photos of his glove the night he threw the no hitter. At the end of the day though, Hinch owns the dugout. If it happened, it happened on his watch.

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      • I would hate to lose Hinch over this. This problem aside, I think he has the right temperament for a major league manager – doesn’t throw his players under the bus, but comes across as someone who would discipline them away from the limelight; is cerebral without being a wonk, can get fiery when needed, etc.
        I wonder if they would suspend him (and Cora and Beltran) to start 2020 if they find they were truly behind this. I have a hard time believing they would have them fired – but in today’s world I am not sure what to expect out of life anymore.

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  20. Long time listener, first time caller….

    I think the “proof” is very light in this situation. The post season is a very small sample size and if you look at the regular season the splits regarding BA and OPS were very close to in line with the rest of the league. The other “proof” being bandied about is the huge drop in whiff rate between 2016 and 2017. Never mind the fact that we no longer had Valbuena, Castro, Gomez etc. Valbuena and Gomez provided plenty of excess air flow in 2016 with their over sized swings.

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    • Welcome, mwig! “Call” as often as you like!
      Great point – it makes a big difference replacing those windmills with guys who put the ball in play.

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      • You are giving me a great idea. I can set up a special 866 call in number – charge by the minute, quit my job in a few weeks and end up as daveb’s neighbor…….

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  21. Some thoughts on everything Astros:
    -I think Mike Trout takes the MVP vote. I sense a lot of Mike Trout love out there based on the way the AL CY voting went. I think that will motivate Bregman in 2020. to figure out the things that kept him from winning the MVP and add and subtract those things.
    -Brandon Bielak is a guy that Astros fans might not be remembering for 2020. I think he will get an invite to MLB camp.
    -If there is a player who you want to add to your team, who carries a QO with him, this might be the year to do that.
    – I am very interested in seeing if Luhnow goes out and finds older, more expensive bullpen arms, or if he finally starts to give the younger minor league players in his organization a chance, especially in light of the luxury tax situation.

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  22. In non-news – Gerrit Cole turned down his one year $17.8 million qualifying offer from the Astros meaning they will get a draft pick for him if he signs before next year’s draft (and unlike Keuchel – that will happen).

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  24. I’m back home had a WONDERFUL visit with my sister! NO HUSBANDS!!
    This is all I’m going to say about this stealing signs crap.
    You wanna see a totally fractured baseball team….fire Hinch.
    The GM is probably safe, this team has been together for the better part of 4 yrs. You fire A.J. Hinch and I don’t want to think how that would effect these guys.
    I’m done.

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  25. Back when my posts were eaten, I wanted to point out that perhaps with the new generation of ADD people, Baseball may end up being their favorite past time.

    What other sport can you check your phone, messages, Twitter, Instagram, etc. etc. and just look up every 35 seconds and miss nothing. It may be perfect for them.

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    • A co-worker just told me this morning that at a movie she went to, the millennial next to her reclined in her seat with a blanket over her head, busy on her phone. It wasn’t immediately clear why she came to the theatre.

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  27. The Astro cheating scandal grows. This issue is not going to go away. Last evening USA Today Sports published a particularly discouraging story on the alleged affair. Seems Luhnow was not welcomed by any of his peers in Arizona this week. Persona Non Grata. And allegedly the Dodgers are now convinced they were screwed out of the World Series win in 2017. As an aside though, they pointed out Darvich getting beaten up so badly. But the second time he got knocked around was in game 7 at Dodger Stadium. I don’t think the Astros would have been able to get a camera operational in enemy territory.

    My biggest concern though is that Luhnow and the Astros don’t have any friends these days. If a judgement comes down against the Astros, it will cause significant damage. This will not be a slap on the wrist outcome if the truth comes out not on our side. And for right now, if Luhnow is negotiating for the services of a free agent, is that guy going to want to come here? And what about trades? Are the other GM’s going to work with him?

    I hate this.

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    • I congratulate Mike Trout as the MVP but as many have pointed out the MVP should be awarded to the player who’s contribution to the team made a substantial difference to the success of that team’s season. I guess if Trout didn’t contribute then the Angels would have finished 5th out of 5 (last) instead of 4th. Personally it’s not right. If the BBWAA wants to give and award for the best player in baseball (Trout) I have no problem but they just made a joke out of the award.
      Of course with all the bad publicity the Astros are now getting, we have now become the most hated team in baseball. It’s a sad day in “Mudville”.

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  28. Uncle, same thoughts I have had . This has been an a very sad 3 weeks for me as a 40 year Astro die hard. Weather it’s proven or not, the damage has been done. It makes deflate a gate a Disney movie. Our WS Championship is tarnished forever. What great free agent will want to come here money or not. Very very sad )_: Waited 40 years and now cheating at the highest level, it seems another horrible statement about sports, our culture , and the WH! Hope you all have a great Holiday Season., mine will be a lot sadder.

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    • I like you are very much disheartened if this actually happened but as yet the evidence has not been substantiated and all of these are merely allegations. I despise liars, cheaters, and thieves. If that’s what you have to do to win then you might as well just quit. It sure is funny how all of the sudden everybody says, “oh yes, I knew they were cheating too”. Let’s go ahead and start rounding up the usual suspects and let’s bayonet the wounded.
      For us who are die hard fans this hurts more than most know but if it turns out to be true, then you punish the purpetrators and move on.

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    • Until the executives are willing to speak without the condition of anonymity I don’t buy into what’s being printed. There are a number of reasons why:
      1. Evan Drellich is involved in this.
      2. The stories are mostly re-hashing what Drellich says is true.
      3. Other teams have already been caught using electronics against the rules…so of course there is some plausibility here…
      4. Every year someone reports that no one likes Luhnow and don’t want to talk/deal with him at the winter meetings.
      5. Of course the other teams want to see the Astros harmed. Look at the position players and starting pitchers we bring back next year! If the other GMs could vote for us to be ineligible for the post-season next season they’d do it in a heartbeat.
      6. This keeps baseball in the news cycle. Americans seem to flock to scandal these days.
      7. I’m more concerned with the physical characteristics of the ball changing and players being able to use pharmaceutical advantages without punishment.

      Regardless, with all the equipment MLB installs in the parks this year for Statcast there should be plenty of evidence caught on tape. If the Astros cheated beyond what MLB head office is willing to allow then this should have been an open and shut case already.

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  30. I have the feeling that where there’s smoke there is fire but I do have questions…
    – Why were the Astros with all this cheating at home a much better road team in 2017 and 2018 regular season record-wise
    – Why did the Astros hit better on the road in 2017 and 2018
    – Why did they have the same results in the World Series against Yu Darvish on the road as at home
    – Weren’t the cameras used for the WS Fox cameras
    – How come Carlos Beltran hit so poorly for us in 2017 with all this help
    – How did we beat Boston and LA to win those series on the road

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    • As I see it, there are seven issues raised by these as yet unsubstantiated allegations:

      1. Did any Astro hitters -or, for that matter, the hitters for any other team, use any electronic means of sign stealing;
      2. Did any manager or GM – of the Astros or any other team – either arrangef or, approve of, or look the other way in relation to any electronic sign-stealing that was going on;
      3. If the answer to any of 1 or 2 above is affirmative is any team – indeed, is any hitter, including all world MVP Mike Trout – above suspicion?
      4. Did sign stealing actually change the the outcome of any game in favor of the player/team doing the electronic sign-stealing?
      5. If the answer to #4, can the game continue without a major, system wide overhaul?
      6. If the league just wants to crucify a scapegoat to calm down the outraged masses, will that scapegoat be a player? a GM? a team? or a franchise? and
      7. If these allegations are false, will the false accusers [Fiers, etc.] be kicked out of the MLB?

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  32. If there is any truth the the USA Today story, quite a bit of damage has already been done if Luhnow has in fact been shunned by his peers. And if the allegations are proven, can Luhnow be an effective general manager going forward? If the allegations are proven, is there any way Hinch, the guy in charge of his team in his dugout, could not know what was going on? I hope my long held impression of Hinch does not turn out to be wrong. Another thought: What happens if the club makes a real effort at getting George Springer extended? Does George think that maybe a fresh start somewhere else would be better for his career?

    Dan, good questions. If the allegations are proven, how ironic it would be if the nefarious efforts did not improve the performance of our hitters.

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  37. Come on friends, you all act as if the club is judged as guilty and has been taken apart.

    What happened to being innocent until proven guilty??

    Cheer up!!

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    • It’s part of the new culture that we have, Guilty until proven otherwise and then you’re still guilty. I’ve been following talk shows on various websites and you’d think that we committed unspeakable atrocities. Everyone that I have seen and heard all start with the guilty verdict followed by the punishment. Somewhere they throw in the caveat that “if they did this” but in reality we’re already guilty in the eyes of all of these talking heads.

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  38. Man, I just had a nice positive post that went off to 45 land. In short, we’ve still get a heck of a team. Cole is gone. I want Wheeler. His 2019 stats were very similar to Coles 2017 stats. We need that big arm. Tucker and Straw will cost about 1.1 million. Jake has value, assuming we can find a trade partner. If we can dump half of Reddick’s salary, it’s worth it. I’d like to keep both back stops. We still have an offense and defensive that combined, is better than any other clubs.

    If the Astros are found guilty of wrong doing, I hope the verdict comes before the holidays. I want us all to move on. I don’t want to see Luhnow and or Hinch get long suspensions. If they were in the middle of whatever may have happened, I’d rather see them fired. At this point, I have to agree with our voice of reason, 1OP. Any good organization should be built to take a big blow. If it comes done to it, we’ll survive.

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  39. You are so right, dave, this team is loaded. How loaded?
    1. Our leadoff guy is an All-Star, Silver Slugger center fielder.
    2. Our #2 hitter is a former MVP who is healthy and very motivated by his 2019 season.
    3. Our #3 hitter is the starting AL Left Fielder.
    4. Our #4 hitter is an All-Star starter at 3B who was runner-up MVP.
    5. Our #5 hitter is a runnerup Gold Glove finalist at 1B who was the eighth best player in baseball the second half of the season, according to Fangraphs..
    6. Our #6 hitter was the unanimous Rookie of the Year in the AL.
    7. Our #7 hitter is a former AL All-Star starting SS who has his own Rookie of the Year trophy.
    8. Our Ace is the reigning Cy Young Award winner. 9. Our #2 starter has one of those CYA trophies and is a 6 time All Star, a 6 time GG winner, a 2-time Silver slugger winner, and had 6.4 WAR in 2019.
    10. Our closer had more saves than any closer in the AL.
    11. Our setup man was a 2019 All-Star.
    The Astros are loaded and will be not be in good humor when this offseason is over with.

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  40. Man, one goes off the grid a couple days and I come back to this. It reminds me of the road trip we took in Mexico back in Clinton’s days. We get back to English speaking CNN and the headlines were “Clinton Bombs Yugoslavia.”
    My wife and I said “What!”

    Just was a couple minutes reading Nightengales’s column. The quote from Gausman is the cheating cost Darvish millions. Again “What!” So that means the Astros not only stole signs at MMP in September, they gave the signs to the other team so Wade Miley would look terrible. Baseball is a games of hot streaks and cold streaks. PERIOD.

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  41. Watched O’Dowd ‘convict’, castigate the purported Astro culprits on the MLB Show the other day. Apparently in his mind these offenses WERE committed, not might have been, and his righteous indignation was spit in viewers faces as if he were speaking gospel truth. Journalist ambushing/assassination without proof has no place in any sport, or anywhere for that matter.
    Did Fiers conscious affect him 2 yrs later if this truly happened? Why not tell it when it happened with the evidence, what better way to bring down a cheat? Why does it suit him now to bring forth these allegations?
    Luhnow haters/envy is nothing new. His prospect currency are precious gems impossible to negotiate for & his success obtaining FA’s other covet are sneer worthy by other GM’s. This franchise has become the Patriots of MLB without the burden of proof (NE has been convicted of cheating though, twice & are hated for being successful doing it, hated for being successful anyway! And I dislike NE). We have to learn to be bullet proof win or lose in this mess.

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