What about us?

The last few weeks have brought a few items to the table relative to “IT”. In case you have been held in a foreign prison or are at an age where the memory is not so great – this is what “IT” is.

All three of the main people suspended because of “IT” have been in the recent news:

  1. Alex Cora who was found guilty of cheating with the Astros as bench coach, but not really found guilty of cheating with the Red Sox as manager (even though an underling with the Red Sox was suspended) bounced back from his season of suspension to be…. manager of the Red Sox again.
  2. A.J. Hinch who was found guilty for his part as the manager when “IT” was occurring and suspended by baseball for a year and fired by the Astros forever was hired by the Detroit Tigers to be their new manager.
  3. Jeff Luhnow who also was suspended by MLB and fired by the Astros, suddenly decided to have an interview in a very controlled setting where again he denied knowing or being expected to know anything about “IT”. This was followed by a report of Luhnow getting “lawyered” up and filing suit for the money that was taken away from him by the firing (plus I’m sure additional costs for personal pain and anguish).
  4. And on the heels of this is news that George Springer may choose to go elsewhere as a free agent, just to put distance between himself and “IT”.

So, as everyone seems to move forward or onward or at least to court for a change of scenery, the question here is…..what about us? The long suffering fans of Houston have no escape except to perhaps stop cheering for the team. For many of the fans getting the first championship was a lifelong search for the Holy Grail. The ultimate betrayal was to learn that this was a tarnished trophy, due to purposeful and planned cheating by the home team.

The fans in general can’t do like Hinch and move their allegiance somewhere else. They can’t really sue the team (though I guess some fans have) for what has happened like Luhnow has. They can’t even pull a Cora and pretend like nothing happened.

No, we are stuck with the knowledge that our team and by reflection, us fans, are forever tied to one championship that no one believes was deserved.

When George signs that 5 year $120 million contract with someone (who could be….shiver…. the Red Sox) we may be happy for him, but there will be some melancholy mixed into the day.

What about us?

←
→

24 responses to “What about us?”

  1. The players cheated with the help of some front office guys. Hinch and Luhnow should never have allowed it to happen.
    Eventually, everyone who shouldn’t have let it happen will be gone.
    I pull for the Astros. When players leave the Astros, they aren’t Astros any longer. When they leave us, I leave them.
    Go Astros!
    Brandon Bailey was traded to the Reds for cash. Another 40-man spot cleared.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      • Medina is GCL, ok yeah pretty non-descript.

        There you have it.
        Astros announced they’ve added RHP Tyler Ivey, IF Freudis Nova, RHP Jairo Solis, RHP Peter Solomon and right-handed pitcher Forrest Whitley to their 40-man roster tonight. The deadline to protect eligible minor league players from the 2020 Rule 5 Draft was tonight at 5 p.m. CT. pic.twitter.com/4FqVLT0RQz

        — Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) November 20, 2020

        JA Rivera will be taken in a NY second!
        I’d take a flyer on Papierski ‘s defense
        Angel Macuare and Juan Pablo Lopez are studs

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Hinch lied, we cheated, other teams did too. The allure to win is intoxicating. I forgive their frailty as men. Leaves us Astros fans in a lurch, but those throwing the crazy talk, epithets: it says more about them, than us loyal partisans. We’ve seen it all, and baseball will survive.

    …..

    I’m thinking it’s Castellanos before Nivaldo Rodriguez, as another spot that must be opened. Armenteros is gone, so I used to always say it was him, or Sneed. Interesting, I’m glued to this 40-man atm.

    I cannot see leaving Tyler Ivey unprotected, but boy will that answer a lot of questions about his health, and about Astros being so Mum about him!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. Something’s gotta give! The Astros have 24 pitchers on their 40-man roster and 14 position players. Some pitchers are going to go and make way for some position players. The Astros are going to be adding some outfielders, by trades or signings or both. Perhaps one or two guys on the roster who are listed as infielders will be playing in the outfield. With all the risk of injuries to position players, a team cannot go into the spring training with only 14 position players on the 40-man.
    Here is a list of the 38 guys on the 40-man. Alvarez is one of the four outfielders and Joe Smith is not included on the list.
    https://www.mlb.com/astros/roster/40-man

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. “What about us”? Evidently we don’t count. Crane has moved on about “it” and so has Hinch, Cora and Luhnow. Sure, there will be questions about what happened, but in a few months the questions will stop and baseball will happen again in the spring. As for Springer I’m not going to dump on him for wanting to leave Houston. He has his reasons and I’m not included in those reasons. At my age I’m going to stop falling in love with any more Astros players…..they are my entertainment not my children! I don’t really have the same feeling about any other guy on this team. Carry on guys I’m reading!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  6. In my opinion “IT” was only “it” and soon will be “i”. No different than Oilers vs Steelers, fans swore to never forget and then did. Or Bud Adams and other notorious Sports figures. Let’s get rid of 2020 and enjoy our lives and baseball.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I am over “it” for the most part. When the Astros win the 2021 WS I will be completely over “it”.

    The Dodgers won their WS this year so they should be over “it”.

    The Yankees won’t get over “it” until they win the WS again; so maybe in a few years. Ditto for the A’s, but they may take a while longer.

    Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. (Philipians 4:8)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Always follow the money. MLB always does a poor job hiding their disappointment when a team like Houston, Tampa, or Colorado makes it far in the playoffs. Beating the Dodgers cost MLB a lot of money they would have made in sales of championship memorabilia in 2017. In 2019, they were similarly cursing their luck as neither Houston nor Washington would move the merchandise the way the Dodgers, Cardinals, Braves, or Yankees would have. Clearly the cheating was getting out of hand. Whether the Astros were benefiting more than other teams isn’t material. The league had an opportunity to lower the hammer and did so. They patted themselves on the back and immediately made a statement that no other teams were cheating, the case was closed, there is nothing to see here, and everyone should go on about their lives. Clearly this was not true. When their hand was forced the league decided to follow through with a half-hearted investigation of the Red Sox where they were allowed to choose a sacrificial lamb.

    Am I supposed to be angry that Hinch, Cora, and others have jobs again? MLB didn’t ban them for life. They were publicly embarrassed and lost out on a lot of money for missing 2020. I’m still angry and disappointed in our team. I hope George Springer comes back, but always expected he would be leaving via free agency. We have a new GM who did great work in Tampa and now has a chance to prove himself in Houston. We play in a division where our closest competitor will lose their best hitter this offseason and the team MLB wants to be good keeps fumbling. I guess we can ignore their scandal…clearly banging a trash can is far worse than endangering young men’s lives. I don’t follow the Rangers so someone else can let me know when they aren’t awful. What do we get? We’re going to get a rebuild. It won’t be from the ground up like in 2013, but some of those young arms are going to have to develop into 14-16 win starters rather than 8-10 if we want to remain at the top. We’ll have to sign some free agents, but every year the scandal is in the rear view will make that easier.

    What does MLB get? They don’t get my money in 2021.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I’m somewhat jaded. I’ll always be an Astro fan but I’m no longer all in. It’s actually easier in some respects. When we lose it’s certainly not as painful.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. With the reshuffling of the last week, the Astros are now projected as tied for third highest team in projected WAR of the 30 MLB teams.
    https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=21
    Lets quickly look at how that breaks down;
    The Astros are elite at 3B and DH where they are projected at #1.
    They are ranked #2 at 2B with DJ leWhatever being a FA and not counting, yet
    They are #4 at SS
    They are #16 at 1B
    They are #20 at C
    They are #7 at RF with Tucker
    They are #24 in CF with Myles Straw
    They are #29 in LF with McCormick as the starter.
    They are ranked 10th in starting pitchers
    They are ranked 16th in relief pitching.
    So, What do you see?
    I see they need a better LFer, a better CFer, a decent backup catcher, Gurriel to be himself rather than the guy we saw in 2020 and a couple of their pitching prospects to move up and bolster the bullpen.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      • That’s OK Dan. We all have a stake in this issue so no problem. I don’t know a whole lot about the farm system so I’m just reading the posts of the people that know a lot more than I do. It’s an educational experience. Thanks and a Happy Thanksgiving to all.

        Liked by 1 person

  12. There will now be a new “It” any time someone besides the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees or Red Sox wins the World Series. It is kind of like the MLB’s version of impeachment. As long as it slanders and de-legitimatizes an enemy, it accomplishes its objective.

    What about us? Have you read the Thomas Harris classic 1960’s psychobabble treatise: “I’m okay, you’re okay?”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. MLB is now in a holding pattern for nine days. At 6pm Central time next Wednesday, December 2nd, all players who are going to be arbitration eligible will either be tendered a contract or become free agents.
    That is the moment all the cards will be placed on the table face up and the negotiating process for the free agents will commence.
    Oh, there will probably be a minor deal or two in the next nine days, but at that deadline, each team will have kept who they want and will then start trying to get who they think they will need or can afford.
    As far as I am concerned, there is still only one player out there who can keep the Astros in the elite category for the next 4-5 years.
    J.T. Realmuto. His inclusion puts the Astros in a class with the Dodgers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • J.T. would be costly 1OP! From a sentimental standpoint alone, I’d rather sign George. Realmuto has been sturdy though. I certainly would not be offended if we signed him. It sure would take things in a different direction than what I’m expecting.

      By the way, since it’s time to talk turkey, you guys get a free range bird out your way? We’ve got a turkey farmer on island, but his birds can be pretty gamey. I think they eat whatever is available!

      Like

      Reply

      • We raised our Turkey on the Aldi Farm. 20 pound butterball for 85 cents per pound. Ready to cook following the directions.

        Like

Leave a comment