Luhnow and Hinch fired by Astros; Cora Out in Boston, Beltran Out in NY

[craigharmann]

This quote from Fiers was in the MJS article but apparently was in the original article in The Athletic:

 

"I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they're going in there not knowing. Young guys getting hit around in the first couple of innings starting a game, and then they get sent down. It's (B.S.) on that end. It's ruining jobs for younger guys. The guys who know are more prepared. But most people don't. That's why I told my team. We had a lot of young guys with Detroit (in 2018) trying to make a name and establish themselves. I wanted to help them out and say, "Hey, this stuff really does go on. Just be prepared."

 

What I infer from it is that he told his teammates first, not the Athletic. If true, Mendoza's claims don't hold any water and she's in a deeper hole.

 

Now, cue the conspiracy theories that this was orchestrated by the marginal veterans who were losing their jobs to younger, cheaper players.

 

And as for Fiers keeping his World Series share, I'm sure he had a lot of medical bills to pay for what his mother went through when Fiers was early in his career and not making much money. He didn't deserve that, so as far as I'm concerned he can keep his WS share as reimbursement for everything he went through with her. I'm sure that stress contributed to his poor performance in 2013 and getting sent down to the minors, which also cost him a lot of money in major league salary.

 

With over $18 million earned, I guess he’s needing a GoFundMe. https://www.google.com/amp/s/budgetandinvest.com/2019/05/15/michael-fiers-net-worth/amp/

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

They cheated, yes. But every team is doing it. This does not solely lie with the Astros. Same as PEDs. There were guys on every team doing it, not just the stars.

 

Is every team guilty of stealing signs? Yeah, probably. Does every team have a complicated system of video interpretation and trash can Morse code set up to utilize those stolen signs? I'm gonna have to go with no on that.

 

I get that you are an Astros fan, so you have a different perspective on this than most of the rest of us, but the statement that "every team is doing it" is a massive overgeneralization.

[anglotiger]

They cheated, yes. But every team is doing it. This does not solely lie with the Astros. Same as PEDs. There were guys on every team doing it, not just the stars.

 

Just because you keep saying it, that doesn't make it true. I refer you to my comment from another thread where you were making the same claim...

 

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=39495&p=1288698#p1288698

[MrTPlush]

Not every team is doing it. There is no proof of that and it doesn’t make any sense. Why are there players around MLB that are furious and calling out the Astros if everyone does it? If you don’t care, fine, but don’t try to shrug it off like every team does it...cause they don’t.

 

As far as their home/road splits, I don’t get the argument there. Are people trying to say it didn’t help them or even made them worse? Why would they be so determined to do it then? This helped them out greatly. It’s like playing a video game and peaking over at your buddy’s controller. You may not know where he is trying to pitch it or how it will act...but knowing the pitch coming is huge. Reminds me of split screen madden when you could see the three or four plays your buddy was picking from, but instead you know the specific play.

[sdcheezhd]

[homer]

They cheated, yes. But every team is doing it. This does not solely lie with the Astros. Same as PEDs. There were guys on every team doing it, not just the stars.

 

You're not wrong

[wallus]

If every pitcher went as fast as Suter this wouldn't be an issue.

[DHonks]

It’s interesting being in mid January, and 3 teams need to hire managers. I wonder if Ron Washington will land with one of them.

Hiring retreads like Washington or Showalter seems like such a bad idea.

 

Umm, retreads? Two extremely successful managers. Just because they’ve had other jobs previously doesn’t make them a retread.

[MrTPlush]

I didn’t even know Washington was still a coach these days. He also isn’t as old as I originally thought. But going on 68 he would still be the oldest manager.

 

In a pinch I wouldn’t be surprised to see with them going with someone that has experience, but 60+ year old managers isn’t exactly a trendy thing.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

It’s interesting being in mid January, and 3 teams need to hire managers. I wonder if Ron Washington will land with one of them.

Hiring retreads like Washington or Showalter seems like such a bad idea.

 

Umm, retreads? Two extremely successful managers. Just because they’ve had other jobs previously doesn’t make them a retread.

 

Washington has certainly had success, but I have a hard time seeing them pick someone with multiple skeletons in his closet. Washington has has an odd, albeit successful, career as a manager.

[jerichoholicninja]

Has Justin Verlander commented on any of this yet? He of such high moral character must not have known anything about this happening or else he would have put a stop to it. Or at least sent a couple disappointed tweets.

 

Every single soul in that dugout knew. There is absolutely no way you don’t. Players had to of been talking about it all the time, there is literally a random dude chilling in the hallway of the dugout with a live feed, and it’s hard to ignore guys making music on a trash can.

 

I didn't think that sarcasm needed to be put it blue but...I was being sarcastic. But, really, Verlander has made a big stink about morality about PED's and domestic abusers, how has that not been brought up in all of this?

[MrTPlush]

Has Justin Verlander commented on any of this yet? He of such high moral character must not have known anything about this happening or else he would have put a stop to it. Or at least sent a couple disappointed tweets.

 

Every single soul in that dugout knew. There is absolutely no way you don’t. Players had to of been talking about it all the time, there is literally a random dude chilling in the hallway of the dugout with a live feed, and it’s hard to ignore guys making music on a trash can.

 

I didn't think that sarcasm needed to be put it blue but...I was being sarcastic. But, really, Verlander has made a big stink about morality about PED's and domestic abusers, how has that not been brought up in all of this?

 

Someone posted a quote on Twitter where Verlander was actually calling out sign stealing in 2017 before he was traded there.

 

If anyone needs to give back a ring it is him. Verlander called out the sign stealing, got traded there, they continued to cheat, and he said nothing. Funny stuff

[LouisEly]

With over $18 million earned, I guess he’s needing a GoFundMe.

I hate to break this to you, but Fiers is not giving you his World Series share nor his World Series ring no matter how much you bad mouth him.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Bregman and Altuve didn't learn a lot from the Ryan Braun saga. Just plead the 5th. If you vehemently deny there's 2 things that can happen. One, people just think you're lying. Two (and potentially worse), if more comes out after you stood up and said "we didn't do this stuff" and you did...... oof. Just say "no comment to that question, thanks".

[Outlander]

Has Justin Verlander commented on any of this yet? He of such high moral character must not have known anything about this happening or else he would have put a stop to it. Or at least sent a couple disappointed tweets.

 

Every single soul in that dugout knew. There is absolutely no way you don’t. Players had to of been talking about it all the time, there is literally a random dude chilling in the hallway of the dugout with a live feed, and it’s hard to ignore guys making music on a trash can.

 

I didn't think that sarcasm needed to be put it blue but...I was being sarcastic. But, really, Verlander has made a big stink about morality about PED's and domestic abusers, how has that not been brought up in all of this?

 

It has, here is an article 5 days ago. https://nypost.com/2020/01/15/chris-russo-takes-aim-at-justin-verlander-in-astros-cheating-scandal/

 

Hasn't had a lot of traction yet but once he and others start coming to Spring Training I'm sure he will have to answer to these questions or continue to look bad.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Yeah, Verlander is a hypocrite d-bag. He talks a good game, and I know it's been said 10 times before in this thread, but there's not a single guy in that clubhouse that didn't know what was going on. Dude has gone on multiple rants about peds and cleaning up the game and getting cheaters out of the game, and his club was doing this.

 

Like I said, these guys learned nothing from the Ryan Braun saga.

[homer]

Looks like Beltran's "niece" was actually a famous Twitter troll named Incarcerated Bob.

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-this-notorious-troll-dupe-mlb-fans-and-players-into-believing-conspiracies-about-astros-sign-stealing

 

The linked article is an interesting look at how this whole thing blew up. Anatomy of a viral story.

[tmwiese55]

Looks like Beltran's "niece" was actually a famous Twitter troll named Incarcerated Bob.

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-this-notorious-troll-dupe-mlb-fans-and-players-into-believing-conspiracies-about-astros-sign-stealing

 

The linked article is an interesting look at how this whole thing blew up. Anatomy of a viral story.

 

And the tweet from the 3B coach about Trout is another example. That was getting traction on mainstream media. Who knows how true it is, but just an example of the change in landscape that a guy claiming something is newsworthy without any research into the validity of it.

[TURBO]

Looks like Beltran's "niece" was actually a famous Twitter troll named Incarcerated Bob.

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-this-notorious-troll-dupe-mlb-fans-and-players-into-believing-conspiracies-about-astros-sign-stealing

 

The linked article is an interesting look at how this whole thing blew up. Anatomy of a viral story.

 

And the tweet from the 3B coach about Trout is another example. That was getting traction on mainstream media. Who knows how true it is, but just an example of the change in landscape that a guy claiming something is newsworthy without any research into the validity of it.

 

Fake News is rampant across all media outlets. This isn't really new, however, the current political climate has bred a whole new animal when it comes to fake news.

[homer]

Looks like Beltran's "niece" was actually a famous Twitter troll named Incarcerated Bob.

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-this-notorious-troll-dupe-mlb-fans-and-players-into-believing-conspiracies-about-astros-sign-stealing

 

The linked article is an interesting look at how this whole thing blew up. Anatomy of a viral story.

 

And the tweet from the 3B coach about Trout is another example. That was getting traction on mainstream media. Who knows how true it is, but just an example of the change in landscape that a guy claiming something is newsworthy without any research into the validity of it.

 

Fake News is rampant across all media outlets. This isn't really new, however, the current political climate has bred a whole new animal when it comes to fake news.

 

I think news outlets have to cover this stuff when it goes viral. That doesn't necessarily mean they are reporting something as fact. It was a real media person that figured out it wasn't really Beltran's niece. The issue is too many people are getting and spreading "news" from non news sources. I do think reporters being on Twitter and re-tweeting and/or commenting on unsourced issues has blurred the lines and muddies the water for people.

[Jopal78]

I think news outlets have to cover this stuff when it goes viral. That doesn't necessarily mean they are reporting something as fact. It was a real media person that figured out it wasn't really Beltran's niece. The issue is too many people are getting and spreading "news" from non news sources. I do think reporters being on Twitter and re-tweeting and/or commenting on unsourced issues has blurred the lines and muddies the water for people.

 

Does it really matter? The Report from the Commissioner states that Beltran helped create the sign stealing system which most Astros players knew was wrong. With the way MLB turned a blind eye to steroid use twenty years ago, did anyone think that Beltran would keep his job after that fact came to light? Since their steroid epidemic MLB has a knee jerk reaction to any sort of criticism, therefore Beltran was a dead man walking the minute the report was published.

[homer]

These are pretty funny:

 

[RollieTime]

These are pretty funny:

 

 

Thanks for the laugh! Love these!

[MrTPlush]

This one is good:

 

[reillymcshane]

I had forgotten that Brian McCann - Mr. Unwritten Rule of the Game - caught all 7 games of the 2017 World Series.

 

I love how guys like this just try and hide in the background when stuff like this comes up on their watch.

 

https://stream.org/mlb-cheating-scandal-brian-mccann/