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

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This appears to be getting worse by the day which is pretty incredible considering where it started.

[bigredrobbo]

Moving forward, this whole incident will be taught by sports PR firms as example number one of "What NOT to do".

[MadThinker88]

Moving forward, this whole incident will be taught by sports PR firms as example number one of "What NOT to do".

 

What not to do - Houston Astros, part 2 & MLB Commisioner's office part 1.

 

Houston's muck up of the locker room situation last post-season (regarding the then-Asst GM, Robert Osuna & the female reporter) would be Houston Astros, part 1 of What NOT to do..

[RollieTime]

I just think it’s pretty remarkable how an organization has handled each and every situation this poorly since that initial incident with the assistant GM. They literally could not have handled all of these situations much worse than they have. And there’s no sign of things getting any better any time soon. They are a PR nightmare.

[adambr2]

Maybe they can go back to their Enron Field name for awhile to divert attention from their sign stealing scandal.

[RollieTime]

Astros are still out there stealing signs. Now? Stealing signs from fans at games. Not gonna lie, I feel like people could start having a case against the Astros in some type of law suit for violating their freedom of speech. If they aren’t stating some type of criminal act or something violent on their sign, I see absolutely no reason they could take somebody’s sign. The Astros and possibly MLB could really be setting themselves up for some legal issues. This will only be the tip of the iceberg too.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28760766/fans-heckling-astros-spring-opener-get-signs-confiscated%3fplatform=amp

[RightFieldCoder]

Freedom of Speech is a right someone has against the government preventing speech. The Astros are within their rights to tell a fan to either give up their sign or leave the Astros's property. The Astros personnel figured the fan didn't want to leave the stadium so just demanded they give up the sign. Not a good PR move but there would be no serious legal repercussions from this.

[SeaBass]

Freedom of Speech is a right someone has against the government preventing speech. The Astros are within their rights to tell a fan to either give up their sign or leave the Astros's property. The Astros personnel figured the fan didn't want to leave the stadium so just demanded they give up the sign. Not a good PR move but there would be no serious legal repercussions from this.

This practice is not new or unique to the Astros either. Happens in all sports and in all venues. Generally, teams reserve the right to remove signs/fans that are or could be disruptive to the event.

[yfinn6]

Maybe they can go back to their Enron Field name for awhile to divert attention from their sign stealing scandal.

 

Underrated comment. This site needs a 'like' feature.

[KeithStone53151]

For next season, it sounds like they are going to have an independent "security" type person in each clubhouse/dugout to report on any potential violations. MLB did have an employee in each clubhouse/dugout in the 2019 season, but after this surfaced it seems they will be going the independent route. How funny would it be if they treated this like boxing/ufc...where guys get frisked for weapons and such and have their gloves checked before being allowed to enter the ring?

 

I also wonder if this will impact how quickly pitchers pitch...maybe we'll see more Suter tactics to not allow time to relay a sign.

[Dragonbait]

I'm all for no more 'human rain delays'

[KeithStone53151]

This will certainly go nowhere, but again...doesn't make it any less hilarious.

 

https://www.newser.com/story/287390/fantasy-baseball-players-sue-mlb-over-astros-cheating.html

[LouisEly]

Lucroy says Fiers told him of Astros scheme two years ago. Said A’s called MLB and league did nothing. When he saw Athletic report in November, thought “Oh boy.”

 

Fire Manfred.

And Jessica Mendoza.

[adambr2]

Astros were getting beaned at crazy rates in spring training. Is it even going to feel appropriate anymore when the season resumes? Damn coronavirus.

[stalton]

If the season gets completely voided, do Luhnow and Hinch get reinstated next year (assuming somebody would hire them)

[DuWayne Steurer]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28991108/ex-astros-catcher-evan-gattis-obviously-cheated-baseball-fans

 

I don't know how sorry Evan Gattis is, but he certainly has a much more consolatory tone than some of his 2017 teammates. He sounds like he knows that "sorry" isn't enough, but he certainly sounds like he understands that fans and other players are angry, and he accepts and understands why, and he accepts his responsibility for that.

 

I guess it's easy, or easier, maybe, to be in his shoes when he's retired, and won't have to hear the boos that guys like Altuve and Bregman will hear going forward, but he certainly owns up to his role, at any rate.

[MrTPlush]

If the season gets completely voided, do Luhnow and Hinch get reinstated next year (assuming somebody would hire them)

 

The answer to this finally came out, yes they will be reinstated.

[rondoman]

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/mlb-teams-should-keep-cheating-red-sox-punishment-astros-01e6hnqx61sq

 

 

MLB is a joke.

[JosephC]

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/mlb-teams-should-keep-cheating-red-sox-punishment-astros-01e6hnqx61sq

 

 

MLB is a joke.

 

MLB did a great job in delaying this and slipping it out when no one would notice, and the sports media really fell flat (yet again!!) by pretty much ignoring it.

 

Rosenthal and Drellich's column at The Athletic is pretty comical in so many regards. Once again, Manfred and the owners just pick one insignificant guy, scape-goat him and just hopes it all goes away.

 

It will never, never, never, never, never happen...but I really wish these sports leagues would go back to hiring a commissioner that would truly act "in the best interest of the game." Really sick of just having a total lackey in that spot. Manfred is a complete buffoon, but I have no doubt that the owners got together after the Fiers things and collectively decided that this whole sign-stealing thing will be poo-pooed.

[RollieTime]

After Ramon Laureano of the A’s was drilled for the second time in the upper back tonight by Astros pitchers, a Houston coach was seen egging Laureano on to charge the Astros dugout. Laureano did end up charging the dugout, but what in the world is a coach doing acting in that manner? I want to say that Houston can’t possibly make themselves look any worse, but they continue to amaze. What is next?

[stoutdude04]

I see Altuve is in quite the funk. Must be challenging to hit a baseball when you are unsure what's coming. Hiiiyooo

 

Just kidding, as Yelich has seen his fair share of early season struggles.

[owbc]

It’s becoming nearly impossible to hit MLB pitching. Most hits against good MLB pitching are just luck, the batter can do little more than guess the pitch and location. Almost all pitchers are using pine tar to get their spin rates up. Whole teams are struggling to hit .200.

 

With all of the above, the incentive to steal signs has never been higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every team is trying something...maybe not as sophisticated as the Astros but they have to do something.

[sveumrules]

It’s becoming nearly impossible to hit MLB pitching. Most hits against good MLB pitching are just luck, the batter can do little more than guess the pitch and location. Almost all pitchers are using pine tar to get their spin rates up. Whole teams are struggling to hit .200.

 

With all of the above, the incentive to steal signs has never been higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every team is trying something...maybe not as sophisticated as the Astros but they have to do something.

 

League Average Batter

 

2014 | 255/318/393 | 7.8 BB% | 19.9 K% | .301 BABIP | .138 ISO

2015 | 258/321/412 | 7.8 BB% | 19.9 K% | .301 BABIP | .153 ISO

2016 | 259/326/425 | 8.3 BB% | 20.6 K% | .302 BABIP | .166 ISO

2017 | 259/329/433 | 8.7 BB% | 21.2 K% | .301 BABIP | .175 ISO

2018 | 252/323/417 | 8.6 BB% | 21.7 K% | .297 BABIP | .165 ISO

2019 | 256/327/443 | 8.7 BB% | 22.4 K% | .299 BABIP | .187 ISO

2020 | 230/311/396 | 9.3 BB% | 23.9 K% | .276 BABIP | .166 ISO

 

That dropoff in batting average & BABIP so far is stark.

[PinaMadness]

I see Altuve is in quite the funk. Must be challenging to hit a baseball when you are unsure what's coming. Hiiiyooo

 

Just kidding, as Yelich has seen his fair share of early season struggles.

"Guessing is harder than knowing" Orel Hershiser after Altuve struck out in a Dodger game. Altuve is hitting .189 right now. A's announcer Ray Fosse trolled him the other night by making a buzzing noise when he came to bat.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron suspended twenty (20) games for instigating the brawl with the A's the other night. Ooof. That's 1/3rd the season. Good.