That was sarcasmHe had it, you can see it peaking out when his shirt is at odd angles.
That was sarcasmHe had it, you can see it peaking out when his shirt is at odd angles.
Daughter’s name.Is his wife’s name Melanie, or did the artist mess up at first and spell it Melany and that’s why she didn’t want everyone seeing it?
ah, sorry. Everyone seems to be losing their minds over this so it's tough to ferret out the not-so-seriousThat was sarcasm
All this from an organization that covered up sexual and simple assaults. Yeah, they are certainly the moral standard we all need to live by."Now anyone who goes forward and cheats to win a World Series," Turner said, "they can live with themselves knowing that, 'Oh, it's OK. ... We'll cheat in the World Series and bring the title back to L.A. Screw [manager] Dave Roberts and screw [general manager] Andrew [Friedman]. It's just those guys losing their jobs. I still get to be called a champion the rest of my life.' So the precedent was set by him yesterday in this case."
Agreed.Justin Turner the latest to chime in.
All this from an organization that covered up sexual and simple assaults. Yeah, they are certainly the moral standard we all need to live by.
How about cleaning up your own organization before criticizing others?
He’s gotta let it go with the buzzers. I commend that his theories have become something players have to discuss but Chapman got beat on an awful pitch.
Chapman threw that same awful slider when a homer would have given the World Series to the Indians instead of the Cubs. The batter was Carlos Santana, who had 34 homers in the regular season, 2 in the ALCS and 1 in the World Series. Not knowing what was coming, he popped it up. John Smoltz said, "When you're expecting 100, even though it wasn't the best located slider, tough to adjust."Both things can be true, by the way, simultaneously: Chapman threw an awful pitch and Altuve knew a slider was coming because of the alleged buzzer.
I'll be honest, at first I thought this was kind of a non-story, but it seems like every week something new comes to light that makes it worse and worse. I'm firmly on the side of believing this is worse than any of the guys who used steroids, now. I will be really curious how this affects, say, Altuve's Hall of Fame voting 15 or 20 years down the road. I'd bet it impacts Beltran's vote considerably.“It’s sad for baseball,” Trout said. “Tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, with the players not getting anything when it’s a player-driven thing. … Guys’ careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs.”
This is considerably worse than PED usage. For starters, PED usage had no effect on the integrity of the sport itself. It was an assault on the integrity of the data collected to describe the games played, and it was an abrogation of ethics, but it was not cheating the way the Astros designed, implemented and engaged.So, this story even got Mike Trout to add some sprinkles to his vanilla, over at The Athletic.
I'll be honest, at first I thought this was kind of a non-story, but it seems like every week something new comes to light that makes it worse and worse. I'm firmly on the side of believing this is worse than any of the guys who used steroids, now. I will be really curious how this affects, say, Altuve's Hall of Fame voting 15 or 20 years down the road. I'd bet it impacts Beltran's vote considerably.
One name I don't think I've seen mentioned in this thread (though I certainly may have missed it) is John Farrell, who got fired after the 2017 series against the Astros, largely because he wasn't able to get the Sox out of the Division Series two years in a row.
If PED usage has no effect on the integrity of the game, then why are they banned?This is considerably worse than PED usage. For starters, PED usage had no effect on the integrity of the sport itself. It was an assault on the integrity of the data collected to describe the games played, and it was an abrogation of ethics, but it was not cheating the way the Astros designed, implemented and engaged.
Right, he overstates the case, but he's not entirely wrong either in that there's still a pretty strong difference of degree.If PED usage has no effect on the integrity of the game, then why are they banned?
Because they're illegal to use unless prescribed?If PED usage has no effect on the integrity of the game, then why are they banned?
There’s plenty of OTC stuff that’s on the banned list. You can walk into GNC and get number of different DHEA supplements and that’s banned all over.Because they're illegal to use unless prescribed?
Much more from Evan Drellich below:Even if Rob Manfred had never offered Astros players immunity, Major League Baseball had little chance of successfully disciplining them.
Despite widespread calls for league action, the commissioner cannot wake up one day and decide which behavior to punish and how. Not without a major fight that he would likely lose anyway. The players’ union guards against such action.
Any potential punishments to Astros players would have prompted grievances and wound up before an arbitrator. And in the words of an official with knowledge of these matters, MLB would have been “smoked.” Another person experienced in this area said that MLB’s case would have been “brutal” and the league would “look a fool.”
The reason? In labor relations, the concept of giving notice is hugely important. Management must clearly lay out how the workplace is to be run. That means providing both notice of the rules and notice of what type of punishment will follow if those rules are broken.
MLB had not worked out the right to punish anyone with the Major League Baseball Players Association, though that may change for the 2020 season.
Do I wish we would have thought through, ‘Gee, yeah, something bad could happen here?’ Of course I do. I hate where we are right now. I think that when we had a reasonable basis to come to the realization we had a problem, I think we were pretty damn quick to get on it.”
In baseball, though, things are rarely simple, and conflicting agendas sometimes distract from the most urgent matters. Thus, even as the MLBPA came to understand that electronic sign stealing was becoming more prevalent, it did not fully grasp the breadth of the problem.
According to several on the players’ side — including Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller, one of the top two player officers in the union — the MLBPA’s primary concern initially was not the effect of illegal sign-stealing on competition, but the impact on a contentious issue in labor negotiations: pace of play.
As baseball pushed for games to be quicker and shorter, the players cited how often play slowed down because of mound visits and other stoppages — delays resulting from the need for pitchers and catchers to protect and frequently change their signs.
Baseball adopted a rule capping mound visits in 2018, but the paranoia continued. A number of clubs now distribute cards for pitchers to wear inside their caps and catchers on their wristbands, helping those players keep their signs straight and change them quickly, if necessary.
The union first contacted MLB with its concerns about the increased use of technology by clubs in the middle of the ’15 season, a source said. Left-hander Matt Moore, then with the Rays, alerted the union to cameras he had not previously seen on the field while preparing to throw a bullpen session during his rehabilitation from an elbow injury.
The MLBPA, in turn, reached out to MLB, which responded to such questions then and in 2016 by saying it first needed to conduct due diligence, the source said. Union chief Tony Clark has sounded occasional public warnings about the impact of data and technology on the game. But not until Athletics right-hander Mike Fiers spoke out to The Athletic did anyone on the players’ side publicly suggest that illegal sign stealing was creating an uneven playing field.
One pitcher, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he and other pitchers raised such fears at union meetings after the ’16 season. When the same broad rules remained in effect for ’17, the pitcher said the lack of action by MLB and the MLBPA was, “frankly astonishing to me.”
My other thought with regards to this is that they really need to be 100% certain nobody on their respective teams are cheating in any way, shape or form, or it will be a colossal blow up in their collective faces. Certainly what the Astros did is a problem, but some of these guys stating that the WS or MVP was stolen from them is just silly - especially the WS. Who knows how much it actually altered the playoff games, and if it did, who is to say NY, BOS, etc are in that WS vs LA and still beat them?Honestly the comments from non-Astros players comes across as nothing but sour grapes to me. Are we really to believe that the Justin Turners, Cody Bellingers, and Nick Markakises of the world wouldn’t have taken advantage of the system if they were on the Astros and instead would have blown the whistle to the press and/or MLB?
I find that highly unlikely, which makes their complaints read more like “I’m pissed the Astros thought to do this and my team didn’t” rather than actually caring about the integrity of the game.
Boog Sciambi posted a twitter thread yesterday that brought up the same point, asking whether any of these outraged players would have expressed outrage and spoken up if it had been happening in their clubhouse/dugout, and I couldn't have agreed more when I read it. It's getting pretty ridiculous at this point, and I find the calls for and threats of retaliation against the Astros to be more disturbing than the cheating itself.Honestly the comments from non-Astros players comes across as nothing but sour grapes to me. Are we really to believe that the Justin Turners, Cody Bellingers, and Nick Markakises of the world wouldn’t have taken advantage of the system if they were on the Astros and instead would have blown the whistle to the press and/or MLB?
I find that highly unlikely, which makes their complaints read more like “I’m pissed the Astros thought to do this and my team didn’t” rather than actually caring about the integrity of the game.
Seriously, "they deserve a beating"? There are crackpots out there that will 100% believe they are in the right to beat up one of these players due to that ridiculous comment. The players are feeding off the coverage at this point and upping their outrage with every interview, it's getting absurd.Boog Sciambi posted a twitter thread yesterday that brought up the same point, asking whether any of these outraged players would have expressed outrage and spoken up if it had been happening in their clubhouse/dugout, and I couldn't have agreed more when I read it. It's getting pretty ridiculous at this point, and I find the calls for and threats of retaliation against the Astros to be more disturbing than the cheating itself.
Still in the flip phone era (so at least 10 years ago), there was a European ad where a woman was using her phone for just that, and IIRC, kept asking to be called back (something like that. someone else is going to have to look that up during business hours).Is your position here that the technology to make a piece of plastic vibrate remotely doesn't exist or are you genuinely asking for someone to send you a link from amazon? You could probably build the device yourself in 5 minutes. Stick an apple watch to your chest and have someone else call it. Boom, vibration device. Stick one of those sex toy things that vibrate when someone activates it remotely...
I believe it is Markakii.Honestly the comments from non-Astros players comes across as nothing but sour grapes to me. Are we really to believe that the Justin Turners, Cody Bellingers, and Nick Markakises of the world wouldn’t have taken advantage of the system if they were on the Astros and instead would have blown the whistle to the press and/or MLB?
Yeah it's crazy. Nobody should be getting "beat up" over this. But I sure do expect some fastballs to the ribs to some Astros players this year. The crazy thing is that they might get suspensions for doing that, which would be insane given that the guys actually cheating got...zero punishment whatsoever.Seriously, "they deserve a beating"? There are crackpots out there that will 100% believe they are in the right to beat up one of these players due to that ridiculous comment. The players are feeding off the coverage at this point and upping their outrage with every interview, it's getting absurd.
His massive muscle gain in the middle of his career?Is Lebron a PED user or sympathizer? Did I miss something?
Amazing that that Altuve AB opens with Buck declaring "And he loooooves hitting here at home in Houston."it's about 3 minutes after touching home plate. there was some edited cuts posted after the scandal broke where it looks like he runs straight in after celebrating. but here is the footage. There is a live shot from the stands that is out there too.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC34yua88z0
Reader, I laughed.Stick to sports
I stood by 16 year old Lebron. I was 6'4 230, doing power lifting etc. I felt like a scrawny child. He has one of the biggest strongest frames anywhere ever. His length and smooth movements hide how big he really is. Wilt was the same, looks thin in pics, but just massive.His massive muscle gain in the middle of his career?
It's be hard to envision an HBP with obvious McSorley-esque intent, but has anyone ever been charged with assault for hitting a batter? A cursory google search didn't return anything useful. The most obvious example I can recall is Wichita State's Ben Christensen drilling Evansville University's Anthony Molina in the head during warm-ups. The county DA (in Kansas) declined to file charges.It'll be interesting to see if some team dares the umpires to throw the entire pitching staff out of a spring training game because the entire staff keeps throwing at Astros batters. It wouldn't surprise me to see that if the anger is as genuine as it seems. I'm not saying they should do it, in fact, it would be incredibly stupid and dangerous (because you know one would get away and hit someone in the head), but it's certainly in the realm of possibility given some of the angry takes.
Good points all. No real reason to inflict physical pain or injury.Unless Astros players are getting hit in very obvious and egregious ways (e.g. Altuve getting smoked with the first pitch he sees multiple games, multiple batters hit in a row), MLB is in a bit of a tough spot policing this. I mean, what can they do? Start every game out with the opposing staff under a warning? It may not be knowing what king of pitch is coming, but I’m guessing Houston could hit pretty well if they knew they couldn’t be pitched aggressively inside all season...The optics of suspending a pitcher for this when the Astros players get off with nothing would also double down on the terrible look for the league.
Separately, I don’t know that a ton of hitters need to get plunked. This season will already be pretty uncomfortable every time they leave home. Every crowd will be hostile (unless they’re in TB where there aren’t crowds). The press will be relentless. My guess is regardless of play the Astros get one token all-star selection (players definitely aren’t voting for them and no fans outside Houston), and no major award consideration. It’s not going to be a fun year for the team.
They're probably good enough to still be a legit WS contender though, so it could be a giant FU season for them. Which would be fun. (for them)Unless Astros players are getting hit in very obvious and egregious ways (e.g. Altuve getting smoked with the first pitch he sees multiple games, multiple batters hit in a row), MLB is in a bit of a tough spot policing this. I mean, what can they do? Start every game out with the opposing staff under a warning? It may not be knowing what king of pitch is coming, but I’m guessing Houston could hit pretty well if they knew they couldn’t be pitched aggressively inside all season...The optics of suspending a pitcher for this when the Astros players get off with nothing would also double down on the terrible look for the league.
Separately, I don’t know that a ton of hitters need to get plunked. This season will already be pretty uncomfortable every time they leave home. Every crowd will be hostile (unless they’re in TB where there aren’t crowds). The press will be relentless. My guess is regardless of play the Astros get one token all-star selection (players definitely aren’t voting for them and no fans outside Houston), and no major award consideration. It’s not going to be a fun year for the team.
True, though I think that could be harder through the grind of a 162 game season than it is in other sports where you get more down time. On their FU tours, the Pats really only had to deal with a hostile crowd/press 8 times... it probably wears on you when you up that to 80.They're probably good enough to still be a legit WS contender though, so it could be a giant FU season for them. Which would be fun. (for them)
I've no problems with dropping the name, but for completely different reasons. Kids don't need to be heckled by A-hole LL parents because of the name on the jersey and you know that's gonna happen.In the "think of the children" department... a Pennsylvania district has dropped the Astros from its team names
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28742555/pennsylvania-little-league-district-drop-astros
The depth of anger against the cheating definitely seems genuine. And it seems to have extended beyond the Dodgers and those who were most affected by the cheating, to the general baseball player community. I mean, you have Mike Trout, as milquetoast as it gets, making statements about it. (By Trout standards, “They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing." is as harsh as it gets)It'll be interesting to see if some team dares the umpires to throw the entire pitching staff out of a spring training game because the entire staff keeps throwing at Astros batters. It wouldn't surprise me to see that if the anger is as genuine as it seems. I'm not saying they should do it, in fact, it would be incredibly stupid and dangerous (because you know one would get away and hit someone in the head), but it's certainly in the realm of possibility given some of the angry takes.
A graph of Percentage of Hit by Pitches for MLB from 1901 through 2019. As can be seen, there has been a sharp up-rise in recent years. My guess is that the high rates seen in the early 20th century could be the result of players still becoming accustimed to the rules changes that took place a few years earlier. data from Major League Baseball Batting Year-By-Year Averages -- bb-ref.comSeparately, I don’t know that a ton of hitters need to get plunked.