Check out this article below. Apparently, Alex Cora was the mastermind and COO of the Astros’ sign stealing activities. It looks like manager AJ Hinch did not approve of it but ultimately did not tell Cora or the players to cease and desist.
Then Cora goes to the Red Sox and orchestrates the same scheme in 2018. And this was after the Red Sox had been warned about the Apple watch issue. SU assumes the Red Sox will fire him also.
Good comment by long-time subscriber S. Goldman that should we assume these were the only 2 teams doing this? And subscriber E. Mass of generational player fame says check out the video in the article here where you can hear the banging of the trash cans in Houston. SU says you have to assume many teams were aware this was going on with the Astros but apparently looked the other way for whatever reason so as not to rat them out. Don’t forget that Aaron Boone met with Hinch before one of the ALCS games in this year’s series to ask him if they were stealing signs.
And Hinch is regarded as the best manager in baseball. And as long-time subscriber J. Levine points out, Carlos Beltran gets a pass as he was only a player then and can now manage a team. Let’s Go Mets!
Finally, SU says in game 5 of the Divisional Round vs. Tampa Bay, the first five Astro hitters hit rockets off of the Tampa Bay starter. You know they were cheating there in the deciding game of the series.
Like PEDs, one has to wonder how far reaching this is in baseball.
Video: Astros relay signs to hitters by banging on a trash can in 2017
Sports Update Intergalactic 
You have to wonder now, with Hinch getting fired, whether the Mets will fire Beltran even though MLB chose not to discipline him. Interesting call for proposed new owner Steven Cohen who has his own disciplinary history.
Love to see Joey Cora go down hard on this. No class punk!
Joey Cora should be banned for a minimum of five years. He directly influenced two World Series and the playoffs leading to them. He is not a leader of men, but a criminal. As for what he could do in the meantime, his traits are perfect for politics.
Pete Rose was banned for life for betting on baseball. He bet on the outcomes of games. Cora directly influenced those outcomes. He is every bit as bad or worse than the 1919 Black Sox. Where have you gone, Kenesaw Mountain Landis?
I’ll be surprised if Cora makes it to Wednesday. Beltran should be gone by the end of the week as well. It actually will be doing the Mets a favor as I am fairly certain he would not have been successful. Only question is if they can void his contract.
Start looking in the sky for satellites stealing signs. If you have a very powerful telescope you might see the team’s logo on each of these satellites. I’m sure the big time teams can afford this since it has no bearing on the luxury tax….yet.
It’s hard to underestimate the role that gambling is having on these penalties. Gambling is likely to become one of their biggest (the biggest?) revenue streams and they don’t want any implications of cheating floating around as threats to the future legality of betting. They are going to do everything in their power to maintain whatever level of perceived fairness is required to keep the gambling lane open. (And expect AJ Hinch to start a sportsbook taking bets on “Will the next pitch be a changeup?”)
This is a black eye for the game but I think the commissioner should also be held accountable. There have been rumors that teams have been pushing the limits by exploiting technology for many years. This seems like an example of benign neglect. Now that the cat is out of the bag MLB is scrambling to crack down to ensure the integrity of the game.
Maybe it is time to look forward instead of backwards and stop trying to preserve our dad’s game of the 50’s. ( AND I HATE THE DH) Baseball is the greatest game in the world but has lagged in popularity with the younger population. Lets embrace technology and create a new and exciting game. Does anyone remember THE BIGS video baseball game. My son and his friends loved that when they were kids. Make the game fast, fun and exciting.
Look at the NFL. The game has evolved and is as popular as ever. Compare 50’s football to today’s game vs 50’s baseball to today’s game. It’s not even close. Watching the games on Sunday, my wife and I joked about all the big beefy linemen sitting on the bench with their Microsoft Surface tablets, reviewing video and studying every tendency to try to get an edge. And it was not just the offensive line man from Stanford or Northwestern, it was everybody.
Sorry to all the traditionalist but it is time for Jetsons Baseball. Put on those Google glasses and flubber loaded cleats. I want my future grandson to love the game as much as his dad, grandpa and great grandpa.
Only 25 days until Pitchers and Catchers report. LFGM!
Having the DH has been a big boost for entertaining the audience….more action. These 3-2 games with collecting 5-6 hits per team make for a boring game. Most of the time pitchers try to bunt over the runner is BORING with a capital B. Yes, the game needs to speed up so put the pitcher on a time count between pitches and stop the readjusting after every single pitch the batter’s wrist protector. Its ridiculous. The Umpires need to do a better job behind the plate. Maybe the pitches are coming in too fast for them to make the right call. Arguing balls and strikes should have more tolerance from the Umps. A bad pitch call can be critical and the Umps need to get it right. Yes, lets move forward but we should also penalize cheaters severely as well. Where there is room for debate these rules should be looked at more closely and to define those gray areas and make them more black and white.
How do we figure out if the ball was juiced or not last season. And talking about juiced… how does Gardi hit 30 home runs? Feels like Brady from the Orioles hitting 51 one year. Hmmm. Must be all that good food he is eating.