I can understand that. It certainly would take away some of the fun. For me it would also take away from that pride I would of feel wearing the Astros jersey in front of opposing fans.
I had that moment today in the car with my 9 year old girl. She asked if the Astros are cheaters. I told her what happened and the look of utter disappointment swept across her face. These guys are heros to her like Luke Skywalker was a hero to me as a child. Very much a “say it ain’t so” moment for her. All the Astros had to do was stop when the league said stop. Trash can bang... all of it... wouldn’t have mattered because everyone else was doing it. To continue into the playoffs... forever tarnished the 2017 WS title and its players. Brutal
Having said all I’ve said.... I’m still wearing my gear with pride. I’ll still wear my WS hat. Look... Yankees titles are tainted from 98,99,00,09.... there was so many players cheating with PEDs on that team. The culture was terrible in that clubhouse.
I thought our guys were different than the Yankees. I guess there are all forms of cheating, but no matter what form it takes it is still wrong. When Cushing did PED's more than once I looked at him differently. It didn't change the way I felt about the whole team though. This Astros scandal hurt more, because it wasn't just one player. The whole team knew what they were doing was cheating, and nobody did anything to stop it.
If we believe the report. Hinch took a bat and destroyed the monitor twice in disapproval. You would have thought Players would have received the message. All they did was get another monitor. Looks like Cora and Beltran had the players lock and key with the sign stealing. I’m not sure if Hinch spoke up if anyone would have stopped. Hinch would want to keep this inside the clubhouse. Having said that. Sign stealing continued into 2018 for a little bit even without Cora and Beltran. Did Hinch know about that? Or was he OK with certain forms of sign stealing, just not the trash can bang version. Players can’t wait for media day when they can answer all these wonderful questions.
I've been so up and down this week it really sucks. I'm ready for baseball season to start so the team can start fresh and put this misery behind us. Redemption campaign. Nothing cures the foul stench in your mouth like winning, and time. For as much as I keep rationalizing to myself that the Astros aren't alone in this, that sign stealing using tech has gone on for a long time, that stealing didn't seem to yield much success anyways, there still equally exists the stomach churning feeling that the Astros, my team, committed these sins. I'll always look back with fond memories of this team winning it all, of the amazing run they had that year, and for that matter '15 and '18 and '19 as well. It's been an incredible time to be an Astros fan. BUT.... it has come at a cost, cause I'll never be able to truly separate those highs with this low. And that's who the victims are...the fans. And Houston fans. We are going to have to bear the brunt of criticism along with the players and the team, and solely for the reason that we are Astros fans. That's it. We didn't do anything wrong but support the hometown boys, but we will hear it from every corner of the baseball world. We'll carry ourselves with pride, we'll wear the gear in defiance. This team is still champions. But deep down, that stomach churn will be ever present. It'll subside but may never truly cease. I don't want to use the word taint. That seems too harsh for a violation that most teams seem to commit, the teams we beat are apparently guilty of as well, and a violation that probably doesn't offer much of an advantage anyways. I'd rather say tarnish. That lustrous, beautiful, championship ring has lost some of its gleam. But it's still ours, and that is and always will be a fact. They can say tainted, fake champions, Astrisks, etc, etc. Yeah, ok, but we're still champions. I hope that Altuve didn't participate. That would be a bit of a saving grace for me. Like Hinch, who didn't condone it and tried to stop it in a passive-aggressive way. He's one of my all-time favorites, Altuve is. It would be sad to know if he was heavily involved. But who really knows what these players were thinking during that year. What compelled them to push the limit a little too far. Competitive sports can be brutal; athletes will do anything to gain that extra edge, even rationalizing cheating. Maybe while they knew it was wrong, they felt it was strangely ok because they had the blessing of a coach. I'm sure those who didn't go along didn't come forward either cause they didn't want to betray their brothers. It'll be interesting to hear their perspectives one day and I hope we get it. Think maybe the fans are owed that. Don't sweep it under the rug. Own it. And let's move on.
Crazy that vets like McCann and Verlander, presumably old school/play the game the right way types, put their heads down during this.
Why give Hinch a pass? He could've put a stop to it immediately and didn't. Did they really gain a competitive advantage? They batted better on the road than at home and further more didn't they win game 7 in LA? Who give a F what other teams fans think? Do Yankees fans care about what other teams fans think about the A-Rod steroided up teams that won championships? Do the Red Sox fans care about what fans think about their 2018 championship. ? Nope and neither should Astro fans care. Fans around here need to stop being so idealistic and realize unfortunately this is what it took to play with the big boys at that time since they were doing the exact same thing. Unless you believe in giving your competitors a competitive advantage. Kiss the ring
