The only good thing about this news is they didn't cheat in the 2019 season. And, we know they didn't even need to be doing what they did in 2017 and part of 2018. But, for Crane to say the 2017 title isn't tainted after this...huh?
He was hands off the baseball operations. That's why you have a GM. I believe it. Nothing in the investigation showed he knew. There would have been something.
I think Hinch will be re embraced one the smoke clears. The general fanbase couldn't pick Luhnow out of a lineup, he was unlikely to be much of a public presence to begin with. We could have just promoted one of his lieutenants for this season and rolled with it, taking whatever lumps necessary. Bad PR be damned like the Patriots Cloudy days ahead for us.
So the Red Sox and Yankees were found doing the same thing in 2017, so why did they not get the same penalty? MLB would never have done this to their "blue blood" franchises. The Astros cheated and I accept the punishment and resulting decisions, however accountability needs to be consistent!
... and he's not going to fire himself. He also has to pay the fine. And guess what... he's now in charge of the baseball operations. I do think a small part of him probably lamented how much credit Luhnow was (deservedly) getting. Crane should rejoice in being the one who hand-picked him, and probably should get more credit for that, but obviously all anybody ever mentions when describing the Astros success is Luhnow's plan... which was really part of a directive handed down to him by Crane. Somebody start writing a book about this!
They have not been caught doing the "same thing". They did something illegal also, but equating the two is putting on fan blinders.
I find it hard to believe the players would have actually just stopped had Hinch said "stop." That being said I don't get why he passive aggressivey destroyed the monitor instead of just addressing it directly. I get why he was fired, but I'm not sure what message not disciplining any players sends. No MLBPA issues to deal with I guess.
Stealing signs is stealing signs, it doesn't matter how it was done. The result is the same, you steal signs and have a competitive edge.
Fiers is getting reemed on Twitter. I would say show a little class...Houston fans...but I know that would be in vain.
Using video to decode and giving intel to players when they get to 2nd still requires a lot of human element, and can only be useful when you get a player to second. It's just a slightly improved version of old school sign stealing everybody has always done. Actively using a camera to tip off every single pitch to the batter is not the same thing.
