Tag: Astros Cheating

Editorial: How Many Games Should Tom Brady Be Suspended For The Astros “Spy Phone” Scandal

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So in case you have not heard the biggest non-baseball story coming out of the ALCS, the Houston Astros basically planted a spy who had a camera in his phone (??!!!!) in the credentialed media area near the Sox dug out at Fenway and he was snapping pictures of signs or something for Houston’s use. (Editor’s note: Red gave his take on the allegations the other day.)

You can read about it here , courtesy of Sb Nation, if you like. It is truly a despicable, unethical, borderline treasonous case of a baseball team sullying the great game of baseball, our national past time. But that is not why we are here. We are here to ask the obvious question: what should Tom Brady’s penalty for this heinous atrocity be?

First there was Spy Gate. Which was a Belichick story but probably masterminded by Brady. Then there was Deflate-Gate, what we THOUGHT was Brady’s Magnum Opus, where he actually mutilated official game equipment to attain a competitive edge. But now this. Now the Astros have placed a spy next to their opponent’s, the home team no less, dugout in order to steal signs and warn their batter that a 1000mph fastball might be rocketed in their general direction. What a Godless man Tom Brady is.

If I know Roger Goodell? At least a season suspension. Possibly two. If he wants to timidly limp back onto the football field after that, disgraced and old, then fine. But there is no way Tom Brady cannot pay for what the Houston Astros have done. There’s just no way.

If only there were an attorney good enough to get Brady out of this, but alas. Our QB is doomed by his own behavior. Maybe next time he will think before the ”Stros put a man with a spy phone camera thing in the credentialed media area.

I weep for the next generation.

Yours truly,
-Joey B.

 

 

Are the Astros Stealing the Red Sox Signs? Probably. Do I Care? Not Really.

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Yahoo – The Boston Red Sox were warned that a man credentialed by the Houston Astros might try to steal signs or information from their dugout after the Cleveland Indians caught him taking pictures of their dugout with a cellphone camera during Game 3 of the American League Division Series, sources with knowledge of the situation told Yahoo Sports.

A photograph obtained by Yahoo Sports showed a man named Kyle McLaughlin aiming a cell phone into Cleveland’s dugout during the Indians’ 11-3 loss that ended their season. McLaughlin was the same man caught taking pictures near the Red Sox’s dugout during Game 1 of the AL Championship Series, which was first reported by the Metro Times. McLaughlin was removed by security in Cleveland and Boston, sources said.

It would be the height of hypocrisy for a guy from Boston to fire up the outrage machine over alleged sign stealing from an opponent. It would go against the line I’ve *always* preached that it’s really not that big of a deal. I’m not going to go as far as the old trope that “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying to win,” but particularly in baseball it is a part of the culture. If a guy on second base relays a stolen signal to his teammate at the plate then it’s generally accepted, if not applauded.

I suppose the influx of technology makes people more uncomfortable as it becomes a bit more sophisticated.

“Teams around the league are perhaps more wary of the Astros than any team, fearful that their employment of cameras – they use high-speed models made by Edgertronic to help evaluate players, according to sources – allows them to steal signs. MLB has not punished the Astros for any illegal behavior, sources told Yahoo Sports.”

If you happen to notice a catchers sign and relay that to a teammate you’re just competing, but if you have a whole system of deceit people regard it as more seedy.

I don’t really care and that may be because I am just entirely jaded by overblown cheating accusations (and stories about Apple Watches). If the Astros are indeed cheating then punish them, but I’m not going to sit here and tell you we need to take draft picks, and suspend players, and resurrect the ghost of Senator Arlen Specter to investigate the whole thing.

With that being said, at least PRETEND to be stealthy about it my dude.

But all this really does is raise the question I’ve always had as to why some of these stories blow up and others don’t? I mean anything the Patriots and Bill Belichick are accused of will always take on a life of its own because Bill is a glorious dickhead and people will take any chance they can get to try and bury the guy.

I guess the ‘Stros don’t play grabass with the media like some of the players/teams who have had similar stories swept under the rug.

Remember when Peyton Manning was (allegedly) taking PEDs? That shit was like a midnight news scroll on ESPN and was really never mentioned again. Ohhhh it was his wife taking the HGH guys, not Peyton the 40-year-old QB with a surgically fused spine, it was his wife!

Remember when the St. Louis Cardinals were caught hacking into the Astros entire scouting database? This got absolutely ZERO burn by the national media and this may have been the most outlandish scheme I’ve ever heard. The fall guy did end up going to prison and the team did get docked a couple of draft picks, but hey the Cardinals are the classiest team with the best fans in the world.