The **OFFICIAL** 2019 MLB Thread

[Todd Anderson]

Wow. wow. wow.

Houston Astros caught red-handed cheating... really interesting that Mike Fiers left Houston and started warning other teams that they were stealing signs with cameras. According to him, he thinks it's way out bounds when it comes to sportsmanship.

But this video... shows it in action!

 

[tripplej]

Will be interesting to see if the allegations are true or not. If true, what will MLB do? Void the championship?

 

[Todd Anderson]

Well... you can see/hear it plain as day in that video. Another video has surfaced as well... shows the same thing happening.

I don't think they can remove a championship. But you'd better believe that MLB (and other teams) are going to be watching them like a hawk!

 

[tripplej]

I think worst case, they will just penalize them financially and then warn all teams not to do the same thing assuming the Astros are guilty..

 

[tripplej]

from yahoo, Mike Trout won American League MVP

"It's Mike Trout's world. We're just living in it.

The Los Angeles Angels outfielder was named American League MVP for the third time in his career on Thursday after a vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Trout received 17 of 30 first-place votes, while Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman received the other 13 first-place votes. Trout and Bregman also received all of the second-place votes. Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien finished third."

 

[tripplej]

Gerrit Cole signs with Yankees for record 9-year, $324 million deal

From yahoo,

"Gerrit Cole, the 29-year-old right-hander who blossomed in two seasons with the Houston Astros, on Tuesday agreed to the terms of a free-agent contract with the New York Yankees, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

The contract is for nine years and worth $324 million, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports. It’s the richest contract in league history for a pitcher in overall value, besting Stephen Strasburg’s $245 million contract with the Washington Nationals. At $36 million per year, it’s also the highest average salary in MLB. Cole has an opt-out clause after his fifth season, sources tell Yahoo Sports."

 

[tripplej]

Anthony Rendon, Angels agree to $245 million, seven-year contract

from chron,

"Third baseman Anthony Rendon and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a $245 million, seven-year contract Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. "

 

[tripplej]

from cbssports

Cardinals send Jose Martinez, Randy Arozarena to Rays for pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore

 

[tripplej]

We got the result of the Astros Sign stealing case..

From yahoo,

"Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch each were suspended for one year for their roles in a sign-stealing scandal that also will cost the Astros their top two picks in the next two drafts and a $5 million fine.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the punishments Monday. The investigation began in November, when former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers told The Athletic that Houston illegally stole catchers’ signs in 2017, using a live video feed, a television monitor, a bat and a trash can. The Astros won the World Series in 2017, winning eight of nine home games that October."

 

[tripplej]

Looks like more bad news after MLB came out with its report..

From chron,

Astros owner Jim Crane fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow on Monday shortly after Major League Baseball announced the pair would be suspended for a year as part of the penalties for the investigation into alleged electronic-sign stealing.

 

[tripplej]

Looks like more fallout ....

from chron,

“The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Tuesday, a day after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred implicated him in the sport's sign-stealing scandal.”

 

[tripplej]

There is a push to ban Alex Cora from baseball...

from yahoo,

"In the long annals of Major League Baseball, there are but just a few men who have suffered the ultimate punishment from the league — lifetime banishment. That includes members of the Chicago Black Sox Scandal, most famously Shoeless Joe Jackson, and all-time hit leader Pete Rose, who was caught gambling on the game as a manager in the 1980s. "

So if Rose and Jackson are out forever, then why not former Red Sox manager Alex Cora?

The Red Sox effectively fired Cora on Tuesday in the wake of the league concluding that while working as a bench coach for the Houston Astros in 2017, Cora orchestrated a sign-stealing program using the video replay room and the banging of garbage cans to alert hitters. The system helped the Astros win the World Series that year.

“Cora was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs,” MLB’s report stated. “Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’ conduct.”

There is a lot more. After the 2017 World Series triumph, Cora left the Astros to become the manager of the Red Sox who (what a coincidence) won 118 games and the World Series in his first year.

The league hasn’t concluded its investigation into Cora’s behavior in Boston, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the 44-year-old was implicated in that as well. Manfred said he would determine league discipline at the appropriate time."

Should he be banned?

 

[tripplej]

another one..

from espn,

"Carlos Beltran, the only player named in MLB's investigation of the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, is out as manager of the New York Mets before beginning his first season with the team, it was announced Thursday. "

 

[Todd Anderson]

Frankly, the Astros and Red Sox (if the Sox are found guilty) should be stripped of their World Series trophies and players on those teams should be severely penalized. It's a real shame that MLB fears the Players Union, especially with the forthcoming collective bargaining negotiations. Otherwise, they'd do the right thing and go after the players.

So lame. Such blatant abuses of technology to gain a distinctive edge. Boo.

 

[tripplej]

I suspect this will still not deter signal stealing from any team. Maybe they will not use technology, but the practice will continue.

 

[Todd Anderson]

It’s one thing to use your eyes, analyze, and decipher... it’s another to use a camera to zero in on the signs and relay every pitch to a batter.

What the Astros did (possibility the Sox) was straight-up abuse of technology. The Astros have been raking for years and now we know why... they were aggressively cheating. No wonder they tagged Clayton Kershaw at home in the 17 series... they knew exactly what was coming. Very disappointing - I used to hold Altuve with such high regard... and certainly wished my favorite team had a player like George Springer or Bregman. But, truth is, none of their accomplishments matter, nor can they be taken seriously.

thank goodness that Mike Fiers had the guts to speak up and start warning other teams. Too bad baseball didn’t catch on more quickly!

 

[tripplej]

I saw/heard they (MLB) said that 8 other teams were also doing this as well using technology... We shall see if those clubs get any penalties as well or not..

from si,

"Two sources familiar with the investigation, which lasted three months and included more than 70,000 e-mails and 60 interviews, said various Astros personnel told MLB investigators about eight other teams who used technology to steal signs in 2017 or 2018–such was the culture of the time. "

It is one of those things where they say, everybody is cheating and we have to cheat to compete.

 

[tripplej]

this is the scandal that will not stop.

from chron,

Former Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell alleged in a radio interview Friday morning that Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa used video equipment to steal signs and alert his hitters when he was the White Sox manager in the 1980s.

 

[tripplej]

Derek Jeter elected to Hall of Fame