Luhnow and Hinch Suspensions

[Spanky99]

Hinch will be back.

 

I think so, apparently he smashed a couple monitors that Cora had set up with a bat, but he still didn't say anything, so he gets f***ed. Cora's going to be toast.

[Dr. Dinger]

Yes there should be a rosin bag + a tube of firm grip (or whatever) behind the mound. Let MLB pick the product or design the product, something that provides a bit of grip but isn't excessive.

 

This would almost certainly increase strikeouts even more than the current record-high, which I don't think MLB wants.

[Dr. Dinger]

Cheers to f***in Mike Fiers for burning this s*** down.

[BTS]

 

Luhnow seems to be a spinless piece of s***.

[43211234]

New Nickname for 2017 Astros team:

 

Asteriskos

*stros

*ros

Astros*

 

I think *stros might catch on lol

[Laika]

This would almost certainly increase strikeouts even more than the current record-high, which I don't think MLB wants.

 

The pitchers are already using stuff, it's just not regulated.

[Nofunatall]

 

Luhnow seems to be a spinless piece of s***.

 

So basically he's saying he's the world's worst GM by not "knowing" what was happening in an organization he was directly involved in running? What an *******.

[Slade]

Hinch and Luhnow will be back in their roles with other organizations next year. It's just what's going to happen and everyone should know that.

 

I hope Alex Cora's punishment is even harsher. I knew they weren't going to take away the rings but still seems light.

[dineke]

Luhnow is an ******* but I wouldn't be mad if he was our GM. When is Ross' contract up again?

[Beans]

Asst GM Taubman barred for life

 

No, he's on the ineligible list for all of 2020. If he and Luhnow and Hinch violate the terms of this suspension in any way, they were be permanently ineligible (barred for life, basically).

[Jaysareus]

They should punish the players too for participating in the cheating

[Beans]

Now and forever known as the...

[Bobthe4th]

[Grant77]

Manfred was awfully forward with his criticism of Luhnow when announcing the punishment. He's alleged to have stolen information from the Cardinals, along with numerous other instances of cheating. I think a lifetime ban for him was in order, certainly more than it was for Coppolella or Taubmann. The rest of the punishments for the Astros are reasonable in my opinion.

 

As for Cora, it seems very likely that the same system was implemented in 2018. I'd like to see similar punishments if that was the case.

[Grant77]

They should punish the players too for participating in the cheating

 

Several of the players spoke out about the cheating. That's at least a part of how they got caught.

[Bobthe4th]

Several of the players spoke out about the cheating. That's at least a part of how they got caught.

 

True, but plenty didn't and the Athletic article after Fiers first blew the whistle gives examples of unnamed players being instrumental in both setting it up and appreciating its benefits. Beltran is especially lucky given that he's no longer a player and has been heavily implicated.

[Ryu In My House]

It is never easy being a whistle blower, and that would go for baseball players. Maybe if baseball instituted a whistle blower policy that protected those players, and provided anonymity...

[rancher]

True, but plenty didn't and the Athletic article after Fiers first blew the whistle gives examples of unnamed players being instrumental in both setting it up and appreciating its benefits. Beltran is especially lucky given that he's no longer a player and has been heavily implicated.

Any player in the Astros organization who knew what was going on is just as guilty as the coaches and managers who allowed it to happen. They should all lose their rings and be suspended for a specified term. This is definitely a black eye for major league baseball and cannot be taken lightly.

[Beans]

Cora will be fired, of course, but I wonder when the hammer drops on the Red Sox and the cheating they did in 2018.

 

And it might be even worse, the punishment for Boston, because there were teams punished for misuse of the replay room in 2017, but starting in 2018, MLB strictly prohibited the use of the replay room to steal signs. And there're a lot of sources saying that Boston was zooming in through cameras, in real time, to steal signs that year (that Ken Rosenthal piece last week in The Athletic even quoted someone who was with the team in 2018 saying “we were cheating“).

 

And then this...

 

Manfred is withholding discipline for Cora until concluding a separate investigation into allegations that Boston used electronics to steal signs in 2018, when the Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 regular season games and a World Series in Cora's first season as manager.

 

I would love for Boston to receive an even greater punishment than Houston did :-)

Edited January 14, 2020 by Beans

[DigitalRock]

I wonder if Fiers is getting s*** from some gor being a whistleblower.

[Beans]

I wonder if Fiers is getting s*** from some gor being a whistleblower.

 

Not enough to deter Logan Morrison from whistleblowing this tweet out:

 

 

Although, I mean, both the Red Sox and Yankees were punished in 2017 for stealing signs using the replay room (remember the Fitbit scandal?)

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/sports/baseball/red-sox-fined-stealing-signs-yankees.html

Edited January 14, 2020 by Beans

[JaysAllMighty]

Cheating at play... It's criminal.

 

http://www.criminal-code.ca/criminal-code-of-canada-section-209-cheating-at-play/index.html

[Nafro]

Oh my God. Teams use whatever tool they can to pick signs from other teams. Pitchers use whatever substance they can to get a better grip on the ball. I'm sorry to say, but for anyone who has played baseball, this is not news.

 

This IS what wins Championships. I want a pitcher who throws 100mph, to have a substance on his fingers to get better grip, in a continual light rain. The only thing ridiculous is the fact that they were banging a trash can. The part that made it wrong was the use of the instant replay system.

 

Does anyone ever wonder why the Patriots continually win Championships, and also continually get busted for taping other teams practice?

[Nafro]

Does anyone know what most player's not playing, especially pitcher's not pitching spend most of the game, on the bench, shuffling back and forth from the bullpen, are doing?

[Beans]

Yes, sign stealing has always been there, but through players’ own wits. That is what is allowed. What is not allowed is the use of technology to steal signs during games.

[Brownie19]

I have a hard time suggesting the Astros should be stripped of their Championship - or have an asterisks added without knowing exactly how many other teams were also doing illegal things to gain a competitive advantage...my gut tells me this isn't an isolated incident and thus I have a very hard time s***ing all over one team.

[Carlos Danger]

Cheating at play... It's criminal.

 

http://www.criminal-code.ca/criminal-code-of-canada-section-209-cheating-at-play/index.html

 

Canadian Criminal code doesn't apply to Texas and that law is doesn't even apply in this situation.. You are trying to assert that deflating a ball is criminal? As pointed out, banging on trash cans has been going on in baseball for ever.... The signs were relayed by runners or people. The only difference now is video vs runner etc. This is an administrative rule. They were not throwing the game for betting purposes.

[Beans]

I have a hard time suggesting the Astros should be stripped of their Championship - or have an asterisks added without knowing exactly how many other teams were also doing illegal things to gain a competitive advantage...my gut tells me this isn't an isolated incident and thus I have a very hard time s***ing all over one team.

 

Last night on MLB Network, Tom Verducci said he was told that the Houston Astros in the course of this investigation made certain to the commissioner’s office that there were as many as 8 (!) teams in 2017 who were using similar systems to steal signs (Boston being one of them).

Edited January 14, 2020 by Beans

[Ehjays]

Any player in the Astros organization who knew what was going on is just as guilty as the coaches and managers who allowed it to happen. They should all lose their rings and be suspended for a specified term. This is definitely a black eye for major league baseball and cannot be taken lightly.

 

Hinch was suspended due to him being manager at the time this was going down, and Luhnow due to the fact that the organisation was under his watch at the time it happened, so in the big picture, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred should be punished due to this going down under his supervision with not only the Astros but several other teams as well. He should feel the wrath. But it wont happen.

[rancher]

Canadian Criminal code doesn't apply to Texas and that law is doesn't even apply in this situation.. You are trying to assert that deflating a ball is criminal? As pointed out, banging on trash cans has been going on in baseball for ever.... The signs were relayed by runners or people. The only difference now is video vs runner etc. This is an administrative rule. They were not throwing the game for betting purposes.

 

Players are paid for their skill at playing the game. To cheat is not using their skill to play fairly. Accepting payment for cheating to win is false pretences and those doing so should be punished in the same manner as anyone who receives payment in that manner.