d.: Hi,Cal.E., this is d.c. Listen, I have something to do tomorrow, so I’ll need you to write this blog solo. To make up for that, I’ll do today’s blog solo. I don’t have time to answer a lot of questions…
C.: Why would you say that? I don’t ask a lot of questions, do I? What do you need to do tomorrow? Why can’t you help me write the blog? Where are you going to be tomorrow? What are you going to talk about today? What will I talk about tomorrow?
d.: (Heavy sigh) You can talk about your exercise routine and what got you motivated to start exercising. Right now, I want to talk about two things that I don’t hold close to my heart.
As previously stated in this blog, (many times) one of my least favorite teams in Major League baseball is the New York Yankees. Along with New York’s other team, the Mets (the Astros former arch-rival when they were in the National League) and the Dodgers (whom I suppose almost everyone outside of Los Angeles dislikes intensely) make up the triumvirate of my least favorite teams in sports.
It makes sense that both the Yankees and the Dodgers want to make the Astros out to be pariahs. These two were the two most hated teams in baseball until the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, which the commissioner refuses to admit wasn’t a scandal but a team doing what the other twenty-nine teams were doing. It was just that the Astros’ superior talent made them the target of the controversy, because they were winning so many games. Most knowledgeable baseball pundits agree that it wasn’t even necessary because the Astros were so talented. That I can believe. While the Red Sox and Yankees were using iPhones and iWatches to cheat with, the Astros were using trash cans. And it’s the worst cheating scandal since the 1919 Black Sox throwing the World Series for money? Retract the statement, Rob (he is NOT a)Man,Fred, and I’ll stop harping on this. Until then, you’re fair game. That brings me to my point.
I’ve made the statement before in this blog that the Yankees are a bunch of whining, over-rated crybabies with one exception, Aaron Judge. I now retract that statement. There are apparently two Yankees who at least have some common sense. The Yankees’ catcher, Jose Trevino, said that he doesn’t think that the commissioner “knows what’s going on.” Trevino said this in reference to the automated umpire. The commissioner thinks that this measure, when implemented, will keep talented catchers like Trevino and the Astros’ Martin Maldonodo from being able to frame their pitcher’s pitches to look like strikes when they are thrown close to but outside of the strike zone. Trevino went on to say that the commissioner had never put on the equipment and played a game. That’s a good point, and he’s definitely right when he says that the commissioner doesn’t know what’s going on. That’s been proven by all the players revealing that their teams were using electronics to steal signs when they were released from their teams.
One of the best football commentators is Tony Romo. As a former NFL quarterback, he can look at the offensive formation and the defense’s coverage and call the play. I wonder how long it will take for defensive coordinators to try to pick up Romo’s comments live during a game? Would the NFL then go on a rant about one team trying to “steal signs electronically?” Probably. Especially if it’s the Texans who shockingly win the Super Bowl.
The Rockets and now the Texans seem to be following the Astros’ model of trying not to win games to acquire high draft choices and build for the future. (Did you see the expression on Lovie Smith’s face when the Texans were successful with their two-point conversion try in the last game? I think he was told to lose the game or lose his job. He’s no longer coaching the Texans.) The Astros didn’t exactly throw games, but they didn’t try very hard to win them, either for three years. This led them to high draft choices such as Alex Bregman, one of the cornerstones of the best team in baseball and the now departed George “Mr. November” Springer, the MVP of the 2017 World Series.
The Rockets have also been accused of doing something immoral, if not illegal. The NBA draft lottery rule is unofficially known as the “Rocket Rule,” because the Rockets were able to draft Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Alajowon in back-to-back years because they were so bad. Some thought that they were throwing games to do this. Add to this the fact that most people won't admit that Micheal Jordan was in an NBA uniform at the end of the 1994-1995 NBA season when the Rockets won their second consecutive NBA championship and it seems almost like a conspiracy. No one wants to admit that Texas’s professional teams are that good, despite the fact that Texas has placed as many or more athletes in the pro ranks as any state in the union. I call it “East Coast Bias.” Call it what you will, but it’s a bunch of hooey, if you ask me.
If you followed the Astros in the 1980s, you might remember another so-called scandal with the hometown team. Mike Scott, who won the Cy Young award in 1986, was accused repeatedly of cheating. Roger Craig, the manager for the San Francisco Giants and the former pitching coach for the Astros, repeatedly accused Scott of doctoring the baseball with a foreign substance. However, this was never proven. The games between the Astros and Giants would grind to a halt when Craig asked repeatedly for the ball to be checked when Scott pitched. The ball was given back to him each time.
Scott is one of a handful of pitchers to strike out 300 batters and pitch a no hitter in the same season. The icing on the cake is that Scott threw his no-hitter in the game that clinched the division title for the ‘86 Astros. To think that a pitcher never scuffed or doctored a ball is a bit too optimistic, but Scott never got caught if he did. Still, the rumors circulated that he just knew how to hide it well. But to again quote sports talk radio host Jim Rome, “It's baseball. If you ain’t cheatin,’you ain’t tryin.’”