C.: One two three four…
Houston has the Astros
The greatest baseball team
They hit the ball from line to line
And homer in between
Their pitchers are amazing
Their hitters are sublime
They make the commissioner miserable
By winning pennants
All the Time
We’re the…Houston Astros
Houston Astros
Houston Astros number one two three four
d.: Cal.E.! Don’t do that in a family blog!
C.: Sorry, d.c. I was just telling The Athletic that the Astros are number one!
d.: Use your forefinger when you’re saying we’re number one! I do like your new cap, though.
Well, as you can see, Cal.E. is a big Astros’ fan, as am I. It’s clear now, though, that Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob (he is NOT a) Man,Fred isn’t the only person who isn’t an Astros’ fan.
One of the staff writers for The Athletic, the rag that broke the Astros’s sign stealing scandal, (I don’t remember his name, but I wouldn’t dignify his column by mentioning it, anyway) says that, yes, almost all of the teams in Major League Baseball did use electronics to steal signs. BUT, the Astros were worse because theirs was a more complicated system.
Let’s look at the facts that the writer presented. The Astros used trash cans to tell if the batter would receive a breaking ball or a fastball after reviewing the catcher’s signals in the video room. (this has since been outlawed. A team cannot view the game they are playing during that game. Talk about closing the barn door after the horses are running wild!) But, the more minor offenders, not to mention any names, but HE did mention the self-righteous Los Angeles Dodgers, along with the twice-caught New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, used Apple watches and telephones in the dugout to relay signs.
This writer’s point was that the other teams only did it when a runner was on base. This is a time-honored tradition in the national pastime. (Remember, it’s baseball. If you ain’t cheatin,’ you ain’t tryin.’) He said that the only way they could relay the signs to the batter was through the baserunner. Hmmm. It seems to me that there is a first base coach in a right-handed batter’s line of vision and a third base coach in a left-handed batter's line of vision; and he can relay whether the batter will get a fastball, curveball, slider or change up. That sounds complicated to me! This writer was gullible enough to believe that signs being relayed by telephone (which has been illegal since the 1930s) were only done when there was a runner on first base. Mr. Writer, sir, please contact my real estate agent about that property in Galveston, Texas that I guarantee will not flood in any circumstance! The price will double in the next two days, though, so act quickly, or it may be gone by the time you read this.
It’s obvious what’s going on. Notice the three teams I mentioned are in three of the largest television markets in the country, if you count all of New England as Bosox fans, which most New Englanders are. I know that ESPN wants good ratings, so that network carries more games for these three teams than any others. I have no problem with that. TV is about ratings, and I can watch all of the Astros’ games on my local network (several times). But when a rag makes an accusation that the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal was worse than the other teams’ and that they thumbed their noses and continued to cheat, when the Yankees and Bosox were each caught twice doing the same thing, this reporter is not reporting facts; he’s reporting his opinion!
Yes, that is what I’m doing here, but this is my blog, not a national, well-respected magazine that the commissioner obviously worships. It was the Athletic that broke the story about the Astros scandal, ignoring the Yankees and Bosox transgressions, as well as the Dodgers’ cheating, because they hadn’t been caught yet ( and probably never will. They make too much money for MLB in tickets sales and merchandise for MLB to let on that they have explayers accusing them of cheating. It seems the commissioner only wants to listen to ex-Astro players who had already been disgraced.) The Athletic failed to mention that reliable statistics state that the Astros so-called complicated sign-stealing scandal garnered them three hits, and none decided a game. But go ahead and jeer at the Astros if you wish, and watch Jose Altuve hit the first pitch of the game out of your stadium when he’s healthy. The Astros thrive on controversy, so if you will please boo the world champions when they come to visit your ballpark, maybe they’ll end this early season funk they’re in and play baseball like they’re capable of playing.
This has been d.c. scot, with one man’s (correct) opinion.