The Astros and Red Sox Punishments

[weams]

 

[Satyr3206]

My oldest Son and I talked about this tonight in detail. We came to a conclusion. As a professional athlete, do you want to live knowing you cheated? Or would you rather know you won fair? We agreed that if you win by cheating, you didn't win. 

[Satyr3206]

And the Dodgers got screwed.

[sportsfan8703]

The Yankees should be punished too. Beltran was in their FO for years. 

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, Satyr3206 said:

And the Dodgers got screwed.

The interesting thing is, we’ll never know how much impact the cheating had.   If you take the Commissioner’s findings at face value (and I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t), the scheme stopped sometime during 2018, and yet the Astros won 107 games and went to Game 7 of the WS in 2019.    So, it seems they were still very good without the sign-stealing.   Did it give them just enough of an edge to beat the Dodgers in 2017?   It certainly was a close, hard fought World Series and the sign-stealing may have given the Astros just enough of an edge, or maybe it didn’t.    We’ll never know for sure, but it’s fair to assume that it could have made the difference.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

The Yankees should be punished too. Beltran was in their FO for years. 

So, guilt by association?    You’d need some evidence that they cheated, not that they employed a guy who once cheated for another team in a different role.   

[SteveA]

30 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The interesting thing is, we’ll never know how much impact the cheating had.   If you take the Commissioner’s findings at face value (and I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t), the scheme stopped sometime during 2018, and yet the Astros won 107 games and went to Game 7 of the WS in 2019.    So, it seems they were still very good without the sign-stealing.   Did it give them just enough of an edge to beat the Dodgers in 2017?   It certainly was a close, hard fought World Series and the sign-stealing may have given the Astros just enough of an edge, or maybe it didn’t.    We’ll never know for sure, but it’s fair to assume that it could have made the difference.

The buzzer stuff appears to be all from 2019, if there is anything to it.

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, SteveA said:

The buzzer stuff appears to be all from 2019, if there is anything to it.

I must not be following this closely enough.    

[SteveA]

Just now, Frobby said:

I must not be following this closely enough.    

Nothing proven yet, but allegations came out yesterday that in 2019 the trash can banging was replaced by an electronic buzzer device worn underneath the jersey, attached to the skin using medical adhesive, and activated remotely.   The initial accusations come from a twitter account claiming to be Carlos Beltran's niece but he does not have a niece; it is speculated it is a cover used by a ML player who wishes to remain anonymous.   The same twitter account did correctly predict Beltran's hiring with the Mets before it was announced and his firing before it was announced.

The key pieces of circumstantial video evidence:

1) After the walkoff HR off Chapman to beat the Yankees and win the AL pennant, as he is coming home Altuve is very clearly making gestures that he does not want his jersey to be torn off when he crosses home plate.   It's unmistakable.   Ken Rosenthal even asks him about it in a post-game interview, why didn't you want your jersey taken off and he said something about being shy and his wife wouldn't like it.   Also, while his teammates are on the field celebrating he dashes into the dugout and down the hall to the clubhouse, then comes back out shortly thereafter wearing an AL championship shirt like the other guys.

2) There's another video in slo mo of a Robinson Chirinos at bat during the season.   He takes a big swing at a slider and something pops out of his jersey and lands on the ground in front of home plate.   You can see a glint of something shiny.   He steps in front of home plate and picks it up and spends a couple seconds jamming it into his back pocket.   He's wearing a batting glove so he doesn't realize at first when he pulls his hand out of his pocket, it's still stuck to his hand.   It's a piece of medical tape with what looks similar to a watch battery stuck in the middle of it.   When he finally realizes this thing is stuck to his hand he successfully puts it in his pocket.

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, SteveA said:

Nothing proven yet, but allegations came out yesterday that in 2019 the trash can banging was replaced by an electronic buzzer device worn underneath the jersey, attached to the skin using medical adhesive, and activated remotely.   The initial accusations come from a twitter account claiming to be Carlos Beltran's niece but he does not have a niece; it is speculated it is a cover used by a ML player who wishes to remain anonymous.   The same twitter account did correctly predict Beltran's hiring with the Mets before it was announced and his firing before it was announced.

The key pieces of circumstantial video evidence:

1) After the walkoff HR off Chapman to beat the Yankees and win the AL pennant, as he is coming home Altuve is very clearly making gestures that he does not want his jersey to be torn off when he crosses home plate.   It's unmistakable.   Ken Rosenthal even asks him about it in a post-game interview, why didn't you want your jersey taken off and he said something about being shy and his wife wouldn't like it.   Also, while his teammates are on the field celebrating he dashes into the dugout and down the hall to the clubhouse, then comes back out shortly thereafter wearing an AL championship shirt like the other guys.

2) There's another video in slo mo of a Robinson Chirinos at bat during the season.   He takes a big swing at a slider and something pops out of his jersey and lands on the ground in front of home plate.   You can see a glint of something shiny.   He steps in front of home plate and picks it up and spends a couple seconds jamming it into his back pocket.   He's wearing a batting glove so he doesn't realize at first when he pulls his hand out of his pocket, it's still stuck to his hand.   It's a piece of medical tape with what looks similar to a watch battery stuck in the middle of it.   When he finally realizes this thing is stuck to his hand he successfully puts it in his pocket.

Thanks.   For some reason I had forgotten that the Altuve walk-off was this season.   Probably because they also played the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS, so I got confused.