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WBT

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Posts posted by WBT

  1. 24 minutes ago, Fletch said:

    Yeah I agree. But if we pulled him and brought in Diaz or something and he gives up a couple runs and we end up losing to fucking Boise. Yeah, after last year, that would put a dent in that confidence we seem to be playing with thus far. After last year, we really need to “learn how to win” 

    Unless or until Cobb shows the ability to go deeper, we're also going to put pressure on the bullpen most Sundays.  

  2. 11 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

    I'm not sure whether you really want to converse about why everyone hates the Astros, but I'll weigh in. I think it is a combination of things. 

    1) Lunhow et al. rubbed baseball people the wrong way since they took over in 2012. The degree to which they stripped the entire organization down to the studs to rebuild was seen as "bad for baseball." They became the poster organization for "tanking." 

    2) Lunhow et al. became more unpopular with their nontraditional methods of operations. There was the Brady Aiken thing. They dramatically reduced their scouting dept (essentially replacing traditional scouts with data scientists). Etc. There have been rumblings for years that people didn't trust the organization. 

    3) They got good. They made the playoffs 4 of the last 5 years, including 3 straight 100-win seasons, 2 AL pennants and a WS title. They knocked out some large-market teams along the way. I know your argument is that the team's success is not the reason that everyone hates them, but I'd argue that it is a reason. 

    4) The players can come off as cocky, particularly Bregman and Correa. A lot of people disliked Bregman in particular before any of the sign-stealing stuff came to light. 

    5) The Osuna acquisition rubbed people the wrong way. It confirmed what had been bugging people about Lunhow/Astros for years - that they are cold, data-driven efficiency specialists that lacked baseball morals (whatever those are). 

    6) The Taubman thing - not so much the doucebag himself acting like, well, a douchebag, but the clumsy attempted cover-up. That rubbed people the wrong way. 

    7) And finally the electronic sign-stealing thing itself. 

    I think the level of vitriol over the last 6 weeks is due to a combination of all of these things. I think a lot of baseball writers (looking at you, Buster Olney) have been waiting to stick it to Lunhow/Astros for a while (due to #1, 2, 5, 6 above), and they certainly got their chance. And, boy, they did not miss it. 

    I think only a few clubs would have been lambasted to this extent if they were the ones caught; I don't think everyone would hate the Tigers or the Mariners if it came out that they were stealing signs 3 years ago. So yeah, their success has something to do with it. 

    I get the hate. They broke the rule and got caught. 

    But I also think the reaction has been exaggerated and overblown. I think that is because of the factors listed above as well as the absurd volume of coverage it has gotten. It's been the only story in baseball for 6 weeks, and really nothing new has come out since it first broke. Another opposing player saying he is angry at the Astros just isn't really a story, but the writers will be damned if they won't make it one. It has kept everyone's outrage top of mind. 

    I can understand why fans of other teams hate them. As an Astros fan, I can say I was 100% on board with tanking, confused about the Aiken thing (though it worked out well), not terribly pleased with the Osuna or Taubman stuff, and disappointed in the sign-stealing scheme. Not so disappointed that I'll disown the team (as if anyone would give a shit), but somewhat disappointed. That said, I do think the hate is amplified by the listed factors + the absurd and exaggerated coverage it has received. 

    Good summary.  I especially agree that a lot of traditional baseball media have wanted to get Luhnow for a long time.

  3. 2 minutes ago, Helobious said:

    Don’t see the relevance anyway. The Astros had comically low strikeout rates the past few years because of their cheating. The Yankees had crazy high K rates, that alone should tell you everything.

    No wonder the Rays hired Jeff Sullivan.  He predicted the Astros improved k rate through cheating before it happened.

    https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-astros-have-a-completely-new-look/

  4. 2 minutes ago, txhorns said:

    Then why did they keep doing it?  The idea that it didn't help them is just plain stupid.  Of course it helped.  That's why they started it in the first place.  That's why they kept doing it after the commissioner warned every team about harsher penalties to come.  

    You know the commissioner's report said they stopped before they were caught, right?

  5. 18 minutes ago, Red Five said:

    They brought back a major character from the dead after 35 years and didn’t explain why he wasn’t dead anymore. He was just there.

    And his death ended the redemption arc that tied the first 6 movies together.  No biggie.

  6. 1 hour ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

    Then I guess no team in the history of baseball has paid market value for their wins

    Correct.  In this case, the "market value" for wins is what you have to pay per win that a free agent is projected to be responsible for.  Players in their first 6/7 years that are still under team control get pennies on the dollar of the free agent rate.

  7. Quote

    Some organizations might be aided by their own limitations. The video room at Oakland Coliseum resides a significant distance from the dugout, former Athletics pitcher Brett Anderson mentioned.

    “I know the A’s weren’t cheating,” said Anderson, who signed with Milwaukee this winter. “Because, one, I don’t know if they could afford it. And to relay from fucking 300 yards away in the video room? What were we going to do, get some vendor to throw some popcorn up in the air, or something? It’s too fucking far to relay something.”

    Anderson joked the only way for Oakland to communicate would be through the ballpark’s decaying infrastructure. “The lights go out, it’s a curveball,” Anderson said. “If there’s a sewage backup, it’s a fastball.”

    lulz

    • Haha 1
  8. 9 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

    Players of the 1919 White Sox were banned for life from baseball.

    Why do people keep bringing that up as an example of cheating?

    They cheated fans out of their money I guess.

    • Like 2
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