2020 astros offseason

[Mack Tripper 696]

Nolan Ryan beef and his concession stands suck. 

[Beau Vine 53987]

2 hours ago, huge said:

Crane's son has EXTENSIVE business experience.

His credentials are impeccable.

 

Hell, he even went to Cal Lutheran!

[Viper 12025]

2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Can Jared be any worse than Postolos. This is much ado about nothing. Crane deserves the benefit of the doubt. The baseball side of things remains unchanged.

What?

 

 

 

 

 

[RPM 26215]

3 hours ago, kevwun said:

Nolan's main role was sitting behind home plate at home games.  This will not effect anything on the field. 

Said the 2014 Texas Rangers...

[Stella Link 534]

1 hour ago, Zwylde said:

And how can the Club's flagship radio station not have a strong enough signal to reach Katy at any point after the sun goes down.  If I ever ran into Reid at the games that was going to be the first question out of my mouth to him.  There may have been a good answer but I sure can't think of it if there is.

 

 

 

 

I don't think Houston has any AM radio station that reaches Katy or the burbs.  With the buildings and other interference, it's one of the worst radio markets.

[Stella Link 534]

1 hour ago, Zwylde said:

And how can the Club's flagship radio station not have a strong enough signal to reach Katy at any point after the sun goes down.  If I ever ran into Reid at the games that was going to be the first question out of my mouth to him.  There may have been a good answer but I sure can't think of it if there is.

 

 

 

 

I don't think Houston has any AM radio station that reaches Katy or the burbs.  With the buildings and other interference, it's one of the worst radio markets.

[Stella Link 534]

1 hour ago, Zwylde said:

And how can the Club's flagship radio station not have a strong enough signal to reach Katy at any point after the sun goes down.  If I ever ran into Reid at the games that was going to be the first question out of my mouth to him.  There may have been a good answer but I sure can't think of it if there is.

 

 

 

 

I don't think Houston has any AM radio station that reaches Katy or the burbs.  With the buildings and other interference, it's one of the worst radio markets.

[Stella Link 534]

Sorry for the duplicates.  Didn't think the first one posted....

[Lat22 3994]

I’ve never liked Crane.

[HtownHorn 14468]

20 minutes ago, RPM said:

Said the 2014 Texas Rangers...

They are lead by a moron. Who did nothing before or after Nolan.

[Cooder 37]

Tyler White for MVP 2020

[LCHorn 2585]

Seems to me, Tyler, like maybe you should have made your fatass go to the doctor on own considering it’s your livelihood.  

[DaysOff 7851]

So he was able to manage the grind of mostly riding pine for 162 games whilst hypothyroid? Bullshit.

[Victor Lazlo 1758]

1 hour ago, Cooder said:

Tyler White for MVP 2020

[tx 3 putt 76315]

Good for him, hope he was a good 2020 

[tx 3 putt 76315]

12 hours ago, Mack Tripper said:

Nolan Ryan beef and his concession stands suck. 

Nolan Ryan hot dogs are very good 

[GHOSTUSER 361]

3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Nolan Ryan hot dogs are very good 

Agreed. They are not Nathan's or Hebrew National good but they are good hot dogs. Much better than the crap they serve at NRG. The pro move in getting the best hot dog at MMP is to go to Shake Shack and get one of their dogs. Nice, lightly toasted bun with a hot dog that has a little bit of a snap when you bite into it split in half and grilled on every side on the flat top. Grilled hot dogs are so much better than boiled ones. It's more expensive but much tastier. 

Edited November 8, 2019 by Iconoclast Texan

[tx ind 6997]

There’s gotta be more to the Reid Ryan departure, right?  Maybe he was the one that signed off on the response about the reporter?

[kevwun 15624]

I don't think he would have had anything to do with that. 

[pepper brooks 579]

Not sure why people are acting as though either Ryan had anything to do with the one the field product.  Reid was brought in to fix the tv contract pistolis botched and got fired over.  He did that.  Nolan basically did nothing other than sit smugly behind home plate and generally be an a$$hole to adoring fans in the diamond club.  

[Fozzz 152]

Oz Ocampo's departure is much more meaningful to the organization than any of this nonsense.  

[tx 3 putt 76315]

5 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

Oz Ocampo's departure is much more meaningful to the organization than any of this nonsense.  

This is the one that gets me, he just straight up resigned 

[kevwun 15624]

He might have been bff's with Taubman and got mad when he was fired.

[Fozzz 152]

lol i doubt it.  People within the org know what Osuna did and you have to be a sociopath to do what Taubman did in view of that information.

[cabowabo 4451]

There’s gotta be more to the Reid Ryan departure, right?  Maybe he was the one that signed off on the response about the reporter?

I'm thinking this. And if he did sign off on it, then he deserves to be demoted .....err....reassigned. If Nolan doesn't like it, he can go back to the fucking Rangers.

[Pimphand 5594]

Fuck this shit....

[TonyTexas 10481]

She must be knocked up. No way she’d settle for a civil ceremony otherwise.

 

[HtownHorn 14468]

22 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

She must be knocked up. No way she’d settle for a civil ceremony otherwise.

 

It appears the big wedding will be in the DR. Not sure why they got married in a Civil ceremony in Texas, 1st. Other than half his earnings moving forward are hers as Texas is a community property state.

[tx 3 putt 76315]

her mom's face says is it all

[NeverMarryAStripper 21781]

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

She must be knocked up. No way she’d settle for a civil ceremony otherwise.

 

I'm pretty sure the civil ceremony got here exactly what she was looking for

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

No big surprise but still nice to see it was unanimous. 

[tx 3 putt 76315]

Job well done Yordan !!!!

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

 

[WBT 20415]

Well done Yordan.  Our last first ROY was also unanimous right?

Edited November 12, 2019 by WBT

[clapclapclap 9000]

So if we had kept Charlie Morton we might have had all 3 AL CY finalists.  

[clapclapclap 9000]

On 11/8/2019 at 10:27 AM, tx ind said:

There’s gotta be more to the Reid Ryan departure, right?  Maybe he was the one that signed off on the response about the reporter?

The owner brings in his son to run things and a few days later we're moving the Round Rock Express to the Ukraine.  Need to get to the bottom of this.

[Rimbo 25773]

ha!

[henrygandorf 29174]

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Mets are interested in bringing Zack Wheeler back on a multi-year contract.

They are going to face stiff competition, though, as Wheeler might get the biggest contract of any starter this offseason beyond Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. Heyman says that the Astros met with Wheeler's agents Monday and Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported previously that the Angels, Padres, and White Sox are among the clubs showing early interest in the right-hander.

[henrygandorf 29174]

gibson checks a lot of my boxes.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Kyle Gibson is "getting buzz," with 10 teams already showing interest.

Gibson had an up-and-down 2019 season, but he struck out a batter per inning and Heyman believes the right-hander's inconsistency can be at least partly blamed on ulcerative colitis (which he says is under control now). Having turned 32 last month, Gibson could still probably net a two-year deal this winter.

[Mack Tripper 696]

Bowden talked to all 30 teams for their priorities going into winter meetings and off season.

The Astros are expected to pursue Gerrit Cole and, if they can’t land him, will make a run at Stephen Strasburg as well. They will be getting Lance McCullers Jr. back from Tommy John surgery and are excited about rookies José Urquidy (after his great performance in Game 4 of the World Series) and Forrest Whitley, who pitched much better in the Arizona Fall League. Bullpen quality and depth is a need as both Joe Smith and Will Harris are free agents. Trying to extend George Springer is also an important need for the team.

[Mack Tripper 696]

And I doubt we go after Cole or SS.

[DallasGatr 216]

And I doubt we go after Cole or SS.

Probably not, but damn if we are not in their heads.

[WBT 20415]

7 hours ago, Mack Tripper said:

And I doubt we go after Cole or SS.

It's like these people aren't paying attention to Luhnow's M.O.  We're not going to give a pitcher a 6-8 year deal.  If we acquire an ace it's going to be by trade for a guy with 1-3 years of control left.  That way there's less risk that injury or ineffectiveness leaves us with a boat anchor contract.

[Fozzz 152]

I think Wheeler is going to be too expensive.  I hope the market is still a little weary about Gibson because, as I've said before, I think he would be a great signing this winter.

[pepper brooks 579]

16 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I'm pretty sure the civil ceremony got here exactly what she was looking for

of that you can be 100 certain.  Had to get this shit locked down before arb 3.  Sad for him he cannot see what is going on here, but nobody will ever confuse him with being smart or self aware in any way.  He is a super nice dude though.  Kinda sad for him to get played like this.  

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

FG reviews the Astros bullpen going into the offseason...

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/keeping-the-astros-bullpen-on-the-right-track/

Spoiler

The Houston Astros, who made it to the World Series thanks at least in part to a bullpen that led the majors in xFIP (4.06) and placed second in ERA (3.75) during the regular season (the unit’s 11th place-FIP was still good, if a bit more pedestrian), saw four of its relief arms enter free agency last month: Will Harris, Collin McHugh (who threw innings as both a starter and reliever this season), Joe Smith, and Héctor Rondón. Here’s how those four stacked up in 2019:

Astros Free Agent Relievers in 2019

	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Will Harris	60.0	27.1%	6.1%	1.50	3.15
Collin McHugh	33.2	28.2%	11.3%	2.67	3.42
Héctor Rondón	60.2	18.7%	7.8%	3.71	4.96
Joe Smith	25.0	22.9%	5.2%	1.80	3.09

McHugh’s figures are those in his relief appearances only.

Between them, the Astros’ four free agent relievers threw a little more than 32% of Houston’s 555 relief innings in 2019, and about 35% of their right-handed innings (505). That’s because Houston got an astonishingly small number of relief innings out of lefties in 2019: 49 and a third — the fifth-lowest such total in a decade — 35 of which came from Framber Valdez, who pitched only three times after September 1.

 

That imbalanced composition made Houston’s 2019 ‘pen unusually reliant on right-handers with a demonstrated history of getting left-handed hitters out. Lefties still aren’t close to the majority of all batters faced league-wide, of course, but they are 40% of the total, and so it behooves teams to have a plan for when they step into the box. The Astros did: Five Houston relievers — Ryan Pressly, Roberto Osuna, Cy Sneed, McHugh, and Harris — were better at retiring lefties than righties in 2019, when the league’s average tendency for relievers was the opposite:

Astros RH RP wOBA Splits, 2019

Name	LHH Faced	wOBA vs LHH	RHH Faced	wOBA vs RHH	Ratio
Ryan Pressly	103	.159	108	.305	.522
Collin McHugh	66	.221	76	.330	.670
Roberto Osuna	131	.207	121	.270	.769
Will Harris	125	.212	104	.263	.806
Cy Sneed	44	.328	49	.389	.844
League Avg	24791	.321	33981	.314	1.022
Josh James	130	.312	133	.303	1.032
Héctor Rondón	104	.314	144	.292	1.076
Chris Devenski	151	.343	136	.303	1.132
Joe Biagini	30	.529	39	.403	1.315
Joe Smith	39	.322	57	.192	1.675

Includes only right-handed relievers who faced at least 20 lefties in relief as an Astro in 2019.

The Astros’ top offseason priority should probably be their starting rotation, with Gerrit Cole seemingly extremely likely to depart (though Jim Crane is making noises about taking a run at him). They’ll also need to replace Robinson Chirinos and Martín Maldonado at catcher, where Yasmani Grandal may make sense. But the chart above suggests that retaining Harris and McHugh, at least, should be a priority for Houston as well. Letting Rondón and Smith walk will leave about 85 innings and Smith’s strong performance to replace, of course, but this year’s relatively strong relief market (10 relievers are projected for at least half a win, including Harris and McHugh) means there’s ample opportunity to do so if Houston is willing to spend a little money.

It’s not clear that the Astros will in fact spend — our RosterResource payroll page for Houston estimates the Astros 2020 payroll at $221 million with their luxury tax payroll estimate higher, and both are in excess of the initial $208 million luxury tax threshold. But if they do choose to spend, and in particular spend on their bullpen, they’ll have a number of intriguing options to choose between. Chris Martin, lately of the Braves, has the height the Astros like in their pitchers (he’s 6-foot-8), was significantly better against lefties than righties last year (allowing a .239 wOBA against them, versus .318 to righties), and has above-average spin on his fastball. Sounds like a Houston reliever to me. Robbie Erlin, Jake Diekman, and Will Smith could also be intriguing for different reasons (fastball spin rate, lefty splits, and overall competence respectively), but if I were Houston I’d feel pretty satisfied with an offseason that included signing Martin and retaining Harris and McHugh.

Despite getting beaten on a good pitch in the World Series, Harris will likely command a hefty premium this offseason as a number of contending teams seek bullpen help and take note of his sterling performance for the Astros over the last half-decade. The median crowd estimate you gave for his services was two years at $7 million a year — Kiley predicted two years at $10 million a year, which I think is somewhat more likely — but at either price, I think the Astros would be silly to let him walk, particularly given Rondón, Smith, and McHugh’s concurrent free agencies.

 

Like Aroldis Chapman, who just extended his time with the Yankees, Harris is well into his 30s and lost a mile per hour or so on his fastball and curveball in 2019. Those factors will probably keep the offers mostly to two years, as you projected, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the winning team ends up being the one that guarantees a third year. If that is the case, his new team should take comfort in the fact that Harris, like Chapman, adjusted to his declining velocity this season by increasing the rate at which he threw his breaking ball (in Harris’ case, that curve), and found success throwing that pitch out of the zone for strike three, or to steal a strike on the second pitch of a sequence, as we can see in this chart from Baseball Savant (cutters are in brown, curves in blue):

Bullpens aren’t everything, of course, but they’re of outsized importance in the postseason, where the Astros’ poor relief performances played a major part in their loss to the Nationals. As Houston stares down the decisions in front of them this offseason — the pursuit of Cole probably foremost among them — they’d do well to set a little bit of money aside for two of the players who helped carry them as far as they got last year, and perhaps a little bit more for one or two who can help them do more of what they did so well in 2019.

 

[WBT 20415]

16 hours ago, WBT said:

Well done Yordan.  Our last first ROY was also unanimous right?

So I went back and looked and Bagwell actually got all but 1 first place vote.  The immortal Orlando Merced got the other one.

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

The Astros Stole Signs Electronically in 2017 - Part of a Much Broader Issue in Major League Baseball

By Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich

 

There is a broad story about this era of baseball that has yet to be told.

To this point, the public’s understanding of sign stealing mostly rests on anonymous second-hand conjecture and finger-pointing. But inside the game, there is a belief which is treated by players and staff as fact: That illegal sign stealing, particularly through advanced technology, is everywhere.

“It’s an issue that permeates through the whole league,” one major league manager said. “The league has done a very poor job of policing or discouraging it.”

Electronic sign stealing is not a single-team issue. Major League Baseball rules prohibit clubs from using electronic equipment to steal catchers’ signs and convey information. Still, the commissioner’s office hears complaints about many different organizations — everything from mysterious people in white shirts sending signals from center field to elaborate systems involving television cameras and tablets. But MLB has not punished any club, at least publicly, for violating sign-stealing rules since 2017, when the Red Sox were disciplined.

There was more going on that year.

Four people who were with the Astros in 2017, including pitcher Mike Fiers, said that during that season, the Astros stole signs during home games in real time with the aid of a camera positioned in the outfield.

Now, an MLB investigation into the Astros’ culture in the wake of the team’s firing of assistant general manager Brandon Taubman could be expanded to determine who in the organization was aware of the sign-stealing practice — and whether it continued or evolved in subsequent seasons. The Athletic’s confirmation of rule-breaking by Houston is limited to 2017.

“Beginning in the 2017 season, numerous Clubs expressed general concerns that other Clubs were stealing their signs,” MLB said in a statement. “As a result of those concerns, and after receiving extensive input from the General Managers, we issued a revised policy on sign stealing prior to the 2019 season. We also put in place detailed protocols and procedures to provide comfort to Clubs that other Clubs were not using video during the game to decode and steal signs. After we review this new information we will determine any necessary next steps.”

The Astros declined to comment at this time.

---

Early in the 2017 season, at least two uniformed Astros got together to start the process. One was a hitter who was struggling at the plate and had benefited from sign stealing with a previous team, according to club sources; another was a coach who wanted to help. They were said to strongly believe that some opposing teams were already up to no good.

They wanted to devise their own system in Houston. And they did.

“That’s not playing the game the right way,” said Fiers, who was with the team from 2015-17 and was non-tendered in the offseason after the Astros won the 2017 World Series. “They were advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win.”

Three other sources who were inside the organization in 2017 and had direct knowledge of the scheme discussed its existence on the condition of anonymity.

The Astros’ set-up required technical video knowledge and required the direct aid of at least some on the baseball operations staff, team sources said.

In an expected interview with Taubman, whom the Astros fired on Oct. 24, during the World Series, for inappropriate comments and conduct toward three female reporters, MLB likely will attempt to learn as much as it can about the Astros’ operation. The league also is expected to interview current and former Astros players and employees, according to sources.

MLB has heard of this specific system before, but to this point the league has not gathered sufficient evidence to prove the Astros committed wrongdoing, sources said.

One challenge MLB will face if it expands its investigation to include the Astros’ alleged sign-stealing: Determining what is perception and what is reality with the franchise, which is viewed with mistrust by many in the sport.

Paranoia within baseball, particularly regarding the Astros, runs deep. In 2019, even after a full season of new, more rigid rules baseball enacted to clamp down on sign stealing, the Nationals during the World Series employed a sophisticated set of signs against the Astros that they did not use in previous rounds of the postseason. During the American League Championship Series, the Yankees believed the Astros were whistling from the dugout to communicate pitches. But the league found no wrongdoing, a source said, and other rumors attached to the Astros may not be grounded in reality.

The Astros of this decade, under owner Jim Crane and general manager Jeff Luhnow, are a polarizing operation. In part, that is due to their success. But it’s also because of how the industry views their modus operandi. The result may be that industry people are simply more willing to discuss Houston than they would be other clubs.

“People respect what they’ve accomplished,” one rival general manager said. “They don’t respect the culture they’ve created or some of the methods they choose to utilize to become what they’ve become.”

The Astros’ set-up in 2017 was not overly complicated. A feed from a camera in center field, fixed on the opposing catcher’s signs, was hooked up to a television monitor that was placed on a wall steps from the team’s home dugout at Minute Maid Park, in the tunnel that runs between the dugout and the clubhouse. Team employees and players would watch the screen during the game and try to decode signs — sitting opposite the screen on massage tables in a wide hallway.

The area between the clubhouse and dugout at Minute Maid Park where the Astros placed a screen in 2017.

When the onlookers believed they had decoded the signs, the expected pitch would be communicated via a loud noise — specifically, banging on a trash can, which sat in the tunnel. Normally, the bangs would mean a breaking ball or off-speed pitch was coming.

Fiers, who confirmed the set-up, acknowledged he already has a strained relationship with the Astros because he relayed to his subsequent teams, the Tigers and A’s, what the Astros were doing.

“I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they’re going in there not knowing,” Fiers said. “Young guys getting hit around in the first couple of innings starting a game, and then they get sent down. It’s (B.S.) on that end. It’s ruining jobs for younger guys. The guys who know are more prepared. But most people don’t. That’s why I told my team. We had a lot of young guys with Detroit (in 2018) trying to make a name and establish themselves. I wanted to help them out and say, ‘Hey, this stuff really does go on. Just be prepared.’”

And be on guard.

‘I told the teams I was on, I didn’t know how far the rules went with MLB, but I knew they (the Astros) were up to date, if not beyond,” said Fiers, who became a free agent on Dec. 1, 2017. “I had to let my team know so that we were prepared when we went to go play them at Minute Maid.”

Two sources said the Astros’ use of the system extended into the 2017 playoffs. Another source adamantly denied that, saying the system ended before the postseason.

One Astros source said he had a vivid memory of hearing the garbage can sound right before an Astros home run during the postseason. Yet, he also believed that during the World Series, it was probably too loud inside the park for the Astros’ system to be effective. There was, after all, a basic requirement for the system to function: The batter had to be able to hear it.

The Astros did not use the same system in away games, sources said. The Astros won the World Series over the Dodgers in seven games, and the finale was a road game.

---

If the system was halted prior to the postseason, it was not stopped long before it, based upon an incident recalled by both an opposing pitcher and an Astros source.

Pitching for the White Sox in 2017, Danny Farquhar made two mid-September appearances at Minute Maid Park, just before the playoffs. One Astros source recalled that Farquhar appeared to visibly notice what the Astros were up to.

Farquhar, the source remembered, pointed to his ear on the mound.

“There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down,” said Farquhar, who is now the pitching coach with the White Sox’s High-A affiliate in Winston-Salem, N.C. “After the third one, I stepped off. I was throwing some really good changeups and they were getting fouled off. After the third bang, I stepped off.”

Farquhar said he and his catcher changed the signs to the more complex kind used when a runner is on second base — a situation where base runners have long been able to legally relay signs, using their own eyes.

“The banging stopped,” Farquhar said. “My assumption was they were picking it up from the video and relaying the signs to the dugout. … That was my theory on the whole thing. It made me very upset. I was so angry, so mad, that the media didn’t come to me after.”

The impact of the Astros’ sign-stealing is difficult to assess. Not every player used it in Houston.

“There were guys who didn’t like it,” Fiers said. “There are guys who don’t like to know (what’s coming) and guys who do.”

Players who did use it would not necessarily use it all the time, either.

Yet, the Astros would probably not have employed the system if at least some players didn’t perceive it as an advantage — or at least a leveling of the playing field.

Sources recalled the system being discussed around the team. One day in the cafeteria, a player lamented the fact that the screen had not been set up on time. Another time, a player said they were looking forward to going back to Minute Maid Park and the benefit of the trash can.

At least once, some on the Astros were worried enough that they would be discovered that, in the middle of a game, someone in the dugout ordered the screen hauled out of the tunnel and hidden.

---

For a long time, high-ranking executives with other teams have voiced their concerns about the Astros, in particular, as well as other teams, both to Major League Baseball and to reporters.

Some with Houston believed the effort to steal signs was, essentially, an act of self-defense. One Astros person called the electronic sign-stealing behavior in the sport “pervasive,” and was surprised that more information had not come out sooner. That person suggested any potential accusers might also have dirty hands of their own, making them less likely to talk. If MLB looks more thoroughly into the Astros’ actions, their employees may be forced to decide whether to tell the league about what they believed other teams were doing.

“I don’t know if we really had any hard proof, but I’m sure there was (some evidence of other teams’ conduct),” Fiers said. “Going into the playoffs, we had veterans like Brian McCann — we went straight to multiple signs (with our pitchers). We weren’t going to mess around. We were sure there were teams out there that were trying certain things to get an edge and win ballgames. I wouldn’t say there was hard evidence. But it’s hard to catch teams at home. There are so many things you can use to win at home.”

Taubman, meanwhile, has been connected to the topic before.

Before he was fired, Taubman confronted a Yankees employee at Yankee Stadium in May of 2018, believing the Yankees were flouting the rules. During the 2018 playoffs, the Indians and Red Sox separately discovered a person connected to the Astros named Kyle McLaughlin taking pictures near the dugout. (McLaughlin was also with Taubman at Yankee Stadium in May.)

MLB publicly accepted the Astros’ position that McLaughlin was on a defensive mission that October, trying to guard against other teams’ efforts. That month, Jeff Passan reported the first accounts of Astros players using a garbage can suspiciously.

The 2018 playoffs were the first postseason in which MLB had dedicated measures in place to prevent electronic sign stealing. The league then distributed new rules to all teams in the spring of 2019, outlining them in a six-page document and accompanying FAQ.

Among those rules: No camera installed beyond the outfield fence and between the foul poles may capture an image of the catcher’s signs. Any camera in that area needs advance approval from the commissioner’s office. The league has also set rules about the placement and use of monitors and TVs, mandating that virtually every screen be on an eight-second delay. In addition, MLB placed league employees at the park to attempt to monitor what teams are doing.

However, the Astros’ actions in 2017 were a violation of the rules even as written then: “Major League Baseball Regulations … prohibit the use of electronic equipment during games and state that no such equipment ‘may be used for the purpose of stealing signs or conveying information designed to give a Club an advantage,'” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a 2017 statement.

That season, when MLB investigated the Red Sox for their use of electronic equipment against the Yankees, part of what MLB said it sought to learn was the extent of the Boston front office’s involvement, a sign of what may be to come now. It was the first point listed among the league’s explanations for the punishment.

“First, the violation in question occurred without the knowledge of ownership or front office personnel,” Manfred said at the time.

---

The sport’s history is laced with sign stealing and various forms of cheating. The sport’s present, too. What separates this era from the past is the use of electronics, the arms race.

One Astros source was adamant: The team should not become the poster child for sign stealing. Not when so much is going on with other clubs that MLB has not stopped, they said.

Are the Astros more often a topic because they are disliked by some people around the league, and indeed, by some who walked through their own doors and clubhouse? Or is it because they are, in fact, at the forefront of the problem?

At this point, the commissioner’s office may need to sort it out. All of it.

(Top photo of Minute Maid Park in 2017: Cooper Neill/MLB via Getty Images)

[Chuckie Finster 22598]

Sure seem to be a lot of "baseball has an issue, here's why the Astros are the face of that issue" articles in recent memory.

What they are saying is not good.  But to highlight how the Astros gave themselves a home field advantage in 2017, it seems important to note that we actually had a better road record that year, and clinched two of our three playoff series on the road.

Edited November 12, 2019 by Chuckie Finster

[Mack Tripper 696]

Well that’s gonna leave a mark.