Astros punished for sign stealing

Hinch and Luhnow both suspended for the year and the team has multiple draft pics taken from them That is about as bad as it could get outside a lifetime ban.

 

They deserve more and so does alex cora.

 

they lost 1st and 2nd round draft choices for two years. If they dont have a draft choice then it extends even further into the future when they do have those draft choices. Heavy, Heavy penalty. Who manages them this year? Does Hinch or Luhnow get fired?

 

Damn that’s harsh.

 

small price to pay for a championship. Organizations that lack integrity and decency like the astros would lineup around the block for a championship if all it meant was a couple of draft picks, 5 million bucks and the GM and Manager getting suspended.

 

Hinch and luhnow were just fired.

 

MLB is also looking into Alex Cora and a similar type suspension is expected.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was implicated in the schemes, was not disciplined but is expected to receive a similarly harsh penalty upon the completion of an investigation into illicit use of a video replay room by the 2018 Red Sox. Cora was the Astros' bench coach during the 2017 season.

 

Wasn’t Beltran part of this? I know the players were let off the hook but I thought Carlos was the ringleader.

 

He was a player at the time, so no punishment.

 

I get that but I heard it was his idea and set it all up. He got lucky

 

Yeah. I’m really not surprised

 

I wonder if his selection as manager would have changed if this was known before. KNowing the Mets probably not. They like to take on damaged goods and think they are getting a deal.

 

It was known before

 

as someone else said. His punishment is having to manage the Mets. That is pretty harsh too.

 

I’m a huge Astros fan. This is very disappointing of course.

If MLB does a thorough investigation, I wonder if or how many more organizations will also be found out?

If they strip the Stros WS title, I’m keeping my WS cap and tee shirt.

 

I don't know what is a fair penalty, but it's obvious Astros fans have one point of view, while fans of every team feel differently.

Can't say I wouldn't trade a WS for an extended period of mediocrity. And it's not like the team is gonna crash in 2020 and 2021 when those picks are taken. The immediate results will probably be the team struggles several years in the future since they lost those picks, but by then, if it gets bad, they'll have their picks back.

It's not like the NFL where first round picks are needed to make an immediate impact.

 

MLB certainly should do a league-wide investigation, but they won't. They know that if they do, they would find that a lot of teams engage in cheating in some form/fashion, and they don't want to tarnish the integrity of the entire league. I read an article this morning (can't remember where, so I can't post the link) where a former player said that he had first hand, personal knowledge of five teams, including Yanks and Dodgers, that use technology to cheat. If one former player has first hand knowledge of five teams cheating, one would have to think that a thorough league-wide investigation would reveal a really ugly picture. Manfred wants no part of that, so a league-wide investigation is out of the picture.

 

Explain why stealing signs is verboten?

 

Stealing signs in and of itself isn't illegal if players don't use artificial means (technology) to steal and/or relay them. If a runner is on second and figures out (on his own, with no artificial help) the signs being used by the opposing catcher, he can relay them to the batter and it's perfectly legal. Same if a pitcher is tipping his pitches.
When teams use artificial means for stealing and/or relaying signs, that crosses the line, according to MLB rules.