Houston Astros

New York Yankees: No Astros, Yankee fans have not forgotten, you will be punished

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve

The horrible coronavirus has taken the spotlight away from the Houston Astros and their cheating ways.  But, the New York Yankees and fans have not forgotten.  They will pay, and they will eventually feel the shame.

I remember as a young boy stealing a small bottle of maraschino cherries from my local A&P supermarket.  I sat behind the store with a friend and ate the whole bottle.  Later at home, I got sick and had to admit to what I had done.  My mom marched me back to the store and made me apologize to Mr. Blue, the store manager. I didn’t mind so much as I felt ashamed for my misdeed.  The disappointment in Mr. Blue’s face who I knew and that of my mom was more punishment to me than having to apologize.

The Houston Astros players are not young boys, they should know better.  According to their bringing up, some will remain unrepentant, but some will feel the shame of their deeds as they visit baseball parks all over the country, once the baseball season begins.  They will be most likely treated poorly by the New York Yankees fans when they eventually visit Yankee Stadium.

As most sports fans know, the Astros used electronic equipment at Minute Maid Park to steal their opponents’ pitching signs. Then Astros players would signal their teammates whether the next pitch would be a breaking ball or fastball by banging on trash cans in the dugout and possibly electronic signals beneath their jerseys.

MLB’s Commissioner Rob Manfred, after a lengthy investigation determined that the Astros had cheated during the regular and postseason of 2017.  New York Yankee fans also know that that cheating could have cost them a World Championship.  The Astros in the postseason went on to beat the Yankees in the ALCS and then on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.  You can be sure that the Dodgers feel cheated as well.

The effects of Astros cheating goes far beyond who won those games.  It may have affected every single player that played against them during the 2017 season and beyond.  If outcomes had been different, the stats of players around the country were compromised.   A good Yankee example is that the Houston Astros Jose Altuve won the MVP that year, and Yankee star Aaron Judge came in second. Judge felt cheated when he found out about the scheme.  CC Sabathia was mad as hell that he may have been cheated of wins in his final year of play.

The Astros team was fined, the Astros manager A.J. Hinch was suspended and fired, and the Astros General Manager was also fired.  Arising from the scheme for their involvement, new Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Mets manager Carlos Beltran also lost their jobs.  Are the New York Yankees satisfied?  No, they are not.  They didn’t lose their World Series title, their rings, or their World Series shares.  But most important to the Yankees is that no Astro player was punished.

Since the reveal, the Astros has been more or less repentant, most apologies seemed insincere and half-hearted, even smug.  During the brief spring training this year, the Astros played their first spring training game in Florida;  they were booed when introduced and booed when a video was shown celebrating the Astros’ 2019 American League pennant.  And these boos came from Tiger fans that were hardly affected by the cheating scandal.

The players who seem to be unaffected by the boos will know that fans are, not were, still holding them responsible for their deeds.  The coronavirus may have diverted attention away from them, but they will suffer throughout this season and possibly for seasons to come.  The Astros had their chance to relinquish their title, their rings, and such, but they didn’t, and the New York Yankees and fans are not going to forget.

New York Mets: Offense Finds New Life in 7-4 Against Astros

by
New York Mets, Rick Porcello

Tuesday’s game between the New York Mets and Houston Astros was not typical of the Mets Spring Training. The pitching did not dominate, pitching in and out of trouble throughout the day. Their offense showed up, but it came from mostly players who are trying to make the team.

Rick Porcello scattered nine hits over 4.2 innings and only allowed two runs. He only struck out one, which shows he was not dominant by any means. Porcello had a baserunner on in every innings he pitched but managed to keep the Astros from mustering anything significant off him.

Offensive Revival

Rene Rivera had a big day going 2-for-4 with an RBI as he tries to steal the backup catcher job from Tomas Nido. Robinson Cano added a two-RBI single on the day and has hits in back to back games. The bench crew was led by Matt Winaker’s solo home run to give the Mets the lead in the eighth inning. Jake Hager also added an RBI single in the Mets three-run eighth.

Pedro Payano picked up the six-out save, despite allowing four base runners. The newly acquired reliever has a 3.52 ERA so far. Chasen Shreve struggled again, allowing a solo homer to Drew Ferguson to give up the Mets lead.

On Wednesday, Jacob deGrom makes his second start of the Spring as he takes on the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets will face a familiar foe in Carlos Martinez. The game will be at Port St. Lucie at 1:10 p.m. and is on SNY.

MLB: It’s only Spring Training and things are already rough for the Houston Astros

by

The Houston Astros haven’t even begun regular-season games yet and fans are already ruthless at their games. The main executives and players have apologized for the 2017 season but that isn’t stopping fans from holding back during their Spring Training games.

Jose Altuve has received some of the most boos during his at-bats. Despite what Carlos Correa said in defense of his teammate, Altuve is still heckled a ton during their games – even their home Spring Training games.

I don’t see it getting any easier for the Houston Astros for the rest of the year. Away games are going to be rough for the team and it’s going to be interesting on how they handle everything. It will especially be tough for the team when they go to the Bronx to play the New York Yankees after knocking them out in 2017 and 2019.

There’s already been talks that pitchers in the league are going to be throwing at the Houston batters this season despite what the commissioner said about punishments for pitchers who choose to do that.

Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling was among those who weren’t happy about what the Astros did. He has said he wouldn’t be against the idea of throwing at an Astros batter if an opportunity presented itself. “I would lean towards yes,” Stripling said. “In the right time and the right place.”

Yankee and Dodger fans have been the most vocal about the scandal since they were two teams that were knocked out during the 2017-2019 seasons. Even though the Astros don’t play the Dodgers this season, if the Astros somehow find themself playing the Dodgers in the postseason, it’s gonna be a tough series.

I could see the Astros doing one of two things this season. They are either going to have a terrible season since the pressure is on and every series is gonna be tough, or the team is going to use this to come together and put a good season in place. Regardless of what happens, it’s going to be interesting to watch.

Matz Strong Outing Helps Give the New York Mets a Win

by

All of Steven Matz’s Spring Training starts for the New York Mets will be watched with heavy scrutiny. Matz took the mound for his second start against the Houston Astros and pitched very well. The offense was quiet once again but the pitchers delivered in the seven innings following Matz.

For good reason, Matz sees himself as a starter and its proving why so far. Over two innings of work, he allowed one hit and struck out one. Another promising sign for Matz is the other five outs recorded all came on ground balls. Compared to Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello, Matz has the upper advantage as the calendar turns to March.

Polar Bear in Hibernation

Pete Alonso continued his slow start to Spring Training. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and dropped his average to .067 for the Spring. There is still plenty of time to get himself right but as each day passes the struggles grow more and more concerning.

Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto both mixed in hits and stolen bases in their efforts. The third stolen base came from Dominic Smith as the Mets continue to push their initiative of being more aggressive on the bases.

The minor leaguers got the job done to secure a victory. Will Toffey started the ninth-inning rally with a walk and it was followed by a Jake Hager double to tie the game. Max Moroff traded places with Hager to tie the game and steal the lead from the Astros.

The minor league relievers cost the Mets some games early in the Spring but they were dominant on Saturday. The six pitchers combined to pitch seven innings, allowing five hits, two walks, one run and struck out seven batters. Jordan Humphreys and Adonis Uceta combined for 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth to secure the win and save respectively.

Split Squad Sunday

Jacob deGrom makes his Spring debut at Port St. Lucie against the Washington Nationals. Michael Wacha makes his second start of the Spring against the Miami Marlins in Jupiter.

New York Mets: Syndergaard and Diaz Opposite Spring Debuts

by

Wednesday’s matchup between the New York Mets and Houston Astros came with plenty of headlines. Noah Syndergaard and Edwin Diaz made their first appearances of the Spring, and the villain Astros made their first trip to Clover Park. Syndergaard was dominant, Diaz struggled, and the Astros were booed.

Syndergaard had his good stuff working over his first two innings of work. He only allowed one hit and struck out two batters, both with his revamped slider. The slider looked brand new from 2019 with a more downward tilt and got four swings and misses on it.  Syndergaard’s velocity on his slider was in the 97-98 range as expected, with the four-seamer touching 99.

Diaz Struggles

Anxious was the word that summed up Diaz’s first outing of the Spring. He gave up three runs on two hits while striking out one over his only inning of work. The inning was no different than the ones that defined his horrible 2019. Electric stuff but inconsistent location. All three hits we hit extremely hard, and everything was center cut. The poor outing could be first outing jitters, but nothing was promising, which is an early concern.

Ryan Cordell was a late entrant into the Mets lineup but made a considerable impact, building on his strong Spring. He went 2-for-4 with a homer and a diving catch in Center Field. Cordell is 4-for-11 through his first four games. Despite being a minor league invite to camp, his strong play is giving him an outside chance at a roster spot in the future.

Thursday in Jupiter

The Mets travel to Jupiter on Thursday to take on the Miami Marlins as Rick Porcello makes his second start. He allowed a run on two hits during his first outing of the season against the same Marlins. Miami is the final undefeated team in Spring Training and hopes to make it six in a row to begin the Spring schedule.

 

Former Yankees outfielder, Cameron Maybin, hints that he warned of Astros sign-stealing

by
New York Yankees, Cameron Maybin

When the New York Yankees entered the 2019 ALCS against the Houston Astros, few were aware of their sign-stealing techniques and the illegal activities they were embarking on. However, there was one player on the Yankees that hinted towards their demoralizing ways.

Having signed with the Detroit Tigers this offseason, outfielder Cameron Maybin stated that he had a conversation with his teammates over the Astros’ sign-stealing ways, stating:

“I’m very loyal to who I’m playing for,” he said. “Going into a tough series, you know, these are my brothers. A conversation happened, that I’ll keep between those guys.

“We had a conversation. I’ll keep that conversation between them, but — heads-up.”

The Bombers fell four games to two in the series, and reports have emerged stating that Houston has been cheating throughout the postseason and even in the World Series. As time goes on and players begin to voice their opinion and perspective on the matter, it’s becoming clear that a ton of influential people were aware or suspicious of their actions leading to the unveiling of the truth.

What makes Maybin so credible?

Cameron spent a few weeks with Houston in 2017, when they were at the peak of their scandal.

“I was never really pressured about it,” he said. “I just kind of kept my head down and approached the game how I always approached it.”

Ex-Yankee Pitcher Weighs in on Astros

by

Current New York Yankee players have plenty to be ticked off about, as they were victims of the Astros in 2 separate seasons. But that doesn’t stop former Yankees from feeling equally cheated.

David Robertson Chimes In

In 2017, Robertson was traded back to his original team from the Chicago White Sox, along with Todd Frazier. Robertson was brilliant in his return to the Bronx, giving up 4 runs in 30 games down the stretch for the Yanks. He was as good that October, giving up 2 over 11 innings of relief.

But then came Game 6 of the 2017 ALCS. I’ll let him sum it up, in this excerpt from Mollie Walker of the NY Post:

“I got roughed up in Game 6,” Robertson said. “And I felt like in that game, I threw as well as I’ve ever thrown in my entire life. I had some pitches that got hit that I was a little shocked by and some pitches that didn’t get swung at that I was a little shocked by. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about what we know now. But it all comes together now and, you know, I’m upset about it, that’s for sure.”

Robertson could not retire any of the 4 men he faced that night.

Asked for his thoughts on the mastermind behind the operation, Carlos Beltran, Robertson has this to say about his former teammate:

“I always respected him as a player, especially being a veteran player on our team when I got a chance to play with him in New York,” Robertson said. “I enjoyed the way he played and the way he went about his business. He’s got to live with it.”

David Robertson is currently in year 2 of a 3 year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Reunited with former manager, Joe Girardi, Robertson hopes to come back strong in 2020, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019.

New York Yankees: Former Yankee Killed His Hall of Fame Chances

by
New York Yankees, New York Mets, Carlos Beltran

More reports surfaced this week about former New York Yankee, and mastermind of the Astros sign-stealing scandal, Carlos Beltran. If former Yankee, Roger Clemens, and home run king, Barry Bonds, are being kept out of the Baseball Hall of Fame over their involvement with, and suspected use of steroids, Carlos Beltran secured his permanent exclusion from Cooperstown over new, damning information.

Astros Felt Powerless to Stop Beltran, Who Said He Saw a “Better Way to Steal Signs”

According to a report from the Athletic, when Beltran got to Houston in 2017, he told the team their sign decoding operation was “behind the times”. He was so instrumental in implementing and orchestrating the electronic sign stealing, he would shut down anyone who asked him to stop it. That includes former Yankee teammate (and the Astros 2017 catcher) Brian McCann, or even his manager, AJ Hinch (remember how he supposedly destroyed the monitor on two separate occasions).

Beltran was considered the “godfather of the dugout by his teammates. His will was the law. And now, he’s put his entire baseball future in jeopardy over (supposedly) his desire to win just one championship.

But Where Did He Get the Idea From?

Beltran, allegedly, saw what became the Astros operation “somewhere else”. Many are suspecting that he saw it during his 2.5 years in New York, with the Yankees. But the Yankees were middling at best when Beltran was on the team. Going into the video replay room, something the Yankees admitted to doing but stopped several years before electronic sign-stealing became illegal, is still a far cry from banging a trash can in real time to tip a hitter off. There was still one more pit stop before Beltran became an Astro, and that was the Texas Rangers.

But all this is speculation over whether or not every team in baseball was, in fact, stealing signs the way that the Astros were. It was definitively proven that the Astros set up a camera in center field, someone decided the signs in real-time and relayed that information to the hitter. The Red Sox didn’t use a trash can, they used Apple smartwatches. So… is Beltran a dirty cheater who tried to get the Yankees to implement what the Astros implemented, or is he just a terrible liar (he did tell the NY Post he didn’t know about a center field camera in Houston in November)?

No matter the answer, it’s a terrible stain. Not just on the man’s career, but on the sport, he represented for 20 years so admirably. I think this is the end of Beltran’s career in baseball once and for all, with an unofficial banishment from Cooperstown.

Lugo Says Astros’ Cheating Scam Cost Him a Spot in Mets’ Rotation

by

How deep has the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing endeavor affected Major League Baseball? The rippling effects are endless, it seems. The New York Mets’ 2020 season has already been disrupted as their newly hired manager, Carlos Beltran, was let go after being identified as the ‘Godfather’ of the scheme.

The Met shave replaced Beltran with Luis Rojas, an up-and-coming managerial candidate but not the one they had hoped to compete with this season and beyond.

But there are others who have felt the sting of the cheating scandal. Mets’ reliever Seth Lugo claims that the Astros scam during a game in 2017 cost him a potential role in the Mets’ 2018 starting rotation.

From Newsday’s Tim Healey: 

Lugo’s cameo in this saga came on Sept. 2, 2017, in the second game of a doubleheader in Houston. As the Mets limped to the end of a losing season, Lugo was in the rotation, a de facto audition for 2018 — invaluable reps for a second-year player trying to establish himself in the majors.

 

For five innings, Lugo managed to shut out the Astros, scattering five hits and a walk. Then came the bottom of the sixth: single, walk, single, single. Just like that, one of the best starts of Lugo’s young career was over after 75 pitches.

 

“I remember pitching really good the first half of the game, and then I don’t know why, they knocked me out of the game in one inning,” Lugo said. “I pitched that inning. I was making good pitches. And when you execute a pitch, you shouldn’t give up good hits. Maybe a little bloop or a ground ball up the middle or something. But their whole approach changed.”

 

Hansel Robles entered and allowed both inherited runners to score, including one on a sacrifice fly by J.D. Davis, now with the Mets. Lugo’s final line wasn’t pretty: five innings, eight hits, four runs (all earned), two walks, six strikeouts.

 

The next spring, Lugo was back in contention for a starting role, but the dearth of effective pitchers in the bullpen forced the Mets’ hand and Lugo was banished. He appeared in 54 games in 2018 but started only five. In 2019, Lugo was used strictly as a bullpen option, pitching 80 innings over 61 appearances.

He is no longer in their plans as a starter. Lugo can only watch as the Mets traded for Marcus Stroman last summer and signed Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello this winter to seal the back end of their rotation.

“It doesn’t feel good thinking about the Astros situation, but it’s in the past, honestly,” Lugo said. “If I could’ve finished a shutout against the Astros that game…who knows where I could be?”

True. Just one of the many side stories of this devastating saga that has altered the game of baseball for the foreseeable future and perhaps beyond.

 

Yankees: Baseball Yankee fans finally get an apology from the Astros!

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve

Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP has reported that the Houston Astros, after a postseason of complete silence, have finally addressed the sign-stealing scandal this morning.  In front of the media, Astro owner Jim Crane, new Manager Dusty Baker and players Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman discussed the sign-stealing situation by reading prepared statements.  Team owner Jim Crane spoke first, saying this will never happen again, while he’s in charge.  He blamed the scandal on the front office and leadership.  He further added that the players should not be held responsible for the lack of leadership.

Alex Bregman than spoke, saying:

“I am really sorry about the choices that were made by my team, by the organization, and by me. I have learned from this, and I hope to regain the trust of baseball fans.”

Jose Altuve said he felt remorse:

“I want to say that the whole Astros organization feels bad about what happened in 2017. We especially feel remorse for the impacts on the fans and the game of baseball. Our team is determined to move forward.”

Following Bregman and Altuve’s statements, they immediately returned to the clubhouse without taking any questions from the media.

Crane and Baker did stick around to answer some questions.  Crane, in answering a question, said: “Our opinion is this didn’t impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series, and we’ll leave it at that.” “I truly believe there were no buzzers ever.” He continued that he felt that he should not be accountable for the actions of the team.  He also added that he did not think it was necessary to reach out to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He did not refer to the Yankees.  Altuve and Bregman’s comments were an improvement over their less than apologetic comments made recently at the Houston Astros FanFest.

After Commissioner Manfred released his report on January 15 detailing the scheme, reactions around the league began to seep out slowly.  Now that pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training, many of the pent up feelings of anger are coming to light.  Yankee pitchers CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka have both expressed that they felt cheated.  Sabathia now retired felt he may have missed on his last chance at another WS ring.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and catcher Gary Sanchez expressed doubt that the Astros were totally clean this past year either.  Boone, in his news conference, said when asked about the scheme, he summarily replied that we have moved on and are focused on the 2020 campaign.  There will likely be many more statements coming forth that will express disappointment with the Astros.  With spring training starting, the Astros had to address the situation to ease the backlash they will most certainly feel as the storyline occupies the season.