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2017 Playoffs - Astros electronic sign stealing - Now Astros fire Luhnow and Hinch

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2020/02/10/the-secret-scandal/
THE SECRET SCANDAL.
Totally Tigers

In case you?ve been unable to keep up with the latest breaking news, here is a brief summary of the latest evidence uncovered by that non-baseball medium, the Wall Street Journal.

Jeff Luhnow, Houston?s GM, was presented with a sophisticated cheating program called Codebreaker in 2016 by an employee ? a full year earlier than reported. The strategy was used both at home and away. Evidence is showing that it was used for at least 3 full years, not just one.

Luhnow, as GM and Head of Baseball Operations, was involved in signing off on the budgeting for the program (an actual budget line listing it as ?Dark Arts?) and he was often in touch with those implementing it. There are also emails from employees discussing the program with him.

The development, existence and funding of the program proves that the Astros Front Office was the original source of the sign-stealing plan. Not the players.

The two men who invented, implemented and refined the program are still Astros employees. Both were promoted into new positions. One of them actually used his work developing Codebreaker as his argument for getting a raise.

Jeff Luhnow received a letter from Rob Manfred on January 2nd that showed the Commissioner believed that the Front Office was guilty. He said ?there is more than sufficient evidence to support a conclusion that you knew?and overwhelming evidence that you should have known?that the Astros maintained a sign-stealing program that violated MLB?s rules,? ?I intend to hold you accountable for the egregious rules violations that took place under your supervision. ?

But on January 13th, Manfred?s public statement said ?The Astros? methods in 2017 and 2018 to decode and communicate to the batter an opposing Club?s signs were not initiatives that were planned or directed by the Club?s top baseball operations officials. Rather, the 2017 scheme in which players banged on a trash can was, with the exception of Cora, player-driven and player-executed.?

Huh?

Rather convenient that MLB put the blame on the players but gave them immunity while also proclaiming that the truly guilty were not involved.

Very little blood was spilled. Almost every single Astro spared.

Neat and quick.

Why would Manfred write that he knew Houston?s Front Office was complicit and then publicly say it wasn?t?

Is it because a number of Front Office personnel ended up leaving Houston for promotions with other teams? Did the scandal need to be contained?

Could it be that the owners put pressure on him to put this travesty to bed asap?

Or was it because MLB, historically sweeps problems like gambling, PEDs and opioid addiction under the rug as quickly as possible? Is their m.o. to scapegoat a few, declare a resolution and then move on quickly?

Was their intent to investigate as little as possible and reveal as little as possible? Manfred?s report completely omits mention of ?Codebreaker? and that it was being used back in 2016. Just two of his many public omissions.

It wouldn?t be the first time.

Let?s remember that Mike Fiers went to MLB twice with evidence of cheating and nothing was ever done.

But at least a lot of our questions have been answered. Such as how could an organization that was prized for its control of information and data, plus their attention to details, be totally unaware of the cheating being practiced?

How could A. J. Hinch not have put his foot down and told his players to stop? He was the manager after all.

Probably because the program was developed, approved and driven from above. In all probability, he became the sacrificial lamb who was caught squarely in the middle.

So what we have here, according to Commissioner Rob Manfred, is merely a lack of leadership by 2 people. Nothing more. Both suspended for a year. Slaps on the wrist.

MLB has deliberately shielded everyone, except for Luhnow (primarily), from punishment.

A highly-intelligent man, a top lawyer and holding baseball?s highest position who comes to the conclusion ? at least publicly ? that players took over the organization and planned the heist. And we all know that athletes are highly-trained individuals in statistics, computer programming and the latest in high-tech advancements. Not to mention their capability of developing sophisticated wearable technology.

Manfred also wants us to believe that this same small group of individuals managed to keep everything secret and plan a strategy that involved nothing more than a tv monitor and trash can.

Not to mention the Commissioner?s statement that implied these players were so smart, and so crafty, that there was not a single shred of evidence that MLB could use so they were ?forced? to offer every player immunity.

What we now have is 4 years of carnage that has impacted a number of clubs, the reputation of the game and fan faith.

And only 2 people were punished out of the hundreds involved. Potentially one of them ? the manager ? had no choice and no power to stop it.

We?ve officially entered the Twilight Zone, folks.

That, or the Commissioner believes that fans are absolute idiots.

This cheating debacle is now being touted as baseball?s worst scandal in history. And it?s going to continue to grow. This week alone brought a confession by former Astros pitcher, Charlie Morton, that everyone on the team knew what was going on.

It also brought the first lawsuit, brought by a promising young pitcher who was shelled by the Astros and ended up losing his career. There will be others.

It is a cover up of epic proportions by MLB to try to pave over the nasty bits. In part, because they ignored the warning signs over the years and reports filed by other teams over the past 3+ years.

Ironically, it is a lack of action that is only bringing increased attention to the problem.

Baseball has suffered major damage to its brand. A brand that has consistently been losing fans over the past 6 years.

Not the brightest of moves by baseball?s governing powers.

And if you think this off-season has been a soap opera, just wait until the season gets underway.

The biggest question to ask is why Rob Manfred continues to bury the real problem, which is only continuing to snowball with each new day.

For the record, MLB has been officially silent and not responding at all to the investigation done by the Wall Street Journal.

Just don?t expect Manfred to leave baseball because he?s making money hand over fist for the owners. And it?s a question we will leave for another blog in the near future ? not today.
 
Might be me or maybe it doesn't matter but I don't see Verlander the same anymore. He was always a big proponent of no steroids, no cheating etc.. But now he's a big fat cheat.
 
Mitchrapp said:
Might be me or maybe it doesn't matter but I don't see Verlander the same anymore. He was always a big proponent of no steroids, no cheating etc.. But now he's a big fat cheat.
Click to expand...

I agree Mitchrapp .. JV had to have known .. and thus, his 'tune' apparently changed along with his integrity.

Baseball will survive this. The game will go on. Fans of winning teams will continue to support their teams in a myriad of ways.

Personally, ..Houston's sign-stealing schemes are now old news. Anything 'new' they dredge up is only the after-effect of what the original revelations revealed and that every serious baseball fan already knew last month.


I am sick and tired of it all. Let's get the spring training games into gear ..and then the regular season. I am anxious to see what the Tigers actually bring to the table this year. It will either be more of the same ..or better than any of us had reason to expect. Hope for the latter!
 
kalinecountry said:
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/memories-fade/
MEMORIES FADE.
Totally Tigers
Click to expand...

Cheat: act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination

Pete Rose didn't cheat. He bet on baseball which was a violation of one of baseballs rules, not cheating.

Also, just because Kurt loves Derick Jeter doesn't mean others don't have the right to feel he is overrated. HOF player, sure. But the outrage that he was left off of one ballot??
 
tomdalton22 said:
Cheat: act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination

Pete Rose didn't cheat. He bet on baseball which was a violation of one of baseballs rules, not cheating.

Also, just because Kurt loves Derick Jeter doesn't mean others don't have the right to feel he is overrated. HOF player, sure. But the outrage that he was left off of one ballot??
Click to expand...

Kurt is typically the more reasonable writer on that blog ..but even he will occasionally write as if his view is the the absolute best possible view above all other views.

I agree with you about Pete Rose ..his 'gambling' was not actually 'cheating'. However, Pete knew the risks associated with gambling ..and he choose to gamble anyway. He made his choices and is solely accountable for the repercussions of his less desirable choices. Pete Rose was his own worst enemy. He has nobody to blame except himself.

I believe that if Derek Jeter had been a Detroit Tiger instead of a New York Yankee .. then I would be disappointed that he wasn't a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame. But then again .. I would still be way more disappointed that Lou Whitaker still is not in the HoF.
 
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