I think the grave sin was that the league sent out a mid-year memo specifically calling out the type of cheating the Astros were engaged in, and the Astros continued to do it anyway. And then when it was made public with incontrovertible proof, MLB had to punish it harshly. MLB was celebrating the amazing Astros runs in 2018 or 2019 after they had defeated those teams. This whole "MLB hates my team!" narrative is kind of pathetic.
Great post, only thing I didn't like is the part that MLB had a say in who was brought in to replace Luhnow, Hinch. Crane should've been able to pick his guys. The reason the Stros org is where it's at today is because Manfred got to pick guys to run the org that shouldn't have been picked. If Crane had been allowed to promote from within odds are that the Stros org would be in a much better place than they're in today. Of course my opinion is Manfred wanted to do everything he could to bring down the Stros org but Luhnow built the team so well that they have remained contenders despite incompetence that's currently running rampant throughout the org.
Yes, Luhnow screwed that up. From the minute the story broke Luhnow was toast. What I admire about Luhnow the most you consider a weakness. He wasn't in this to make friends/allies, he was in this to win championships, build a dynasty and that's all I can expect from the GM of the org that I root for. Politicians rarely win championships unless they have unlimited resources. Most people dont like people who are successful because they have single minededness purpose and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. I admire these types of people, apparently you dont.
Yeah - well they were caught, and the league knew teams were cheating before then.... and rather than punish and publicize the cheating, they sent out a "friendly reminder" to teams like the Yankees, Astros, Brewers, Red Sox and Mets that the league was aware and to knock it off. The Astros did not knock it off -- and they were already a story because of their rise, and they were caught. A player came forward. I can tell you that players around the league know that the Astros were not the only team cheating. The Brewers were major offenders, they turned a good player into a near two-time MVP cheating. Syndergaard and his manager complained openly about the Dodgers cheating against him. The Dodgers also were trying to freeze the balls at certain points too according to some pitchers. Chris Sale thought that the Astros getting punished was hilarious because other teams had been caught cheating and it was handled internally because it didn't reach the media. Chris Bassitt (who the Astros recently faced) said that the Astros were the fall guys, that he was certain other teams were actively doing what the Astros did. If I remember correctly, he called them guinea pigs. At the end of the day, the Astros cheated-- so hard to feel bad for them. However, it is also true that cheating was rampant in baseball, and that a number of teams were doing exactly what the Astros did... but they did not get caught. I would like to know when Yelich will be discussed..... but I think that at this point it is easy to avoid discussing the Brewers or the Dodgers or the Yankees...... or that the Red Sox cheated in 2018.... or that the top cheater on the Astros team was just elected to the Hall of Fame....... but some how Altuve will suffer from the scandal.
If this is so then why didn't MLB come down hard on the Dodgers/Yankees/Red Sox all of whom were doing the same things?
I agree - but it's a weakness because it ultimately prevented him from winning more championships. He could have done all the things he did without being an ass and he might still be leading the Astros. You can be both ruthless and kind. He chose only the ruthless part, though. There was no need to "keep receipts" or attack reporters, etc. It didn't help the Astros on the field.
Completely agree -- but MLB claimed they would protect Crane, and in turn they would guide the post scandal hiring process. I am sure that was humiliating for someone like Crane that is very much self made, independent and used to being able to do what he wants...... he has someone he likely viewed as an employee look down upon him and tell him how he was going to run his business.
"And then when it was made public with incontrovertible proof, MLB had to punish it harshly." As Nook said, MLB tried to get people to stop instead of punishing them. The Dodgers and Yankees never had specifics or a smoking gun, and the Red Sox stuff was much less severe. Alex Cora did get suspended a year, which is effectively what happened to Hinch. Their GM also wasn't an ass who had made lots of enemies.
The league did not want to comedown on anyone -- that is why they looked the other way and eventually sent a memo out. The league historically only has a real issue or crackdown on cheating if it is going to go public or harm the bottom line. That is why Selig is in the Hall of Fame and the league looked the other way on steroids for so long. The Astros got punished because a player came forward and wasn't going to keep quiet. At that point the league went into damage control, had to punish the Astros for "the integrity of the game" and downplayed this being a league wide issue. If the whispers had stayed whispers, the Astros would never have been punished. The league did view Luhnow as a pain in the ass, and did not want to deal with the media complaints..... it is also the only reason that the league has domestic violence rules. Guys like Bauer and Urias would still be in the league if the media and fans didn't get upset. Chapman would be out of the league if he did what he did 2-3 years later. All of this is about protecting the "best interest of the game", which really means protecting the owners teams.
I wonder why the media didn't comedown hard on the Yankees for trading for Chapman but did for the other teams you listed?
All I know is Dana Brown is responsible for constructing the current roster and he has to go. I hope Crane gets the front office back on track. We need another brilliant mind running things. We need a roster that will win regardless of who manages it.
Luhnow has been gone now for well over 6 years. Its time to move on. Jeff has very little to do with the 2026 Astros. Other than bring an oblivious dick, Click did a solid, not great job. I think Dana's legacy can end up being very good if he can bring in and develop enough talent to start a new dynasty. If he can trade Pena (off season)and Brown (2027-28 offseason) at similar level to the Tucker deal then I see a path to being very excited about 2029-2035. 2029 Alvarez/Neyens could = 2016 Springer/Correa
Agreed about Luhnow, hopefully they will bring back one of his proteges. I'm not as high on Cam around here as most, so I hope a new GM can get a better deal than the Tucker deal.
Fair question. Mostly because I think Espada has been particularly bad. He hasn’t handled the clubhouse well, the team’s fundamentals have gotten worse, and he hasn’t shown to be a good in-game tactician. I thought stability was important when he was hired and was a good choice, but I was wrong and he’s been in over his head. Maybe he’ll improve over time. So the bar is low and I’d probably say most other managers are better than Espada right now.
