[dieterbrock]

I know we’ve talked about this in other threads but since I don’t think this is going away, I figured contain it to it’s own thread.

This just out, and blows my mind

[snackdaddy]

Quite a few players have come out and blasted the Astros. Kris Bryant being the most recent. Bellinger flat out said Altuve stole the MVP from Judge and the Astros stole the championship from the Dodgers. Carlos Correa took exception to that and said Altuve never used the trash can. Can we believe that? The trash can banging in his at bats. Are we supposed to believe he covered his ears or didn't pay attention to it? I call BS on that.

[TomSlick]

I haven't read the other threads regarding this issue so I'll chime in here with my take...
There is a saying, "If you are not cheating then you are not trying hard enough". I believe this concept started in auto racing, but has come to apply to just about everything under the moon. I don't know how you take joy in something that you knowingly, or unknowingly, cheated to achieve.

It seems pretty basic to compete on even terms with your competitors. As for the Astros...no middle ground here...stripped of the trophy, championship and any awards given to individual players. As for Dusty Baker, sorry dude, your team cheated, be prepared for retaliation.

[snackdaddy]

I haven't read the other threads regarding this issue so I'll chime in here with my take...
There is a saying, "If you are not cheating then you are not trying hard enough". I believe this concept started in auto racing, but has come to apply to just about everything under the moon. I don't know how you take joy in something that you knowingly, or unknowingly, cheated to achieve.

It seems pretty basic to compete on even terms with your competitors. As for the Astros...no middle ground here...stripped of the trophy, championship and any awards given to individual players. As for Dusty Baker, sorry dude, your team cheated, be prepared for retaliation.

Try browsing their message boards. A lot of those fans are in denial. Saying things from "Everyone does it but we're being scapegoated" to "We woulda won anyway so we deserve the ring". And blasting any player or media person who criticized it. They're really pissed at Bellinger. They call Carlos Correa a hero for responding to Bellinger's comments.

Whatever grief they get on the road will be well deserved. I hope the Yankee fans will be brutal. They stole the MVP from Judge. Stole the ALCS from the Yankees. Stole the World Series from the Dodgers. Whatever grief they get from fans and others will be well deserved.

[TomSlick]

Try browsing their message boards. A lot of those fans are in denial. Saying things from "Everyone does it but we're being scapegoated" to "We woulda won anyway so we deserve the ring". And blasting any player or media person who criticized it. They're really pissed at Bellinger. They call Carlos Correa a hero for responding to Bellinger's comments.

Whatever grief they get on the road will be well deserved. I hope the Yankee fans will be brutal. They stole the MVP from Judge. Stole the ALCS from the Yankees. Stole the World Series from the Dodgers. Whatever grief they get from fans and others will be well deserved.

Concur with everything you mentioned.

I would take it another step further and ban them from post season play this year.

[snackdaddy]

I watched an interview with Harold Reynolds talking to Tom Verducci. They were discussing who was impacted the most. Verducci said Clayton Kershaw was impacted more than anyone. For years he had to hear people say he couldn't win the big games.

In 2017 game 1 of the World Series Kershaw was lights out at home. 7 innings 1 run and 11 strikeouts. Game 5 in Houston he had a 4-0 lead after 3 innings. He was cruising along. But those 3 innings were enough for the Astros to decode the signs and they hit him hard in the 4th inning.

Kershaw threw a combined 51 sliders and curves. Not one swing and miss. Anyone who knows baseball will tell you even bad pitchers will have some swings and missed on breaking balls. Unless the hitters are able to decode signs in real time by cheating.

Had that game been on a level playing field, the Dodgers likely win it. They scored 12 runs and lost. And Kershaw likely woulda be the MVP. All the talk about him not being able to win the big games woulda gone away.

Now Kershaw is no longer the pitcher he once was. His fastball barely gets over 90 MPH. The odds of him having a dominant game in October are probably pretty slim by now. He can be a solid pitcher and have a quality start, the one where 6 innings or more with 3 runs or less, but not likely enough to be an MVP erase the past disappointments.

His days of being dominant are probably over. And the one time he coulda got that monkey of his back the other team was cheating the whole time. He's shown some class not rehashing that series and the cheating. But as a fan of the Dodgers and Kershaw, I'm really pissed about it.

Anything less than vacating that title and erasing his failure that game would not be sufficient for me. And for a lot of others. They cheated. They didn't earn it. For those who say sign stealing is as old as baseball, well, when its done within the rules there is nothing wrong with that. I know Houston fans say everyone does it. But that isn't true. Getting signs relayed to the batter in real time using modern technology is something only the Astros have done.

When other teams decode signs they aren't doing it in real time and relaying it to the hitters. They're decoding them for when there is a runner on second. Then the catcher will change them so it probably doesn't help. Pitchers like Kershaw had no idea they were getting signs stolen when no one was at second. They trusted the other team wasn't cheating.

[Neil039]

I am not a baseball fan. Just from what I've read recently and listened to on sports radio...gotta believe they championship should be vacated along with individual awards. Just my take.

[Horny Mcbae]

So you can’t punish the players because they were given immunity to talk. But it’s pretty easy. The World Series should be vacated. Manfred sucks ass. Just a clown. Take the World Series away and take the Boston one away too. And that should be enough blood letting for most to move on.

It’s shameful that they cheated. Admitted that they cheated. Never even apologized. They got off Scott free. It worked. Disgusting. How hard was it to vacate the WS. No precedent!!!! So what. Manfred and MLB are clowns. It’s a joke.

[snackdaddy]

Lol, Astros Shame Tour

https://twitter.com/AsteriskTour

[Hacksaw]

Lucky for the Asstros that the season is on hold. I can't imagine the total number of welts the Houston players wound be wearing by now.