Op-Ed - MLB Must Come Down Hard on the Astros For Cheating

Yahoo - Danny Picard of Boston Metro reports that, during Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday, a man claiming to be an Astros employee was removed by security. The man was in the media-credentialed area next to the Red Sox dugout but he did not have media credentials. He was, however, using a small camera and texting frequently. When the man was taken away from the area, an Astros staffer tried to intervene, saying he was authorized to be in the area. Security did not buy the story, so the man was not allowed to return to that area but was allowed to remain in the ballpark. This wasn’t the first time security had been made aware of the man. Apparently the same man had been up to some shady business during the ALDS against the Indians as well, which means the Astros may have been cheating throughout the postseason. Representatives from all three teams have thus far opted not to comment on the matter. MLB chief communciations officer Pat Courtney said in an email on Tuesday, “We are aware of the matter and it will be handled internally.”

Not great ladies and gentleman. Not great. The Astros caught flat out cheating against the Red Sox and apparently were cheating against the Indians as well and you got to assume were cheating all throughout playoffs last year as well. Now I know lots of people will try to pupu this and say it doesn’t matter. That if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying. Well let me ask you this. How many games have the Astros won since the they were caught?  The answer is zero for those keeping score at home. So you do the math.  Yeah I’d say it’s a big fucking deal. How would you like to be the Dodgers who barely lost to Houston last year knowing the Stros were cheating? There just is no place for this in baseball or sports. You can’t tape the other teams signals. You can’t bend the rules. I hate to say it but now the Astros championship is tainted forever. I hope MLB comes down hard on these guys and sends a clear message to all of baseball and the world. Cheating will not be tolerated plain and simple. It’s America’s pastime for a reason. I’m truly disgusted.