Let’s check in on some of the American League’s highest-profile clubs…
- Major League Baseball handed down its decision on Boston’s sign-stealing scandal from its World Series-winning season in 2018 a couple weeks ago, stripping the Red Sox of their second-round pick this year and suspending scout/replay coordinator J.T. Watkins for the upcoming campaign. Count designated hitter J.D. Martinez among those who are not pleased with Watkins’ short-term ban. The superstar slugger told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, “They just ruined this guy’s career with no evidence.” In regards to the overall punishment, Martinez said to Abraham: “If they went to court with that, it would get thrown out. There was nothing there. The judge would laugh.”
- Speaking of teams that have recently been embroiled in sign-stealing scandals … Astros general manager James Click succeeded Jeff Luhnow atop the front office in the offseason as a result of the prior regime’s transgressions. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle profiles Click, how he has adjusted to the job, how the rookie GM’s trying to work through the coronavirus and how he’s attempting to change the culture of a franchise in turmoil. As you’d expect, Click has stayed in touch with owner Jim Crane and new manager Dusty Baker during the pandemic. Regarding the Astros as a whole, Click said to Rome: “I have a better feel for the organization now. While it’s not ideal to do it remotely, it is certainly something that can be done. It’s hard to say how much more of a feel I have for the organization, but definitely more, and I’m hoping they also have a feel for me. We’re all still getting to know each other.”
- As we covered last week, the Yankees could lose one of their MVPs, infielder DJ LeMahieu, when free agency opens next offseason. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News argues that they shouldn’t risk it, writing that the Yankees need to do all they can to keep the soon-to-be 32-year-old LeMahieu from hitting the market with an extension. LeMahieu stated in March that he and the Yankees haven’t engaged in “serious” negotiations, so it’s unclear how much of a priority he is for New York. However, you can’t go against Ackert’s point that he’s a key part of the team’s current roster. LeMahieu played all over the Yankees’ infield after signing a two-year, $24MM contract going into last season, slashed .327/.375/.518 with 26 home runs and 5.4 fWAR in 655 plate appearances, and was in the running for AL MVP honors.
I still wonder who the ?3? players were that reported the RS f out r cheating n if they were the the players who benefited from Watkins? Then threw him under the bus?
Watkins should be on his knees giving thanks for avoiding a permanent ban. Thrown under the bus? He was given a beautiful gift. This team should be stripped of its title and every player and staffer involved should be banned from baseball. Anything less is a freaking travesty
Really, you think a video coordinator is the one that instigated this mess. I’m sure he was position to tell a Manager and big league players no when they ask for a break down of info they wanted from a video?! That’s very naive to say the least. He has some blame but he wasn’t the cause or the problem.
Great take but Watkins still did wrong. I bet Cora was in on it too.
Thanks for your completely unbiased and objective opinion
Omfg like seriously dude. U sound like a moron in this comment get off yer high horse
Omfg like seriously you sound like a valley girl.
like totally
@ beisbolista. We all know you’re a Yankees fan. Of course you’d like nothing better. One would think reading your comments the Yankees have never cheated…Hmmm
A-rod – suspension
Giambi – admitted he user
Clemens – supplier gave him away
Ok now do every teams steroid users and get back to us. Don’t deflect, the Red Sox chested as bad as the Astros did but got a much weaker punishment and it was there second time as they were warned once which makes this even harder to take! The arrogance of the organization and every smart baseball fan knows Cora had a huge roll in this and it absolutely benefited the Red Sox during the season, in big spots, and so on….
Eliminate the Red Sox as a franchise; demo Fenway Park; public flogging for runners on second who steal signs; blindfolds for hitters who notice pitchers tipping pitches. Git Er Dun!
Beis-bull-Istanbul – blow hard
who cares? they reported him and rightfully so.
Video guy needs a lifetime ban with the players who used it. same for Houston and their Owner/GM/Manager. Cora & Hinch need Life bans. No mercy.
So there are some fans who want to go after a blue collar employee for this? I think the Astros deserved stiffer penalties as well but could we possibly stop short of blood in the streets please?
LeMahieu is a middle infielder who had a career year last season. He would turn 33 in the first year of an extension. If they sign him, it should be a short-term deal. Better to pursue a shortstop and move Gleyber back to 2B, where he belongs.
plus, will would probably get a 4 yr deal on the open market.
DJ has been nice his whole career… just tucked away in Denver and given caveats in high altitude. batting title champ a few years back. last year was a career year for power but everything else remain pretty consistent.
if you take him out of the lineup, our yanks go back to a 3 outcome team again and that doesn’t win championships these days.
gotta lock him up, his bat won’t age as fast as the typical power hitters.
ok. so what’s the cost?
Gives Click more time to have an understanding of all the players in the organization.
This break helps in that regard.
Funny how both the Astros and RS ended up with the top assistants in Tampa.
Will it make a difference in Tampa?
Was one of the assistants overvalued?
Interesting storyline for next few seasons.
Click has a tough assignment.
Organization wants to keep this thing going but you have a lot of players at the major league level to make decisions on.
Interested also in any change regarding the young pitchers.
There are some talented arms.
Whitley gets a lot of hype but Abreu has some potential as a #3 starter on a solid staff.
Click has an incredibly hard job to do. He has to make hundreds of millions of dollars worth of decisions on players whose stats literally don’t matter and can’t be used. Although if you sprinkle in the character issues, most of those decisions become much easier.
Who was it?
Altuve.
Bregman
Which one the Astros violated your mind?
Astro’s violated the sanctity of the game. Biggest P.O.S. this side of the Black Sox.
Dont worry baseball fans havent forgotten.. Bean balls await..
ejections also await
Yeah cuz that’s smart intentionally trying to ruin a guys career or put life at risk by throwing fastballs at them. Great solution pal. Yer probably one of the awesome guys that tell them to throw at their head and then laugh about it.
Astros & RS got opened to old school methods when the modern system failed ro hold them accountable.
Along with suspensions
Sanctity of the game ….. o please
Gaylord Perry spitballs….Sammy Sosa corked bats ….I could list hundreds
Players have been trying to cheat for decades. It is what it is….hate that there are cheaters, but if you don’t like baseball then don’t watch….
Lol, I love seeing guys like beis who can’t control their emotions while ripping others for their morals lol, of course his rage might be fueled by roids, many started using those when baseball teams used them to cheat for so long
Teams saw most of these guys before 2017 when this started so they know they can play
Also saw all of them last year when it wasn’t happening. And for the idiots who think they were, you can’t be too smart if you think guys would be honest about cheating in a year they won it all so they can get immunity, but would risk it all by lying about a year when they didn’t
Takes a special kind of stupid
Can’t wait for the season to start
Takes a special kind of stops to think a team that won it all, by cheating, would just magically stop after getting the trophy.
A really special kind of stupid.
Can’t wait for the season to start.
It takes a special kind of stupid to defend cheating. Wouldn’t expect anything less from fans with such integrity.
Who defended it? If referring to me I simply stated facts about 2019. No doubt we cheated in 17 and early 18
Too many people can’t control their emotions
The lack of self-awareness is strong with you. Your post and your response were both emotionally fueled. Whereas, my comment was simply a rebuttal to your ignorant statement.
Lol, that’s funny
Most can’t match my intelligence level either so…
You aren’t nearly as intelligent as you believe yourself to be. It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect, which you are clearly suffering from.
Btw, intelligent people don’t begin and end their sentences with “Lol”
I see plenty of people here whose intelligence level is far greater than yours, my friend.
You shouldn’t be so arrogant when you haven’t a leg to stand upon in this fight.
@atros2017. “Most can’t match my intelligence either so..”
Arrogance is not a sign of intelligence. Look, I get it. You are a fan of the most hated baseball team in the majors. They might even currently be the most hated sports franchise on the planet. I even have a certain amount of respect for you not attempting to distance yourself from the Astros or simply dissapear until it all blows over which will be some time from now.
You come on these boards and you choose obstinance and arrogance as some sort of suit of armor and pass THAT as being unemotional and logical? Choose a better way my friend. Why not simply acknowledge that the Astros cheated and move on? You don’t have to defend them.
What do I know about it? I’m a Braves fan. I was right here on MLBTR when Copollela and the Braves were investigated. All the comments just went on and on. The Braves were caught and I knew they were wrong. Pointing out that others cheat doesn’t take anything away from it.
Your argument can’t be “Sure I robbed a bank, but so have others.”
Well Cora and Beltran left and they were the ring leaders
@WinnersCheat. It’s already been dealt with by MLB. Now individual teams are going to deal with it too. I imagine you will say that exact same thing as teams start administering their own justice? You won’t complain about anything especially since you aren’t facing any of the backlash? Ya sure, keep sounding all tough with your “we do what we want” attitude.
Isn’t JD Martinez the guy who left one of the best hitters park in 2017 and had a huge outlier of a career year in 2018 along with several other Red Sox en route to a fake World Series title? Not shocked to see him outraged about the amazingly light penalty against the staffer who told him what pitch was coming.
If you need someone to talk to, there’s people that can help.
Good one, god bless
Isn’t beisbolista the crybaby that sits behind a computer and whines about the integrity of baseball. Cuz I’m sure no one else cheats in any sports. U r naive and clowns like u who r ready to slam the death penalty on any infraction. Thank god u don’t run any sports or we would have to listen to yer high horse rants all the time.
OtHeR tEaMs ChEaT sO tHaT mAkEs It Ok.
VaCaTe DuH ChAmPiOnShIp CuZ dUh WoRLd Iz a PeRfEcT PlAcE
cHeAtInG iS oK CuZ mY tEaM bEnEfItEd FrOm It
Nah I’m just living in reality. Your mom cradled you for too long.
Living in reality and being OK with cheating are far from the same thing. Keep defending it, just shows how ignorant you are.
Some of us have integrity.
Who’s defending it? It happened and everyone has to move on. But if you guys want to keep commenting about cheating i will gladly entertain you.
Hey, watch it… you just described everyone commenting on this site
More than half of 2017 for JD was spent in Detroit (definitely not a hitters park)
Beis-bull-Ista. – blowhard
A*tros championship is tainted
Red Sox championship is tainted.
Punishment was a joke. Manfred is a clown.
Well summarized.
Don’t let facts confuse your opinion
Solid rebuttal.
I suppose the red Sox didn’t cheat last time either, huh?
What time is it? Check your Apple watch..
Ewww. Really nailed him there Berger.
If you write A*tros shouldn’t you also write Red *ox?
And Y*nkees
Our organization actually has class.
People bring up Giambi, but how do you control what a player takes on his own time?
People bring up the bullpen call, that’s been debunked.
Try harder. (Not cheating, with the comment. You’ve already disgraced your whole organization.
All your accomplishments in the last 3 years mean nothing.
Congrats!
If it were only Giambi and not also Pettitte, Clemens, ARod, Sheffield etc. Yankees have a history of having cheaters on their team.
The Yankees had no issue trotting out steroid users so the whole the organization “has class” is a joke. The medical and training staff had to know, meaning ownership had to know as well. They simply didn’t care as long as it meant winning.
Manny, Papi, Schilling, etc
Lol, Yankees didn’t do steroids huh lol
Also we didn’t cheat last year, 17 and 18 yes
Pay attention
Yes, I’m sure a team full of lying cheaters decided to play it by the books all of a sudden….
Schilling?? Exactly what illegal did he do? You live in a tiny safe space and do not care for his conservative commentary that ESPN couldn’t handle possibly?
Schilling was an outlier among ball players.. He was/is strongly conservative and has no bones about letting everyone know it when he speaks.
You perhaps one that can’t handle facts?
google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/mlb/s…
Anything else you need me to clear up?
He is a conservative only when it fits his needs, he had no problem wasting a lot of tax payer money
I agree with Johnsilver on schilling. Where’s your smoking gun on Curt? People just don’t like his political views which unfortunately have kept him out of the HOF. He should be in already, and I think he will eventually.
I’ve already posted it. Please reread.
Thanks.
Amazing how this PARTICULAR conversation got started. All theghostoftycob had to do was state three facts with absolutely no commentary about it and the fight is on.
What a bunch of cry baby’s . No Manfred fan by any means, but the RS case seems extremely weak, and due process was a travesty.
I wish there were ignore options. It’s getting so bad here.
A million thumbs up! I used to read this site daily, now about once a week. It’s gotten ridiculous.
Has J.D. been taking law classes during the shut down? Don’t worry, J.D. You’ll find someone else to tell you what pitch is coming.
JDM lost some credibility for me in his statement. Watkins is a grown-ass adult who made the decision to cheat and is now being held accountable in a system he chose to work in.
JD forgets it’s not a legal proceeding like a court room. Bad comparison. He also forgets that the video guy who took the fall did so for the benefit of the players, who may or may not have benefited. JD. isn’t too bright, but you don’t have to be in order to hit a baseball.
Don’t cheat and no one loses their job.
Wow that was easy,
It’s when you cheat a LITTLE bit more than everyone else AND have success that you are suddenly eligible for the death penalty. Um, OK. Good perspective.
Astros and RedSox should be banned without pay for one season. I’m sure there’s other teams doing stuff as well, but they got caught and should pay the price. Mookie Betts and Altuve should lose all credibility of any shot to the hall.
Possibly the dumbest comment I’ve read today.
So to confirm. Cheating does still pay…
Yes… in all walks of life. This is a culture that does not care about personal accountability. Good luck to your children.
Let me start by typing I AM A RED SOX fan… I do not condone cheating… iF Red Sox players failed a ped test AFTER the 03 report then their championships for said years would be tainted Whenever they were… 04-07-13 Which brings me to 18.. after 16/17 mlb had officials in video room. . If people want to say they cheated for 162 games(lil naive) ok…. But they went 3-1/4-1 and 4-1 in playoffs??? Maybe just maybe they were good???…. Oh and i also believe Lee Harvey didn’t act alone- They DID land on the moon and the Bulls should have drafted Sam Bowie…..SO like so many commenting i too have no idea what the hell i’m talking about….
That article was a reach
Man I love reading the responses from all of you. You’re a bunch of legends in your own minds.
The Red Sox had so much time to coordinate exactly what everyone was to say. I’m sure the video man was well compensated for taking the rap.
JD Martinez is right in that the report did not provide a single actual instance of cheating happening. There is zero evidence that any of Watkins’ actions ever actually affected a single at bat. One can conclude through circumstantial evidence that an attempt was made, but the possible ramifications on any game were not proven.
What was proven is that the Sox did not use the video replay room cheat during the playoffs and World Series.
The Yankees should NOT do everything they can to extend LeMahieu at this stage. That’s how a team overpays. He’ll be 33 next year and right now is coming off a career year likely aided by the rocket ball. His defense is plus, but defense is a younger man’s game, so an extension will take him through his defensive decline. I’m not arguing against signing him, but that’s an assessment best made at the end of this season. Unless you’re an elite, young player such as Betts, don’t expect free agency to be all that rewarding. Wait on LeMahieu, whose preference is to remain a Yankee.
Agree 100% lordd99.
It’s bad news when players can’t keep their mouths shut.
It ruins it for the fall guy and the MLB punishment.
I’m sure J.T. Watkins will be compensated.
And if he isn’t I can see a book deal.
LOL