Sept. 4: Altuve is considered day-to-day after undergoing an MRI, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. The exact diagnosis isn’t clear, although that certainly suggests he’s avoided a major injury.
Sept. 3: Astros second baseman Jose Altuve will undergo an MRI on his right knee, manager Dusty Baker announced Thursday (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Altuve exited the Astros’ game against the Rangers on Thursday because of discomfort in the area.
Right knee problems aren’t anything new for Altuve, who underwent surgery on the joint after the 2018 season. The former AL MVP bounced back with another highly productive season last year, helping the Astros to a pennant, but has endured uncharacteristic struggles in 2020. So far, Altuve has amassed 155 plate appearances and batted .231/.290/.329 with three home runs and two stolen bases. His 74 wRC+ pales in comparison to the 141 mark he combined for during the previous six seasons.
Despite Altuve’s slow start, it goes without saying the Astros would rather have him out there than not, especially considering he has been their almost exclusive choice at second this season. Furthermore, although the Astros improved to 21-15 on Thursday and are in possession of the AL’s second wild-card spot, they’ve already suffered enough serious injuries to this point. The club has gone extended stretches without Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Roberto Osuna and Jose Urquidy, who – along with several other Astros – are on the IL right now. Verlander and Osuna may not return this year, while Alvarez definitely won’t after undergoing surgery on both knees.
Struggles in 2020…not 2019. I wish this were still 2019.
So, before Nov 11, 2019, when The Athletic reported Mike Fiers’ comments alerting MLB & The World and less than a month after they won the World Series – give-or-take?
I love the fall. The leaves, pumpkin-spice lattes, cable-knit sweaters. Ah, good times! Good times.
Mostly just before COVID turned this year into a living hell.
Ummm I thought the Nationals won the 2019 WS.
I had to review my notes to confirm, but you are right, it was the Nats.
Doh! You right. My bad. I’m thinking of 2018.
smh wow
In reviewing my notes again, DMC, the Astros actually won the World Series in 2017.
RunDMC: Your thinking leaves alot to be desired compared to reality. The Astros didn’t win the world series in 2018 either. 2019? (no) 2018? (no) Would you like to try again? Maybe the third time will be the charm. Here’s a little hint: You’re getting warmer. I’m sure you’re going to get it this time.
Ain’t that the truth, @dmc.
This is the time of year I start reclaiming my life.
Got everything done I needed to today. Heading to my place up north. Shore birds and geese mornings and afternoons. Black Bear in the evening.
Don’t have to be back til late Sunday afternoon for work stuff.
Have a great weekend.
Good hunting.
😉
Uncharacteristic struggles? Amazing what happens when you’re under the microscope and can’t cheat as freely.
Maybe he “uncharacteristically” needs to face pitching without anyone tipping him what’s coming?
Just incredibly tired at this point. Under every Astros story all season. They cheated — we get it.
This is the only real punishment Houston gets. The cheating gets brought up every time they’re mentioned.
It doesn’t punishment the Astros. It punishes the people that read about them on this site.
Yak, you should probably get used to the pain.
All Astros player from those teams are scum bags. This is the punishment they’re gonna get cause they didn’t get one that mattered. I hope they have a 1.000 OBP this year
^^^ I concur. Trashtros fans better get used to it because as soon as I saw he was getting an MRI I thought “those damned trash cans.”
It’s incredibly dumb. The data is available that he, along with Josh Reddick, didn’t use the system. Springer, Correa, Gurriel…those guys used it. But everyone piles on Altuve and wishes harm on him despite the fact that he didn’t cheat. It’s just an echo chamber. People have their narrative and they want to stick to it regardless of facts. The whole “this is their only punishment!” is dumb as heck too; do people think they read the comments section on this website so they’ll see it and get their feelings hurt? Just dumb.
Even if he didn’t use the trashcan system or the under-the-shirt buzzer, he had full knowledge of the scheme and did nothing about it. That makes him complicit in the scheme. He also benefitted via his teammates being on base and jacking up opposing pitch counts. There is no one on those teams that can claim to be innocent. They all got a tainted ring and they will all be remembered most for the cheating conspiracy that dishonored the game and cost opposing players their jobs on big league rosters.
You realize Altuve has hit over .290 since 2012 except 1 season? He hit .341, .313, and .338 in the 3 seasons preceding 2017. Don’t think he needs help from cheating especially when his teammates said he would get mad when they tried to bang the trash can. The ignorant statements get old really fast and I’m not even an Astros fan.
Why cheat then?
Fantastic question … maybe he didn’t? What if I told you that just about every shred of statistical data actually does more to prove the claim that he didn’t want the help?
Ahh, keving. Right, maybe he didn’t.
Every stat shows he has been cheating for the last 3 years. Altuve cheated. Altuve started back in 2016. MLB investigated Astros way back in 2016 because of a complaint. Instead of acting naive just say he should never have cheated.
@arc89, was that directed at me?
I guess he cheated in 2014 when he hit .341 and the team lost 92 games. Or in 2015 when he hit .313. Altuve was a .300 hitter well before the allegations. The way I understood Beltran brought the tactics with him in 2017. Plus someone, forget the guys name, that recorded the bangs and Altuve was the lowest. He was like 2% which would match up with Correa’s story that Altuve would get mad if they would bang the can. Again not a fan but I do not think Altuve was a cheater. Most of the rest of his teammates were definitely cheaters.
@Bayles2175, you’re referring to Tony Adams at signstealingscandal.com.
Just to add a bit to what you were saying, Of the 886 pitches observed by Mr. Adams, only 24 had bangs. In addition, of those pitches with the bangs, only 16 were actually correct. And out of all of that, what did it amount to for Altuve? 1 single. That’s it.
Tony Adams also made available the data extracts for download. Someday when I have the time, I may go through it and see just how many extra runs and RBis his teammates involvement gained him but, for now, it doesn’t appear that he was a willing participant.
@keving Your denial on him cheating is entertaining.. problem is nobody knows when he started cheating. It goes back as far as 2016 maybe even farther.
Here’s the thing.
Why should we assume that the only cheating going on was using the trash can bangs?
If you look at the other photo/video evidence that looks like buzzers or devices on players, who knows how long those were in use?
Can you say that maybe altuve didn’t like the bangs because he preferred a buzz? Maybe he thought the bangs would get people caught and it upset him?
Maybe he was using some other cheating in other years?
Just saying altuve hit in years the astros lost didn’t mean he wasn’t cheating. Wins are a team stat. You can have all the offense in the world and if pitching isn’t there you don’t win. You can also have some guys willing to cheat, some not, and have to wait until a group of cheaters is big enough to get cumulative effect.
Regardless, until innocence is proven, the evidence makes him appear to be guilty. He hasn’t explained those devices in the videos, and, the stupid shirt story changed as well. It ranged from the incredulous his wife didn’t want him seen in an undershirt to being because of a tattoo he was embarrassed of but made no effort to have removed…
He’s guilty. The other guys were guilty. They will continue to get the treatment until some time passes following a sincere apology (hasn’t happened yet) where everything done is laid on the table and admitted to, and every theory supported by evidence -such as what were those devices showing in videos – is addressed openly and in depth. To date there have been ZERO sincere efforts to make amends and actually address each allegation of what went on, just rehearsed and vague BS devoid of meaning.
The team will be addressed as guilty cheaters until such a time as it disciplines it’s members and staff that were on board during the cheating. Then the ownership needs to go, and the players either need to go or do the above.
Until then, get used to astros hatred for years.
If I’m so entertaining, you must have read most/all of my comments. Point out the one where I denied he was cheating. I’ll wait.
@keving. It is impossible to say how much of a effect it had on Altuve and to say only 1 hit is a joke. Nobody know which days it was used how many times it was used. Which games it was not used. Ect…. Does anyone think they did it when they are up 6 runs in the 8th inning? Of course not or when they are up 10 runs in a game. Until they come clean which may never happen they are all under the microscope to cheating and will always be known as cheaters.
It’s not impossible to know when the trash can was used since there is video and analysis tools exist.
Here are the games in which the trash can was known to be used:
http://signstealingscandal.com/games/
Of all the 886 pitches faced by Altuve in the 60 home games analyzed, here are the ABs in which trashcan bangs were detected complete with video of each pitch:
http://signstealingscandal.com/players-bangs/jose-altuve.html
As you can see, based on this data, the only time a trash can bang resulted in a hit for altuve was on September 20
As for whether they “did it when they are up 6 runs in the 8th inning” … yes and yes. One game that is well known now is the Aug 4, 2017 game against the Jays when they used the trash can relentlessly. They ended up using the trash can at least 54 times on their way to beating the Jays 16-7. This game became well known due to Mike Bolsinger’s appearance in the 9-run 4th inning in which he allowed 4 ER and surrendered 4 hits and 3 walks on 0.1 IP. He never pitched in the major leagues again and ended up suing the Astros for negligence and unfair business practices after the scandal broke. The last I heard, the Astros were trying to have the suit dismissed or moved to Texas. I hope he wins.
Here are the bangs from that game:
http://signstealingscandal.com/games/2017_08_04_tormlb_houmlb_1.html
Of course it would be disingenuous of me to not mention that it is also believed that the Astros also used claps and whistles to communicate pitch information. However, only the data of the trash can bangs is available and it’s all I can go on without getting into speculations.
AtlSoxFan: You say “until innocence is proven”. How can Altuve prove his innocence? It seems pretty impossible to prove you did not do something.
Ah, the ol’ Patriot excuse. “Yeah we systematically cheated, but it didn’t help.”
Yaketymac, I don’t think you do get it. These comments may have lightened up if there had been, you know, some punishment.
Oh okay, retire21, somehow I don’t get what I’ve read literally all summer under every Astros on this site – that they cheated and weren’t sufficiently punished.
Do you have any idea how many times I’ve read that here? Guess what – I agree with it. They cheated and weren’t sufficiently punished.
You know what else is true? It’s over. Get over it. I’m not an Astros fan. I dislike them too. But the constant whiny posts about them here are embarrassing and pathetic. I bet you’ll be here all offseason posting them too. Get over it.
retire21, the cheating definitely helped many of the Astros. Some more than others. But this article and the comment from yaketymac was about Altuve specifically. I’m sure that his R and RBI numbers maybe slightly elevated due to his teammates cheating but there is little statistical evidence to show that he a) directly benefited or, b) was a willing participant. That was the point.
Altuve hit .320 across 300 minor league games before even reaching the big leagues. He can hit and doesn’t need to cheat. As I’ve said, I think he probably did cheat as did many Astros. AND I’ve said they weren’t sufficiently punished.
Most people think that. There’s no need for so many idiots here to post snark under every Astros story reminding us all again and again how aggrieved they are about it. It’s over. Manfred won’t revisit it. Get a life and get over it.
Jackie Bradley Jr hit .294/.391/.462 over 305 minor league games.
I guess I forgot where what you did in the minors dictates what you do in the majors, I should check Jackie’s MLB slash line again.
Who knows how long they cheated for? Ever hear of protection in the lineup? If other guys are mashing they need to just pitch to you instead.
Don’t forget game footage appearing to show buzzers combined with that crazy story about the wife…
We could keep going. Reality is everything he’s done is as tainted as if he was a roid user.
Just totally ignore what he did when the Astros were losing 100 games for 3 years in a row. I’m sure he they were cheating then too. The comments are so ignorant. The Astros did cheat and should have been punished more severely. But their is evidence Altuve didn’t cheat. He hit .341 the year they lost 92 games. Again not an Astros fan and if you want to rip on someone try Correa or Springer.
Bet you are an Astros fan, yak.
Naah, not going to get over it. Not sorry.
Yacketymac on here whining about whining. Classic hypocrite. If you don’t like it, leave. No one will stop talking about the theft of a World Series no matter how much it triggers you.
keving, if you’ll notice, the comment from yaketymac to which I replied doesn’t mention Altuve AT ALL.
For 2 non-Astros fans, boy are you 2 angry.
Retire21, there wasn’t a significant punishment because The Union did their job and protected the players. The Union would have done this for any team in this situation. Let’s all be realistic that without immunity there would be ZERO information about the ins and outs of their cheating. The ONLY witness Manfred would have would be Mike Fiers, and you don’t want your only witness to be a guy who ratted on a team because he was left off the playoff roster and not offered arbitration at the end of the season.
@retire21,
haha. I’m not going to lie, now that I look at it. I’m not even certain what comment you were replying to. Based on this site, your comment is nested under the comment from @Bayles2175 and (without looking at the name of the comment) I responded thinking you were replying to that comment. My apologies.
Also, I appreciate you not assuming that I’m an Astros fan like most do. Truth is I’ve never even watched an Astros game outside of the World Series. Also, I’m not at all angry, treat the Astros team any way you want, most of them objectively deserve it. Also, let me make this clear. I am NOT saying that Altuve is innocent, I don’t know any more than any of us do, but the moment anyone points out that the stats don’t match the conjecture/speculation people throw out constantly, they immediately attack.
That said, I apologize for my confusion.
keving, you are the man!
This is like when the admitted roid users stated they didn’t even need the aid of the drug.
RunDMC … you might have a point if those roids didn’t work on the road, were only active for 19 known pitches in 80 home games, and only resulted in one hit (a single)
@keving You obviously know absolutely nothing about Operation Black Magic (that’s what the Astros called their massive coordinated cheating effort). Maybe read the Fangraphs article which uncovered real benefits of the cheating scandal. Heck, don’t even bother going that far in depth yet. Why not just start with basic research that would inform you that the scandal went way way beyond trash cans and way beyond one season. It’s like you’re in severe denial, only way more defensive and prissy. You can’t be this ignorant of well known facts.
@beisbolista,
Wow, you came in hot! haha.
First, the name calling isn’t necessary, I’m simply trying to have a mature conversation. I haven’t been accusatory or derogatory.
That said, Let me be clear, I’m not, in any way, claiming that Altuve is innocent. I don’t know one way or the other if he’s guilty. I wasn’t there. All I’m saying is that, the facts that I have available to me create doubt in his guilt. That’s all.
I’m trying to update my facts. I’ve looked into this “Operation Black Magic” and can’t find any reference to it on Fangraphs or otherwise. Can I have a link to the article you mentioned?
It was actually called “Dark arts”, by the Astros.
The only reason I know this is because it is a Harry Potter thing.
My son loved those books for a minute.
To wit; my hunting dogs are named Hermione and Luna. What are you gonna do?
🙂
Anywhooo, that may help the Google search.
@Ducky Buckin Fent thanks! Also, I’m not going to do anything about your the names of your dogs, they are cool names! I have a cat named Hughie.
@beisbolista, If @Ducky Buckin Fent is right and you’re referring to “Dark Arts” and “Codebreaker” I’m well aware of them. Kinda funny that you’re getting the titles wrong and coming at me about facts … I’m just playing! 🙂
Regarding “Dark Arts” and “Codebreaker”, you may be giving the team more credit than they deserve. It’s nothing special. They were likely just keeping track of the pitches and their associated sign sequences and running the data through some learning algorithm. If they did it that way, It would take the data, find patterns and make guesses of the pitch type and provide a level of confidence. If the confidence level is over a certain threshold … bang that can! This explains why the bangs weren’t always right. There are a number of different ways to do this. none of them overly complex to someone who knows what they are doing.
But, again, I don’t know one way or another if Altuve was cheating, but none of this is proof that he was. It’s just how they decipher the sign sequence.
So.
The, @g. names* are a holdover from the short lived but impactful Harry Potter period at Casa de Fent.
🙂
To the good stuff though:
I’ve been reading your responses. You raise (regretfully!) an excellent point. The “help” or “contribution” or whatever, to a single player is actually quite small. (Again, I loathe admitting this…I so rarely engage in: OUTRAGE – uh?)
Baseball is so…dunno, cumulative?, that those slight individual advantages compound over an entire game/season/series. Which is so baseball.
I appreciate the nuanced posts. Thought provoking. Ya know?
*Our cat’s name comes from a wholly different phase. His name is “Antecook” which I actually don’t even know if there ever was a correct spelling. That’s what the Vet has
🙂
Reminds me of the general astros position which you should think about:
Yes, we created an entire department and program undoubtedly funded with millions of dollars with the sole purpose to develop ways to cheat. We had computers, technicians, programmers, scouts, staff, players, ALL as active participants. We held meetings to coordinate and brainstorm.
Yes, we got caught cheating. BUT, we’ll tell you when we were cheating. TRUST US. You found one way we cheated. But seriously, that’s the only one. We’re trustworthy. Take our word.
Here’s another Fact, Astros were the BEST(60-21) Home team in all of baseball in 2019(while cheating) and then went 0-4 at home in the World series(while NOT cheating)….that surely is NOT a coincidence!!!
He knew his teammates were cheating. He could have stepped up and stopped them. How many RBIs did he get from the cheaters on base when he batted?????
92jays,
Obviously none of us were there so we don’t know how much he did to try to stop it (or if he even tried). So it would be completely asinine for any of us to speculate one way or the other. However, there have been several reports of former players stating that those involved were approached by teammates several times.
As for the RBIs, it would be naive of anyone to think that his RBI numbers weren’t at least a little inflated as a result of his teammates cheating, but based on the known trash can bang data, I would probably guess that maybe … 5-10 (on the high end) of his RBIs were a result of batters ahead of him cheating … Someday I may do the work to get a more solid number though.
I’m sure you are perfect and never made a mistake in your life. At least you can say he is not a rat or a snitch. I always wondered where the outrage is for the Yankees and Red Sox. They may not have cheated on the level of the Astros but they still cheated.
Jays did you feel this way when the Blue Jays were “caught” relaying signs from a guy standing in CF in the backdrop?
92jays, didn’t you get the memo? RBIs are bad.
Never heard of that
It’s not the cheating that bothered me so much it’s their weak public apology
Ok fair enough
Blue Jays were accused of stealing signs in 2011 by the White Sox. The Man In White in CF. Said they had been doing it as far back as 2009.
Bottom line; Astros cheated, took it to extremes. They know other teams are using different methods like bullpen sign stealers, buzzing apple watches, random fans in CF. All about keeping up with the Joneses.
As bad as Manfred is, he did what he did knowing the whole cheating scandal would have rocked the entire league with more snitching, more teams involved and a huge blackmark on the game.
Blue jays were accused in 2009……:: innocent until proven guilty.
That’s right. Same as Altuve and teammates you want him to “out”. Innocent until proven guilty.
Ummm they all confessed they cheated
Ummm no they did not confess, directly. Are you new? Better yet, find a new team to cheer for. There are plenty of Blue Jay simps on here, like you, who know little. How you did not know about the man in white told us everything.
I think Houston was cheating in all those years that Altuve was hitting well.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Golly, could it just be a coincidence? So consistent for so many years… take away the trash cans and wow.
Astros are the best home team in MLB this year (16-6) — MLB not find all cams/monitors? They were ripping into Lance Lynn like he was a Cardinal.
Lynn upset he didn’t get traded to a contender…..
According to the Rangers broadcast, though I could have heard it incorrectly, but I believe they said he had a convo with the front office about wanting to stay and be a leader to the up-and-coming crew that could learn from him. That being said, he’s only signed through next year, and I can’t see them in a playoff position this time next year – the last year of his deal – unless Jon Daniels becomes AJ Preller over the offseason and he signs an extension.
As a Braves fan, I really wanted him and think his mad-dog mentality to throw 105+ pitches every outing would have served us very, very well. However, we just don’t have the farm depth to not include Waters/Anderson — and I can understand TEX not wanting to give him away below market value. They should get a nice ROI.
That is not true Houston isn’t the best home team(16-6) in MLB. The following are better Tampa 12-5, Oakland 13-4, Atlanta 12-4, and Dodgers 14-5. Oakland is even in the same division so Houston is not even in the best in American league west.
Alternate theory:
He took his jersey off, which made his wife mad, so she went full-on tanya harding on him as punishment?
Just something to note: During the 8th inning of the Rangers-Astros game, Springer was up to bat, and like most of this season, he looked lost. (I forget the count, but he had already seen like 3 pitches before this.) Then out of the clear blue, the catcher dropped his sign, there was an abrupt metallic bang, a slider came, and Springer laced it into left field for a two-run double.
I don’t know if it was just hard wired into him to sit slider when he hears a bang, or if they are back to their shenanigans.
Actually it was Brantley that laced a two run double down the left field line.
Okay, I looked back at it. Springer had the hit right before that, when the Rangers brought in Luis Garcia. That hit put him and someone else on for Brantley’s double. Still, it was Springer who the bang went off for right before he got his single.
Luckily it’s only a knee. He won’t have to remove his shirt for the doctor.
I don’t like it.
I love it.
I’m not into all the Astros jokes. Gotten sick of it so I just leave those posts alone but that was a pretty good one, Cey hey. Chuckled a little.
Haha
To be honest they are a better team without him currently
Man.
I’m really, really trying to cobble together some type of empathy for the pipsqueak.
Not easy, man. The little runt (who apparently has a super embarrassing tattoo) had no business taking Chapman yard last fall. To top it off, the munchkin stole an MVP from a regular sized dude.
Guess he’ll just have to really on all that tiny guy “scrappiness” to see him through his travails.
Or whatever.
Just saw Davis take Chapman deep tonight. Not really that impressive. Yankees seem to struggle when they can’t cheat.
When were the Yankees caught cheating, please enlighten us.
During the Red Sox investigation in 2018 the Yankees were fined an undisclosed amount of money. They don’t do that for participation in choir practice. When New York was sued by an online gambling outfit and presented an internal document from the Yankees verifying how they were cheating – the Yankees attorneys successfully squashed release of the document claiming it would cause irreversible reputational harm. You really think they weren’t cheating? MLB put live feeds near all of the dugouts. You really think other clubs weren’t watching? Astros became the league whipping boys but most of the contenders were right there with them.
Yankees received a fine in the 2017 investigation for illegal use of the bullpen phone but MLB found insufficient evidence to support the allegation that the Yankees had made inappropriate use of the YES Network to gain a competitive advantage. and have not been fined for sign stealing. And nobody knows what was in the .so called letter.
Sorry it was the replay phone not the bullpen phone and sources involved with MLB and the investigation have stated that the letter from MLB to the Yankees does not allege that the Yankees participated in sign-stealing, because the league concluded that the team did not steal signs. But as usual cheaters deflect.
Bang Bang
and not a single tear will be shed
It seems the universe is settling the score with the Astros…
That’s one heck of a tab!
Manfred forced the baseball gods to take action
Bye Altuve! I get all the salty Astro fan comments in support of the team, anyone would for their team. But fact is they cheated, and fans of any other team will forever cast them as cheaters especially, since there’s anger underneath the players never getting suspended or fined for it! The cheating talk will never go away so get used to Houston fans. You may have won the World Series, but they will forever be known in the same boat as the black sox…Trashtros…
So did the Yankees but no consequences for the commish’s favorite team.
Did someone mistake his knee for a trashcan?
I don’t like to read about anyone getting injured, even an Astro who might be a cheating scumbag.
Altuve banged up his knee?
Altuve trip over a wire in his uniform.
Astros cheating, whether Altuve did it or not, was likely enough to put him over the top for the MVP. Judge deserved it anyway, imo.
If you’re going to act like a professional writer, at least do a little research. The guy has been on fire for the last ten days.
Not true. After his 4 game hot streak his average went down and no rbis in the last 10 games.
The baseball gods are speaking once again. Also they said in the article that his stats are on characteristic I guess it’s true what oral Hershiser said “guessing is not the same as knowing“.
kar·ma: destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.
Shoeless Joe Jackson was a great player too but is forever known as a cheater. Thats what Altuve will be remembered like in the future. Deal with it Asstros fans
I hope Altuve knows he will have to remove his buzzer before going in for his MRI. I would hate for it to go off and give a false reading. He could be out indefinitely.
@JerryBird- lol, he definitely needs to be out indefinitely or permanently
I guess he cheated in 2014 when he hit .341 and the team lost 92 games. Or in 2015 when he hit .313. Altuve was a .300 hitter well before the allegations. The way I understood Beltran brought the tactics with him in 2017. Plus someone, forget the guys name, that recorded the bangs and Altuve was the lowest. He was like 2% which would match up with Correa’s story that Altuve would get mad if they would bang the can. Again not a fan but I do not think Altuve was a cheater. Most of the rest of his teammates were definitely cheaters.
Every one is entitled to their own opinions.
Wins/losses are a team stat. You can individually cheat to the moon and back and the team can lose.
The guy could have a personal cheating method with those buzzers/devices that show in videos that had nothing to do with the trashcan. Maybe he hated the bangs because he thought it would draw heat and get him caught for his other scheme. Maybe he cheated all along.
You’re welcome to think he’s not a cheater. Enjoy.
To me, he’s a cheater.
I agree, he probably did. He just didn’t get caught because none of his ex-teammates ratted him out. Good point!
He was caught with the buzzer, therefore, a cheater. ‘Nuff said as far as I’m concerned.
@Bayles: what he did before the cheating started is irrelevant. We’ll never know the truth, and that’s the sad part.
Definitely thinking Altuve didn’t know a knee problem was coming like he knew that Chapman slider was coming.
I’d like to ask Chapman, why he threw a slider in that situation, middle of the zone on outside of plate. Altuve had chased low and away pitches with little to no contact all series.
Not here to point fingers and I truly love Altuve’s heart and desire that he puts into the game, but it REALLY doesn’t look to good to go from a career average over .300 to what he is doing this year without the trash banging. Maybe he cheated, maybe he didn’t, but it sure looks alot more to the former as of now. Hopefully he gets all healed up for a full 2021 season!
Ah, Karma….Gotta Love It!!!
Oh stop he’s a good little buzzer cheater!!!
He should get a tattoo where the buzzer was
Well that updates a shame. He should still return his mvp trophy
I hope Altuve strikes out 1,000 times in the next few seasons, but being disappointed that another person got good medical news is kinda awful.
Altuve is just having a down year much like JD Martinez, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, etc. This is a very strange season and you can’t put too much stock in the results of a 60 game season with a non-standard spring training. While Altuve and the Astros lost a lot of respect from their cheating scandal, there’s no doubt he is a highly talented player and chances are he returns to form next year if they are able to play a full schedule with a full spring training as well. I wouldn’t bet against him.
So the “buzzer” and trash can banging has NOTHING to do with his .213 average? Ooooooooook. As Richard from the movie Tommy Boy said, “Hello, I’m earth, have we met?” LMAO