In preparation for this week’s series vs Houston, we discuss all the deplorable things the Astros organization has done since their cheating scandal has come to light. Let the hate flow through you on this May the Fourth!
Top 5
1) Carlos Correa’s interview with Ken Rosenthal: In this interview, Correa comes off like he doesn’t think the Astros really did anything wrong, calls out Cody Bellinger and other players who voiced their opinions on what the Astros did, and claimed they played “clean baseball” in 2018 and 2019 despite there being a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
“So when (Bellinger) talks about that we cheated for three years, he either doesn’t know how to read, is really bad at reading comprehension or is just not informed at all.” –Carlos Correa
2) Jose Altuve playing the “I’m Innocent” card: We’ll never know for certain if Altuve and the rest of that team were using buzzers (they probably weren’t) but he claims to be innocent in the entire cheating scandal with excuses like his wife doesn’t like when his shirt is ripped off and he has a bad tattoo he didn’t want to show.
3) Jeff Luhnow denies that he knew the team was cheating: In October 2020 — nearly a year after the scandal broke — former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow claimed that he found out with the rest of the general public that the team was cheating. This is total bullshit because the “Codebreaker” system was created by an intern in his department and presented to him. There’s email trails proving this.
4) The Astros’ fake apology during spring training last year: The Astros went full heel at the beginning of spring training 2020, and their owner Jim Crane was at the forefront. These are some of the statements he actually made:
“Our opinion is that this didn’t impact the game.” –Jim Crane
“I didn’t say it didn’t impact the game.” –Jim Crane about 55 seconds later
“I don’t think I should be held accountable.” –Jim Crane
5) Houston security removed fans who had signs with asterisks, trash cans, etc. during spring training last year (pre COVID shutdown): This one just annoyed the crap out of me. Fans have the right to express their opinion with signs, boos and heckles. Don’t run from it you cowards!
Honorable Mentions
AJ Hinch’s interview with Tom Verducci in which he came off as a total boob who didn’t do anything to stop the cheating even though he didn’t like it.
Dusty Baker (who was not with the organization before 2020) was the first person of note to speak about the scandal last spring.
The fact that Hinch and Cora got managerial jobs immediately.
MLB not really punishing the Astros organization all that harshly.
The fact that Houston mostly got off the hook thanks to COVID and they got to the ALCS in 2020 despite finishing below .500 during the regular season.
Overall, the Astros have denied, backtracked, and deflected … because they don’t think they did anything wrong.
