notin

I believe a former player like Fiers talked. But we don’t know who. But to give him some context, let’s assign him a made up name. Like, say, Steven White? Work for you? Ok so how many teams have a Mike Fiers or Steven White to tell all?

Here’s the thing. Morrison is probably understating the problem. But how is this investigation going to work on just his word? He can talk to LoMo, who can and might name names. Then what?

But I am 100% with slasher on this. Hand signals need to go. They were all implemented to accommodate deaf players or old-fashioned scoreboard operators (from umpires). They’re outdated. Want to fight technology? Use technology...

No he doesn’t. And I’d be very surprised if it happened...

He didn't come out and say anything in 2017 because no one would have. Especially someone who knew his contract was expiring. The 2018 Red Sox have the same type of whistle blower who happens to still be anonymous as far as I know. Apparently Fiers did spend 2018 alerting his new teams - Detroit and eventually Oakland - to the practices of the Astros. He didn't go public just yet. Really I don't care about the timing, even if Fiers only ratted out the Astros because they did not offer him a good contract in 2018. In fact, if that is his ultimate motivation, all the more incentive for teams not to cheat - there will be inevitable blackmail in the future. Morrison is probably right that the isue is more widespread than we realize. Certainly the Red Sox and Astros are not the only teams who know how to use a camera...

THen he gets cuts. Either way, San Francisco pays the overwhelming bulk of the salary...

Merloni is obviously a better voice on the impact than any of us, but that doesn't change that teams still do it. And doesn't make it right. I think corked bats are 100% ineffective, but they're still illegal. And you are right about this not being a criminal activity, but integrity and honesty are not limited to criminal matters. You can downplay this aspect of it all you want, but you're now ignoring that another big leaguer went and turned whistle blower because he said it was not how the game was supposed to be played. His exact quote was "That's not playing the right way." Effective or not, he stood on certain principles of sportsmanship. How is silence integrity here? I don't get that. Fiers might not be a good teammate, but that is not the same thing at all.

I would hope some do. but so far at least 3 posters have voiced displeasure with the effect on games by lengthening it. That's appalling, especially if you had any outrage over steroids...

Especially since the Sox would pay him like $500K and the Giants would be paying him $11.7 Mill. Perfect payback for Sandoval...

But he already has a job. I'd take Torey Lovullo back, but he is working right now, too...

What does what Fiers’ teammates think of him have to do with his honesty and moral principles? Integrity isn’t about becoming an accomplice for the good of the team. True integrity can involve the very type of sacrifice you’re alluding to with Fiers. Never mind his past teammates. Will new teams want him on board, knowing he will go public if they cross the lines? To be a whistle blower with borderline talent can end a career. You don’t see teams lining up to sign Larry Bigbie. And it’s weird that the only outcome from this that any fans have voiced displeasure in is that it lengthens games. When steroids are involved, people want history rewritten with asterisks next to pennants and home run titles and the existence of some players wiped from the annals of Cooperstown. But with other forms of cheating from Apple watches to spitballs, the level of anger from fans is based solely on how it effects televised games. If teams could figure out a way to cheat during commercials, I doubt any fans would care at all. Many years ago, I heard Jason Stark sum it up simply, but perfectly. “Fans don’t like cheating if it leads to more home runs. But that’s it.”

I didn’t whine about him as much as a lot of people did. And right now, he looks pretty good...

And when it does come time to move past Roenicke, I hope Bloom follow two simple rules for hiring a new manager. 1. Don’t hire Bobby Valentine 2. Don’t hire Mike Scioscia.

And until a report is released, we already all know the answer. Roenicke will manage if he is not implicated. Someone else will manage if he is...

There was a question about Roenicke’s involvement. The Astros engineered a huge plot to steal signs that involved installing a camera and monitoring a live feed. The Red Sox has some players checking existing replays that every team has access to. Maybe the same ethically, but worlds apart in terms of conspiracy...

Of course it matters. Every team has a video room. How many have installed secret cameras in CF for the sole purpose of getting signals and sequences fed directly to the clubhouse? And if Cora went to being a better cheater, why did he switch to a less effective system? Houston could have had a line on every pitch. Boston only did when a runner was on second.

No, that doesn’t cover it. Cora should and will get punished regardless of actual involvement, but for now implicating other coaches in a scandal for no reason is just making random accusations...

That’s a MASSIVE oversimplification to compare the two. The Astros had a a secret camera to give them a live feed of the signals and sequences from every pitch. The Red Sox used a runner on second base (that the opposing team presumably knew was there) to relay info to the hitter, and when no one was on second, they did NOTHING. But yeah, the Apple Watch scandal will impact the punishment...

We don’t even know if Cora has a role. Until there are details from an actual investigation, there is no point in random accusations...

Dombrowski has been around a long time and has a history of winning by spending heavily on star talent, which he wouldn’t need to do if he also embraced cheating. Cora has been in the dugout for two such scandals. While I doubt he implemented this “step backwards” method, that he did not put a stop to it is the problem...

Yeah if you want to clean up the image and disassociate your team with cheating scandals, Pedroia is the guy you want. [sarcasm]

Every team need to have a Mike Fiers/Larry Bigbie type player with actual integrity. We as a culture embrace this “team code” but the reality is, it’s bad for the sport...

I think the Sox get hit hard for the repeat offense. Their “cheating” method was laughable compared to what Houston did. But because they’ve been warned before and a fine clearly did NOT get the message across, Manfred has to be harsher. He can’t be so stupid as to just levy a fine again, can he? It’s also looking like Roenicke gets to drive the bus for a while...

The legal system in that case also has a term for probation, such as one year or 5 years or whatever the judge says. And with the Red Sox, they will be treated as repeat offenders despite most of the original offenders actually not in the organization anymore or not involved this time...

He’s also 3 years younger, makes $5mill less and was a 5fWAR player before his injuries. You’ve always stated Happ was a worthwhile gamble to return to his previous level. Cozart is even less of a gamble. Or - maybe you’re right and all some team needs to get excited about Happ is someone like Tarpley, Cessa or Holder. Of course, if that’s all it takes to shed $17mill, it does pose the obvious question about why it hasn’t happened yet...