5GoldGlovesOF,75

This "scandal" is far from over, and Beltran is the next to go. It doesn't matter that Manfred absolved the players -- and is desperate to keep New York out of the mix, since it is too important for MLB right now that the media capital of the world gets back on top again -- but Beltran is going to have such a hard time managing the Mets answering questions about "cheating" that Wilpon might just join the other superintendents (Henry and Crane) and call it a snowday. And no, it's not a parallel to when the Mets changed their minds at the last minute about Wally Backman, because he was charged with an actual crime -- not engaging in an accepted part of the culture of his sport like trying to decipher secret codes. Yankee fans also just better hope when Beltran crashes he doesn't come clean about his tenure as their "special advisor" -- and the reasons Cora called him their "best free agent acquisition"...

Manfred's single BS theory...

Sorry, double trouble...

Manfred and the MLB would love to blame their culture soley on their chosen scapegoats, but the only way this is going away is if they blackmail all teams and players into silence under threat of blackballing them from the game. If Cora and Hinch are Oswald and Ruby in this conspiracy, who are Luhnow and Dombroski... Castro and LBJ? JBJ? (the Boring Commission will make up something). In the meantime, we need Keith Hernandez to spit...

I'm not ignoring what Fiers said, but if he was so concerned about the issue, why didn't he come out while he was an Astro? Didn't he celebrate their title and wear their ring? Logan Morrison said today he heard Astros banging trash cans as early as 2014, and that lots of teams were using video to crack catcher's codes, including New York, Toronto and Los Angelos... None of this really went public until opposing teams started sending reconnaissance employees to intercept foes spying on each other. Then Cora praised Beltran last summer as a great addition to the Yankees by "paying attention to details". Cora may just turn out to be Manfred's fallguy.

Honesty and moral principles have everything to do with what goes on inside a clubhouse -- in any sport, in the context that it stays inside the clubhouse. These aren't crimes the players committed here, but an accepted part of the game of baseball for over a century. It's just been taken to an advanced level using the latest tech available... which the commish didn't like it, told them to stop, and is now swinging from the heels about. I never played the game for money, but you might believe someone who did -- like Merloni, when he says the effects of sign-stealing are overrated and inconsequential. Try telling that to the same media that is increasingly changing its tune on HOF voting for steroid users.

I wish you had put quotation marks around integrity. How do you think Fiers' ex-teammates or even current teammates feel about him? I'd suspect a lot are more concerned about trust rather than penalties or consequences (ya, I know "stitches for snitches" originated in the streets, not from retaliatory beanballs)... It might suck to be part of the Red Sox right now, but none of us wear the laundry (except the souvenirs). But as a fan, I refuse to put an asterisk on 2018 -- or 04 or 07 or 13 -- when my favorite teams won drinking performance-enhancing protein shakes or shots of Jack Daniels or manipulating the latest technology -- because that was the culture of their milieu at that time in history... just like the Yankee dynasty that won during the steroid era or champs snorting powder in the 70s and 80s or eating greenies in the 60s or using binoculars before Bobby Thomson's HR in 1951. But I agree it's time for this era to stop, mainly because what's really bad for the game are all the sign-delays that make it such a drag to watch.

Great line, notin. Those wily Red Sox sure were clever in getting so many runners to stop at second in '18 -- now we know why they led the majors in doubles. Wait a minute, they led in doubles again in '19...

"It's not like people admit to everything." ... like all the other players and teams who are not on trial this week. Did Altuve know a slider was coming from Chapman last October? Or did he only know what Sale was throwing when he hit three HRs in Game One of '17 ALDS? Or which year did he do PEDs? Manfred can pretend to the public he's in charge, but he'll never change baseball or stop technology from evolving. Banning all video from dugouts, bullpens and clubhouses might work, but we all know that's not even feasible in 2020...

Remind them that the '17 Astros won 53 away games vs. 48 at home; .654 winning percentage on the road, compared to .593 in Houston. And that the '18 Red Sox went 7-1 on the road in the postseason, when the MLB took measures to ensure that no teams could use videos unethically. The hypocritical MLB said it's ok to peak at signs with human eyes, just not with electronic eyes. Sign "stealing" has been part of the game forever, but how much it helps can never be proven. I remember in high school with base coaches rooting for batters: first names for fastball, last names for offspeed... some of us didn't want to know; we only had seconds to react either way (especially since the "signs" were often unreliable).

I totally disagree. Astros in the investigation reported they know of at least eight more teams involved in the same types of tech-based subterfuge. We can assume those are mostly American League teams... are we that naive to think players and clubs in the NL aren't privy to or don't participate in the same culture and methods? The Astros and Red Sox won, so of course they're targets of whistle-blowers; nobody cares about how the Orioles or Marlins tried to get an edge. They all honor their oaths of Omerta until after the conquests -- and then we notice that only (perhaps resentful) EX-employees start squealing. I've downplayed this sign-stealing "scandal" from the beginning, because players and teams will always try to get an edge on competition. I can't downplay the consequences, but the "integrity" of the game isn't as much at stake as the pace of the game because of all this crap.

Astros' owner just fired Hinch and Lunhow. Maybe Henry brought Bloom in when he did so he didn't have to fire his GM right before the next season...

You're just saying that because you want it to be true. Henry will bring back Lovullo, who should've been appointed full-time skipper the year after he interimmed. They already offered Manny Sanguillen in trade.

MLB pretending to the public that no baseball teams will try to intercept secret codes contrived to deceive opponents ever again... Now we have something almost tangible to discuss... Biggest future question of the offseason: WHO will manage the Sox in 2020? A minion controlled by a Cora drone? A Bloom recruit? Varitek? Bobby V in a fake beard disguise? WHO???

Henry is right about the media: it keeps recording his words, replaying them on the news and quoting them in the papers.

C'mon, you know Joe D and Say Hey were reputed to be as good or better than anyone in the outfield alone last century; their batting and base-running made them two of the best all-around all-timers at any position. Though Mantle was the most cherished baseball card...

The writers on MLB.com are even worse when it comes to these rankings. They always favor bats over gloves, even in defensive positions. Anybody who plays knows defense is more important up the middle -- at least still at catcher, short and in center in the majors (third basemen, who shift to short more frequently than ever, are now more vital on D than second basemen, who shift to right). Gary Sanchez is always rated near the top of these catcher lists -- solely because of his HR power -- but whether the Yankees can win with him behind the plate remains the elephant on the field.

Almost all start out as starters; there's not many Feltmans in the world... there's not even a Feltman in our world, yet. And of course you want your best pitchers to be starters that go deep into games, since they're entrusted to get the most batters out. But when a starter struggles in the minors to keep his K/BB ratio above 2:1 (like DHern), it just isn't working out; there's not many Pedros or Schillings... but they were both in our world.

Probably, but there's such a different mindset in preparation and approach to starting and relieving. Guys who know they're starting have days and nights to get on their game-face, then try to pace themselves following a plan. Relievers sit around for hours spitting and waiting, and don't even get up to stretch until around mid-game, lest they waste adrenaline. I don't how a starter-turned-reliever-turned-opener thinks, but it could be an interesting interview topic to read around mid-summer this year.

If you guys can get Bloom to swing a deal that includes both Price and Yates, it would appease fans of 2020 and 2021! “There is another world, but it is in this one.” W.B. Yeats

I have doubts about DHern as opener. His biggest issue is control, and that's why they like him in relief (but not yet closer material). If he could produce quality starts he'd be exactly the best young hope to join the rotation, and with his arm, could be a monster... But giving him the ball in a one or two-inning opening, where guys get to throw as hard as they can and not hold anything back, may not be the best way to harness control.

I've thought all winter that the Sox could deal Price for Myers, maybe with one or two others going back and forth, and then even just cut Myers if it's not working out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Boston still save $10M towards the payroll reset with Myers instead of Price, even if they have to eat the contract?

A shutdown first frame can set the tone for the entire game, so I thought I'd contrast first-inning numbers for the 2019 starting rotations of Boston and Tampa. The differences are stark; as great as night and day, north and south, big market and small market: 1st IP ERA, BA, K/BB: Sale 3.60/.174/5.75 Price 4.98/.222/2.2 ERod 5.03/.300/2.71 Eovaldi 5.25/.279/2.33 Porcello 6.32/.311/4.5 And the Rays: Chirinos 2.00/.117/4.67 Glasnow 2.25/.186/3.4 Morton 2.45/.167/5 Stanek 2.67/.222/3.3 Snell 6.45/.271/3.2 Snell had an injury-filled season, so his stats are closer to the unhealthy Bosox... but we all should be glad the Sox made pitching coach changes their first offseason priority and then also hired a GM with different staff philosophies, as well. The intriguing guy was Stanek, the opener who was second on Tampa with 27 starts to Morton's 33. Stanek's numbers were even better in the second inning: 1.12/.130/4. Such improvement is most likely attributed to facing the second half of the order -- or not the top or heart like in the first frame. So how about trying out Matt Barnes as an opener? He throws harder than any Red Sox except maybe Nate, could let it all hang out, and may respond better without late inning pressures. He's less effective on back-to-back days anyway, so a start every fifth day or so, plus a few mid-game appearances in between may maximize his value. If not Barnes, who would you like to see used as an opener (it's not a question of whether you like openers, because it's a-happenin', barring a major trade or unexpected rookie promotion)?

I saw Houck in Pawtucket and definitely think his stuff can get outs in the majors. Shawaryn, I dunno if he can miss bats; he had a higher ERA than Nunez!

How many in the first inning? That can set the tone for the defense, but mostly in the eyes of beholders like me, beholding a mug of ale...