The Revenge of the Yankees Upon the Sign-Stealing Astros

As a Yankees fan, I've grown to intensely dislike the Astros.  They are good, smug, and have an edge about them that really makes it hard to lose to them, as the Yankees have.

I am not surprised about the recent revelation that the Astros developed a sophisticated form of cheating, which entailed using a centerfield camera to capture the catcher's signs to the pitcher, and then banging on a hidden trash can twice to alert the batter to the type of pitch that was coming (usually a breaking-ball).

One of the Yankee farm teams (the Staten Island Yankees) has decided to take revenge by trolling the Astros with a delightful give-away program.  (s.t. John Siston)

If you’re paying any attention – at all – to Major League Baseball these days, you’re well aware of the Houston Astros’ blatant and relatively appalling use of technology to steal signs through the use of cameras, monitors, text messages and … banging loudly on trash cans before certain pitches – including their at-bats during the World Series.

As punishment, the Astros just lost their GM and manager to a one-year suspension (they’ve both since been fired) in addition to a $5M fine (the max allowed by the league office) and a loss of their first and second round pick in both the 2020 and 2021 and draft. Frankly, I believe that’s a stern, but just response by MLB, even if it comes up short in a few ways.

Of course, the league isn’t the only one punishing the Astros for their misdeeds. The rest of baseball is taking care of that just fine:  https://twitter.com/SIYanks/status/1217180321973776385?s=20

Yep. The New York Yankees Class-A affiliate (the Staten Island Yankees) are hosting the Astros’ affiliate (the Tri-City Valley Cats) on September 3rd this season, and they’ll be handing out mini TRASH CANS AS THE GIVEAWAY!!

You can find the article here:  Yankees Minor League Affiliate Trolls Astros

Absolutely brilliant and great pay-back!

I Wonder If Baseball's "Siri" Will Get Tired of All the Inane Questions

Jose Siri is a Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer.  Can you imagine the grief he'll endure should his baseball career progress?

"Hey Siri, where's my glove?"

"Siri, where's the closest Starbucks?"

"Siri, what's the traffic like on my way home?"

"Hey Siri, who was the thirty-first president?"

"Siri, who won the 1975 AL MVP?"

"Siri, would you send a text to my wife?"

"Siri, you bum, why'd you strike out?"

Guess the Player

Can you guess the identity of this Indians rookie?

Hint--he's still playing. 

This Is Just Plain Stupid!

The Baseball powers (MLB) are actually toying with a rule change designed to shorten games.  Beginning in the tenth inning, each team would be allowed to open the inning with a runner on second base--the idea is to make it easier to score and hence shorten the game.

This is just plain stupid!

Proposed Rule Change

Bartolo Colon Does it Again -- His First Career Home Run at 42!

The secret fantasy of every pudgy middle-aged baseball fan.

"He Has a Cannon for an Arm"

Aaron Hicks sure does . . .   His throw was clocked at 105.5 MPH, the fastest ever recorded by MLB statcast.  Hicks' throw completed a double play too.  Who would try to score on a shallow fly to left when the outfielder has a arm like this?

Watch Where You Are Going

True baseball fans keep their eyes on MLB's annual winter meetings, because this is where your favorite team makes trades and signs free agents. 

The most memorable moment in these meetings occurred a few years back in Dallas, when a guest in the hotel/conference center where the meetings were being held was watching the cameras and the live broadcast in the lobby and was not paying attention to where he was going.  The result--the most often replayed clip on the MLB channel.

Friday Feature -- The Hidden Ball Trick

You don't see this very often!  The Rays pull off the "hidden ball trick" against the Dodgers in August, 2013.  The Dodger third base coach and the baserunner (Juan Uribe) both fell asleep.  I love it when a little league trick play catches big leaguers.  The Dodger announcers are clueless as well--but the guys in the Dodger dugout notice, and they razz Uribe mercilessly when he leaves the field.

Abbott and Costello Would Love This!

(h.t. Paul Barr)

"Play Ball!"

The Yanks play the Phillies today in Clearwater in their first spring training game.  The countdown to the 2015 MLB season is now underway!