This year looks a little different…seems the top teams have both good pitching and hitting. The Astros fell short with not enough strong pitchers against the Nationals and the Braves. Injuries will do that and that’s part of sports. No sour grapes here as any team would be glad to make it to the WS win or lose.

But that’s what makes the playoffs so great…any team can win it.

Are you seriously claiming Altuve wasn’t hit by that pitch?

“Hit” by pitch? Best I’ll give you is grazed by pitch if it actually even touched his pants at all.

All these cry babies about the Astros is actually making me start to root for them, haha.

But you said he faked it, maybe stay off the sauce for a little bit.

It’s the umps that make that call…it’s not like Altuve pulled a page from the NBA playbook and fell to the ground flopping….the umps deemed it grazed him…if the ball touches the uniform only the umps will still call it.

If you have a gripe about it then complain about the officiating.

Yeah…some people can’t let go. It happened. The only issue I have is with those that won’t/don’t acknowledge that other teams/players did it too…doesn’t excuse what the Astros did but you can’t put a blind eye to the others and only hate on the Astros for it. Did everyone do it…no but there were plenty that did. It’s in the past. Let it go…but if you want to hate on them bring it…5 years later and they are still one of the top teams. It’s good to be hated!

Anyone watching the Little League WS? It’s fun to watch actually. Gotta support my local Pearland team of course. These kids are pretty good. Amazing level of play for kids…double plays, homers, etc.

I used to live in Williamsport and watch it every year. Great baseball!

That's the same lame excuse for corruption every crooked politician, gangster, businessman, immature little kid, etc. always says when they get caught.

The bottom line is the Astros got caught cheating and got off way too easy.

They were allowed retain their World Series title. Some of us baseball purists still don't understand that BS? MLB didn't have the courage to do what was right and send a message to all of the teams. Subsequently it will continue to happen and I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Astros get caught again someday. If the ends justifies the means they will continue to do it.

If they came down harder on the Astros they would have had to come down hard on the Red Sox and Yankees too... MLB sent a message without hurting their bottom line. Sign stealing is part of the game. Always has been. Change your signs. Get over it.

And they would have to further investigate ALL the other players/teams that allegedly had people doing it. MLB has made it clear penalties will be more severe for future violations.

Whether the punishment was enough is a different discussion….but people need to quit denying and accept and acknowledge that others did it. If you put a blind eye to that then you are a hypocrite.

Again with the straw man BS. People like you just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own actions. It's always someone else's fault. "Well since I got caught we now need to investigate everyone because I'm not the only one!"

That's why I won't be surprised if the Astros get caught again with that attitude.

There are people who commit murder every year who get caught, but according to your failed logic we should just let them go because there are so many other unsolved murders out there.

MLB does investigate every team. They don't just pick on the Astros. The reality is the Astros committed the worst offense since the "Black Sox" scandal and should thank the stars above that they were allowed to retain their "tainted" World Series Championship. There should be a big asterix next to it.

I felt bad for the Dodgers. They are the ones who really got screwed.

You don’t even know what you are talking about…MLB chose to ONLY investigate the issue to a certain extent. They did not investigate every team. They wanted to make a point for all teams/players to knock it off or severe punishments will be handed out moving forward.

I am not and never denied what the Astros did…I am just saying why can’t you also admit other teams/players did it. Some got punishment and some didn’t. Simple as that and doesn’t make any of it right.

And now you want to go trolling…are you trying to compare what the Astros did to murder? The Astros did get punished. Did I ever say they shouldn’t..no. All I have said is anyone that won’t admit OTHERS did it is a hypocrite. That’s all. Not asking for any punishment for them either but if you are gonna hate on one you need to hate on all of them….

As for real crime such as murder and such….lock em all up. If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime. Too many second and third chance violent criminals on the streets. Obviously punishments are too lenient and not a deterrent. It’s a broke system…but enough of this.

Back to baseball…

He didn’t mention the title once, nice try though.

First of all, comparing sign stealing to murder is hilarious. Also, you might want to look up what a straw man argument is...

My point is the MLB didn't come down extremely hard on the Astros, because there were other cases of severe sign stealing going on in the league. The very next year (2018) the Red Sox got caught stealing signs using technology after they won the World Series. Anyone that has played baseball at a high school level or higher knows that sign stealing is part of the game. Always has been and always will be. Every team is trying to get the other teams signs. You can whine all you want but that WS banner is gonna fly forever in Houston.

Back to current baseball talk. Anyone think the Orioles will make a run at that last wild card spot? Only 2.5 back. That would be a fun story. Have a sell off of talent but still make the playoffs.

Unlike some, I don't really have a stake in all this as far as a favorite team goes.

I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan but I'm also a MLB fan and as a MLB fan I was offended by the Astros' conduct and also took offense with the seemingly weak response from MLB considering the magnitude of the infractions.

One thing that was really-sad was to find out Carlos Beltran was involved in it with the rest of them. Of all the players, he was one of the last ones I would have thought would be involved with this kind of corrupt BS. He paid dearly for it too when the Mets cancelled his coaching deal, unlike the rest of the players involved in the cheating scandal who got off pretty-easy.

Coaches and GM were fired and banned. By most accounts, Beltran was the mastermind of the system. That was the Mets decision to part ways not the MLB's. I'll say this once again, if the MLB were to go any harder on the players they would have put themselves in a corner because of the other scenarios they were aware of at the time (mainly Red Sox and Yankees).

Speaking of corrupt BS, don't forget this little snafu from few years ago...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/30/st-louis-cardinals-hacking-scandal-punishment-houston-astros-mlb

The reality is that no other team in baseball in modern times has disgraced the game like the Houston Astros did. Not even close. Are the other teams perfect? No but that doesn't excuse the Astros. You are going to have to find some better "deep state" conspiracy theories than that Donald. lol

All I know is the Cards have a challenging task ahead of them starting a 3 game series with the Braves tonight in St. Louis. Hopefully the game will be played fairly and not totally-corrupt and rigged as you claim they all are now. lol

I’m curious how this was different, let me know. https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/04/26/yankees-fined-100k-for-2015-2016-sign-stealing-methods

No Arenado for the series, on paternity leave

Yeah no one remembers that skinny Cardinal Mark McGuire hitting all those natural home runs. Get off your high horse.

What deep state conspiracies have I stated? What corruption have I stated? Red Sox and Yankees both got caught stealing signs with electronics in the same time period. That’s fact.

Also to bring it full circle, you calling me Donald is in fact a Straw man argument.

Adley Rutschman appears to be the real deal.

He’s definitely trending to be a superstar. Love seeing these young guys getting the call up and crushing it.

Spencer Strider on the bump against the Cards now if you guys wanna see some high heat and a lot of strikeouts

Gotta love the 70's porn star stache, along with the heat, that Strider brings!

Yeah the Cards faced him earlier in the season with similar results. He's the real-deal.

Dodgers came roaring back, winning 10-6 in the 10th inning, at the Fish.

Dodgers have scored 42 Runs in five Games.
Wow.
87-37 50 games over .500

They are CRUSHING IT!!!

Everyone was so focused on Freddie leaving... but now they have a younger, cheaper version of Freddie, plus three big time impact rookies in Strider, Harris and Grissom. They are going to be good for a very long time.

We long time Atlanta Braves fans are ecstatic! Liberty Media finally committed to spending, and you are correct, long term competitiveness! Too bad the Rockies are no help.

My only complaint is that in the old days, I could drive down to Atlanta/Fulton county stadium, and pay 5 bux and sit on field level! I went to plenty of games, where I was 1 of 7k, in a 56k capacity stadium.

Yeah I remember years ago back when the Braves were consistently good they didn't have the attendance you'd expect. There were playoff games that were not sold out.

It looks like the attendance is a lot better nowadays. Winning the World series tends to give attendance a boost.

Series? He is in the lineup today lol.

Right, what the heck they had that game won and then just rolled over!

Yeah and he went 4 for 4 only missing the triple for the cycle.

About 30 games to go…the cut to make the playoffs is gonna start to tighten up in a couple weeks. The big dogs will all clench early..it’s really the WC spots that could make this interesting. Time left for several teams to make a run if they get hot.

I really want the Orioles to get a wildcard spot. They sure don't hit consistently enough. It's remarkable that they are even sniffing the last wildcard spot after trading away Mancini and closer Lopez. Mancini should have been allowed to retire as an Oriole, same with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Whoever is their pitching coach deserves a HUGE pay raise. Whatever pitching mojo they are using is working.

I'm not a fan of Austin Hayes and Mountcastle. Whenever I see them play, they do absolutely nothing.

Lol every time I come back here there are people crying about the Astros.

Did you guys see Spencer Strider last night? 16 strikeouts to set a new Atlanta record, he's the real deal.

13B3A708-E31B-4FF4-A0E4-23A822D8F5D2 (resized).jpeg

Dude is fire. Elite fastball and elite slider, devastating! Move over Smoltzy.

Orioles have won 4 series in a row. Let’s go O’s!

Can’t argue 16 Strike outs…that’s legit but they were also playing the Rockies who have the 6 or 7th worst record overall in both leagues….

He is 9-4 this season but W/L for pitchers is misleading sometimes….he is young and needs some solid 15+ win seasons…he definitely has an arm most teams would love to have as the potential is there. Just putting it in perspective before we jump him to elite status…I suspect if he maintains his progression and consistency he will be in the ranks of current top pitchers soon enough. He is locked up to 2028 I think so could look good for the Braves.

If it make a people feel better bring the hate….I am enjoying the good years we are having as they won’t last forever.

Yup, tick,tick,tick back to mediocrity and obscurity.

No need to throw shade on the young stud. His savant page screams elite, right now, in 2022:

Screenshot_20220902-215322_Firefox.jpg

I am just being a realist with a little perspective….let’s see him in 3 more seasons….his potential to be even BETTER is very possible.

Too often we see a young stud pitcher that lights it up and flames out too quick. New pitchers can also get a streak of amazing success as less batters have faced them…give hitters time and they may figure this guy out. The future looks very good for this guy and the Braves have him for the next few years so time will tell but you can’t just lump this guy into elite…is he pitching at a high level….absolutely….is he elite…not until he has ENOUGH stats/accomplishments over time.