Jeff Passan reports that the house being looked into as the source of the hacking is in Jupiter, Florida, which is where the Cardinals do their Spring Training. That leaves open a wide range of possibilities, though the original report indicated that the house was one shared by multiple Cardinals employees, and the Houston Chronicle reports that a group of four or five individuals associated with the Cardinals are being investigated.
Take those reports together, and the implication is that there were a handful of front office executives and/or interns housing together at Spring Training, and one or more of them perpetrated the hack at that location. If they did this on their own, without passing on any knowledge up the chain, and if they are low level enough, any punishments for the Cardinals’ organization as a whole may be muted (the deterrent effect isn’t as strong if you’re punishing an organization for something an individual did on his/her own). If the information did make its way even a little up the chain, or if multiple Cardinals employees knew what was going on and didn’t say anything, then the punishment from MLB could, and probably should, be severe.
As for the criminal aspect, I don’t want to draw too much on any past legal experience, both because I did not practice criminal law and because I haven’t practiced at all for over four years, but I can point you to this article from Orin Kerr and this article from Nathaniel Grow. They know what they’re talking about, so you can read those pieces for the nitty gritty on the criminal side. The short version? It is a federal offense to access someone else’s private computers/phones/etc. without their permission. I tend to think folks who’ve come up in the open information age don’t take this stuff as seriously as they should – while they wouldn’t dream of breaking into someone’s house and reading the files in their safe, many think it’s a joke to even call password guessing a “hack”, and it’s no big deal to pop into someone’s server and read a few things. This is serious, serious stuff, and federal agents and prosecutors take it as seriously as they should.
But, circling back: that doesn’t mean the baseball implications here are going to be quite that severe. We just don’t know enough right now about who was involved, the depth and scope of the hack, and what else investigators might uncover about the Cardinals’ practices and activities. Maybe there was an institutional hacking program and the leak of the info last year about the Astros simply tipped things off. Alternatively (and, let’s be honest, more probably), maybe a single intern got access to Jeff Luhnow’s old passwords, and decided to try and screw him. If that was the case, how much punishment would the Cardinals really deserve? I know it’s easy to get riled up because it’s the Cardinals, but try to keep your head within the fairness zone.
Speaking of which, Grow writes here about the possible punishments the Cardinals could face from MLB.
Plenty of comments here from Commissioner Rob Manfred. He confirmed that MLB was aware of the investigation before yesterday’s report, and is cooperating with the investigation. Although it’s a serious matter, Manfred was reticent to say too much before more facts are known with respect to who was involved, what exactly they did, and who knew about it.
Miscellany:
in keeping with baseball tradition, a Houston exec should walk into the STL offices and hit their best front office guy with a fastball
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
A significant update on Justin Steele came from Craig Counsell tonight after the Cubs extra innings loss in Texas. In short: Yes, a stint on the Injured List is likely for Justin Steele. But we still don't know how severe...
It took exactly one day for the Cubs' ace to sustain what may be a significant injury, for their closer to blow a save, for the umpires to significantly impact the outcome of a critical play (this time in the...
That was absolutely incredible. To all the little kids out there, when your coach tells you to never stop running, this is why. Rookie Cubs 1B Michael Busch (the guy the Cubs got from the Dodgers this offseason to be...
*SHORT COURTS: It's Time To Bring The Home Court, Home! Looking for a unique way to celebrate your athlete or team before you peruse the FIRST CHICAGO CUBS LINEUP of the Year? Don't miss out! For just one more week...
I am still mostly incapacitated at the moment, so apologies for the short shrift on such an otherwise blessed day. In between pokes and prods, I wanted to share a chart I saw that was pretty interesting, even if unsurprising:...
ESPN was the first to throw some love the Cubs way this week, with an overwhelming majority of their writers, analysts, and editors picking the Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central in 2024. But the love doesn't end there....
You know where you want to spend your Opening Day morning? The hospital! Suffice to say, this is not how I imagined getting HYPED for the Cubs' opener. I guess I'll just have to think about all the possible lineup...
Cubs vs Rangers — THE REGULAR SEASON IS HERE! Wake up and rejoice. Later tonight, the Cubs will begin their march toward October Baseball against the (reigning World Series champion) Texas Rangers in Arlington. Justin Steele is getting the nod...
Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...
There's no way around it: The Chicago Cubs did *not* have the offseason we hoped they might after making Craig Counsell the highest paid manager in MLB history. Not that they did poorly, mind you. Cody Bellinger, Shota Imanaga, and...
Two hot teams meet when the Washington State Cougars (21-14) host the Illinois Fighting Illini (17-15) on April 1, 2024. The Cougars will put their three-game win streak on the line against the Fighting Illini, who have won three straight.On...
The Villanova Wildcats (21-12) will try to extend a three-game winning streak when they host the Penn State Lady Lions (22-12) on April 1, 2024. The Lady Lions have also won three games in a row.In its previous game, Villanova...
The Milwaukee Brewers are moneyline favorites (-110) to begin their season with a road win over the New York Mets on Friday at 1:40 PM ET, live on SNY.Freddy Peralta takes the mound for Milwaukee while Jose Quintana is New...
The Philadelphia Phillies (0-0) host the Atlanta Braves (0-0) in an Opening Day game at 3:05 PM ET on Friday.The Braves will look to Spencer Strider against the Phillies and Zack Wheeler.Braves vs. Phillies Pitcher Matchup and Game InfoWhen: Friday,...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder (50-22) are 2.5-point underdogs against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns (43-30) Friday, March 29, 2024 at Paycom Center. The game starts at 8:00 PM ET on KSBI. The matchup's point total is...
The Milwaukee Brewers (0-0) begin their 2024 season with a road matchup against the New York Mets (0-0) on Friday, with first pitch at 1:40 PM ET.The Brewers will give the nod to Freddy Peralta versus the Mets and Jose...
The Philadelphia 76ers (39-34) are 8-point underdogs against the Cleveland Cavaliers (44-29) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday, March 29, 2024. The game starts at 7:30 PM ET on NBCS. The matchup's point total is set at 212.5.Our computer predictions...
The Portland Trail Blazers (19-54) will attempt to end an eight-game losing streak when they visit the Miami Heat (39-33) on Friday, March 29, 2024 at FTX Arena as heavy, 14-point underdogs. The contest airs at 8:00 PM ET on...
The Utah Jazz (29-44) will try to end a seven-game losing streak when they host the Houston Rockets (37-35) on Friday, March 29, 2024 at Vivint Smart Home Arena as 7.5-point underdogs. The contest airs at 9:30 PM ET on...
The Chicago Bulls (35-38) hit the court against the Brooklyn Nets (28-45) as 5.5-point favorites on Friday, March 29, 2024 at 7:30 PM ET on NBCS. The matchup has an over/under set at 214.5 points.Before you place an informed wager...