NEWSLETTER
The Houston Astros may have made some managerial and front office and roster changes since their electronic sign stealing days, but they remain a deeply, deeply unlikable team.
It would’ve been bad enough for reliever Bryan Abreu to PRETTY CLEARLY throw at Adolis Garcia during the ALCS for any reason. It would’ve been even worse for it to be because Garcia celebrated a key home run earlier in the game. It would’ve been even worse for the Astros en masse to deny the obvious. It would’ve been even worse for the Astros to freak out about the consequences of their actions (which, in this case, could mean Abreu is unavailable for tonight’s Game Seven).
That all happened. It was annoying and wrong and tracked with my general distaste for that organization going back to the trash-can-aided cheating.
But this. This is just unreal. Here’s the article, and then the part that JUMPED out at me:
“Some with the Astros suspect the league also is showing favoritism toward the Rangers because their general manager, Chris Young, worked for the league from May 2018 to Dec. 2020. Young, a former major-league pitcher, rose to senior vice president, replacing Joe Torre as the official who decided suspensions and fines for on-field matters, such as intentionally hitting batters.
The league declined comment. Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The kind of blatant favoritism the Astros people are suggesting seems highly unlikely. Some in the organization, though, still believe their club was unfairly singled out by the league for electronic sign stealing in 2019 when other teams were engaging in similar misconduct. The Red Sox were the only other team penalized, and for lesser offenses. No team was accused of using a system as elaborate as the Astros’.”
You have GOT TO BE kidding me. The Astros think the league is INTENTIONALLY HURTING THEM because they’re buddy-buddy with the Rangers’ GM? And the Astros think the league has it out for them because THEY CHEATED WORSE THAN ANY OTHER TEAM THAT GOT CAUGHT? (The punishment for which, by the way, was incredibly LIGHT!)
The absolute stones on these guys to use THEIR OWN CHEATING SCANDAL was a way to complain about their reliever getting suspended for throwing 99 mph up-and-in to plunk a guy for celebrating a home run. Absolutely unreal. The Astros might be the most unlikable team in decades.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate the Cardinals and Brewers more because of rivalry stuff. And I think the Marlins are a joke of an organization. But as far as UNLIKABLE organizations and teams go, I just find almost nothing at all to appreciate about these Astros. Yordan Alvarez is pretty awesome, I guess.
Just stop crying about stuff like you’re the most put-upon team in baseball, when you’re simply having to deal with the consequences of your own actions.
