20 thoughts on “January 13, 2020: Monday The 13th!?”

    1. The fine seems small but it's the maximum allowed. Not included in the tweet is that Brandon Taubman is now on the ineligible list.

      1. From Rosenthal & Drellich’s report:

        No players were disciplined. MLB instead chose to issue penalties to those who were in positions of authority.

        One of those players is now the manager of the Mets (and a former Yankees front office member).

        1. I think not disciplining the players is the right thing to do, as this scheme had to have been painfully obvious to the manager and the GM. It would be up to them to put a stop to it. I hope the Red Sox are next. Then move on to the Yankees. The Twins obviously never cheat (good enough) to win big.

          To break the penalties down: The fine doesn't really matter. I would of had to been an 8 digit number to even get on anyone's radar. The draft picks could have been more severe. 4 picks will cause a little stress, but not necessarily a lot of pain. The 1 years suspensions do not feel severe enough for me. (see Zoolander Sean Payton)

            1. Depending on the extent of the findings in the Red Sox cheating scandal, I expect Cora to receive a ban somewhere between 3 years and lifetime suspension. You gotta think that he will also be fired regardless of the punishment put forth by MLB.

              1. Posnanski tweeted out a blurb and noted that it didn't take much reading between the lines to get the impression that Cora is done as a big league manager.

                1. I think you and Posnanski are correct on this one.

                  I am really, really curious (and worried) about how far this investigation will end up extending. With the amount of player movement in the league today, and with how "harshly" the league is coming down, will we see other players leak out cheating secrets for other teams? I think it is obvious that the Astros, Red Sox and Yankees have no issues with cheating. It would not shock me one bit if half the teams out there have done something close to this level, and most of the other half of the teams have cheated to a lesser degree. Hopefully, Gonzo didn't bring anything of that nature with him to Minnesota.

                  On another note, I will laugh next year when offensive numbers go down (due to a fixed baseball) and people claim it is because of no cheating.

                  1. I’m reminded of Bregman’s statement about Beltrán in early November (emphasis maintained from original):

                    “I think Carlos Beltrán helped out the Yankees this year a lot,” Bregman said. “Like a lot lot.”

                    Was he referring to Beltrán’s purported ability to pick up on tells? Or about his co-development of the Astros’ 2017 cheating scheme? Will MLB be investigating Beltrán’s subsequent activities? Seems like they should, but I doubt that they will.

            2. I've not followed closely enough to understand the why behind this. Did Cora do something worse than Hinch? How was it meaningfully different?

              1. Hinch was suspended because although he didn't approve of the scheme, he didn't do anything to stop it. From MLBTR's report:

                Hinch, according to the league’s investigation, actually expressed frustration with the operation and damaged the hallway monitor to the point of needing replacement on two occasions, but he also never brought the issue to the attention of Luhnow or anyone in the Commissioner’s Office. “As the person with responsibility for managing his players and coaches, there simply is no justification for Hinch’s failure to act,” the report reads.

                Cora meanwhile led it with help from Beltrán. Quote from Manfred about Cora:

                Cora was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs. Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’conduct. I will withhold determining the appropriate level of discipline for Cora until after the DOI completes its investigation of the allegations that the Red Sox engaged in impermissible electronic sign stealing in 2018 while Cora was the manager.

          2. Losing the top two picks for two years should have a significant impact on the Astros' farm system. I think the slotting system has those two picks at above 50% of the entire pool for the first ten rounds. Of the four prospects used to acquire Greinke, two were drafted in the first round and another in the second. One of the prospects in the Verlander trade was from the first round. They won't be able to make one of those trades in the 2022-2023 time frame now nor otherwise be able to keep those players to improve the team.

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