I keep looking at the punishment handed to the Braves for the International Spending Violations. Considering the Astros had a guy banging on a trashcan for plenty of Astros personnel to see, what are the odds Hinch gets suspended? How long? Luhnow?
I suspect most players already know what goes on. Astros players aren’t CIA agents; they socialize with other players. Now, the stigma the media is creating (with help from the Astros front office) might give free agents pause. But to me the bigger impact of all this is Houston not knowing what kind of financial penalties might be forthcoming, which adds budget uncertainty. Again, ideally the league doesn’t uncover anything past 2017 and just provides clearer rules on sign stealing, with Houston being lightly penalized (or not penalized at all). But based on Manfred’s most recent comments, it doesn’t look good.
Doubtful. If anything, the Astros are going to be the most heavily scrutinized team going forward and should be the "cleanest" team in the league. As it should be, IMO. This team is too good to be derailed by these allegations, at least I hope so.
The braves and their IFA signings were a direct violation by the GM himself as no one else can sign players to that club. Hinch can be suspended for all I care. Luhnow better not be touched if there wasnt a direct link to him handing out orders to cheat himself.
The pause is what Im worried about. We arent the only contenders and that pause could sway them to competing contenders. If the cards only got a 2mil fine for breaking laws and not just rules, we better not get anything more severe.
They should get the same punishment the Red Sox/Yankees got. But they wont. Many in MLB are still p!ssed that the Stros showed the way to build a great team is by tanking and great scouting, rather than by spending money in FA to have an avg/slightly above avg team. Cant have the Yanks/Red Sox consistently losing to the Stros. I will be p!ssed if the Stros punishment is as much as the Cards punishment was. What the Cards did was much more damaging to the game.
FA's go where the money is and or where they can win WS. Stros can offer both of these things. No need to worry.
Classic CFs over reaction. Something else will happen to overshadow the cheating foolishness. Just be patient.
Whether he there is a direct link or not, it is his responsibility to have some control over team. It isn't like Astros had a select group of players covertly operating with a rogue coach....they were banging on a trashcan in plain site.
His responsibility is to put players on the roster for the manager to manage. Thats why I said, Hinch can go. Luhnow shouldnt be touched unless theres direct evidence of him ordering it. Its not like hes in the dugout or the tunnel during games while the banging is going on. Hes in his box. If there was a punishment sent down to him, it would/should be loss of picks and/or fine at most, not a ban like the Braves GM, who intentionally and knowingly broke the rules, in which could only be tied back to him.
So who's job is it to manage the manager and the special assistant to the GM? Plus where did Jimmy go? I haven't seen him since do an ounce of work during a home game since we learned how spit on breaking balls.
Thats the problem here; whos to say they didnt go rogue? A supervisor cant monitor every little thing. Youre comparing one situation with a GM, who may or may not have known what was going on to a GM that was the only one that could set a certain motion in action, i.e., signing players. Theres no one else that can do that but him.
So far, we have two direct employees allegedly involved, at least one front office/video person disappearing every home to covertly watch a monitor and bang a trashcan, and at least 40 other employees knowing of the situation without any of them telling Luhnow. That's a serious lack of institutional control and not just a little thing.
”Being in this game my whole life, everything kind of has a season,” Ryan said. “This season for me was incredible. I’m a big believer that there (are) seasons in life, and it’s kind of time for the next season.” After Game 7 of the World Series, Astros owner Jim Crane met with Ryan — his president of business operations — to tell him “he didn’t feel like he needed a president anymore,” according to Ryan. [...] “It was a dream come true. I’m proud,” Ryan said. “I’m very proud of the numbers we put up. I’m very proud of all the things we accomplished. One thing about sports is that change is inevitable, and so I definitely understand and respect what Jim wants to do. My goal really this year is to try to help him make this transition as seamless as possible and be there where he needs me to be there.” Ryan’s plan “right now” is to remain with the Astros through the 2020 season, though he acknowledged “talking to some people” at the owners meetings. Asked if he’d spoken to other clubs about specific job opportunities this week, Ryan said he had not. “I still feel like I’ve got some good years ahead of me,” Ryan said. “This has been an incredible experience. It would have to be the right place, but I definitely will stay in baseball. At a minimum with the Round Rock Express, a team that I started when I was in my 20s, to maybe doing something in Major League Baseball, maybe doing something at the league level. I’m keeping all my options open. “At the end of the year, (we’ll) evaluate if Jim is happy with me and feel like he needs more time. Then I would be open to that. But if he feels like we’ve made a successful transition, I’ll move on to something else. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity I’ve been given.” If Ryan harbors any ill will toward the team or Jim Crane, he did not display it publicly. His smile never faded in a 10-minute conversation with the Chronicle on Wednesday. He politely declined to “get into all the details of feelings and all that stuff.” “I don’t think it’s material to what we accomplished,” Ryan said. “I have a great relationship with Jim and the Astros now. I respect how hard it is to buy one of these teams, and you deserve to be able to run it the way you want to run it. I have a son that works in the business, so I had a lot of respect, too, for Jim wanting to have his son in the business. I think that’s great.” [...] “It had to do with creating an incredible ballpark experience and being priced appropriately and then conveying what our plan was to the fans,” Ryan said. “It’s great that (general manager) Jeff (Luhnow) was able to deliver on that plan and we were able to get him the money he needed to be able to put that kind of product on the field. I’m proud of that.” “I think we brought a real sense of pride to Astros fans and the city of Houston with what they expect when they come out to the ballpark and how the team played,” Ryan said. Whether Reid Ryan’s new role will affect the Astros’ affiliation with the Class AAA Round Rock Express — a team he founded alongside his father, his brother Reese, and Houston financier Don Sanders — remains to be seen. Three years remain on the professional development contract the Astros and Express signed last year. Reid Ryan ceased everyday involvement with the franchise during his Astros tenure. “I think there’s just a lot of things that will have to shake out with that MLB/MiLB agreement that will probably affect the future more than anything to do with me personally,” Reid Ryan said. For now, Ryan plans to keep his Houston residence. He expressed love for the city and its fans, people that “I’ve always felt like I know their DNA and I know what they’re like.” He has no rush to cement his next career move. “I have a job to do,” he said, “and that is to help Jim transition and be here for the Astros for the 2020 season.”
