MIKE FIERS: FROM CHAMPION, TO CHEATER, TO SNITCH!

I post this disclaimer at the beginning of this piece....this opinion is MINE and mine alone. I do not claim that Casey or anyone else on the BYB staff shares in my opinion. If they agree, so be it. If no one else agrees then I am fine on my own baseball island. So let there be no confusion as you read on.

Sign stealing happens in baseball. It's part of the game, but HOW the Astros did still isn't right so they are appropriately named ASSTROS! in my eyes, just like we posted yesterday. I can't even say I get MAD when a team steals signs on the field. It happens. However, using technology to do it like the Boston Red Sox did in 2017 with Apple watches and now how the ASSTROS did DOES make me mad because that is different. That's a headline and it is something we should all react to, BUT I have a bigger question here.....

Why aren't people talking more about Mike Fiers? Yeah, the Astros should be held accountable all the way from the top of the organization down because that is a CULTURE that the organization has fostered but Fiers is a SNITCH! How STUPID do you have to be to talk to the media and admit he was part of a team that cheated, read more HERE. HEY DUMMY....we know sign stealing happens but quit painting yourself to be a saint just because you are the only one willing to come forward and identify yourself. Your 15 minutes back in the spotlight does not make you look good here.

The other part of the story that got buried here is that Fiers has a strained relationship with his former team. After he got his World Series ring, the Astros non-tendered him and then he signed with the Tigers and he was quick to warn the Tigers about the Astros cheating ways.
"I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they're going in there not knowing. Young guys getting hit around in the first couple of innings starting a game, and then they get sent down. It's [B.S.] on that end. It's ruining jobs for younger guys. The guys who know are more prepared. But most people don't. That's why I told my team. We had a lot of young guys with Detroit [in 2018] trying to make a name and establish themselves. I wanted to help them out and say, 'Hey, this stuff really does go on. Just be prepared.'"
"That's not playing the game the right way. They were advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win."

THEY were advanced and willing to go above and beyond. He's no longer an ASSTRO anymore, he was but then he went to the Tigers before being traded to the Oakland A's so now he can just SNITCH about it and that makes everything okay. All is forgiven....I guess in his mind. This is just him bringing cheating to light. He was part of the problem but by raising awareness he is part of the solution. Now that he's won he wants to game to be cleaned up. Right! I'm laughing over here.

So yes, I am angry about the sign stealing just like Aaron Judge and Luis Severino are. The Yankees recent history against the Astros just becomes more painful now. It always sucks to lose, but to lose to a team that cheats just makes it feel like that "cheaters never prosper" idea applies to everyone but the ASSTROS.

The cheating makes me mad, but the fact that Fiers announces it two years later and then tries to condemn it makes him a pathetic loser in my book. He has a chip on his shoulder....and now fans and players alike have a reason to not like you, Fiers.

Congrats on your new reputation as a dirty snitch, Fiers. You earned that more than you earned your World Series ring, obviously.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj