CORA'S ARROGANT, SELFISH ACT TAINTED THE GAME OF BASEBALL IN THE PROCESS

Alex Cora should never be allowed to step on a baseball field again... at any level... ever.  The Red Sox know this. That's why they and he parted ways.  WEEI writes this:

"On Tuesday night, the Red Sox put out a statement saying the organization and Cora have mutually parted ways following MLB's investigation into the Astros' sign stealing scheme. 

On Tuesday, Astros manager A.J. Hinch was suspended a year and then fired along with GM Jeff Luhnow. 'Today we met to discuss the Commissioner’s report related to the Houston Astros investigation,' the Red Sox said in a statement. 

'Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways. 'This is a sad day for us. Alex is a special person and a beloved member of the Red Sox. We are grateful for his impact on our franchise. We will miss his passion, his energy and his significant contributions to the communities of New England and Puerto Rico.'...

The Red Sox will hold a press conference Wednesday."

The Red Sox are trying to get ahead of it.  Sad. Don't forget, they were investigated for stealing signs in 2017 when John Farrell was at the helm, but they are also getting investigated for stealing signs in 2018... you know, when Alex Cora, the former bench coach of the Astros showed up to manage and to teach new, better ways of cheating using technology in Beantown. In other words, he not only tainted the team, he tainted the game. He struck twice.

Pete Rose didn't taint the game. Pete Rose bet on baseball and tainted himself. But everyone in baseball knows he played the game better than many in history.  Looking at all this garbage around us these few days... it's now crystal clear to me that Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He did his time. We have a new loser in town... and his name is Alex Cora.

My 17 year old was pretty vocal about Alex Cora tonight. Don't forget, this kid has been watching baseball for a long time, even playing it himself.  He was pretty up front about it tonight...

"You know, Cora just got smug as he took manager for the Red Sox. He was likable before he got there, but it was almost like he knew he was getting away with something. Now that we know he's a crooked guy, it's one of those things where he just tarnished his reputation. He'll never recover."

That's a smart kid.  Reputation is huge and he's right, Alex Cora is done.  Sure, his close friends will never leave his side, but this guy is a piece of trash and he not only led the Red Sox down a bad road, he led the Astros down a dark tunnel as well... a tunnel with a TV featuring a live feed of the game and a trash can of course.

Alex Cora helped taint two teams and these fucking morons followed him... thinking they could get away with using strategic technology to steal signs and win a championship each.  Sure, I guess you can look at Alex Cora and suggest he's the smartest guy in the room. But I look at him and suggest that if he's a regular guy... he's going to jail for a long time.  Regular folks who cheat get in a ton of trouble.  Instead, the ridiculous Red Sox organization, knowing good and well that they would look bad in the Cora situation, decided that if they "parted ways", Cora doesn't look as bad, and the Red Sox can separate themselves from embarrassment.

But here's the thing. THIS IS NOT OVER and fans do not forget. And that's my favorite part of this.  Rob Manfred, who I have never been a huge fan of, did something historic for baseball with the Astros and Hinch yesterday, and will hopefully do something so big to Alex Cora, that it will be media worthy, a life lesson for millions and a noble attempt to save the game of baseball once and for all. Rob Manfred needs to ban Alex Cora for life from the game of baseball.  For Alex Cora has tainted the game. He brought dozens down with him to win... something destructive and selfish. Oh yea... and also wrong and against the rules.

No one, and I mean NO ONE can defend this behavior of Hinch and Cora. I mean, Roy Oswalt tried, but it fell flat just like it did for Logan "Moron" Morrison.

So let me get this right. You steal signs and get fired, but you do steroids and get millions of dollars in contracts and inducted into the Hall of Fame? #makesnosense

— Roy Oswalt (@royoswalt44net) January 13, 2020

Roy then tried to clear it up:

So let’s clear this up. I never said it was right to steal signs. But getting fired is a little harsh when you did nothing about the other.

— Roy Oswalt (@royoswalt44net) January 14, 2020

Didn't work, he looks like a fool.  You can't be Mr. Astro and try to defend a team that is in hot water so badly, you think you can make a difference on Twitter. Oswalt tried, he failed.  Morrison tried, he just looks like a freaking tool in the process because he's irrelevant.

You know who's opinion matters?  It's not players, it's not broadcasters or sports writers... it's the fans...US FANS!

Fans pay big money to go to games. Fans want to see wins and loses fairly. Fans know the best team is on the field for them... and the idea of cheating isn't in the back of their mind because they pay their hard earned money to see the best try and beat the best on the other team.

That's their money at work. And when you start to cheat your way to championships and get caught, you screw the fans... you taint the game.

And that's why Alex Cora is a clown... and that's why no Oswalt or Morrison has a leg to stand on... it's just white noise.

CC Sabathia says it best, because when CC speaks, the banging of the drum begins. He is so well respected in baseball and he's not formulating an opinion that tries to defend wrongdoing.  He simply sticks with the fans and their thoughts on the whole thing. ESPN here...

"...as investigations went on...I was like, well, we can't go back and play the games...but as more information started to come out, I'm like, we played a seven-game series in 2017, ALCS, and we lost really on kind of like one pitch.... As everything's been coming out, and the more facts that we get, it's getting frustrating man, to sit here and know that late in my career I could've had a title, maybe '17 or maybe '18, but we got cheated out of a team kind of doing something that's not within the rules of the game."

And that's what it comes down to... RULES.

Cora felt like he was above all of us. But Alex Cora is now the new punching bag.  It's no longer Pete Rose, he did his time. It's no longer Alex Rodriguez, he paid his dues and did his time. It's Alex Cora, the ringleader, the menace, the destroyer of the greatest game in the world and the most selfish bastard ever. The one that thought he could fool everybody.

Rob Manfred needs to do his duty. Sure, the Astros got theirs pretty severely, but now it must fall on Cora.  Ban the man, Mr. Manfred!  Ban him from baseball for life. He cheated the Astros, the Red Sox and the fans... a horrible thing to do to such an incredible game.

HAMMER HITS CHEATING ASTROS HARD, BUT WE WANT MORE!

AJ Hinch is a clown. Justice was served.  But dare I say... there needs to be more... much, much more.

If you live under a rock, today was the beginning of the end of the Houston Astros franchise. Cheaters never succeed, and if they do, then that usually means someone at the top that makes BAD  decisions is just as corrupt as the cheaters that do them.

But today is a victory. It's a symbol to save baseball for the better.  And all that smugness from AJ Hinch telling "sources" to show their faces if they believed the Astros are cheating are gone. That's because he's gone. That's because when he said that to the country, he forgot that former Astros would turn into opponents, and opponents don't keep secrets. While baseball may be a boys club, Hinch's arrogance came back to bite him in the ass.  I love this day so much.

Mike Fiers is a hero, you know. He didn't have to say anything about the garbage-can banging and the cheating mechanism the Astros used in 2017.  He spilled the beans and thank God for that. Because looking back, things just didn't seem right. Home runs with a flare for the dramatic against their opponents were almost too obvious... too staged... almost like the Astros knew what was coming.  Oh... that's right... they did.

There were little things about the Astros that never seemed right to me. For example, it began in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers. There were 2 outs in the first inning and Alex Bregman stole third. I remember it clearly because it was a little odd. It was then that my 15 year old stood up and said, "Why would he steal third there? That's weird."  For me and my family, all baseball fans... that was the beginning for us. We became curious then, but we couldn't put our finger on it.

Why? Why were these plays happening, these timely home runs coming? Almost like they knew what was being thrown. We couldn't figure it out. Not until Mike Fiers spoke up. And thank God, because now... looking back, it explains a lot.

CBS Sports writes this about today's historic event:

"Houston Astros owner Jim Crane announced Monday that manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow have been fired. Crane's decision came shortly after MLB announced penalties for the Astros' sign-stealing scandal in 2017. As part of those penalties, Hinch and Luhnow were each suspended for one year. 

Crane, though, said he was going over and above those penalties and relieved Hinch and Luhnow of their duties. He is expected to oversee baseball operations department in the interim. According to multiple reports, current Astros bench coach Joe Espada will be named interim manager. Espada, 44, had been a candidate for multiple managerial openings earlier this offseason."

I'll say it again... Thank God.

And by the way, don't praise Crane as a hero here. He's just as guilty as all of them, but he's running the show so I guess he needed to make an example of Hinch and Luhnow. That being said, I wish MLB could fire this loser too. He's King Cheater. But anyway...

Look... it was obvious to me that the Astros were guilty after the signing-stealing scandal came to light. Not a single Astros player came forward to say they were innocent or guilty. In fact, they were silent. No tweets, no statements... they were hiding under their desks.  That's guilt, folks…. that's guilt.

The only weirdos you hear from are losers and irrelevant players like Logan Morrison coming out and calling the scandal "fake news".   NJ.com writes this:

"Morrison, a 10-year big-leaguer, ripped MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal Monday afternoon.“The Manfred report that came out is straight FAKE news,” Morrison said before deleting the post a couple hours later."

There's a reason why he removed the post, folks. Because he's wrong and he's stupid too by the way. Really stupid.


What the Manfred report shows was that there was a system in place utilized by the Astros team. What it shows was that Carlos Beltran was the ringleader, and when Alex Cora went to Boston, he then helped the Red Sox steal their own signs.

While no players were reprimanded, they should be. That title should be stripped. They didn't earn it fairly... they cheated.  Why do I say that you ask? Because players take direction from coaches and managers... and last time I checked... AJ Hinch was in charge.

You can't sit there as a player and say... "Well, I didn't know Hinch, Beltran and Cora were cheating!  I didn't know that banging on the garbage can helped me decipher which pitch was being thrown. I didn't know. I didn't know." THEY DID KNOW... ALL OF THEM KNEW.

And that's where Manfred's decision on the investigation falls flat. I mean sure, the Astros were also fined $5 million and forced to give up their first and second round picks in 2020 and 2021. But there's a very important piece to this that makes me aggravated and something that Manfred really should have handled swiftly.... the players played... the players knew... the players are cheaters too. The Astros players need to hurt too on this one. They knew it was happening and said and did nothing. Even Justin Verlander.

This makes me laugh, because this just goes to show how spineless Justin Verlander really can be.  With Detroit, Verlander was pissed about sign-stealing back in the day and that surfaced after Hinch got fired. The Score quotes Verlander when he was with the Tigers here:

"It's not about gamesmanship anymore. It used to be: 'Hey, if you can get my signs, good for you.' In the past, if a guy on second (base) was able to decipher it on a few pitches, I guess that was kind of part of the game... I think it's a different level now. It's not good."

And this is what I'm talking about. When it's not against your team, I guess he's OK with it. Verlander didn't like stealing signs and yet his team was in the thick of it in 2017 and he says NOTHING.  I have news for you... whether he was directly involved or not... he was an Astro and he knew it was going on. Kind of makes him look pretty guilty too.

Yup Verlander, you're a cheater too.

And so look, many think this is over now... but it's not.  Forever the Astros will have a black eye. If they start winning, they will be questioned. If they don't, it's because they aren't cheating. Are they tainted? 100% yes.  They are despicable people?

Yup, all of them.

And that brings me to the biggest scumbag of them all... Alex Cora.

Word on the street is Cora is about to get crucified... and I'm hoping he's banned from baseball forever.  I mean sure, suspending Hinch for a year is nice... firing he and Luhnow is awesome. Fining the Astros $5 million? Amazing. BUT WE WANT MORE.   

Pete Rose gets banned from baseball for life for gambling.

Alex Cora should be banned for life for cheating. It has to happen. It really has to.  The New York Post writes this about this loser:

"If you thought the punishments levied at the Astros following MLB’s investigation into sign-stealing were harsh, just wait. 

Current Red Sox skipper and former Houston coach Alex Cora likely still faces penalties after it was determined that he “arranged for a video room technician to install a monitor displaying the center field camera feed immediately outside of the Astros’ dugout.”... 

The report also stated that Cora “was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs.” Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was not commenting on Cora’s punishment as the Red Sox are still being investigated for using electronics to steal signs in 2018. 

“Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’ conduct,” Manfred wrote in his nine-page statement, which outed a lengthy list of wrongdoers."

Cora is a clown.

He knows what he did. Cora needs to be punished severely.  Fired? Yes, Fined? Sure. Banned? 100%.

BYB will be reaching out to Pete Rose the next few days. We will try to get an interview and his thoughts on this whole mess.  Personally, this sign-stealing scandal is much worse to me than betting on baseball at this point.  Why? Because the entire Astros franchise was involved.  And Cora? He needs to be the example.

Scare the shit out of the Astros.
Scare the crap out of the Red Sox.

Clean up the game... the time is now Mr. Manfred!

Justice was served today... but yes... more needs to be done.

THE FIRST BASE MARKET

The other day, we looked at Mike Moustakas at BYB. If you haven't seen it yet, read I KNOW WHERE MIKE MOUSTAKAS IS GOING. 

Now let's think about the first base market. Guys like Eric Hosmer and Logan Morrison are still sitting out there. Crazy right? Now, similar to 3rd base and a guy like Moustakas, there are very few realistic options for Hosmer and Morrison given the fact that most teams are already set in stone at 1st base.  Check this out:

--Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis, with a DH in Trumbo.

--Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu, with DH in Matt Davidson. Plus, the Sox are rebuilding.

--Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera with DH in Victor Martinez. And again... the Tigers are too rebuilding.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

--Houston Astros: Yuli Gurriel. The Astros have DH Marwin Gonzalez.

--LA Angels: Albert Pujols at first. The DH is Ohtani

--Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer.  The DH slot is open, but the Twins not big spenders

-- New York Yankees: Greg Bird at first, and Stanton in the sometimes DH.

--Oakland A's: Matt Olsen. He had 24 homers in only 59 games after the call-up last season. The DH is Kris Davis.

Photo: Getty Images

--Seattle Mariners: Ryon Healy. Healy had 25 homers and 78 RBIs last year. The DH is Nelson Cruz.

Photo: Getty Images

--Tampa Bay Rays: Brad Miller might be a weak option, but the Rays are rebuilding and won’t spend, trust me.

--Texas Rangers: Joey Gallo (41 homers.) The DH is top prospect Willie Calhoun.

--Toronto Blue Jays: Justin Smoak had 38 homers, 90 RBIs last year. The DH is Kendrys Morales.

--Arizona Diamondbacks: Goldschmidt!

--Atlanta Braves: They have Freddie Freeman

--Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo is there!

--Cincinnati Reds: The Reds still have Joey Votto

--LA Dodgers: Of course, Cody Bellinger

Photo: Getty Images

--Miami Marlins have Justin Bour and the Marlins have no spending money.

--Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Thames had 31 homers last year.

--Philadelphia Phillies: Carlos Santana

--Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell [26 HR, 90 RBI]

--San Francisco Giants have Brandon Belt

--St. Louis Cardinals: Matt Carpenter

--Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman. Boom.

This leaves only 6 teams as potential options for a big name first baseman. Here they are:

Photo: Boston Herald

--Boston Red Sox: With Moreland at 1st and Hanley Ramirez as the DH, Boston could sign someone, but they are likely to sign JD Martinez when all is said and done. It's very doubtful they'd sign Hosmer or LoMo.

--Cleveland Indians: They just lost Carlos Santana and will play Edwin Encarnacion at 1st, but that leaves a vacancy at DH. So signing a 1st baseman is possible 

Photo: Getty Images

--Kansas City Royals: They are still trying to resign Hosmer and believe me, it's the likely landing spot.

--Colorado Rockies: They have prospect Ryan McMahon, but could turn to a veteran hitter at 1st.

--New York Mets: Adrian Gonzalez? Dom Smith? Really? The Mets should be vying for Hosmer or at least Logan Morrison.

Photo by Chris Stone

--San Diego Padres: They have Wil Myers at 1st right now, but he could move to the outfield. They have made a 7-year offer to Hosmer. I still think Hosmer will go elsewhere though.

Now Cleveland could be a dark horse here. Remember, they lost Santana and might surprise everyone and jump in late on Hosmer. I have a feeling though that if the Royals really offered Hosmer 7 years, $147M, that he will ultimately settle back with KC. That would leave Logan Morrison as a potential nice lower cost option for Cleveland or the Rockies. The Mets are too cheap, but they should be jumping in on this, at least for Morrison.

But I gotta ask...what do you guys think?

--Douglas Solomon
BYB Writer

SANCHEZ IS MIAMI BOUND & LOGAN MORRISON THROWS A FIT

(June 24, 2017 - Source: Adam Hunger/Getty Images North America)

By now you have probably heard the big story that Logan Morrison is mad that he didn't get an invite to play in the home run derby next week. He is having a good season, actually his best. He's never had the home run production he has this year. Back in 2011 he has 23 home runs for the entire season and here we are half way through the season and he has already topped that. Some may say he's All-Star worthy and he had a good point until he called out Gary Sanchez.

(June 17, 2017 - Source: Leon Halip/Getty Images North America)

I get it.

When you have a good year you want to be recognized for it. For a minute, I was actually on Morrison's side. He's tied for third with the most home runs in the AL and got snubbed. It sucks, on paper it says he should get an invite when you compare it to Sanchez and his 13 home runs after missing April with an injury. Aaron Judge got his invitation, and George Springer who is number two in home runs got an invite and turned it down. Then Mike Moustakas the guy he is tied for third got an invite....but Morrison did not.

Photo: Getty Images

Is it fair? No. But is it also fair to attack Sanchez? NO. Like I said, for a minute I completely understood his point until he spoke about it saying "Gary shouldn't be there. Gary's a great player, but he shouldn't be in the Home Run Derby. I remember when I had 14 home runs, that was a month and a half ago." This is where logic goes out the window....this guy JUST DOESN'T GET IT. He makes it sound like he is a consistent home run hitter and he's not. If you average all of his home runs from 2011-2016 he hasn't even hit 20 per season. It's not an insult, it's the truth.

Yes Morrison, you have more home runs then Sanchez does so far this season....congratulations. However, what you don't seem to remember is those 14 home runs come with extensive missed time at the beginning of the season AND those homers come AFTER the Yankees called him up last season on August 3rd and he hit 20 home runs in 52 games. THAT is what people also remember. Sanchez actually tied a major league record for reaching 20 home runs faster than anybody. Rookie sensation Cody Bellinger has since broken that record and he is also playing in the Home Run Derby. Those are numbers that you just can't deny and people get excited about!

(June 5, 2017 - Source: Brian Blanco/Getty Images North America)

Morrison has a point, he deserved an invite but he misses the bigger picture. The Home Run Derby is about more than just hitting home runs. It's a way for MLB to get people to tune in and watch on a night where the game schedule is non-existent. Other sports are dead for the most part too.

MLB wants to make sure the derby has high attendance at the stadium and gets TV ratings (shocker!) so that means you need star caliber players. That's why you have Giancarlo Stanton returning in his own stadium to defend his title and you have two young Yankees competing too. The youth movement has taken over and not just for the Yankees....again look at Bellinger! The Home Run Derby is not worth watching if the most popular players aren't involved. That's why the Yankees have two representatives and why Morrison on a low-market team is not.

Photo: Getty Images

It's not personal.....but Morrison is a not a star player that people are going to tune in and watch. “I’m not disappointed. It’s par for the course. I play for the Rays. I get it. They can’t even get my picture right. When they put my name up there they put Corey Dickerson’s picture up there on MLB Network. When they put up the home run leaders they put Corey’s swing on there, not mine” read that HERE. It sure doesn't sound like he gets it.

(May 31, 2017 - Source: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images North America)

But one person who does get it is Sanchez. "What can I say? That's something I have no control of. It's not my fault he didn't get selected" and he is right, and that's the only answer he needed to give. Maybe Morrison will figure it out when he is watching everyone else play in the derby.

Keep it classy, Morrison.




--Jeana Bellezza

BYB Managing Editor 
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ