Houston may have cheated by stealing signs, but the Yankees should expect no justice from MLB

A video making the rounds on Reddit purports to show 25 minutes of the Houston Astros stealing signs in 2017. I dunno about that. If it shows anything, it's that stealing signs and hitting are fundamentally different skills, and the former does not guarantee success. 

When I watch "proof" like this, the first conclusion is that it will be ridiculously hard for any MLB suited gum-shoe to compile a smoking gun. If ex-Astros step forward to spill their guts, that's one thing. But videos won't do it. If Houston players and management clasp hands, form a circle, cross themselves and deny, deny, deny... the franchise will skate. Remember: It's not in MLB's interest to prosecute a feel-good team like the adorable Astros. The poobahs sell a lot of Jose Altuve jerseys. 

Why would we expect any suitable punishment? Remember how the 2009 Yankees' world championship was later tainted by charges that A-Rod had been juicing? Yankee-haters wanted the world series overturned. In the end, the Yanks suffered bad headlines, and A-Rod took the brunt: He lost his bid to chase down Barry Bonds' asterisk-laden home run records. No single Houston player has been tied to the sign-stealing accusations, and I doubt one will step forward to accept the darts. Houston can curl up, take some bullets and threaten to sue. We know what happens then.

To me, what will be interesting is the future direction of the Astros. In the minds of many, they will always be cheats, an outlaw franchise that bent the rules and won. Even if they're docked a draft pick, the success from cheating will outweigh all negatives. Nobody will lower that World Series flag. They have figured out how to develop pitchers. Lance McCullers Jr. will return next year. Even if they lose Gerrit Cole, if they find a replacement starter, Houston could remain the team to beat.

As for our so-called "Death Star" - (Brian Cashman's self-identity, which was supposed to invoke fear among our opponents, which is now almost laughable) - if we've cheated in recent years, we've done a damn good job of hiding it. Even now, while complaining to MLB about Houston, the Yankees have proven to be good losers. 

They have refused to use their almost limitless financial advantages over smaller markets. They self-handicap in spending, and their bizarre attempts to gain an honest advantage have generally sputtered. 

Five years ago, Cashman orchestrated a wave of lavish, million dollar contracts upon 16-year-old Latino prospects - a move later copied by San Diego and other teams. To date, it has netted us almost nothing. (The biggest expenditure, a 1B-DH named Dermis Garcia, remains mired in Single A; he hits balls a mile but strikes out too much.) They tried the most extensive set of defensive over-shifts in baseball; that didn't do it. They hired the sage of pitching coaches, Larry Rothschild, and now are doing a complete 180 - using advanced analytics to build rosters. Give Cashman credit: It's not for lack of trying. 

And let's face it: They are close. Shut your eyes, and you can easily imagine the 2020 Yankees playing in the post-season. From there, anything can happen. But without a Gerrit Cole or a Stephen Strasburg anchoring the rotation for two or three years, it's damn hard to imagine the Yankees building a dynasty. We need that workhorse, the ace who leads the team in the way Justin Verlander has done for the Astros. Who leads the Yankees staff for the next three years? We wanted it to be Luis Severino. Based on last year, that doesn't work.  

Do any of you honestly expect Hal Steinbrenner to shell out $300 million for a pitcher this winter? It won't happen. The reason: Hal seems to think that spending money is a form of cheating. 

I believe otherwise: I believe to NOT spend it is cheating... cheating Yankee fans.