"The way Codebreaker worked was simple: Somebody would watch an in-game live feed and log the catcher’s signs into the spreadsheet, as well as the type of pitch that was actually thrown. With that information, Codebreaker determined how the signs corresponded with different pitches. Once decoded, that information would be communicated through intermediaries to a baserunner, who would relay them to the hitter."
How to win a World Series by cheating.
Read the story in The Wall Street Journal.
Also, considering the newly emerging complexities of this scandal, the use of electronic buzzers inside the jerseys no longer seems like a wacko conspiracy theory. In fact, it now looks more like an inevitable progression.
This just gets uglier and uglier.
For those who don't want to deal with paywall...
ReplyDeletehttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/2875319-astros-use-of-codebreaker-in-cheating-scandal-detailed-in-new-wsj-report
https://sports.yahoo.com/explosive-new-details-emerge-about-the-astros-cheating-scandal-000636683.html
ON THE ROAD TOO? REALLY? WTF?
ReplyDeleteThe cheater cheater poopie eaters' sign stealing on the road would explain some of the player splits, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hank Aaron. The players should be named, shamed, and banned for life. And I'll throw in a lot of asterisks for any championships and stats for the years involved.
We could also cover the players, managers, and executives with Marshmallow Fluff and make them walk through a desert chosen by the teams that got cheated out of wins and titles. But that might not fly due to the criminal code of the land. It should, though. Exceptions need to be made.
Explain to me why this is any different from the Chicago BlackSox? Is it better because they were cheating to win instead of cheating to lose? Hammering Hank is correct. The players are to be named and fined heavily or banned for life. Look what happened to Pete Rose for fucks sake!
ReplyDeleteMLB better make this right and that means complete transparency. I want to know all the intermediaries. I want to know who designed the goddamn spreadsheets. Everyone who was in on it. EVERYONE! All should NEVER work for MLB again.
And if Altuve knew about it and played along I want him fined or banned too. Even if he did not participate he was complicit if he knew what was going on. That goes for everyone on the entire fucking team.
ReplyDeleteSerious stuff that goes to the heart of the game. I’m not a fan of professional wrestling for a reason.
KD, we know the name of the person who designed the spreadsheet - the Codebreaker. From the article: "the intern who first presented the scheme to Luhnow, Derek Vigoa". He's still with the Astros org as "the senior manager for team operations".
ReplyDeleteHouston Astros should be stripped of their title and banned from play for one year. Anyone who knew about the scheme should have a lifetime ban. Haha look at me would you? Expecting fair play. What a maroon.
ReplyDeleteKD, cheating to lose IS worse, precisely because of what you say: it turns it into professional wrestling.
ReplyDeleteShaming is fine. Suspending the players for more than, say, a month? I dunno. Also, I don't think you really CAN erase titles. They were recorded in our brains, and we missed that great Yankees-Dodgers series, period.
What I would like to see? More organizational penalties! Severe draft pick penalties for 5-10 years. Really rock the whole team back.
I’ll spit on your midget corpse Altuve!
ReplyDeleteThey didn't suspend the players for two reasons, dealing with the Players Association, but more importantly, MLB talked to many players about this issue so think of them having immunity. MLB would have never gotten this much intel under these circumstances unless the players could speak frankly without fear of suspension or banishment...
ReplyDeleteThis has been bandied about here and elsewhere, but recall Cole's non-use in game 7 of the WS, and his immediate, brutal postgame assertion that he was no longer an employee of the Astros. I can't help but wonder whether that is related to this scandal.
ReplyDeleteI guess that Altuve really did wear that buzzer. When watching the footage of him begging his team not to tear his shirt off it's hard to come up with any other conclusion. Then he lied about the reason (I'm shy - and then we see dozens of pictures of him preening around half naked). How many of these transparent lies will the writers go along with? Hopefully at least some writers will demand honesty and keep asking the right questions. I know MLB wants them off the hook and to sweep this away quickly but the fans deserve to know what these scumbag Astros did exactly to cheat. They all should be made to wear Black Sox. (By the way while the Astros were GUILTY the Black Sox were actually found NOT GUILTY in court. Suspended anyway.) Kennesaw we need you now.
ReplyDeleteI am with most of the posters here: it certainly looks like there really were buzzers. And there had better be much more severe penalties to come. Or else, every pitcher out there has a moral obligation to throw at Astro heads in every game of the entire season. And the umpires should not penalize pitchers who throw at Astros.
ReplyDeleteThe Hammer of God
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