Rant #2,507: Writing Wrongs

As predicted, Mets manager Carlos Beltram got his just due on Thursday, fired from his job before he ever managed a single game. He was implicated in the MLB cheating scandal--the only player so named in the report--and the Mets felt that he had to go.

And they were right.

I personally did not think that they would go the ultimate route with this--I believed he would be heavily fined and that would be that, since he was a player with the Houston Astros, not part of management, when this happened--but Beltran apparently was the ringleader among the players, using his highly-touted reputation as a team leader to get other players involved.

And now we are hearing new rumblings that some Astros players wore electronic devices to help them steal signs during the 2019 playoffs, including during the League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.

If true, no wonder the end of the series--with Jose Altuve hitting a first pitch homer against reliever Aroldis Chapman--was so sudden and quick.

Again, there is nothing wrong with stealing signs naturally, by picking up certain nuances of the pitcher when the throws a certain pitch. That has happened since the sport began, and that should never be taken out of the equation for winning.

But when you steal signs using electronic devices that are not meant to be used for this purpose, well, you have crossed the line.

And Beltran being the ringleader of all this for the players on the team, a team which respected him with the highest regard ... well, that is just so wrong that it defies description.

Yesterday, Yankees' Hall of Fame relief pitcher Mariano Rivera was questioned by reporters about this situation, and he sees it the right way, saying (paraphrase), "Sometimes you do things in the heat of battle that you do that come back to haunt you because what you did was wrong," and boy, was he right. That was not an exact quote, of course, but you get the gist of it.

Again, your mother was right. Cheaters never prosper.

Nothing more can be said about this, but there has been some backlash.

Jessica Mendoza, who is part of the ESPN MLB broadcast team as well as an advisor to the Mets, said that she is horrified at what happened, but doesn't like how it happened.

The whole can of worms was opened several months ago when Oakland Athletics' pitcher Mike Fiers, who played for the Astros during the 2017 season, spilled the beans on this situation, and was later backed up by several other players, none of whom were part of that Astros team.

Mendoza said that Fiers should never have gone to the proess with this, and should have gone it internally through MLB.

What she fails to see is that it would have gotten out anyway. Sure, she is right that Fiers mighjt have benefited personally from the sign stealing, but what she fails to see is that the public would have been alerted, anyway, about such goings on, and was actually alerted through a story in The Athletic, so how Fiers went about initiating the investigation is immaterial.

And yes, ESPN should at least fine her for her remarks, because how can she report on baseball games with such a biased view, and how will she ever report on Fiers, if she calls a game with the Athletics, with an unbiased eye?

Should Fiers himself be fined, let go, or punished in some way?

As the whistleblower of this entire thing, he should be immune, but I do feel that ever playing member of the Houston Astros, at least during the 2017 playoffs, should be monetarily fined for their know indiscretions.

That won't happen, because the players union is way too strong, but every player on that team is blemished in some way, and the Astros' first and only World Series championship is completely tarnished forever.

And as for Beltran, he should lay low for awhile, as should Alex Cora and AJ Hinsch, and I believe they will find their way back into baseball one way or the other.

They are all good baseball men, and like PED abusers by the names of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, did they really need this extra "push" to succeed?

I think not.

But they all should have thought of this before they decided to step over the line, none did, and now they are paying for it.

Good riddance.

Have a great weekend. Speak to you again on Monday.