Finally. The rumors that have been swirling around the 2017 Astros comes to light. Everyone knew something was up and all it took in the end was putting 2 and 2 together. Before I get into it, big shout-out and credit to Mike Fiers, the other anonymous whistle blowers, and Jomboy Media for really exposing this and sparking Rob Manfred’s investigation.
When the investigation concluded, Jeff Luhnow (GM) and AJ Hinch (manager) both received a 1-year ban from the sport for their failure to act against the illegal use of camera feeds to steal signs. The Astros organization also received a $5mil fine and the loss of their 1st and 2nd round draft picks of the Rule 4 Amateur Draft for 2020 and 2021. Later that same day, Jim Crane (Astros owner), held a press conference and announced that both Luhnow and Hinch have been terminated. Good riddance. The findings from the commissioner’s office detailed that Hinch disapproved of the whole ordeal and even smashed the monitor a couple of times to express this. However, if he really had a problem with it, then why did he let it continue? I’m guessing it’s hard to argue with your players if you’re winning pennants and championships, right? Now, normally I believe I would feel some sort of sympathy towards Hinch, but he was such an arrogant asshole when approached about it by the media. See the video below about when the Yankees called his team out for suspicious whistling:
I mean, if you know damn well that you’re team was involved in illegal activity in ANY WAY, why would you act like this? Why try and discredit a team and make fun of them when you know they’re right in some capacity? You could’ve said ‘no comment’ or ‘I’m unaware of anything that these allegations suggest’ but instead, you pushed the envelope and practically dared someone to speak out against you. What a moron.
Shortly after Luhnow and Hinch got canned (pun intended), they both put out statements. They are below:
Hinch’s Statement 
Luhnow’s Statement
Hinch’s statement is your generic ‘sorry not sorry’ apology to the organization and it’s fans. Luhnow’s statement, on the other hand, comes across as a little too….defensive. He starts off with “I am not a cheater” which is kind of bold, Nixon-esque thing to say when pretty much everyone on the field that he’s in charge of is, in fact, a cheater. Luhnow then proceeds to say that he was completely unaware of what was going on. Really? So you’re telling me that everyone else in the league knew except for you, Mr. Luhnow? Luhnow practically said “I’m incompetent, not complicit.” Many baseball analysts and writers believe that Hinch will eventually be hired as a manger again someday mainly because he’s only 45 and is still thought of as having a high baseball IQ. Those same analysts and writers are saying the opposite of Luhnow, however, due to his reputation that includes a ‘high and mighty’ attitude. Plus, throwing his players and “lower-level employees” under the bus doesn’t help his comeback case much. Scumbag.
All there is left to do now is sit back and wait for the investigation into the 2018 Red Sox to conclude and ride out that shit storm. In the meantime I hope Hinch, Luhnow, and Cora never work in baseball again.
crafthousecinema.com 