How Should the Astros Be Punished?

By now we’ve all heard about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. They used video and computer algorithms to steal opposing pitchers signs in game and then relayed them to the batter via banging of a trash can in the hallway to the clubhouse (and maybe buzzers on the batter’s person, we don’t know for sure).  GM Jeff Lunhow and manager AJ Hinch were suspended for a year. Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran were relieved of their managerial duties with the Red Sox and Mets respectively (Cora has been the Astros bench coach and Beltran a player who masterminded the scheme).  However no active players were punished.  And that has a lot of fans and some opposing players upset. Should Astros players be punished? It sounds good, in theory. But how would it practically work out?

Suspending the players on the Astros would be simple enough. There might be some pushback from the players union but with as many players are upset with the Astros I think I would happen.  But there are separate issues with suspending players from those Astros teams.  What do you do with minor league players who came up for a couple games and might not have had anything to do with it?  What do you do with players who are now are on other teams?  

Is it fair to those teams to suspend a player for something they did with another team?  Do players who retired just not face any punishment?  I feel like there are too many complicated issues with suspending the players. 

Another option many people have suggested is to void the Astros 2017 World Series Championship.  Take it out of the record books. Make the Astros take down their World Series banner and remove the trophy from their trophy case. Have no winner for that year. There is no way to tell who would have won it. Could have been the runner up Dodgers. Could have been the Yankees who lost the ALCS to Houston. Could have been another team. Maybe Houston would still have been good enough on their own merit to win. There is simply no way to tell. This is the punishment I think fits the best. It punishes all players equally. Winning the World Series is why players play the game and now they officially haven’t. 

How do you think Houston should be punished?  Is what they’ve done enough?  Should something harsher be done?  Let me know. 

New MLB Rules for 2020 Season

The following rules will be in place staring in the upcoming 2020 MLB season.

3 Batter Minimum

All pitchers (starters and relievers) will be required to pitch to a minimum of 3 batters unless they record the last out of an inning or suffer and injury. 

26 Player Roster 

The active roster will increase from 25 to 26 players. This includes a limitation of 13 pitchers. (Games witch would have previously allowed for 26 players, for e.g., double headers, will allow for 27 players, with a 14th pitcher being allowed).  

September Rosters 

September rosters will be limited to a mandatory 28 players, from a previously optional up to 40 players. These rosters will allow for 14 pitchers. 

Two Way Players

Players who have accrued at least 20 innings pitched and 20 games started as a position player/DH with at least 3 plate appearances per start in the current or previous season (for 2020 season only previous 2 seasons will be counted) can be listed as a “two-way player” and will not count toward number of pitchers on team. 

Position Players Pitching

Position players will only be allowed to pitch in games following the 9th inning or if their team is ahead or behind 6 runs. 

Injured List and Option Period for Pitchers

Pitchers and two-way players can not be reinstated from the injured list or called back up from the minors until 15 days have elapsed, increasing from 10 days 

Challenge Time Reduction

Managers will have 20 seconds to challenge a play, down from 30. 

Here are my thoughts on these rules. 

I actually like the 3 batter minimum. This is a controversial opinion. One of the main reasons for this rule is the speed up the game and I agree with most people that this is a dumb way to do that. Cutting down ad time is a much better way to accomplish this. But I think the effect this rule will have on the game is good. It will cut down on one dimensional pitchers and will force them to adapt and be more skillful, which I think makes for a more interesting game. 

I don’t have too strong of an opinion on the 26 man roster. Overall I like it. 30 extra MLB jobs is good and gives teams a little more flexibility.  And I like that the number of pitchers is limited. Again a ton of relievers at the end of the game just gets uninteresting after a while. 

The limitation of September rosters to 28 very good. Pennant chase games should not be played with vastly different rules than the rest of the games. This keeps the games relatively consistent. 

With the increase in the number of players who can pitch and hit, having a set explanation and rule of what a two way player is and how they fit on the roster is good. 

I don’t see the point in the new position player pitching rule.  The only times they would pitch is in extra innings or if their team was up or down by a lot. It just seems unnecessary. 

So these are the new MLB rules this season.  Let me know what you all think about them!

Why the XFL Will Succeed

The XFL begins today. The current rendition of the professional football league kicks off its 10-game season. I am very excited about it. It’s nice to have professional football back in St. Louis. Go Battlehawks! But the big question about this league is how much of a chance does it have in succeeding?  Here are a few reasons why I think it has a good shot. 

First the XFL has already failed once. The XFL was originally in existence for 1 season back in 2001 It folded after that year after viewership went down.  It was the Xtreme Football League, created by WWF owner Vince McMahon. The main issue the first time around was it was too gimmicky.  It tried to be more violent, exciting, players wore nicknames on the back of their uniforms (He Hate Me). This time around the league can learn from the mistakes it made last time. It knows what worked and what didn’t work. 

Speaking of leagues that failed, last year the Alliance of American Football (AAF) folded after 8 weeks of its 10 week season.  The league had issues with sponsors and ran out of money.  The XFL shouldn’t have that issue. Vince McMahon is a successful, proven businessman and has reportedly put up enough money to fund the league for 3 years. That should give the league enough time to get established, iron out kinks and hopefully gain a solid following.  

Another reason I believe the AAF failed was its poor marketing. A big issue was it did not secure good tv deals. Most of the games were on CBS Sports Network and the Bleacher Report app. Seriously, the Bleacher Report app. The XFL secured much more accessible and popular tv channels to air their games: ESPN, ABC, and various FOX affiliates. The much more reliable tv deals should allow for much higher visibility and commercial success. 

I’m excited to see how this season goes. The XFL has a lot of good things going in it’s favor which should lead to some success. My hope is that it is able to get settle, established and find its place in sports culture. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy football in STL again.