Astros hit with 1-year suspensions for manager, GM, and heavy draft penalties UPDATE: Sox fire Cora

Some how despite hitting more than .300 better at home, his OPS is almost .150 points less. That or the decimal point is in the wrong spot ...

 

Decimal point is in the wrong spot

 

I don't have a dog in this race, but here is my take on someone wearing a buzzer:
Hitting a major league pitcher probably requires a larger combination of mental focus and physical ability than anything in sports.
Imagine being dug in the batter's box, having pinpoint focus on the dude getting ready to throw 100 mph inches away from you, and a buzzer goes off in your shirt. I'd jump out of my skin.
On the flip side, imagine the same scenario where you are wondering if the buzz will come, and the ball blows right by you looking foolish.

Obviously these people are much more talented than me, but it just doesn't seem practical.

 

This is something they would practice.

If I were a no good cheat, I would say if you did not get a signal before they start their motion to the plate, then it’s not coming.

If I know fastball once the pitcher’s glove moves, that is a huge advantage for me.

 

I will say this, the numbers from the last few years does not support a huge home field advantage over the 162 game schedule for the Astros. Now, this could mean they were doing it on the road as well as home.

 

I’m shocked they went 0-4 at home in the World Series.

 

Nats changed and rotated through indicators and signals. Each pitcher had different ones. They prepped for cheating

 

I imagine you could get used to it with a few rounds of BP.
What I wonder is, if they were using a buzzer, were any of the opposing catchers or umpires able to hear it? Even if it's just a vibration, and even in a stadium setting, you can usually hear something like that if you're only a couple of feet away from it.

Have any of the analytics folks broken down what the Astros' batting average or contact rate or take rate (whatever advanced stat measures those) was against breaking balls? Were they taking more curveballs or fouling off more of them than the league average? That seemed to be the pitch they focused on tipping off, and might be a good measurement of how much the cheating system helped them. If they could spoil more breaking balls and get the pitcher to throw a fastball, that could be where the real advantage came in.

 

You really don’t understand how unions work and the duty they have to represent members.

 

if they used it at Tropicana Field, we would have heard it halfway up the 200 level.

 

Not that I think they had Apple Watches taped to their chests, but those buzz you pretty strongly and they’re completely silent.