I talk to Phil Stacey and Dave Olson about baseball's cheating scandal while we drive to a rock concert.
Show notes:
Recorded on the way to see the Drive-By Truckers in Somerville, MA
Not the first cheating scandal in MLB, but this has a different feel
Houston Astros accused of stealing signs on the way to 2017 World Series
Every team cheats in some way or another
"If you're not cheating, you're not trying"
Corked bats, scuffed pitches
Baseballs were juiced last year to generate interest
The sport is fading in popularity
Too slow for short attention spans of today's society
Steroids in the late '90s were ignored in favor of home run records
Did the punishment fit the crime?
Astros were fined and lost draft picks, but could have been worse
MLB didn't expect this to blow up; former Astro revealed it in an interview
Public reaction has been loud
Two other teams have fired their managers who had connections to Astros that season
Did MLB and the teams coordinate these actions?
MLB wants this to go away and it's not
Other teams and players are upset about it
A pitcher sued because Astros lit him up and he was out of the majors
Astros are going to be booed mercilessly all season on the road
We don't know how much the sign stealing helped them
Houston will get some big TV ratings this season
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Altuve was a heroic figure, now tarnished
MMA and pro wrestling are resonating with a younger generation
A lot of baseball teams struggle to fill the seats
Young kids would rather watch eSports, where other people play video games
Easier to cheat in baseball or basketball
Astros intern figured out how to steal signs and convinced management to adopt it
Astros players should expect to get hit by a lot of pitches this season
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The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.