DUNEDIN, Fla. — Bo Bichette isn’t satisfied with the way Major League Baseball has handled the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
The cheating itself came as less of a shock to him.
“Cheating is cheating, people are going to do it … but when there are no consequences for it, that’s probably a problem,” the Blue Jays shortstop said Saturday at Toronto’s spring training facility.
“People do things they regret. But when you get away with it, it just becomes a bit bigger than it is. We’ll move on from it, but it’s a tough pill to swallow.”
An MLB investigation found illicit use of electronics to steal signs during the Astros’ run to the 2017 World Series championship and again during the 2018 season.
Houston manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year after the investigation by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred — then promptly fired by owner Jim Crane — and the Astros were fined US$5 million, the maximum allowed under the Major League Constitution. The team must also forfeit their next two first- and second-round amateur draft picks.
But none of the players involved in the scandal have received any punishment.
Cody Bellinger of the L.A. Dodgers, the team that lost to Houston in the 2017 World Series, was one of many players to speak out against the Astros as camps opened across Florida and Arizona this week.
Bellinger said Houston’s Jose Altuve stole the American League MVP from New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in 2017 and he suspects the Astros kept scheming last season too.
“I think the way it was handled is probably bad for the game, the fact that those guys aren’t getting in trouble,” Bichette said. “I’m glad Bellinger stepped up and said something. I think more guys in his position need to. But like I said, I think it’s more the (lack of) punishment that’s bad for the game and not necessarily what happened.”
MLB’s investigation found that the Astros used the video feed from a centre field camera to see and decode the opposing catcher’s signs. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming, believing it would improve the batter’s chances of getting a hit.
“I believe if I know what’s coming, I will hit .500, but I mean, it is what it is,” Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through a translator. “For myself, I don’t know, I don’t like what happened.”
Guerrero also believes the penalty handed down by MLB should have been extended to the players.
“It has been a while for them to be doing that. They should get some kind of punishment,” he said.
Some of Houston’s star players offered apologies at their spring training facility Thursday, but Bichette questioned their sincerity.
“It’s been tough to watch, honestly,” the 21-year-old said. “I don’t know what they’re really thinking. I don’t know what their true intentions behind the apologies are. I don’t know.
“From the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem too apologetic. They got away with it, we’ll move on and hopefully that’s behind them and behind everybody.”
Bichette and Guerrero were still in the minors during the 2017 and 2018 seasons and weren’t directly affected by Houston’s cheating. Bichette was 3 for 14 with five strikeouts in the three games he played against the Astros last year while Guerrero was 2 for 14 through five games.
Bichette said he would “absolutely not” have stolen signs the way Houston did over those two seasons, adding that he hoped he would make “a pretty big ruckus” if he found out a teammate was cheating.
“In a way it would be dumb to not take advantage of what we have, but at the same time I think that … personally I’d be fine if there was no technology in there whatsoever,” Bichette said. “I mean they did it back in the day, why can’t we do it now?
“So I’m sure part of the reason they did what (the Astros) did, it is because of how easy the access was to it. And for me, I’d have no problem taking every bit of it away.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2020.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
