CHICAGO (AP) — The Houston Astros found themselves in familiar territory Monday, brushing aside comments by Chicago White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera after he implied they stole signs while winning the first two games of the AL Division Series in their ballpark.
“He can say what he wants to say,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I had never even heard his name before we played the White Sox. I’m not bothered by it. Most of my life, they’ve been talking stuff on me anyway. Let them talk.”
Baker pointed out the Astros had similar offensive statistics at home and on the road, then offered some advice while mentioning he had listened to Eric Clapton that morning.
“He had a song, ‘Before You Accuse Me (Take a Look at Yourself),’” he said. ”That’s all I’ve got to say.”
The Astros were disciplined by Major League Baseball after it found the team used electronics to steal signs during their run to the 2017 World Series title and again in the 2018 season. It remains a sensitive subject, and Tepera shined another light on it with his comments after the White Sox won Game 3 Sunday to avoid a sweep.
Houston outscored the White Sox 15-5 in winning the first two games at home. Chicago averted a sweep with a 12-6 win on Sunday night.
The Astros lead the best-of-five series 2-1. Game 4 got postponed Monday because of forecast rain, and the teams are set to play Tuesday.
Carlos Rodón is scheduled to start for Chicago, with Game 1 starter Lance Lynn available out of the bullpen. Manager Tony La Russa said Lynn or Lucas Giolito would start a potential Game 5 Wednesday at Houston depending on how things go on Tuesday.
The Astros opted to go with Lance McCullers Jr., hoping he can close out the series after delivering a dominant start Thursday in the opener. José Urquidy was set to pitch on Monday.
But much of the talk in the wake of Game 3 centered on Tepera’s comments. And Houston third baseman Alex Bregman shrugged them off.
“It’s all good,” he said. “We’re focused on winning games. That’s it.”
The Astros put themselves in position to sweep after two impressive victories at Minute Maid Park. But they whiffed 16 times in Game 3 at Guaranteed Rate Field after striking out a combined 16 times in the first two games.
Tepera, who threw two perfect innings, noted the difference following the game.
“Yeah. It is what it is,” he said. “They’ve obviously had a reputation of doing some sketchy stuff over there,” he said. “It’s just, we can say that it’s a little bit of a difference. I think you saw the swings and misses tonight compared to, you know, the first two games at Minute Maid. But that’s not really the story, you know? We come here to play. We’re going to compete. We’re not going to worry about what they’re going to do.
“All we have to do is execute pitches and they can’t hit them anyways,” he said.
La Russa said he was aware of Tepera’s remarks, but hadn’t read them.
“This is America, and players on our side can say what they want to,” he said. “I think that they’re a very good team and they’re tough to beat. That’s what I think.”
MLB’s investigation found Houston used a video feed from a center-field camera to see and decode the opposing catcher’s signs during home games. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming, believing it would improve the their odds of getting a hit.
Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended and fired in the fallout, but no players were punished after Commissioner Rob Manfred granted them immunity as part of the league’s investigation.
Suspicions linger, though. And players who were around back then still hear it from the crowd when they go on the road.
White Sox fans chanted “Cheater! Cheater!” when Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa and Bregman batted on Monday.
“They’ll probably have to deal with it forever, really, because people don’t forget,” said Baker, in his second season with Houston. “They pass along information seemingly from one generation to the next. This is just something, I feel badly, but this is something we have to deal with.”
Sign stealing is a legal and time-honored part of baseball as long as it is done with the naked eye — by a baserunner standing on second, for example. Using technology is prohibited.
La Russa said he suggested a “novel” approach to combating sign stealing when he worked in the league office. And he “could see why they ignored it.”
His idea? Have runners on second base face center field until the umpire tells them to turn around.
“Some teams do it legally. They invest a lot of (time) trying to see what the signs are, figure out what the sequences are. I think it’d put an end to it, and it’s pretty simple,” La Russa said, laughing.
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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
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