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OT: The Toronto Blue Jays

www.espn.com

Report: Astros front office initiated sign scheme

A program called "Codebreaker" was introduced to the Astros by an intern in the organization in September 2016, and laid the groundwork for the team's electronic sign-stealing ploys, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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The Houston Astros' front office laid the groundwork for the team's electronic sign-stealing ploys via a program dubbed "Codebreaker" that was introduced by an intern in the organization in September 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

According to the WSJ, the Excel-based application designed to decode opposing catchers' signs was used throughout the 2017 season and for part of 2018 by Astros baseball operations employees and video room staffers both at home and on the road.

Staffers would log the catcher's signs and subsequent pitches into a spreadsheet and "Codebreaker" would determine how the signs related to different pitches. The information would then be communicated to the hitter by a baserunner via an intermediary.

Astros players eventually evolved the system to include banging on a trash can to warn hitters of the coming pitch.

Ex-Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told MLB investigators that he remembers the intern's PowerPoint slide about "Codebreaker," but said he thought it would be used to legally decipher signs from previous games, according to the WSJ.

The former intern, Derek Vigoa, currently works as the Astros' senior manager of team operations. Vigoa told investigators that he assumed Luhnow knew the program would be used in live games.

The team's director of advance information, Tom Koch-Weser, also alleges Luhnow knew about the system. According to the WSJ, Koch-Weser told MLB that the former GM would occasionally go to the Astros' video room during road games and make comments like, "You guys Codebreaking?"
 
I mean, if you want to throw opposing signs into Excel and devise a formula for when guys are on base, sure, go ahead. But this is just another level crazier.
 
Next level cheating. Which was bound to happen. There are no ethics in pro sports. I’ve never seen a player tell a ref they made a mistake that hurt the other team.
 
Jeter Downs is a really good prospect, hard to compare to Graterol but if he's a reliever in the end, 2B/SS > elite RP even though Downs has more risk to reach his potential.
 
www.mlbtraderumors.com

Dodgers Acquire Mookie Betts, David Price

6:05PM: Nearing the finish line. The medicals are done and it appears as if all we're waiting on is approval …
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The Dodgers and Red Sox have once again agreed to a trade that will send outfielder Mookie Betts and lefty David Price to the Dodgers, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Red Sox will include $48MM to cover half of the remaining salary on David Price’s contract. In this updated version of the deal, Alex Verdugo, minor league shortstop Jeter Downs, and catching prospect Connor Wong comprise the package heading to Boston. If we haven’t learned our lesson, the deal is pending medical reviews.

This trade will be accompanied by a separate agreement between the Dodgers and Twins that will send Kenta Maeda to Minnesota in exchange for right-hander Brusdar Graterol, with other unknown pieces likely involved. Those players were involved in the first iteration of the megadeal, which is now two distinct trades between the same three teams. Notably, Graterol will now join the Dodgers, whereas he was previously destined for Boston.
 
Its amazing how light the MLB went on the Astros considering the "black sox" and Pete Rose were banned from the game. None of the players get anything?
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
He has zero chance of winning but he'll be a god damn hero if he takes it to trial and a ton of new info becomes public
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A civil case? I bet he's got more of a chance than you think. He wasn't a good MLB pitcher, but there are lots of teams running worse junk out there than he was. Throw in some testimony from his agent about "teams were interested, and then weren't" and you've got something there.
 
leafman101 said:
Its amazing how light the MLB went on the Astros considering the "black sox" and Pete Rose were banned from the game. None of the players get anything?
Click to expand...

thought the players were given immunity in exchange for exposing it

or i just dreamt that
 
They were. The big question is if the stories about the buzzers are true, whether this was disclosed to MLB, and whether Manfred covered it up. If he didn't know (there is a quote suggesting Luhnow lied to MLB investigators about his knowledge of Codebreaker) and conclusive evidence comes out, who the hell knows what is going to happen next.
 
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