MLB Cardinals GM John Mozeliak yesterday asserted that until notified by investigators several months ago, he and Chair & CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. "were 'completely' unaware of any activities" related to yet unidentified team execs allegedly hacking into the Astros' baseball-operations database, according to a front-page piece by Derrick Goold of the ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH. Mozeliak did so while also "acknowledging a concern that a federal probe into alleged hacking by members of his front office could 'tarnish' the Cardinals’ reputation." Mozeliak spoke in the visitors’ dugout at Target Field, "making his first in-person comments about investigation since news of it broke Tuesday morning." Mozeliak: "When something like this occurs, it’s shocking and you’re left with the same question everybody else has, ‘Why?’” Goold notes DeWitt on Tuesday was on a family vacation with his son, Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, in Yosemite National Park, making it "difficult to reach by phone, causing a delay in his public statements." Mozeliak: "We want to try to help to get to the bottom of it and also have an understanding of exactly what happened. ... We don’t want the brand of the St. Louis Cardinals tarnished through something like this." Mozeliak when asked if the alleged hacking of an opponent's database has him rethinking the organization or management of the front office "said no" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/18). USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale writes the Cardinals "find themselves identified as pioneers of corporate espionage in sports." Mozeliak: "It's frustrating and, to some degree, a level of embarrassment. Dealing with this is not easy. We always have taken a lot of pride to do things right." Nightengale: "You don't expect to be interviewing Mozeliak on the phone from Minneapolis, only with the condition that club counsel Mike Whittle must be on the line, too, from St. Louis." Whittle said that Mozeliak and Dewitt Jr. "have not been accused of any wrongdoing" (USA TODAY, 6/18).
ASTRO TURF: In Houston, Evan Drellich reports no matter "how widespread and insidious the act, the Astros are taking the matter seriously." The possibility the Astros could sue "lies in the background, depending on the FBI’s findings." If it is determined that just a rogue employee or two of the Cardinals "acted criminally, the question becomes whether the Cardinals failed to supervise those employees properly" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/18). SI.com's Ben Reiter writes Astros GM Jeff Luhnow "rejected the idea that he was a polarizing presence in St. Louis who left behind him a trail of revenge-minded former colleagues." Luhnow: “I actually got along very well with everybody with the Cardinals. I was friendly with the people I left behind there. A lot of them came to my wedding. ... The owner, the general manager, the assistant general manager, other executives, scouts were at my wedding. This wasn’t a bad breakup" (SI.com, 6/18). GRANTLAND's Michael Baumann wrote none of this "is the Astros’ fault." They "could leave all of their data on a laptop on a bench ... and it’d still be wrong to open that laptop and look at it." But in an office "with tens of thousands of IQ points’ worth of computer knowledge", it "didn’t occur to anyone to require a fresh password every six months?" (GRANTLAND.com, 6/17).
WHAT'S IN THE CARDS? In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz writes this "obviously is an unsettling time" for the Cardinals, whom over the last few days "were the prime topic of sermons bemoaning the deteriorating ethics of the modern sports culture." They "felt the gust of sports-radio hot takes, became material for social-media memes and serial snark, and were quickly in a new round of conspiracy theories that sought to invalidate their success." Even if this "was a hopelessly idiotic 'Revenge of the Nerds' stunt pulled off by low-level rapscallions who acted alone and without Mozeliak’s knowledge, it’s still a serious breach of ethics and a violation of federal law" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/18). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz wrote the big question is, "How high up did it go?" Even if the Cardinals "escape major punishment from MLB and the feds, and this is proven to be an isolated incident involving one person, they'll never get a pass from some people." Baseball "is a sport that reminds us daily how tough it is to outrun your past mistakes" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/17). A CHICAGO TRIBUNE editorial states baseball "has its peculiar culture." The editorial: "You can steal signs from an opposing catcher. You can steal second base. But no way can you break into an opposing team's computer. That's a felony. There's no cyberprying in baseball" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/18). In K.C., Vahe Gregorian writes under the header, "Cheer If You Must, But St. Louis Cardinals Hacking Report Hurts Everyone." When the "high and mighty take a fall, it's practically human nature to revel in it" (K.C. STAR, 6/18). MLB.com's Richard Justice said the Cardinals "go into this with a lot of equity in terms of credibility." He added, "They are probably the crown jewel franchise in terms of the way they do things ... (and) there's not a more admired franchise" ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 6/17). MLB Network's Brian Kenny said of the Cardinals, "They are the model organization. They're supposed to stand for something. They take a hit no matter what, just having them involved in this conversation" ("MLB Now," MLB Network, 6/17).
