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MLB Players, Execs Continue Speaking Out Against Astros Apology

Rizzo is among a number of MLB team execs unhappy with the Astros' apology for illegally stealing signsGETTY IMAGES

Reactions to the Astros sign-stealing scandal and last week's apology press conference continued to pour in over the weekend, with MLB players and execs alike giving their takes on the situation. Below are some of their comments:

  • Yankees Senior VP & GM Brian Cashman said, "I definitely think [the sign-stealing] had an effect on things, without question. Certainly the Houston Astros were dealing with a distinct advantage more so than their opponents. That's a fact. I don't think anybody can disagree with that, even though they may try." On whether sign-stealing can affect competition, Cashman said, "No question about it, or you wouldn't be doing it" (N.Y. POST, 2/15).
  • Nationals President of Baseball Operations & GM Mike Rizzo, whose team shares a Spring Training home with the Astros, said, "Someone has got to say the word over there. Cheated. That's important to me and for the sport to move on, which is what I'm most concerned about" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/15).
  • Orioles Exec VP & GM Mike Elias, a former Astros front-office member, said, "It's tough. ... It's a shame." Elias: "The personal people involved, it's been very difficult to watch what's happened there. It's also been disappointing to learn what we've seen about the things that happened in the 2017, 2018 time frame coming to light" (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/17).
  • Dodgers P Kenley Jansen, who faced the Astros in the '17 World Series, said, "People are not having a job right now because of that, and that's why I'm saying it's worse (than steroids). At least back then, everybody got used to steroids, so it was a fair game. ... It's worse than gambling, too" (ESPN.com, 2/15).
  • Cubs 3B Kris Bryant: "I personally think it's worse than steroids. I really do." He added, "Watching their apology ... there's no sincerity, there's no genuineness when it comes to it" (THEATHLETIC.com, 2/15).
  • Pirates P Chris Archer said, "The worst part is that people lost jobs, lost opportunities, lost games. Organizations got eliminated from the playoffs, teams got beat in the regular season. We all work extremely hard, those guys included, and to have that type of advantage ... it's disheartening" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/16).
  • Phillies P Bud Norris said of cheating, "I hope we can kill it now. I hope this is something that we can keep in control. We have to police our game. Hopefully there is an understanding of where it was going and we can kill it now" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/16).

STOP THE MADNESS: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday said the back-and-forth between Astros players and others "is not healthy" and is "another topic on which we're trying to be proactive." Manfred said he has spoken to managers in Spring Training in Florida and hopes to meet with those in Arizona eventually. Manfred: "I hope I made it extremely clear that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it's Houston or anybody else" ("MLB Tonight," MLB Network, 2/17).

LEERY LEAGUE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jared Diamond wrote the Astros' competitors -- and fellow MLBPA members -- are "issuing a searing critique of both the team's actions" and Manfred's "leniency." Players across MLB watched Thursday's press conference with "intense interest -- and they didn't necessarily like what they saw." Baseball players "rarely speak so strongly about their own ranks, a sign of how severe the Astros' misconduct is in the eyes of their fraternity" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/16). In DC, Dave Sheinin writes clearly, the Astros "want to be able to focus" on this season and "get back to the familiar rhythms and routines" of Spring Training. Unfortunately, that "seems impossible in the short term -- and it is fair to wonder whether, for the players stained by the scheme, things can ever be normal again" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/15).

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