Executive Suites Empty! Yankee G.M. Eviscerated by Astros Owner

Astros owner Jim Crane has remained relatively silent since the 2017 cheating scandal that broke social media. Criticism flew from all directions, and most notably from Yankees GM Brian Cashman.

After telling the baseball world he moved on, Cashman described the Astros’ actions as “something so illegal and horrific.” He eventually concluded that had the Astros not cheated, the Yankees would have won the pennant. Jim Crane had enough, apparently.

“I found his comments to be extremely strange,” Crane said in an interview with USA Today. “There’s the letter, and you were doing it, too. You were there, dude. What are you talking about?”

The letter Jim Crane referred to was revealed to be a bunch of nothing that showed the Yankees were relaying signs from second base to the hitter — not really classifying as cheating amongst baseball fans or players.

The Astros owner finally had something to say about all the talking the Yankees have been doing about his team.https://t.co/kwBYkbVVCp

— Chron (@chron) May 11, 2022

“If I was one of the teams, and I knew our team was doing it, I’d keep my mouth shut and just go about our business. But listen, I can only control what’s going on here. I can’t control what the other guys do.”

Crane would go on to discuss the treatment of his players on the road post-scandal.

“The thing that’s upsetting is the behavior in some stadiums where people are cussing and throwing things. You wear an Astros jersey at some of these places, and you can get into a fracas pretty quick. That’s bad for baseball.”

Boo hoo

Jim Crane first made the point that the Yankees were doing something similar, so they’d be hypocritical to cry wolf during the scandal. That’s objectively false. The Yankees were finding ways to relay signs to the hitter while base runners had a clear view into the catcher’s signs. A competitive advantage players have been taking advantage of since the game’s invention. Crane wants baseballs fans to feel like the Astros were the ones to get caught like most other teams were using electronics and trash cans to relay signs in real-time. He’s trying to re-configure reality and it’s lame.

Were other organizations deliberately cheating? Of course. Most teams are doing something to unfairly edge out their opponents, but the catch is they didn’t get caught. You did, Mr. Crane. Your organization was smart enough to utilize electronic buzzers in jerseys to relay signs from the dug out, however you weren’t sharp enough to get away with it.

Having said all that, we’re sure it’s annoying to see Brian Cashman making excuses for why his team didn’t win five years ago. Most fans moved on, the players have essentially ignored the Astros scandal the last couple years, yet Brian Cashman decided to make another dig. Unfortunately for Jim Crane, you just have to let it happen. If you’re going to get upset someone you knew was cheating keeps pointing the finger at you, be upset you got caught and cheat better next time.