"Cheaters Never Prosper"

Except we all know that sometimes they do, at least for a time.  Take a breath, people. It's all part of life's rich pageant.

Four observations on the organized sign-stealing scandal that has tarnished the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox, so far:

1. The severe suspensions and subsequent firings were appropriate. Eventually A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora and the others will find gainful employment in major-league baseball again, as they should. They've proven they are good at what they do legitimately; they made a colossal mistake and got caught; eventually they'll get a chance to manage again, and to get it right this time.  The main point of these actions is not and must not be to eternally punish the known offenders; it's to establish a firm, fearful, and merciless precedent for others who might consider doing something similar. We all benefit if that works.

2. The difference is in degree. Real-time sign-stealing, cutting corners, doctoring the ball, wetting down the field, "organic cheating", if you will, has been part of baseball, and all professional sports, for over a century. Historically it has been done through cunning, through on-field chicanery, through methods and schemes available, in theory at least, to everyone. But deploying technology completely outside the game, assigning specific individuals to organize and conduct the cheating, and surreptitiously manipulating the replay protocols elevates it to an unacceptable level.  This is where we draw the line. Let's hope it stays there.

3. Of course the internet shouters, the commentators and columnists, and the professional ignoranti have had a field day here. We've heard from people, presumably adults, who cry that if Hinch, Cora, et. al., are not banned from the game for life, then it's time to elect Joe Jackson and Pete Rose to the Hall of Fame and, presumably, appoint Arnold Rothstein to a posthumous commissionership. "It's just like the Black Sox," or "It's worse than the Black Sox," can be found everywhere you look.  Let's be clear here: if you can't, or worse, won't, understand and apply the difference between "cheating to win" and "deliberately throwing games," then you are too stupid to have an opinion and you should not be allowed to vote. On anything.

4. And for the Los Angeles City Council, and like-minded politically-correct toadies everywhere, we offer up the following from a  post we made in 2012: "Those who advocate placing asterisks next to records, erasing records, or vacating team wins or accomplishments, are all Communists... the "Politburo" regularly edited out people and events from history... What kind of person actually believes that you can undo something that has been done?... If you have to have it explained to you why it is morally wrong to go into the past and erase events and people as if they never happened, then you will never understand... It's not about baseball. It's about you, and your deep-seated need to get even... That's what Communism is, the ultimate get-even game, and that's what you are."

Double down on that one.   

Now, let's play ball.

Don Larsen 1929-2020

Don Larsen, the only man to pitch a perfect game in the World Series, was also a San Francisco Giant for two years. In Game 4 of the 1962 World Series, he came on in relief of Bob Bolin in the sixth inning of a tie game with two on and two out, got out of it with no run allowed, and earned the win when Chuck Hiller hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh. 

RIP Don Larsen, a Giant and a legend.