DRONING ON ABOUT CHEATING
Barry Laminack: Nothing like a good Twitter spat. Thanks, 'Tyler' Bauer
May 3, 2018, 6:49 am
Oh I do love a good Twitter spat.
And that's exactly what fans were tweeted too earlier this week when Trevor Bauer came out and in so many words accused the Astros of cheating.
It all started with this tweet from @Blaze4551:
"Are Astros doctoring baseball or throwing spit balls. look at spin rates of verlander, cole and morton, inreased dramatically pitching in Astros uniform. they probably using a substance or like chewing gum like morton did like post season"
And this reply to the above tweet from @drivelinebases:
"Chewing gum? Also spit balls would reduce spin theoretically. Anyway, what a weird coincidence you have discovered. "
To which Bauer replied with a bunch of "hmmmm" emojis, followed by the following statement:
"If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate. Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight...imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed…"
It didnt take long for Lance McCullers Jr. to respond with a tweet of his own, directed at Bauer:
"Jealousy isn't a good look on you my man. You have great stuff and have worked hard for it, like the rest of us, no need for this. I will ask though because my spin rate and spin axis on my 4 seem is a$$."
Bauer replied to McCullers tweet by back peddling a bit:
"I never said Astros are cheating. My only claim is that using sticky stuff on your hand increases the rpm on fastballs. Which is blatantly true."
And then out of nowhere, here comes Alex Bregman kicking the ant pile:
"Relax Tyler ... those World Series balls spin a little different.... "
Uhhh, Alex...
At this point it kind of fell apart, but not before Bauer changed his twitter name to Trevor "Tyler" Bauer.
Well played, sir.
Later on, Bauer came out with a lengthy statement, where, in so many words, he stated that he'd be fine if baseball let pitchers use pine tar, he just wants them to be consistent.
"So, pick a substance that's sticky, that gives you all the performance benefits and just put it on the back of the mound. That way if you want to use it you can. And everybody knows it's being used. And if you want to use other substances and skirt the rule, whatever. Have a certain amount of outlawed substances, vaseline or whatever. But if you want to use sticky stuff, it's right there on the mound. Put your fingers on it and throw."
At some point in all of this twitter nonsense, some idiot even used a picture of Josh Reddick and his glove, implying that HE was cheating.
Only that's stupid because Reddick doesn't pitch, as one fan pointed out by suggesting that the pine tar on his Reddicks glove is why he has a "... 0.00 era". HA!
And don't worry, Reddick saw the tweet and replied with this gem of his own:
https://twitter.com/RealJoshReddick/status/991378695096094721
God I love Twitter.
What this all boils down to is Bauer throwing shade on former UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole. Apparently they didn't get along in college and still don't to this day.
I'm really looking forward to May 18. That's when Bauer will take the hill for the Indians in Minute Maid Park. Too bad it will be Verlander's turn in the rotation, and not Cole's.
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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