
photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
I've listened to all the bull bleep and crap spewed after Jim Crane allowed Rob Manfred to clip his manhood and put them it a glass case with the heavy handed punishment in regards to the Astros sign stealing scandals. He then bowed down even further by forcing his players to publicly apologize at Spring Training. It was despicable. In the first hour of Late Hits, Patrick Creighton and Jayson Braddock laid out how many times throughout history teams were caught stealing signs and how they were doing it. This crucifixion of the Astros as if they're some sort of lone bandit is sickening!
All the people bitching and complaining, the frivolous lawsuits, the blatant ignorance, the spreading of baseless accusations...This should all serve as fuel to the Astros and their fans this season. They got caught. They thumbed their noses at the whole apology thing, especially Alex Bregman (shot out to Justin Verlander for wearing the "Nobody Cares" hat at the golf outing). Bleep it! Let's go full heel mode! The heel turn is complete.
First Things First
A heel turn is a wrestling term used to describe a good guy (a babyface or face) turns into a bad guy or heel. The Astros were the fun-loving bunch of homegrown talent of a franchise that endured tanking in order to restock their minor leagues. That paid off in a major way in 2017 when they won a World Series. It was extra sweet considering Houston was hit by Harvey that August. Most of the world fell in love with them. They were the John Cena of baseball. They were beloved by most, and still hated by a good amount of folks for their antics.
Scandals Tear Away At Their Image
Sign stealing was the straw that broke the camel's back. When they signed Roberto Osuna, there was a ton of backlash and understandbly so. He was suspended amid a domestic violence incident and they traded for him anyway. That lead to another incident in which former GM Brandon Taubman was fired for causing a stir in the locker room for being obnoxious about the Osuna trade towards some female reporters. Top this bleep cake off with thew fact that former GM Jeff Luhnow created a toxic work environment, and you have the making of a heel turn.
Heel Mode: Activated
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Back in 1996, Hulk Hogan turned heel when he joined the nWo. The wrestling world was turned on its ear. Everyone actually thought WWE sent them to take over WCW. Fans were shocked to see their hero of the last 10-plus years turn heel. This is how Astros fans must feel right now. Their beloved team got caught stealing signs. Now what? Bleep it! Go with it. Yeah they got caught. No they weren't the only ones. Sure the punishment is harsh. And yes, the trolls and piece-riders in media and other fan bases are annoying AF, but embrace it!
Relish The Role
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You know what happened to the nWo? They ended up becoming the hottest act in wrestling. Stone Cold Steve Austin did something similar. Both were supposed to be heels, but were so good at it and so cool, people ended up liking them. They were cheered, sold a ton of merch, and drove ratings through the roof. So much so that WCW actually beat WWE in the ratings for over a year. This is what the team and fans need to do. I don't give a flying flip that they cheated! "If you aint cheatin you aint tryin!" and my other favorite line "It's only cheatin if you get caught!" Become the cool heels. Celebrate homeruns and big hits by simulating buzzers and banging trash cans. Have a trash can bobblehead giveaway. Pretend to talk into fake buzzers and devices in the dugout. Fans: wear "Steal It Back" shirts and create other parody paraphenelia to thumb your noses at the crybabies from other teams.
I don't give a damn what people may think. If they stink, do it anyway. Do it more if they're mashing the ball and leading the division. During the All Star festivities, keep it going by pretending to steal signs and bang trash cans. That World Series win isn't going anywhere. It's history, it happened and they can't undo it. Ignore the dumbasses online and in the media. They're going to say all kinds stuff to keep this going, so don't feed them MLB can pretend to investigate other teams all they want, but we all know they want this to go away faster an unwanted rash in their nether regions. So let's go full heel Houston! Screw them! It's us versus all yall mentality from here on out!
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Houston falls short as Soto’s homer, missed opportunities doom Astros
Mar 28, 2025, 10:26 pm
With a chance to make a late splash in his New York Mets debut, Juan Soto came up empty.
After signing the biggest contract in baseball history last offseason, the slugger came to bat with two runners aboard and the Mets down by two in the ninth inning Thursday. But instead of delivering the huge hit New York was looking for, he whiffed on a full-count slider from hard-throwing closer Josh Hader that was way outside the strike zone to send the Mets to a second straight opening day loss in Houston's 3-1 victory.
“He just got me in that situation,” Soto said.
Hader loaded the bases with nobody out, then fanned third-string catcher Hayden Senger in his first major league at-bat. Francisco Lindor’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1, and there were runners on first and third when Hader struck out Soto for his 200th career save.
“We all want to do something in a big spot,” Soto said. “We’re all trying to get the knock and try to bring the runs in and try to help the team either way.”
Soto singled and walked twice against the Astros after signing a record $765 million, 15-year contract as a free agent in December.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked if he thought Soto felt extra pressure in the ninth inning because it was his first game with a new team.
“Yeah, of course, as a competitor he always wants to come through,” Mendoza said. “I thought he had some good at-bats today and even on that one he got it 3-0 and then 3-1 and that pitch that he got there (he) just missed it. Pretty good pitch. But he’ll come through.”
Soto, who played for the American League champion New York Yankees last season, joins the Mets as they chase their first World Series title since 1986.
The four-time All-Star was disappointed his first game with the Mets didn't go their way.
“I was expecting to win the game,” he said. “Definitely it’s not how we wanted. ... They’re a really good team over there and they come in and grind. For me it was a good experience. These guys are amazing and we’ve been having a good time since spring training and we’ve just got to bring that all the way.”
The 26-year-old Soto hit .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs last year and won a Silver Slugger Award for a fifth straight season.
Soto is a career .285 hitter with 201 home runs and 592 RBIs in seven major league seasons. He's also played for the Nationals and Padres.
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