Ding-Dong! The Ass*tros Are Dead

From Jayson Stark’s most recent column for The Athletic (paywall):

 

[A]s I watched their final game together Saturday night, I texted an AL executive and asked if this October provided any type of vindication for this group. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get far with that premise.

 

“It’s hard to get redemption,” he wrote, “for a complete lack of integrity. (But) I don’t think any rational people didn’t think they were talented.”

 

I feel like that summed it up eloquently. This October was a vivid reminder of the Astros’ talent — but it doesn’t excuse any of the misdeeds that earned them their rightful place as baseball’s most loathed team. Nor does it excuse their lack of acceptable contrition for what they did.

 

Manager Dusty Baker, after the loss, noted that the team members are “ballplayers” and “men”. Not surprisingly, he neglected to add that they are also cheaters, dismissing the entire scandal obliquely as “whatever problem they’ve had”.

 

And let’s not forget that baseball owes Rays manager Kevin Cash and his crew an undying debt of gratitude for short-circuiting Houston’s run towards another World Series.