The "Cardinal Way" is Nothing to Brag About

Mike Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals Manager

As word spreads about an FBI probe against the St. Louis Cardinal front office hacking in to the Houston Astros network, it leaves little doubt that the organization that boasts about doing things the "Cardinal Way" gives little thought to such words as integrity and fair play.  Now I'm starting to wonder how deeply entrenched cheating is in the Cardinal organization at all levels.

We watched helplessly as Clayton Kershaw's deliveries were whacked around in the 2014 NLDS.  A schalacking that we'd never seen Kershaw ever experience before.  Speculation that the Cardinals knew what pitch was coming was prevalent, but no proof surfaced.  Of course Matheny and company denied it, but those that have followed the game for a long time recognized hitters that were teeing off on pitches they knew were coming.  Did the Cardinals develop an elaborate scheme to tip their hitters about the pitches being called?  Was it sophisticated in a way similar to the '51 Giants, who used, telescopes, signals and buzzer systems to let batters know what pitch was coming?  Who knows?

We can only guess, but today's announcement proves one thing.  There is now concrete evidence that this organization cheats, and they didn't even consider the consequences of getting caught.  For that, they should be punished severely.  If it were up to me, I'd banish the culprits from the game for life, in the same fashion that the 1919 Black Sox were banned, and Pete Rose was given the boot.  This is serious stuff.  In the 21st century, network hacking in the tech savvy baseball world can do some serious damage to an organization.  It messes with the integrity of the game and gives an organization an unfair advantage.  That in turn affects outcomes.

Take away St. Louis' first five draft picks in the 2016 and 2017 draft.  Ban those in their organization that were involved from the game for life.  Sanction the organization $100 million dollars.  That should show St. Louis what the "Cardinal Way" is all about.  This needs to be near the equivalent of the SMU NCAA football death penalty in the mid 1980s.  Rob Manfred, you're up next.

As a Cardinal hater, I must say that I admit to some morbid enjoyment in watching the redbird fans squirm.  There's nothing worse than cheaters, and the Cardinals have just surfaced with a dishonest reputation that should follow them for years.  Chew on that Cardinal fans.