Listen, it is entirely legal for the runner on second to figure this out on his own and convey it to batters by a lean or hand gesture. That has been part of the game for a century. But getting the sign sequence spoon fed to you at second by digital means is expressly prohibited. The sox didn't do it as blatantly as the Astros did. It is pretty easy to hear the bangs on the garbage can prior to breaking balls on replay. This is damning evidence especially when you consider the players admitting it. Now, the evidence won't be as easily picked through. This will rely on testimony and confession, although Cora's involvement in Houston will be taken into consideration and the fact that the sox were warned in 2017 will be considered as well. The punishment for the sox should actually be worse than what the Astros get.
Hal sucks
The Astros' excuse was that their replay room was far away from the dugout, so they couldn't cheat as easily as the other teams can. Hence, they needed a more elaborate plan like the desk, cpu and barrel banging.
In the end, nobody is asterisking anything, that was just playful banter. But Manfred is understandably not happy about this, especially with the MLB entering the gambling fray. While draft picks aren't being reported for the Astros, I would be absolutely shocked if none were taken from them. You want a deterrent, take away a first rounder. It is largely symbolic because the Astros were the best or second best team in baseball last year, so losing the 29th or 30th pick in the draft isn't terribly painful, but it would set a precedent for all teams to avoid this level of cheating.
Hal sucks
Boston should just be thankful to hosts New York, Houston and LA for supplying the tactical tech necessary that allowed the Sox to win seven postseason games on the road in '18.
Imagine the combination of hospitality and cryptology the Yanks provided that let the visitors sneak 16 runs onto the scoreboard at the Stadium.
Trolls are clamoring for Red Sox suspensions, and I agree. Fenway should make room to suspend more of these:
https://cbslocal-uploads.storage.goo...38E3DBE48F.jpg
"Especially when you consider that basically the same exact team was brought back for 2019 and had a terrible year without cheating"
Right -- they looked just like Barry Bonds, after his head shrunk back to normal.