Mark Madden: Players must be punished in Astros sign-stealing fiasco

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave Houston’s players immunity from punishment in return for cooperation in the sign-stealing investigation.

That deal needs to be revisited, then reneged upon.

Astros players from that 2017 world championship team need to be suspended for a year. (That includes those now with other teams.) If that means battling the MLBPA, so be it. If that means fighting in court, so be it. If that means the Astros stumble to a 100-loss season using a lot of Triple-A players, so be it.

The scandal has demolished MLB’s integrity. It hasn’t blown over.

That was made clear by the arrogance of Astros owner Jim Crane at Thursday’s news conference, and when opponents like Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger spoke freely: “Manfred’s punishment was weak, giving them immunity. These guys were cheating for three years. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us.”

The Astros did exactly that, and totally got away with it.

Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch were deposed as general manager and manager by way of being fall guys. Crane did nothing but spew absurdities Thursday, but this took the cake: “These are a great group of guys who did not receive proper guidance from their leaders.”

Uh, yeah, but the commissioner’s report said the sign-stealing was player-driven. A “great group of guys” doesn’t conspire to commit fraud.

Lots of players make more than their managers. That dilutes authority.

Crane also said the sign-stealing didn’t affect the games. So why did the Astros do it? Why are you apologizing, however insincerely? Why fire your GM and manager? (Crane denied saying sign-stealing didn’t affect the games just 55 seconds later. That news conference was more chaotic than the Iowa caucus.)

The Astros aren’t sorry they cheated. They’re sorry they got caught.

The Astros won’t directly deny wearing buzzers to relay information on signs last season. They refer to the commissioner’s report. (I believe the Astros used buzzers. I also believe at some point, MLB stopped investigating and started covering up.)

The players cheated. They won. Not one got punished. They keep the rings. They keep the trophy. They keep their playoff share. They keep getting paid.

Where’s the deterrent? Where’s the precedent?

When the 1919 Chicago White Sox threw the World Series, eight players got banned for life. That’s the last time a World Series got fixed.

The MLBPA would be foolish to intervene on behalf of any Astros (or ex-Astros) who got suspended. The players the Astros cheated are union members, too.

A few Astros seemed sorry to some degree. Said Carlos Correa, “There’s no excuse. We were wrong for everything we did.”

But Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman looked like deer in headlights at the news conference.

Justin Verlander has long served as baseball’s self-appointed policeman. But Tuesday he didn’t “want to get into too many specifics.”

Verlander is the same guy who said, in 2016, “If there is proven intent to cheat … it should be a ban from baseball.” He was referring to PEDs, but cheating is cheating. But now Verlander’s opinions have run dry. What a mealy-mouthed hypocrite.

It is a stink sandwich. But those who prepared it don’t have to take a bite.

The 2020 season won’t be easy for the Astros. The media won’t let this go, nor should they. They will be heckled mercilessly on the road. Home attendance and fan interest in Houston will likely drop. They will get pitched high and tight. Their championship in ’17 is forever tarnished, if not ruined. (It should be stripped.)

That’s all good. The Astros shouldn’t be allowed to move forward. That’s not for them to decide.

But until those who cheated get suspended, they got away with it.