FBI investigating Cardinals for hacking Astros' database

Perhaps the Cardinals will surpass the Patriots in cheating:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/report--fbi-investigating-cardinals-for-hacking-astros--database-153025830.html

I think this was some low-level coworker of Jeff Luhnow who wanted to see if Luhnow was spilling any proprietary secrets to the Astros.

For one thing, this happened last year.  If the Cardinals were looking for a competitive edge in another team's database, why on earth would they hack the Astros who had lost 100 games for 3 consecutive years?  

I think some moron wanted to see if Luhnow (who is frequently cited as the architect of the Cardinals' prolific minor league system) was spilling any secrets to his new team as GM.  Still VERY illegal and still VERY stupid but I don't think it was a ploy authorized by upper management.  If they wanted to hack a team for secrets about how to be really good they'd have tried the Giants. Especially since the Astros aren't even in the same league as the Cardinals. If they wanted a competitive edge they'd probably try hacking a team they play.

I do love reading the comments on all the articles on the net though.  I knew the Cardinals were hated and these comments just prove it.  People hate dynastic teams and even more so if the team is from "flyover country".  I bet ESPN beats this horse to death.  They hate covering the Cardinals and have only been doing so begrudgingly because the Cards have been good for so long.  They'd much rather be covering one of the coastal teams because that feeds their ratings more. But I get it; if I wasn't a Cardinals fan I'd probably hate them too, much like I hated the Braves in the 90s when they won the NL East every year for about a decade.

I think if its true and regardless of who in the Cards organization did it or what they obtained it is a huge issue for both MLB and the Cards. To hack in to another teams operations - regardless of information obtained - is extremely illegal and given the nature of the relationship of the teams in MLB highly unethical. I would like to know if the work was done on Cards network why they did not catch the folks and self-report given the time that has passed since the alleged hacking.

One thing is for sure - the Patriots are giddy right about now.

It wasn't done on the Cardinals network; at least not the local network. The FBI found evidence at the home of a Cardinals employee. He could have been remotely connected to the Cardinals' network I suppose but it's looking more and more like this was some moron who had a grudge against Luhnow and was trying to embarrass him.

Toho is right imo but ESPN will beat this horse for a long time. It was wrong but it doesn't look like an organizational job.

[quote="Dark Horseman"]Toho is right imo but ESPN will beat this horse for a long time. [quote]

Could you imagine if it was the Yankees who were hacked ? The coverage would be 24/7.

Toho = denial.

Nah. It's just common sense.

1) If you're going to hack another team's database, why the hell would you hack the Houston Astros? Especially prior to this year? That team lost 100 or more game each of the last 3 years.

2) You're not really going to get anything that useful for game-time play. It's not like the NFL where there are "playbooks". The only thing I think you'd get from hacking another team's DB is their evaluation of other players and who they were looking to sign or trade. Granted, that could be a big advantage to the hacking team but it wouldn't mean shit for the current on-field product. It might help in trade negotiations or rushing to sign prospects but that's about it.

3) Even if you discount points 1 and 2, the Astros aren't even in the same league as the Cardinals (American vs National) so the Cardinals don't even play them except for a few interleague games every 3 years. What sense would it make for upper management to hack them?

Could the Cardinals have gained an unfair advantage in trading and/or signing prospects? Absolutely. But I actually saw an article by an LA Times hack who speculated that this is why the Cardinals OWN the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw in the post-season which is completely ludicrous.

Just said that cuz you are a Cards fan. If the Twinkies would sink this low, I would expect the same response.

tohostudios wrote:

I think this was some low-level coworker of Jeff Luhnow who wanted to see if Luhnow was spilling any proprietary secrets to the Astros.

For one thing, this happened last year.  If the Cardinals were looking for a competitive edge in another team's database, why on earth would they hack the Astros who had lost 100 games for 3 consecutive years?  

I think some moron wanted to see if Luhnow (who is frequently cited as the architect of the Cardinals' prolific minor league system) was spilling any secrets to his new team as GM.  Still VERY illegal and still VERY stupid but I don't think it was a ploy authorized by upper management.  If they wanted to hack a team for secrets about how to be really good they'd have tried the Giants. Especially since the Astros aren't even in the same league as the Cardinals.  If they wanted a competitive edge they'd probably try hacking a team they play.

Agreed, sir.