4 Excuses Red Sox and Astros Fans Are Already Using to Absolve Blame in Cheating Scandal

It truly boggles the mind that a multitude of Astros and Red Sox aficionados are failing to acknowledge that their clubs were so deeply in the wrong.

Making excuses and attempting to equivocate in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal that claimed the jobs of both teams' managers as well as Astros GM Jeff Luhnow will only exasperate us further. Folks, let's just cut right to the chase by highlighting a few brainless explanations that Houston and Boston devotees are uncorking to try to absolve their teams of blame for shamelessly breaking MLB rules.

4. Nonsensical PED Comparisons

In the aftermath of the league announcing the Astros' punishments, Roy Oswalt took to Twitter to attempt to compare the consequences for stealing signs to those of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Somehow, the retired three-time All-Star received a ton of support from the Houston faithful, but are we really meant to believe that a club shamelessly using digital technology to intercept opponents' pitching signs shouldn't be penalized severely just because so many players connected to the steroid era got away with juicing without serious punishment? Not in this lifetime, Roy. The Astros won a freaking World Series in 2017 by knowingly cheating at various levels of the organization. Case closed.

3. Boston's Actions Weren't as Sleazy as Houston's

Really, guys? The Astros' violations might go down as some of the most shameful in the modern history of baseball, and comparisons to the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919 (fair or unfair) can't be kept at bay forever. That doesn't automatically make Boston somehow less guilty, however. Using your video replay room to communicate pitching signs to baserunners -- though not as scandalous as deploying cameras in the outfield so batters know what pitches are coming -- is cheating, period. Man up and except that your Red Sox were in the wrong. That Alex Cora suddenly went straight-laced as soon as he left Houston for Fenway just isn't plausible.

2. "Everybody Steals Signs"

Let's just come right out and state that the Astros and Red Sox are not the only teams out there stealing signs, but just because there might be other clubs that haven't been caught doesn't mean Houston and Boston are any less culpable for what they did. The fact is that both organizations were warned by Major League Baseball, yet still took up indefensible measures to gain an unfair competitive edge.

1. AJ Hinch Tried to Disable Video Monitors

We don't even know how or why this sort of rationalization is seeing the light of day, but here we are. If AJ Hinch really cared about bringing an end to his team's sign-stealing operation -- who better considering he was the freaking manager? -- his options would have stretched far beyond cracking the screens of some of the video monitors other team employees were using. He got suspended and subsequently fired for a reason, people.