There's Absolutely No Way Astros' Last-Second Team Meeting Will Help Players Face the Media

Houston Astros Owner Jim Crane will be meeting with his entire roster on Wednesday to address how players will address the media as the 2020 season approaches. But, let's face it: the damage has been done, and there is little instruction Crane can offer to make his players look any better in the light of their sign-stealing scandal.

As if cheating their way to a World Series title wasn't enough, the Astros players seemingly said all the wrong things in the wake of the scandal's exposure. None of the players took accountability for the cheating, with the only apologies coming from players who are not even on the roster anymore, in Dallas Keuchel and Marwin Gonzalez.

The clubhouse is already closed. The damage has been done. How will this one media summit possibly help them swim upstream?

At the Houston Sports Awards on Jan. 22, Crane said the team would "apologize for what happened, ask forgiveness and move forward" during Spring Training.

So what? After a month of not apologizing, and instead making bold proclamations about getting back to the World Series in 2020, the media is supposed to eat up a load of apologies because the owner finally told his players to?

Crane, as one of the most hands-on owners in baseball, got seemingly no punishment from MLB for his team's transgressions. When he fired GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, he claimed to be going above MLB's punishment, and that his organization would be stronger because of it.

Crane has even gone on record saying he disagrees with the idea of the 2017 World Series title being tainted.

If this is the message that Crane will be relaying to his team on Wednesday, then expect more of the same defensive self righteousness from the players that has already been seen in the wake of their scandal.