In 2017, the Astros defeated the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, in 7 games. Alex Cora was their bench coach.
In 2018, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Astros in the AL Division Series, in 4 games. Cora was their manager. Then the Red Sox defeated the Astros in the ALCS.
In 2019, the Astros defeated the Yankees in the ALCS, in 6 games.
Yesterday, Major League Baseball dropped the hammer on the Astros. An investigation proved that the Astros had used means to steal "signs" that were against MLB rules. The punishment was as follows:
* Manager A.J. Hinch was suspended for the 2020 season.
* General manager Jeff Luhnow was also suspended for the 2020 season.
* The Astro organization was hit with a $5 million fine, the largest in MLB history.
* The Astros were also stripped of their picks in both the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2020 and 2021 MLB Drafts.
What MLB did not do was strip the Astros of their recent achievements: Their 2015 Wild Card berth; their 2017, '18 and '19 AL Western Division titles; their 2017 and '19 AL Pennants; and their 2017 World Championship.
Just as the NFL has never stripped the New England Patriots, or any other team, of any titles after being caught cheating.
The Astros are lucky that the NCAA isn't overseeing them. Teams -- including in the State of Texas, most notably the football program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1986 -- have been hit with heavy sanctions and the losses of Conference and National Championships.
Luhnow issued a statement: "I did not know rules were being broken... I am deeply upset that I wasn't informed of any misconduct, because I would have stopped it." As they said in Ball Four, "Yeah, surrre."
Hinch also issued a statement: "While the evidence consistently showed I didn't endorse or participate in the sign-stealing practices, I failed to stop them, and I am deeply sorry."
It remains to be seen if, when and how Cora will be disciplined, but it's expected that something will be done.
But, just as the Red Sox have never been stripped of their 2004, '07 and '13 World Series wins for having known steroid cheats on the roster, God forbid they should be punished with the stripping of their 2018 World Series win.
In the meantime, fans of the Yankees, and of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros and the 2018 Series to the Red Sox, are claiming to be "real World Champions" now that the Astros have been caught.
Maybe they can settle it in October 2020.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 4, on Saturday, 10:00 AM New York time, in Premier League action, home to Sheffield United.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 7, next Tuesday.
Days until the 1st Presidential voting of 2020, the Iowa Caucuses: 20, on Monday, February 3. Under 3 weeks. The New Hampshire Primary will be 8 days later.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 23, on Thursday night, February 6, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, will be at the Wells Fargo Center. The next game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Saturday night, March 7, at Madison Square Garden. The next game against the New York Islanders will be on Saturday night, March 21, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 47, on Sunday, March 1, at 1:00 PM, home to FC Cincinnati. Under 7 weeks.
Days until the Yankees' 2020 Opening Day: 72, at 1:00 on Thursday, March 26, away to the Baltimore Orioles. A little over 10 weeks. And now, it feels as though we can look forward to it.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 72, at 3:45 PM New York time on March 26, 2020, against the Netherlands, at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, home of PSV Eindhoven.
Days until the Yankees' 2020 home opener: 79, on Thursday, April 2, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 95, on Saturday, April 18, at 1:00 PM, against the New England Revolution, at Red Bull Arena. On Sunday, April 26, at 3:00 PM, they will play D.C. United, at Audi Field in Washington. On Sunday, May 31, at 3:00 PM, they will play New York City FC, at Yankee Stadium II. And on Saturday, June 6, at 6:00 PM, they will play the Philadelphia Union, at Red Bull Arena.
Days until the next North London Derby: 102, on Saturday, April 25, Arsenal's 1st visit to the new Tottenham Stadium, adjacent to the site of the previous White Hart Lane. A little over 3 months. It is currently scheduled to be on the 16th Anniversary of the 2nd time that Arsenal won the League at White Hart Lane -- but also the last time Arsenal won the League anywhere. Of course, for TV reasons, the game could be moved to another date, probably the next day.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 115, on May 8, 2020, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 4 months.
Days until Euro 2020 begins, a tournament being held all over Europe instead of in a single host nation: 150, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Under 5 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 192, on July 24, 2020. A little over 6 months.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 235, on Saturday, September 5, at noon, home to Monmouth University, a Football Championship Subdivision School in West Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey. In other words, if they don't win this game overwhelmingly, especially now that Greg Schiano is back as head coach, it will look very, very bad. Anyway, under 8 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the 2020 schedule has not been released yet. Most likely, the season opener will be against arch-rival Old Bridge, on Friday night, September 11, away at the purple shit pit on Route 9. That's 241 days.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge football game: See the previous answer.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 294, on November 3, 2020. Under 10 months.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 319, on Saturday, November 28, at home. Under 11 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 355, on January 3, 2021. Under a year, or under 12 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 372, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over a year, or a little over 12 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame: 728, on January 11, 2022. Under 2 years. We will then find out if it's okay for a Red Sox steroid cheat to be in the Hall, but not for a Yankee steroid cheat.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 752, on February 4, 2022. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off in Qatar: 1,042, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 3 years, or a little over 34 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: As yet unknown, but space on the international women's soccer calendar has been cleared for July 10 to August 20, 2023. So if July 10 is the tournament's starting date, that would be 1,273 days, a little over 3 1/2 years, or under 42 months. A host nation is expected to be chosen on March 20, 2020. Bids have bee put in by Brazil (South America has never hosted), Colombia (ditto), Japan (Asia last hosted in 2007), and a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand (Oceania has never hosted).