The Houston Astros wrapped up their American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, punching their ticket to a fourth consecutive Championship Series. The Astros, who had a losing record during the condensed regular season, have used their postseason success to jab at those who they perceive to be their undeserved and unfavorable critics.
Shortstop Carlos Correa, for example, said after the Astros defeated the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Series: "I know a lot of people are mad. I know a lot of people don't want to see us here. But what are they going to say now?" (Former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia responded by calling Correa a clown and advising the Astros to stop talking.)
Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, whose team lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series, became the latest member of the industry to take aim at Houston on Friday, during an interview with Mad Dog Sports on SiriusXM.
"I think them playing the victim's complex card is a little interesting to me," Friedman said, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. "Like, I get that it's been a difficult year for them, but to play the victim card, I think has been, you know, a curious strategy."
All of the animosity toward the Astros stems from their own wrongdoing, of course. The Astros were investigated over the winter and found to have engaged in technological misconduct by using the replay room to steal signs during games. Those signs were then relayed to their hitters through the use of a trash can banging system.
Major League Baseball suspended then-manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for the season (both were then fired; stripped Houston of draft picks; and fined them the maximum amount permitted by the Major League Constitution ($5 million).
The Dodgers' frustration with the Astros behavior is understandable. Now, the two sides are just wins away from meeting in another Fall Classic. One has to imagine that neither team would need additional bulletin-board material to get up for that rematch.
