The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Francona: Baseball will survive scandal
“Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it will creep.” For What It’s Worth, Buffalo Springfield, 1966
Indians manager Terry Francona is in town for the Tribe Fest on Feb. 1 at the Cleveland Convention Center. He met with the media Jan. 31 at the House of Blues and, not surprisingly, one of the main topics discussed was the cheating scandal that has rocked Major League Baseball.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Francona said.
Baseball suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager AJ. Hinch as punishment for the Astros stealing signs electronically during the 2017 season.
signs electronically during the 2017 season.
Luhnow and Hinch were then fired by Astros owner Jim Crane. The Astros were fined $5 million, but they were not stripped of their 2017 World Series championship.
Francona said other teams have told him the Indians are cheaters. He called the accusation
laughable.
“Everybody is always trying for an edge,” Francona said. “That’s just the way we’re built. Unfortunately, sometimes it goes a little too far with the technology involved.
“So much of baseball is romanticized. You hear about the 1950 guys with binoculars. But when you start thinking of technology, it seemed like it crossed the line. Hopefully it’s been taken care of and you won’t hear much about it anymore.”
Francona would not say specifically what made
other teams suspicious about the Indians. Nor would he say which teams made the accusation.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘We know you’re doing this,’ and I would laugh like crazy,” he said.
“Like in Boston, they said, ‘We know you lined the bullpen guys.’ We did line them up, but they weren’t doing anything. I’ve heard tell us things we’re doing here in Cleveland, and I know it’s not happening. Everybody has anxiety about what the other team might or
might not be doing.”
Indians pitchers and catchers report to training camp in Goodyear on Feb. 11. The first workout is Feb. 13. Position players are due Feb. 16, with the first workout Feb. 17. Some players are already in Goodyear.
Francona said he is more concerned about his pitchers making quality pitches than someone in the opposing dugout banging a trash can, as the Astros did, to tip off the batter on what pitch is coming next.