Astros off the hook in spy controversy

So apparently the Astros aren’t the New England Patriots of major league baseball.

So say the World Series champions themselves and thus decreed commissioner Rob Manfred’s office on Wednesday by declaring the Astros not guilty of any wrongdoing in the latest pro sports episode of “spygate.”

The Boston Red Sox aren’t ready to let their ALCS opponent off the hook so quickly, however, and also said as much, though apparently the club isn’t fired up enough to further press the issue with MLB.

What the Astros did fess up to on Wednesday, however, is that if you aren’t at least trying to cheat (or in the Astros defence, trying to catch the cheaters) you aren’t trying.

Take it from Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who prior to Game 4 of the best-of-seven series said his team was “playing defence” by monitoring other team’s activity in opposing parks.

If it sounds suspicious, well the whole thing is at the very least just that. And while not a full blown scandal, it has certainly become a distraction injected into a competitive series between two outstanding teams.

The story/controversy first started to emerge late in Game 3 on Tuesday night when a report out of Boston claimed that in the series opener last weekend, an Astros employee was monitoring activity in the Red Sox dugout from an adjacent camera well at Fenway Park.

Guilty as charged, the Astros say. But only to a point.

Luhnow was clearly on the offensive prior to Game 4, however, with the argument that given the modern-day tools available, teams nudge the envelope towards skulduggery. That would be many teams, not just the Astros.

“There’s a lot of technology in ballparks these days,” Luhnow said in the Astros dugout hours before first pitch. “Video cameras and high-speed cameras and high-magnification cameras, monitors showing live feeds, etc.

“So when we go into an opposing ballpark, we tend to look around and make sure we don’t see suspicious activity.”

Look, we’re reasonably certain that the Astros aren’t the only team doing using cameras for a sweep such as this (or more), just as multiple teams have griped to MLB about how the champs operate.

Though not looking to escalate the controversy, after hearing Luhnow’s comments, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski felt obliged to offer his opinion to a media scrum. Dombrowski was willing to accept MLB’s case closed ordinance — for now — but wasn’t about to admit the Astros did nothing wrong.

“First of all, there was a violation, the person shouldn’t have been (in the camera well),” Dombrowski said, speaking of the Fenway incident that ignited the drama. “Second of all, I don’t like the implication that the Boston Red Sox would do anything illegal.

“When (the Astros) say they are doing this to protect themselves, they’re also not listening to an ordinance from above.”

MLB has attempted to end that as well, essentially telling the Astros that in the future any such surveillance will be handled by the league.

Meanwhile, though not completely dismissive, Cora had a different take — essentially that deciphering signs has been a part of the game for decades and those who are best at it can benefit.

“I know there’s a lot of people know my reputation about stealing signs or tipping pitches and all that stuff.” Cora said. “I learned that when I was playing winter ball in 1997 with Robby Alomar, Sandy Alomar, my brother.

“I don’t know, man. It’s kind of ridiculous that with these two talented teams, the talk is about stealing signs and tipping pitches.”

The good news, given that is an issue far larger than one isolated allegation in one playoff series is that in its statement on Wednesday, MLB declared the matter closed ... for now.