*The Astros will receive the Cardinals' bonus pool money for the extra picks in the 2017 draft. The Astros don't get the Cardinals' 1st Round pick, because they had already forfeited that to the Cubs for signing Dexter Fowler. Still, the Astros will now get to spend a little over $8.6m on the draft, an increase of about $1.8m, which is slightly less than the $2m the Cardinals have to pay the Astros.
*I had some thoughts re: Correa's "lone wolf" status
*Bob Nightengale: The real damage was only done to the "Cardinals' pristine reputation." /gets cramp from making jerk-off motion.
*Tom Verducci says the Cardinals got off easy.
*So does Ken Rosenthal, because - as he says - the Cardinals' figured they'd at least lose their 1st Round pick, so they were able to be more aggressive in targeting free agents. The #19 overall pick (which now belongs to the Cubs for the Fowler signing) is slotted at more than the #56 and #75 picks combined.
*Cards GM John Mozeliak thinks the penalty was "stiff:"
I think the organization, even though we didn't do anything wrong, we understand that the commissioner had to make a decision and that that ruling obviously affects us. I think his message is this can't happen again. And, therefore, the penalty did have to be stiff.
*SI's Ben Reiter notes that just about the only one who is - on the surface - okay with the Cardinals' penalty is the Astros themselves.
*Tim Brown: Nobody in this dumb affair won.
*Phil Garner will spend a week at Spring Training helping A.J. Hinch.
*Colby Rasmus will make $5m in Tampa Bay this year, with up to $2m in incentives.
*The Rangers and Rays have discussed a trade involving Jurickson Profar.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Hacking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hacking. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Cheatin'-ass Cardinals popped for Ground Control breach
YOOOOO the cheatin'-ass Cardinals have - at long last - been punished by MLB for their breach into Ground Control.
Chris Cotillo is reporting that the Cardinals will forfeit their top two draft picks (#56 and #75) to Houston, as well as paying Houston $2 million as a fine. MLB investigators determined that only Chris Correa was aware of the breach into Ground Control. Correa, in addition to the 46-month prison sentence, has received a permanent ban from MLB.
So the Astros will have the #15, #53, #56, #75, and #91 picks in the Top 100 of the 2017 draft.
Buster Olney is reporting that the initial reaction around baseball is that the punishment of the Cardinals is "shockingly light."
The Astros seem okay with it, but what else are they going to say?
RedbirdDaily writes that the decision is a huge sigh of relief mainly because Manfred made his decision *after* the new CBA had been ratified, which limited the amount of the fine MLB could hand down. The delay in punishment also gave the Cardinals time to sign Dexter Fowler (thus giving their 1st Round pick to the Cubs) and also to spend money on international free agents. That's shady AF.
Okay, I've spent a decent amount of time thinking about this. I actually sort of believe the MLB investigators here that Correa didn't work within the rest of the Cardinals' organization to hack the Astros. Let's think about it for a second:
1) We find in the Chronicle's report from Saturday that Correa spent 2.5 years routinely accessing Ground Control by guessing the passwords of Sig Mejdal and other organizational staff.
2) Correa said he was looking to see if the Astros had taken the Cardinals' proprietary information, which is most definitely just a cover seeing as how...
a) he looked for 2.5 years
b) he referenced Ground Control at times that were critical to his own job description with the Cardinals - trade deadline, draft season, winter meetings.
3) The Chronicle pointed out Correa's heated relationship with Mejdal:
Documents also reflect the degree to which Correa was motivated by jealousy of the attention Mejdal received from Sports Illustrated for the Astros' data-driven attitudes toward scouting and player development. A June 2014 cover of SI famously pronounced the Astros, then coming off three consecutive 100-plus loss seasons, "Your 2017 World Series champs."
"Mejdal was one of Correa's rivals," Chu wrote, noting that the two had "heated discussions" when both worked for the Cardinals. "And now, this rival was being praised, even though his team had not yet begun to win."
That's a pretty interesting read on it, and is - if true - why I believe MLB here. If Correa is motivated by jealousy, then he's going to want to upstage Mejdal and the Astros. Why? To show that he - Correa - is better than Mejdal. Correa was the Cardinals' scouting director. He would naturally want to show that he is better at his job than Mejdal or anyone the Astros had in place to make those decisions. So it's not going to benefit Correa if he runs to GM John Mozeliak or whomever to say "look what I stole from the Astros. Now promote me."
I now fully believe Correa was acting alone, if only because of the motive. What makes absolutely zero sense to me is why Correa leaked the information to Deadspin. The only plausible motive I can find, and it fits with the original one, is to make the Astros look bad. In that, he was successful. Everyone got a good chuckle out of the Astros asking for Xander Bogaerts in exchange for Bud Norris, offering Jarred Cosart and Delino DeShields for Giancarlo Stanton, or Lucas Harrell for Lucas Giolito. Between the losing, the CSN Houston debacle, the leaking, and the Brady Aiken saga, it was a rough few years for the Astros, PR-wise. Correa made that happen.
Ultimately, if Correa had just shut up and routinely accessed Ground Control for his own purposes like a decent thief, it would have been difficult for the Astros to notice. But Correa's hubris brought him down, by leaking the trade talks to Deadspin. That's when the Astros knew something was up, and all fingers pointed to the now-imprisoned Correa.
Chris Cotillo is reporting that the Cardinals will forfeit their top two draft picks (#56 and #75) to Houston, as well as paying Houston $2 million as a fine. MLB investigators determined that only Chris Correa was aware of the breach into Ground Control. Correa, in addition to the 46-month prison sentence, has received a permanent ban from MLB.
So the Astros will have the #15, #53, #56, #75, and #91 picks in the Top 100 of the 2017 draft.
Buster Olney is reporting that the initial reaction around baseball is that the punishment of the Cardinals is "shockingly light."
The Astros seem okay with it, but what else are they going to say?
Jose de Jesus Ortiz writes that Manfred/MLB had no choice but to hit the Cardinals hard.The #Astros statement: "This unprecedented award by the Commissioner's office sends a clear message of the severity of these actions.''— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 30, 2017
RedbirdDaily writes that the decision is a huge sigh of relief mainly because Manfred made his decision *after* the new CBA had been ratified, which limited the amount of the fine MLB could hand down. The delay in punishment also gave the Cardinals time to sign Dexter Fowler (thus giving their 1st Round pick to the Cubs) and also to spend money on international free agents. That's shady AF.
For "package deals," MLB banned the Red Sox from signing players for a year and removed 5 prospects. The Cardinals won't lose a top 50 pick.— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) January 30, 2017
It still defies logic that Chris Correa was the only person who knew about his hacking the Astros. Like, what, he kept the info to himself?— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 30, 2017
Okay, I've spent a decent amount of time thinking about this. I actually sort of believe the MLB investigators here that Correa didn't work within the rest of the Cardinals' organization to hack the Astros. Let's think about it for a second:
1) We find in the Chronicle's report from Saturday that Correa spent 2.5 years routinely accessing Ground Control by guessing the passwords of Sig Mejdal and other organizational staff.
2) Correa said he was looking to see if the Astros had taken the Cardinals' proprietary information, which is most definitely just a cover seeing as how...
a) he looked for 2.5 years
b) he referenced Ground Control at times that were critical to his own job description with the Cardinals - trade deadline, draft season, winter meetings.
3) The Chronicle pointed out Correa's heated relationship with Mejdal:
Documents also reflect the degree to which Correa was motivated by jealousy of the attention Mejdal received from Sports Illustrated for the Astros' data-driven attitudes toward scouting and player development. A June 2014 cover of SI famously pronounced the Astros, then coming off three consecutive 100-plus loss seasons, "Your 2017 World Series champs."
"Mejdal was one of Correa's rivals," Chu wrote, noting that the two had "heated discussions" when both worked for the Cardinals. "And now, this rival was being praised, even though his team had not yet begun to win."
That's a pretty interesting read on it, and is - if true - why I believe MLB here. If Correa is motivated by jealousy, then he's going to want to upstage Mejdal and the Astros. Why? To show that he - Correa - is better than Mejdal. Correa was the Cardinals' scouting director. He would naturally want to show that he is better at his job than Mejdal or anyone the Astros had in place to make those decisions. So it's not going to benefit Correa if he runs to GM John Mozeliak or whomever to say "look what I stole from the Astros. Now promote me."
I now fully believe Correa was acting alone, if only because of the motive. What makes absolutely zero sense to me is why Correa leaked the information to Deadspin. The only plausible motive I can find, and it fits with the original one, is to make the Astros look bad. In that, he was successful. Everyone got a good chuckle out of the Astros asking for Xander Bogaerts in exchange for Bud Norris, offering Jarred Cosart and Delino DeShields for Giancarlo Stanton, or Lucas Harrell for Lucas Giolito. Between the losing, the CSN Houston debacle, the leaking, and the Brady Aiken saga, it was a rough few years for the Astros, PR-wise. Correa made that happen.
Ultimately, if Correa had just shut up and routinely accessed Ground Control for his own purposes like a decent thief, it would have been difficult for the Astros to notice. But Correa's hubris brought him down, by leaking the trade talks to Deadspin. That's when the Astros knew something was up, and all fingers pointed to the now-imprisoned Correa.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Cheatin'-ass Cardinals: Sunday Morning Hot Links
*82 days after Rob Manfred said that MLB was "in the last ten yards" of their investigation into the Cheatin'-ass Cardinals, new details into the Cardinals' breach into Ground Control have been unsealed by a federal judge. Among those details:
-Chris Correa broke into Ground Control 48 times.
-He had unlimited access to Sig Mejdal's email account for 2.5 years
-He tried to get into the accounts of Bo Porter, Brent Strom, Colin Wyers, and three minor-league players.
-Correa accessed the Astros' trade notes 14 times leading up to the trade deadline.
-Correa is the one who leaked the information to Deadspin, which is pretty freaking stupid, seeing as how that's how the Astros realized they'd been breached, and what led to Correa's prison sentence.
It's a damning list, even for a guy already in federal prison. But the Cardinals need to be held accountable, and Manfred/MLB have looked like they're just hoping everyone will forget. Still, Barron and Kaplan write that a decision on the Cardinals' punishment could come this week.
*The Astros have five players on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list:
-Francis Martes (#20)
-Kyle Tucker (#35)
-David Paulino (#54)
-Derek Fisher (#83)
-Forrest Whitley (#84)
Martes, Paulino, and Whitley are starting pitchers, which is perhaps the reason the Astros didn't pull the trigger on Jose Quintana or Chris Archer: the answer might be in-house.
*About a quarter of the way down in David Laurilia's Sunday Notes column at FanGraphs, Mike Elias discusses Francis Martes.
*Nick Cafardo writes that the Astros remain a possibility for free agent catcher Matt Wieters, which makes no sense to me.
*Somehow the Astros don't have a first baseman ranked in FanRag's 1B fantasy baseball rankings... But Brian McCann (#6) and Evan Gattis (#10) got in the catcher rankings.
*The Astrodome is now a State Antiquities Landmark, which means it cannot be torn down. Take that, you non-preservationists with no regard for history. Brian T. Smith writes that Houston needs to figure out a way to honor its legacy.
*This columnist points out that the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is less than four miles from the local landfill and that, when the wind blows out of the northwest, you'll know.
*Vice Sports: How self-assessment runs the hot stove
-Chris Correa broke into Ground Control 48 times.
-He had unlimited access to Sig Mejdal's email account for 2.5 years
-He tried to get into the accounts of Bo Porter, Brent Strom, Colin Wyers, and three minor-league players.
-Correa accessed the Astros' trade notes 14 times leading up to the trade deadline.
-Correa is the one who leaked the information to Deadspin, which is pretty freaking stupid, seeing as how that's how the Astros realized they'd been breached, and what led to Correa's prison sentence.
It's a damning list, even for a guy already in federal prison. But the Cardinals need to be held accountable, and Manfred/MLB have looked like they're just hoping everyone will forget. Still, Barron and Kaplan write that a decision on the Cardinals' punishment could come this week.
*The Astros have five players on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list:
-Francis Martes (#20)
-Kyle Tucker (#35)
-David Paulino (#54)
-Derek Fisher (#83)
-Forrest Whitley (#84)
Martes, Paulino, and Whitley are starting pitchers, which is perhaps the reason the Astros didn't pull the trigger on Jose Quintana or Chris Archer: the answer might be in-house.
*About a quarter of the way down in David Laurilia's Sunday Notes column at FanGraphs, Mike Elias discusses Francis Martes.
*Nick Cafardo writes that the Astros remain a possibility for free agent catcher Matt Wieters, which makes no sense to me.
*Somehow the Astros don't have a first baseman ranked in FanRag's 1B fantasy baseball rankings... But Brian McCann (#6) and Evan Gattis (#10) got in the catcher rankings.
*The Astrodome is now a State Antiquities Landmark, which means it cannot be torn down. Take that, you non-preservationists with no regard for history. Brian T. Smith writes that Houston needs to figure out a way to honor its legacy.
*This columnist points out that the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is less than four miles from the local landfill and that, when the wind blows out of the northwest, you'll know.
*Vice Sports: How self-assessment runs the hot stove
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Thursday Morning Hot Links
*Can you name the Astro who led the team in bWAR (Baseball-Reference's version of WAR) for each season?
*It's official - the Astros have purchased the High-A club in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This new partnership will begin in the 2017 season. Back in August the Astros and the city of Fayetteville were moving forward on plans to build a downtown stadium that would be ready in time for the 2019 season, so they're going to have to find a temporary place to play. There is Fayetteville State University in town, but they don't have a baseball program. And playing at a college isn't necessarily as ideal as it would seem, as the High-A schedule runs from early April to the beginning of September. A team in the Appalachian League, that is only June to September, would be a little different.
*Buck Showalter had a bad night on Tuesday. But maybe no one in baseball - especially a minor-leaguer - had a worse night than Brooks Marlow last night, who tweeted that "no lady" should be talking on ESPN "specially" (sic) Jessica Mendoza. Marlow, the Astros' 29th Round draft pick in 2015 out of UT, hit .205/.302/.329 in Lancaster this season. When the Astros make Deadspin, it's never good. The Astros released a statement saying that Marlow - who has deleted every single tweet from last night, including ones mocking the people who called him out for being a sexist - understood that his tweet was terrible. Marlow has also deleted his account, which is a good call.
*Major League Baseball is apparently nearing a decision on the Cheatin' Ass Cardinals' breach into Ground Control, as they're about to finish up the investigation. The penalty/ies to the Cardinals could come soon after the World Series. Commissioner Rob Manfred:
We are in the process of finishing up our investigation. Candidly, I wish it had gone a little faster. I wish it had gotten a little more help a little sooner from the U.S. attorney's office. But the cards come up how they come up, and we're going to finish our investigation, and there will be a resolution of that during the offseason.
*Tim Brown: The bigger the game, the bigger Bumgarner's legend grows.
*Vice Sports: How the Giants created baseball's most boring dynasty
*Deadspin: I covered the Braves for a newspaper that didn't exist.
*It's official - the Astros have purchased the High-A club in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This new partnership will begin in the 2017 season. Back in August the Astros and the city of Fayetteville were moving forward on plans to build a downtown stadium that would be ready in time for the 2019 season, so they're going to have to find a temporary place to play. There is Fayetteville State University in town, but they don't have a baseball program. And playing at a college isn't necessarily as ideal as it would seem, as the High-A schedule runs from early April to the beginning of September. A team in the Appalachian League, that is only June to September, would be a little different.
*Buck Showalter had a bad night on Tuesday. But maybe no one in baseball - especially a minor-leaguer - had a worse night than Brooks Marlow last night, who tweeted that "no lady" should be talking on ESPN "specially" (sic) Jessica Mendoza. Marlow, the Astros' 29th Round draft pick in 2015 out of UT, hit .205/.302/.329 in Lancaster this season. When the Astros make Deadspin, it's never good. The Astros released a statement saying that Marlow - who has deleted every single tweet from last night, including ones mocking the people who called him out for being a sexist - understood that his tweet was terrible. Marlow has also deleted his account, which is a good call.
*Major League Baseball is apparently nearing a decision on the Cheatin' Ass Cardinals' breach into Ground Control, as they're about to finish up the investigation. The penalty/ies to the Cardinals could come soon after the World Series. Commissioner Rob Manfred:
We are in the process of finishing up our investigation. Candidly, I wish it had gone a little faster. I wish it had gotten a little more help a little sooner from the U.S. attorney's office. But the cards come up how they come up, and we're going to finish our investigation, and there will be a resolution of that during the offseason.
*Tim Brown: The bigger the game, the bigger Bumgarner's legend grows.
*Vice Sports: How the Giants created baseball's most boring dynasty
*Deadspin: I covered the Braves for a newspaper that didn't exist.
I'M SCREAMING pic.twitter.com/qTTzSQauuD— Adam Friedland (@AdamFriedland) October 6, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Sunday Morning Hot Links
Okay, so this is getting interesting. Mike Fiers was quite solid and the Astros beat the Mariners 2-1 on Yulieski Gurriel's 2-run single. As McTaggart notes, this is the first time the Astros have had back-to-back starters throw at least 6IP since August 24-25.
Mariners manager Scott Servais:
Coming into the game, I thought if we could hold them to two runs, we'd be in pretty good shape. But their guy threw the ball very well. Give him some credit. And our guys were a little anxious. I think you could see that.
Hinch:
We needed all the good pitching we could get, based on how their guy was throwing. It was another good outing by our starters, and if we can get that, we're a pretty interesting team. I like the tone our starters have set the last couple of days.
James Paxton retired the first 15 batters he faced. Fiers retired 17 of the first 19 he faced.
Everyone in front of the Astros lost. So the Wild Card race is as such:
Baltimore/Toronto (81-67): WC1/WC2
Detroit/Houston/Seattle (78-70): -3
There are 14 games left. The win and everyone else's losses jumped the Astros' playoff odds to 18.2%. FiveThirtyEight has it at 21%. If Baltimore and Toronto go 7-7 the Astros will need to 11-3.
*Fiers:
We've got a great starting rotation and maybe things haven't gone the way people want it to be, but we're still going out there and trying to do our job and not worry about everybody else. Just go game to game and I've got to do my job and tomorrow Doug's got to do his job and just go on from that.
*The Astros are asking MLB to review error calls that cost Jose Altuve hits.
*The Cardinals are unlikely to lose draft picks as a result of their breach into Ground Control. They're probably just going to get fined.
*Gary Pettis' son is a receiver at the University of Washington.
*Corpus manager Rodney Linares was a few blocks away from the explosion in Chelsea last night.
*Shohei Otani threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the Japanese Professional League last week.
*Why 20 wins still matters
Mariners manager Scott Servais:
Coming into the game, I thought if we could hold them to two runs, we'd be in pretty good shape. But their guy threw the ball very well. Give him some credit. And our guys were a little anxious. I think you could see that.
Hinch:
We needed all the good pitching we could get, based on how their guy was throwing. It was another good outing by our starters, and if we can get that, we're a pretty interesting team. I like the tone our starters have set the last couple of days.
James Paxton retired the first 15 batters he faced. Fiers retired 17 of the first 19 he faced.
Everyone in front of the Astros lost. So the Wild Card race is as such:
Baltimore/Toronto (81-67): WC1/WC2
Detroit/Houston/Seattle (78-70): -3
There are 14 games left. The win and everyone else's losses jumped the Astros' playoff odds to 18.2%. FiveThirtyEight has it at 21%. If Baltimore and Toronto go 7-7 the Astros will need to 11-3.
*Fiers:
We've got a great starting rotation and maybe things haven't gone the way people want it to be, but we're still going out there and trying to do our job and not worry about everybody else. Just go game to game and I've got to do my job and tomorrow Doug's got to do his job and just go on from that.
*The Astros are asking MLB to review error calls that cost Jose Altuve hits.
*The Cardinals are unlikely to lose draft picks as a result of their breach into Ground Control. They're probably just going to get fined.
*Gary Pettis' son is a receiver at the University of Washington.
*Corpus manager Rodney Linares was a few blocks away from the explosion in Chelsea last night.
*Shohei Otani threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the Japanese Professional League last week.
*Why 20 wins still matters
Monday, January 11, 2016
Monday Morning Hot Links
What with the Texans' loss, it's officially baseball season.
*You have Castro as your C1 and Max Stassi as your C2.
*Make sure you read Jeff Passan's piece on the Chris Correa and the Cardinals' climate of cheating
*Tal Smith: Database pioneer.
*The Cubs signed 2014 Astros legend Jesus Guzman to a minor-league contract.
*25 years ago yesterday the Astros traded Glenn Davis for Curt Schilling
*You have Castro as your C1 and Max Stassi as your C2.
*Make sure you read Jeff Passan's piece on the Chris Correa and the Cardinals' climate of cheating
*Tal Smith: Database pioneer.
*The Cubs signed 2014 Astros legend Jesus Guzman to a minor-league contract.
*25 years ago yesterday the Astros traded Glenn Davis for Curt Schilling
Friday, January 8, 2016
Friday Late-night Links: Cardinals breach of Astros
I'll have some thoughts on the Cardinals breach of the Astros systems below. Here are some links to get you started.
David Barron is killing it (as usual): Chris Correa has pleaded guilty to five of 12 counts of unauthorized access to a computer owned by the Astros. Sentencing is April 11. Which as Barron notes is the home opener for both the Cardinals and Astros.
MLBTradeRumors is also killing it (as usual), with a well rounded update of the days actions.
Here's the actual indictment of United States of America v. Christopher Correa. It's only a five page read (anyone in information security will get a kick out of it).
Walkthrough and thoughts
Perusing the web, most people seem interested in what the Cardinals punishment will be and/or what the Astros will get out of this. I don't have any insight into what could happen here. This is uncharted territory for MLB. The Astros most likely can't sue the Cardinals and the case will have to be handled in house.
What I can speak to is how this went down and lessons learned.
Per the indictment, Chris Correa got access to the Astros database because of password reuse. Plain and simple. When Victim A turned in his equipment to Correa, he was asked for his password. Victim A gave Correa his password. Why would he do this? I'm not entirely sure, but my inclination would be that Victim A had important information on that laptop that Correa needed. Either way a password change of Victim A's Cardinal account or admin account would have accomplished the same thing.
Then Victim A reused or used something similar when setting up his Astros database and email account. This gave Correa the password or something similar to the password. A few character changes and he gets in. That's it.
Correa is now longing into the Astros system, with a legitimate account, accessing information that give the Cardinals a leg up in trade and draft scenarios. This is something that would be very hard to detect, especially with personnel traveling all over the world.
The Astros then have Ground Control featured in the Houston Chronicle, and whoops the non-public URL for logging into the database is in a photo prominently displayed on the Houston Chronicles website. They decide to reset all passwords. Good move. Except that it gave Correa even more access than he already had.
Passwords for the database were reset for everyone (but not email). An email was sent out with a new default password for everyone. Correa, still having access to email, got that password and was now able to login to any account that didn't change the default password. Which how Correa got into Victim B's account. Which had quite the trove of information.
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
On the other side, this was preventable. Password reuse is a big one. Giving a password to another person is even worse. Even with that two-factor authentication prevents this entirely. The password reset is a good idea for keeping people on the outside from getting in. When someone's already in it's much tougher to defend again.
I'm not sure how the database was setup, but sending the same default password to everyone is a bad idea. So is sending a password in an email in general a bad idea. Forcing a password reset the next time someone logs in is probably the best way. Correa could have changed the password for his account access, but that would have sent up a red flag when that person tried to login and his password didn't work.
My question is who and why was internal data dumped on pastebin. Correa had an inside on the Astros database that he could have maintained for a really long time. The pastebin dump was the big red flag that someone was in the Astros database and likely prompted the organization to call in the FBI to investigate. Correa was using TOR but wasn't likely doing enough to clean up his tracks on the inside the database and outside to keep from getting caught.
There's still plenty to follow in this story, but it looks like it's finally winding down. Sentencing, MLB's investigation results, and punishment (or lack-thereof).
This has been fun. Remember kids, never give your password to strangers or anyone for that matter.
David Barron is killing it (as usual): Chris Correa has pleaded guilty to five of 12 counts of unauthorized access to a computer owned by the Astros. Sentencing is April 11. Which as Barron notes is the home opener for both the Cardinals and Astros.
MLBTradeRumors is also killing it (as usual), with a well rounded update of the days actions.
Here's the actual indictment of United States of America v. Christopher Correa. It's only a five page read (anyone in information security will get a kick out of it).
Walkthrough and thoughts
Perusing the web, most people seem interested in what the Cardinals punishment will be and/or what the Astros will get out of this. I don't have any insight into what could happen here. This is uncharted territory for MLB. The Astros most likely can't sue the Cardinals and the case will have to be handled in house.
What I can speak to is how this went down and lessons learned.
Per the indictment, Chris Correa got access to the Astros database because of password reuse. Plain and simple. When Victim A turned in his equipment to Correa, he was asked for his password. Victim A gave Correa his password. Why would he do this? I'm not entirely sure, but my inclination would be that Victim A had important information on that laptop that Correa needed. Either way a password change of Victim A's Cardinal account or admin account would have accomplished the same thing.
Then Victim A reused or used something similar when setting up his Astros database and email account. This gave Correa the password or something similar to the password. A few character changes and he gets in. That's it.
Correa is now longing into the Astros system, with a legitimate account, accessing information that give the Cardinals a leg up in trade and draft scenarios. This is something that would be very hard to detect, especially with personnel traveling all over the world.
The Astros then have Ground Control featured in the Houston Chronicle, and whoops the non-public URL for logging into the database is in a photo prominently displayed on the Houston Chronicles website. They decide to reset all passwords. Good move. Except that it gave Correa even more access than he already had.
Passwords for the database were reset for everyone (but not email). An email was sent out with a new default password for everyone. Correa, still having access to email, got that password and was now able to login to any account that didn't change the default password. Which how Correa got into Victim B's account. Which had quite the trove of information.
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
On the other side, this was preventable. Password reuse is a big one. Giving a password to another person is even worse. Even with that two-factor authentication prevents this entirely. The password reset is a good idea for keeping people on the outside from getting in. When someone's already in it's much tougher to defend again.
I'm not sure how the database was setup, but sending the same default password to everyone is a bad idea. So is sending a password in an email in general a bad idea. Forcing a password reset the next time someone logs in is probably the best way. Correa could have changed the password for his account access, but that would have sent up a red flag when that person tried to login and his password didn't work.
My question is who and why was internal data dumped on pastebin. Correa had an inside on the Astros database that he could have maintained for a really long time. The pastebin dump was the big red flag that someone was in the Astros database and likely prompted the organization to call in the FBI to investigate. Correa was using TOR but wasn't likely doing enough to clean up his tracks on the inside the database and outside to keep from getting caught.
There's still plenty to follow in this story, but it looks like it's finally winding down. Sentencing, MLB's investigation results, and punishment (or lack-thereof).
This has been fun. Remember kids, never give your password to strangers or anyone for that matter.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*By now you may have read that the Astros were allegedly *not* the team that won the rights to negotiate with Byung-ho Park; that honor apparently goes to the Twins. Jerry Crasnick compared Park to Chris Carter.
*Dallas Keuchel won AL Outstanding Pitcher, Carlos Correa won AL Outstanding Rookie, and Jose Altuve won the Majestic Athletic Always Game Award (think, heart and hustle/rise and grind) at the MLB Players Choice Awards last night.
*Jim Crane said the Astros are prepared to increase payroll in the right parameters:
We'll focus on spending money wisely and adding a dimension or two that we might need. What's really nice is what we set out to do is starting to work. You've got a great farm system to draw from and you've got a lot of guys coming up, too, that could be Major League ready.
*Luhnow said there's a balance to strike:
The outcomes we're looking for is to create outs with our pitching staff and create runs with our offense and there's many different formulas. We don't feel like, 'We need a guy throwing 97 or else we're not going to be successful.'
*Any decision to be made regarding the cheatin'ass Cardinals will be made before the beginning of the 2016 season.
*Tal's Hill will be removed before the beginning of the 2017 season.
*Richard Justice just !loves! the new Spring Training facility.
*It's that time of year again!
*Jeff Passan gives the rundown on 192 free agents.
*Albert Pujols is doubtful for Opening Day 2016.
*Rockies SS Jose Reyes was arrested for alleged domestic abuse
*Sad news in MLB as former Braves/Angels pitcher Tommy Hanson has passed away at the age of 29.
*Dallas Keuchel won AL Outstanding Pitcher, Carlos Correa won AL Outstanding Rookie, and Jose Altuve won the Majestic Athletic Always Game Award (think, heart and hustle/rise and grind) at the MLB Players Choice Awards last night.
*Jim Crane said the Astros are prepared to increase payroll in the right parameters:
We'll focus on spending money wisely and adding a dimension or two that we might need. What's really nice is what we set out to do is starting to work. You've got a great farm system to draw from and you've got a lot of guys coming up, too, that could be Major League ready.
*Luhnow said there's a balance to strike:
The outcomes we're looking for is to create outs with our pitching staff and create runs with our offense and there's many different formulas. We don't feel like, 'We need a guy throwing 97 or else we're not going to be successful.'
*Any decision to be made regarding the cheatin'ass Cardinals will be made before the beginning of the 2016 season.
*Tal's Hill will be removed before the beginning of the 2017 season.
*Richard Justice just !loves! the new Spring Training facility.
*It's that time of year again!
If I had a ballot: Raines, Bagwell, Piazza, Griffey, Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, Mussina, Trammell, Edgar.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) November 9, 2015
*Jeff Passan gives the rundown on 192 free agents.
*Albert Pujols is doubtful for Opening Day 2016.
*Rockies SS Jose Reyes was arrested for alleged domestic abuse
*Sad news in MLB as former Braves/Angels pitcher Tommy Hanson has passed away at the age of 29.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Thursday Morning Hot Links
While the rest of baseball gets back to playing games today, the Astros have an extra day off to prepare of the Rangers coming to town for a three-game series starting tomorrow night. Let's get to the links:
*With just over two weeks until the Trade Deadline, Luhnow still considers starting pitching to be the priority, though the Astros are looking at improving everything:
We'll know more toward the end of July than we do right now whether or not our bats are able to come back. But we're continuing to look at everything: bullpen, starting rotation, offense.
*While the Astros are among the teams most interested in Johnny Cueto, Evan Drellich reports (previous link) that Luhnow and Reds GM Walt Jocketty's relationship could be a problem thanks to their previous time in St. Louis. An unnamed executive, on Jocketty:
He's going to have to have somebody come to him and blow him out of the water, and if he's got three deals and in his mind they're all comparable, I don't think the Astros win.
*And in what may be our first Shots Fired of the season, Luhnow spoke of Chris Carter:
You look at the production that Chris Carter gave us the second half of last year, and you don't want to miss that production. But it hasn't been there yet, quite frankly, and it's frustrating, because we know what he's capable of doing. I'm not sure we can wait all year for something to come if it's not coming. I believe he will get off to a quick start after the break and give us the production we need.
"I believe he will..." = "Chris Carter damn well better..."
*The signing deadline for 2015 draft picks is tomorrow, and 27th Round pick James Carter is the highest draft pick to not sign. The Astros aren't sure if 34th Round pick Conor Biggio will sign.
*While at the All-Star Game, Dallas Keuchel made a recruiting pitch to impending free agent David Price.
*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan wrote about how the Astros can capitalize on their success.
*SI's Jay Jaffe, on the Cardinals' trade deadline options as they fight over the NL Central with the Pirates:
GM John Mozeliak has the depth to make moves, but one wonders whether the team's embroilment in the Astros database hacking scandal will make it harder for him to deal.
*Scott Boras is encouraged by Mark Appel's recent success.
*I was up quite late last night finishing a post on why Nolan Ryan is wearing a Rangers cap on his HOF plaque.
*The Diamondbacks, who as a franchise are dumb, had the bright idea to name a highway after 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Randy Johnson. Problem is, the highway to be renamed was initially named after the first Native American woman to be killed in Iraq. So the Diamondbacks, and the state of Arizona, backed off.
*With just over two weeks until the Trade Deadline, Luhnow still considers starting pitching to be the priority, though the Astros are looking at improving everything:
We'll know more toward the end of July than we do right now whether or not our bats are able to come back. But we're continuing to look at everything: bullpen, starting rotation, offense.
*While the Astros are among the teams most interested in Johnny Cueto, Evan Drellich reports (previous link) that Luhnow and Reds GM Walt Jocketty's relationship could be a problem thanks to their previous time in St. Louis. An unnamed executive, on Jocketty:
He's going to have to have somebody come to him and blow him out of the water, and if he's got three deals and in his mind they're all comparable, I don't think the Astros win.
*And in what may be our first Shots Fired of the season, Luhnow spoke of Chris Carter:
You look at the production that Chris Carter gave us the second half of last year, and you don't want to miss that production. But it hasn't been there yet, quite frankly, and it's frustrating, because we know what he's capable of doing. I'm not sure we can wait all year for something to come if it's not coming. I believe he will get off to a quick start after the break and give us the production we need.
"I believe he will..." = "Chris Carter damn well better..."
*The signing deadline for 2015 draft picks is tomorrow, and 27th Round pick James Carter is the highest draft pick to not sign. The Astros aren't sure if 34th Round pick Conor Biggio will sign.
*While at the All-Star Game, Dallas Keuchel made a recruiting pitch to impending free agent David Price.
*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan wrote about how the Astros can capitalize on their success.
*SI's Jay Jaffe, on the Cardinals' trade deadline options as they fight over the NL Central with the Pirates:
GM John Mozeliak has the depth to make moves, but one wonders whether the team's embroilment in the Astros database hacking scandal will make it harder for him to deal.
*Scott Boras is encouraged by Mark Appel's recent success.
*I was up quite late last night finishing a post on why Nolan Ryan is wearing a Rangers cap on his HOF plaque.
*The Diamondbacks, who as a franchise are dumb, had the bright idea to name a highway after 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Randy Johnson. Problem is, the highway to be renamed was initially named after the first Native American woman to be killed in Iraq. So the Diamondbacks, and the state of Arizona, backed off.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Independence Day Link Dump
The Astros are 48-34, 5.0 games up in the AL West with the Angels beating the Rangers and the Mariners beating the A's. Check the sidebar for your latest postseason odds, courtesy of FanGraphs.
*Red Sox starter Justin Masterson:
It just didn't work out. That was pretty much about it. We had them set up well, they're all kind of diving over the dish, to come in and make good pitches in. By missing out over the plate, that's exactly what they're looking for. They did a good job of taking those pitches the other way.
*Jose Altuve:
I think this is one of the best games that we have lately. We start down, we score, we come back, we take the lead a couple times, we pick up each other. This is what we want to do, play as a team and win the game.
*The Boston Herald brought the thunder:
What matters is that this is just the way it's going to be this season: The Red Sox are dumb. Sometimes they're dumb and dumber. They may yet find a way to climb back into the AL East race, if only because the division is awful, but they won't stop being dumb. Get used to it. And if you can count to four, get a uniform.
*Federal charges are going to be brought against a Cardinals employee...it's just not clear which employee could possibly be charged. The investigation by the Houston FBI office is complete and the ball is in the U.S. Attorney General's court.
*The investigation could take longer depending on whether knowledge of the security breach goes further up the chain.
*Marisnick and Rasmus should be back in the lineup this weekend, while Feldman will make a rehab start Sunday. Hinch, on Rasmus:
Hopefully we've cleared this bug bite. It sounds like one of the nastiest things he's had to go through. He lives in the back woods, so that's saying something.
*In that previous link, it doesn't sound as though Lowrie will be back with the team immediately after the All-Star Break, though sometime this month isn't out of the question.
*Jake Marisnick had a big rehab game last night in El Paso.
*Former Astro farmhand David Rollins, who tested positive for Stanozolol in the off-season and was a Rule 5 pick of the Mariners, has his 80-game suspension wind up today. The Mariners have to decide whether they'll put him on the 25-Man roster or send him back to Houston.
*Celebrate your independence by watching Carlos Correa straight murder a ball in the 8th inning.
*Red Sox starter Justin Masterson:
It just didn't work out. That was pretty much about it. We had them set up well, they're all kind of diving over the dish, to come in and make good pitches in. By missing out over the plate, that's exactly what they're looking for. They did a good job of taking those pitches the other way.
*Jose Altuve:
I think this is one of the best games that we have lately. We start down, we score, we come back, we take the lead a couple times, we pick up each other. This is what we want to do, play as a team and win the game.
*The Boston Herald brought the thunder:
What matters is that this is just the way it's going to be this season: The Red Sox are dumb. Sometimes they're dumb and dumber. They may yet find a way to climb back into the AL East race, if only because the division is awful, but they won't stop being dumb. Get used to it. And if you can count to four, get a uniform.
*Federal charges are going to be brought against a Cardinals employee...it's just not clear which employee could possibly be charged. The investigation by the Houston FBI office is complete and the ball is in the U.S. Attorney General's court.
*The investigation could take longer depending on whether knowledge of the security breach goes further up the chain.
*Marisnick and Rasmus should be back in the lineup this weekend, while Feldman will make a rehab start Sunday. Hinch, on Rasmus:
Hopefully we've cleared this bug bite. It sounds like one of the nastiest things he's had to go through. He lives in the back woods, so that's saying something.
*In that previous link, it doesn't sound as though Lowrie will be back with the team immediately after the All-Star Break, though sometime this month isn't out of the question.
*Jake Marisnick had a big rehab game last night in El Paso.
*Former Astro farmhand David Rollins, who tested positive for Stanozolol in the off-season and was a Rule 5 pick of the Mariners, has his 80-game suspension wind up today. The Mariners have to decide whether they'll put him on the 25-Man roster or send him back to Houston.
*Celebrate your independence by watching Carlos Correa straight murder a ball in the 8th inning.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Friday Morning Hot Links
On April 9 the Astros' chances of winning the AL West were 3.5%. This morning, with a 5-game lead after 81 games, their chances of winning the World Series are 7.2%. This season has been weird.
But we still gotta go get Edinson Volquez.
*Despite backtracking on his no-trade list, a Jon Heyman source says that Cole Hamels is unlikely to approve a trade to the Astros. "He's just trying to say the right thing," A Person said.
*The Cardinals fired their Scouting Director, Chris Correa, yesterday in the wake of the hacking/cheating scandal. Within that story we are told that Correa was not the one who leaked the Astros' information to Deadspin, which means that someone else did. The FBI has apparently narrowed the culprits down to "four to five" individuals within the Cardinals' organization.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz has an interesting response to the Cardinals. To cherry-pick a quote:
Fairly or unfairly, there's a deep stain on the Cardinals organization. And with the investigations continuing there could be new findings that increase the taint. DeWitt and Mozeliak need to perform a vigorous scrubbing to make sure the baseball side is clean and replenished.
*Be sure you read Not Hank Aaron's - who is a lawyer - response to this tomfoolery/douchebaggery.
*The Houston Press's John Royal - also a lawyer - has a take.
*Carlos Correa is your AL Rookie of the Month.
*The Astros signed 16-year old Dominican outfielder Gilberto Celestino to a $2.5m signing bonus. Celestino is ranked #7 on MLB.com's international prospect list.
*2nd Round pick Thomas Eshelman signed for $1.1m, $225,700 under the slot value for that pick.
But we still gotta go get Edinson Volquez.
*Despite backtracking on his no-trade list, a Jon Heyman source says that Cole Hamels is unlikely to approve a trade to the Astros. "He's just trying to say the right thing," A Person said.
*The Cardinals fired their Scouting Director, Chris Correa, yesterday in the wake of the hacking/cheating scandal. Within that story we are told that Correa was not the one who leaked the Astros' information to Deadspin, which means that someone else did. The FBI has apparently narrowed the culprits down to "four to five" individuals within the Cardinals' organization.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz has an interesting response to the Cardinals. To cherry-pick a quote:
Fairly or unfairly, there's a deep stain on the Cardinals organization. And with the investigations continuing there could be new findings that increase the taint. DeWitt and Mozeliak need to perform a vigorous scrubbing to make sure the baseball side is clean and replenished.
*Be sure you read Not Hank Aaron's - who is a lawyer - response to this tomfoolery/douchebaggery.
*The Houston Press's John Royal - also a lawyer - has a take.
*Carlos Correa is your AL Rookie of the Month.
*The Astros signed 16-year old Dominican outfielder Gilberto Celestino to a $2.5m signing bonus. Celestino is ranked #7 on MLB.com's international prospect list.
*2nd Round pick Thomas Eshelman signed for $1.1m, $225,700 under the slot value for that pick.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Cardinals Scouting Director Fired - Says Dumb Things
The St. Louis Post Dispatch dropped a bombshell today regarding the hacking scandal. Belying the notion that it was just some rogue intern, a Cardinals lawyer announced today that they have fired their scouting director, Chris Correa, over the hacking of the Astros database. This is huge news, and eliminates any possibility this will just be swept under the rug and forgotten. This isn't Bill DeWitt or John Mozeliak, but it's higher up in the organization that anyone could have imagined.
This is in no way the end of the story. Correa admitted to the accessing the database once, but has not admitted to any subsequent acts or leaking the information. Which either means he is lying, or some other rogue actors will come to light soon.
In the story, a statement from Correa's attorney offered up his "defense"
In a prepared statement, Correa lawyer Nicholas Williams wrote, "Mr. Correa denies any illegal conduct. The relevant inquiry should be what information did former St. Louis Cardinals employees steal from the St. Louis Cardinals organization prior to joining the Houston Astros, and who in the Houston Astros organization authorized, consented to, or benefited from that roguish behavior."
Correa has admitted hacking into a Houston Astros database but said it was only to verify whether the Astros had stolen proprietary data, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.Now, I don't claim to be an expert in this area of law, but, this is really dumb. Unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a federal crime, under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That's why the FBI is involved in this investigation. You don't get to commit a federal crime just because you think someone has wronged you. I feel like this is important advice. If the Cardinals generally, or Correa specifically, believed the Luhnow stole proprietary information, there were avenues available to them to redress that alleged wrong. Major League teams cannot sue each other, but they can bring complaints to the commissioner's office, who can investigate. Luhnow has already denied that anyone has approached him with such an inquiry. Based on the hacking timeline as we know it, with the first hack occurring in 2012, it seems unlikely the Cardinals have been sitting on this for over three years. Especially considering that the statute of limitations, under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, is three years from the discovery of the breach.
This is in no way the end of the story. Correa admitted to the accessing the database once, but has not admitted to any subsequent acts or leaking the information. Which either means he is lying, or some other rogue actors will come to light soon.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Why would the Cardinals hack the Astros?
Oh man this has been fun. The Cardinals have been exposed as anything from vindictive little punknuts (at best) and criminally responsible for hacking into the Astros' system (at worst). The question that idiots across Twitter - and some fairly respected sports journalists - have been asking all day is, "Why would the Cardinals hack the Astros?" Or, to try to interpret their special form of mouth-breathing language, "Why would the awesome, paragons of baseball virtue Cardinals try to steal any kind of information from the lowly dumb tankin' Astros?" Some even question whether the Cardinals did anything wrong, since Luhnow apparently used the same password in Houston as he did in St. Louis.
This misses the point. As I said on Twitter in passing today, if you think it's okay to check your ex's email because you still know his/her password, then you're wondering what the Cardinals did wrong. Stealing someone's car because they left the keys in it is still stealing a car. Simplicity does not equal innocence.
So let's consider two reasons why the Cardinals would hack into the Astros' Ground Control system (with some help from my Psychology major wife):
Vengeance
It's no secret that Luhnow and his riding' partner Sig Mejdal didn't exactly get along with the dip-chewin' base ball folks in the Cardinals organization. When Deadspin published the leaks a couple of years ago, the Astros had a black eye. It was confirmation for many (and I'll raise my hand ever-so-slightly here) that Luhnow and Co. didn't know what they were doing. It was an embarrassment in a string of embarrassments for Jeff Luhnow. Between the losing, CSN Houston, Brady Aiken, and the Ground Control Hack, it was a bad couple of years. And that may have been the goal, given that the information was leaked to Deadspin, presumably - as we found out today - by the Cardinals.
This is corporate slut-shaming, and the Cardinals very well may have been behind it.
Baseball's Limited Resources
There are only so many baseball players, especially at the Major-League level. Even though the Astros and Cardinals aren't in the same division, or - and did you know this? - the same League anymore, they are still two of 30 baseball franchises competing for Major League talent. Given that Jeff Luhnow was very successful within the Cardinals organization before coming to Houston, wouldn't you - the Cardinals - like to know what he thinks about a specific player? Or how he values talent across the league? Or what trade talks have been lined up? Because once you know that information, you can adjust what you offer another team, or you can adjust how you value a specific player.
Baseball is a zero-sum game. If you trade for a player, no one else gets that player. If you sign a free agent, nobody else does. Utilizing the knowledge acquired from the Astros isn't limited to the NL Central, or the National League. That is valuable information on its own.
Maybe the answer lies somewhere between the two possibilities, or maybe - likely, even - there's a possibility I'm not considering here. Just don't go rushing to conclusions yet.
This misses the point. As I said on Twitter in passing today, if you think it's okay to check your ex's email because you still know his/her password, then you're wondering what the Cardinals did wrong. Stealing someone's car because they left the keys in it is still stealing a car. Simplicity does not equal innocence.
So let's consider two reasons why the Cardinals would hack into the Astros' Ground Control system (with some help from my Psychology major wife):
Vengeance
It's no secret that Luhnow and his riding' partner Sig Mejdal didn't exactly get along with the dip-chewin' base ball folks in the Cardinals organization. When Deadspin published the leaks a couple of years ago, the Astros had a black eye. It was confirmation for many (and I'll raise my hand ever-so-slightly here) that Luhnow and Co. didn't know what they were doing. It was an embarrassment in a string of embarrassments for Jeff Luhnow. Between the losing, CSN Houston, Brady Aiken, and the Ground Control Hack, it was a bad couple of years. And that may have been the goal, given that the information was leaked to Deadspin, presumably - as we found out today - by the Cardinals.
This is corporate slut-shaming, and the Cardinals very well may have been behind it.
Baseball's Limited Resources
There are only so many baseball players, especially at the Major-League level. Even though the Astros and Cardinals aren't in the same division, or - and did you know this? - the same League anymore, they are still two of 30 baseball franchises competing for Major League talent. Given that Jeff Luhnow was very successful within the Cardinals organization before coming to Houston, wouldn't you - the Cardinals - like to know what he thinks about a specific player? Or how he values talent across the league? Or what trade talks have been lined up? Because once you know that information, you can adjust what you offer another team, or you can adjust how you value a specific player.
Baseball is a zero-sum game. If you trade for a player, no one else gets that player. If you sign a free agent, nobody else does. Utilizing the knowledge acquired from the Astros isn't limited to the NL Central, or the National League. That is valuable information on its own.
Maybe the answer lies somewhere between the two possibilities, or maybe - likely, even - there's a possibility I'm not considering here. Just don't go rushing to conclusions yet.
Cheatin'-ass Cardinals links
Here's a collection of reads for you regarding the confirmation of what we knew all along: that the Cardinals suck.
Barry Svrluga (Washington Post): Authorities investigating whether Cardinals hacked Astros' network
The security breach - in which Cardinals officials are alleged to have accessed a wide array of proprietary information - alarmed executives throughout baseball, some of whom characterized the case as potentially among the sport's worst scandals. Those officials said teams take extraordinary measures to protect information - including trade discussions, evaluations of players and scouting methods - and a rival team could gain "an extraordinary advantage" by tapping into such a database, one official said.
One baseball executive:
"Oh my God. This is so much bigger than 'SpyGate.' If you have access to another team's full data mix, it's literally unlimited the advantage you could gain."
Derrick Goold (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): Cardinals say they were aware of FBI hacking investigation
The Cardinals have been cooperating with the investigation for at least the previous four months, though some employees said they were unaware of the team's alleged involvement until Tuesday morning. In Boston, commissioner Rob Manfred said that Major League Baseball did not intend to pursue it's own investigation.
Jerry Crasnick (ESPN): Sign-stealing goes high-tech
Corporate espionage is corporate espionage, whether it's Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonald's vs. Burger King, or two MLB teams that haven't had much of a rivalry since Albert Pujols took Brad Lidge deep in the 2005 National League Championship Series. Baseball is a $9 billion business, and if the Cardinals or any other team can gain an advantage over the Astros (or any other team), there's going to be a temptation to try.
Jeff Gordon (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): No reason for Cardinals to act like Patriots
Industrial espionage would be conduct unbecoming America's Model Baseball Franchise. If the FBI finds merit in these allegations, the Cardinal's previously pristine image would be soiled. You know what that means: Folks will wonder what other transgression the Cardinals have committed while trying to gain advantages. Do the Cardinals keep winning because they run a better operation than most franchises...or do they keep winning because they cheat? No franchise wants to deal with such nonsense.
Nathaniel Grow (FanGraphs): The legal implications of the Cardinals' alleged hacking
While some are understandably comparing Tuesday's news to the NFL's recent "SpyGate" scandal...if true, the Cardinals' alleged hacking would, of course, be much more serious. Beyond just league-imposed penalties, the hacking allegations carry the possibility of criminal prosecution, not just for the Cardinals employees involved in the breach, but potentially for the organization as a whole.
(Read that article for the actual legal issues the Cardinals may be facing)
Tom Ley (Deadspin): What the Cardinals learned from hacking the Astros
Maury Brown (Forbes): Just how high up in the front office could the Houston Astros hack go?
Should (GM John Mozeliak), assistant GMs, or key persons in the analytics department of the Cardinals be hit, it could erode the way the club has performed with respects to not only play at the Major League level but their ability to always have prospects in the pipeline.
Craig Calcaterra (Hardball Talk): No matter how big the alleged Cardinals-Astros hack was, expect the Feds to take it seriously
Perhaps federal investigators and prosecutors will show restraint in this instance. After all, knowing that the Astros may have wanted to trade for Ichiro Suzuki is not a big deal in the grand scheme. But when was the last time federal prosecutors showed restraint? Especially when baseball - which the Feds have always used in order to make an example - is involved.
Dejan Kovacevic (DK On Sports): Are Cardinals cheaters?
It's a sensational story on the surface, no question. It's got all the fodder of Patriots-sized headlines, public outrage, Today show, Oprah, the whole deal. But sorry, upon digging past that surface, there just isn't much there...If you're going to hack into someone's system for a competitive edge, why the Astros, who aren't even in the same league, much less the same division, anymore?
Barry Svrluga (Washington Post): Authorities investigating whether Cardinals hacked Astros' network
The security breach - in which Cardinals officials are alleged to have accessed a wide array of proprietary information - alarmed executives throughout baseball, some of whom characterized the case as potentially among the sport's worst scandals. Those officials said teams take extraordinary measures to protect information - including trade discussions, evaluations of players and scouting methods - and a rival team could gain "an extraordinary advantage" by tapping into such a database, one official said.
One baseball executive:
"Oh my God. This is so much bigger than 'SpyGate.' If you have access to another team's full data mix, it's literally unlimited the advantage you could gain."
Derrick Goold (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): Cardinals say they were aware of FBI hacking investigation
The Cardinals have been cooperating with the investigation for at least the previous four months, though some employees said they were unaware of the team's alleged involvement until Tuesday morning. In Boston, commissioner Rob Manfred said that Major League Baseball did not intend to pursue it's own investigation.
Jerry Crasnick (ESPN): Sign-stealing goes high-tech
Corporate espionage is corporate espionage, whether it's Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonald's vs. Burger King, or two MLB teams that haven't had much of a rivalry since Albert Pujols took Brad Lidge deep in the 2005 National League Championship Series. Baseball is a $9 billion business, and if the Cardinals or any other team can gain an advantage over the Astros (or any other team), there's going to be a temptation to try.
Jeff Gordon (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): No reason for Cardinals to act like Patriots
Industrial espionage would be conduct unbecoming America's Model Baseball Franchise. If the FBI finds merit in these allegations, the Cardinal's previously pristine image would be soiled. You know what that means: Folks will wonder what other transgression the Cardinals have committed while trying to gain advantages. Do the Cardinals keep winning because they run a better operation than most franchises...or do they keep winning because they cheat? No franchise wants to deal with such nonsense.
Nathaniel Grow (FanGraphs): The legal implications of the Cardinals' alleged hacking
While some are understandably comparing Tuesday's news to the NFL's recent "SpyGate" scandal...if true, the Cardinals' alleged hacking would, of course, be much more serious. Beyond just league-imposed penalties, the hacking allegations carry the possibility of criminal prosecution, not just for the Cardinals employees involved in the breach, but potentially for the organization as a whole.
(Read that article for the actual legal issues the Cardinals may be facing)
Tom Ley (Deadspin): What the Cardinals learned from hacking the Astros
Maury Brown (Forbes): Just how high up in the front office could the Houston Astros hack go?
Should (GM John Mozeliak), assistant GMs, or key persons in the analytics department of the Cardinals be hit, it could erode the way the club has performed with respects to not only play at the Major League level but their ability to always have prospects in the pipeline.
Craig Calcaterra (Hardball Talk): No matter how big the alleged Cardinals-Astros hack was, expect the Feds to take it seriously
Perhaps federal investigators and prosecutors will show restraint in this instance. After all, knowing that the Astros may have wanted to trade for Ichiro Suzuki is not a big deal in the grand scheme. But when was the last time federal prosecutors showed restraint? Especially when baseball - which the Feds have always used in order to make an example - is involved.
Dejan Kovacevic (DK On Sports): Are Cardinals cheaters?
It's a sensational story on the surface, no question. It's got all the fodder of Patriots-sized headlines, public outrage, Today show, Oprah, the whole deal. But sorry, upon digging past that surface, there just isn't much there...If you're going to hack into someone's system for a competitive edge, why the Astros, who aren't even in the same league, much less the same division, anymore?
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