Hot Stove Lunch: Cheating charges start against Red Sox

It would seem the backlash has begun for the Red Sox, amid reports that the team illegally stole signs during the season.

Cody Bellinger, speaking to reporters Sunday, took note of the fact that the two most recent teams to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series have both been accused of sign-stealing.

"Honestly, we're curious to see what happens," Bellinger said. "It sucks, man. We were close, but we did it the right way."

It should be noted that,



in the story reported by The Athletic, the Red Sox were apparently unable to put into use their sign-stealing in the postseason, thanks to a monitor in the video room. By all accounts, the Red Sox' sign-stealing was limited to the regular season, as they rolled up 108 wins. In October, Major League Baseball, perhaps tipped that the Sox — and other teams — might be up to something, and took steps to guarantee that it didn't happen in the postseason.

Perhaps Bellinger knew that; perhaps he didn't.

But here's the thing: opponents, especially those who lost to the Sox in 2018, aren't about to take the time to read the fine print on any of this. They only know that the Sox were reportedly breaking the rules during that season, and that's what they're going to remember.

We've seen the same thing with the Patriots. Thanks to SpyGate, opponents feel free to tar and feather the Patriots for any infractions, real and imagined: They didn't cheat that year? How do we know that? They did it before, didn't they?

Now the Red Sox will face those same doubts, those same suspicions. Guilty once, why not guilty again?

We'll see where all of this goes. Major League Baseball is said to be close to announcing discipline for the 2017 Houston Astros — the other team which beat the Dodgers in the World Series — and once that investigation is complete, the focus will shift to the Red Sox.

But in the meantime, the Sox should prepare for more players and teams to levy charges against them — accurate or not.

It comes with the territory, and like the Patriots before them, they only have themselves to blame.

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