Astros: Time to dispel some crazy rumors, theories from this week

Let’s set the record straight and dispense with some of these crazy Astros theories.

Man, what a week has it been. We started things off with Monday’s collective kick in the crotch, as the Astros were publicly denounced as cheaters and Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch were shown the door. Since then, it’s been days of speculation, rumors and crazy unsubstantiated fan theories all across the board. It’s exhausting.

Social media is both beautiful and ugly, useful yet utterly worthless. It’s given every tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist a platform, and it likewise gives certain major league pitchers (sometimes named Tyler Bauer) the opportunity to spread outright lies and disinformation.

The Astros are everyone’s favorite villain, and if you listen to some of the other teams’ fans, the club should have its 2017 title stripped and its players banned from the game. But there’s reason to believe that would be entirely unfair, as this club surely isn’t the only one to have illegally stolen signs.

Social media has also given credence to some fan takes which are nothing more than wishful thinking, specifically when it comes to who will be running the team moving forward. With these things in mind, here’s my humble attempt to set the record straight and dispel some of these theories.