Ryan Tepera suggests Astros always do ‘sketchy stuff’ during home games

MVP-vote-getter Ryan Tepera was fantastic all the way down the home stretch for the Chicago White Sox after being traded across town, and pitched two perfect innings in the League Division game. last night for the Sox. He struck out three and led the Astros in the process.

The spicier part of his night, however, came after the game when he discussed the difference between that game and the two that came to Houston.

“They do something different over there at Minute Maid [Park in Houston]Tepera said, according to NBCSC. “This shows you how many swings and misses they had tonight compared to Minute Maid.”

Tepera was asked to clarify if he was saying what he sounded like, and, again, according to NBCSC: “Yes. I mean, that’s what it is. They obviously have a reputation for doing sketchy stuff there. You could say that’s a bit of a difference. I think you saw the swings and hiccups tonight compared to the first two games of Minute Maid. “

While I love the spicy, and Tepera might know something, I must point out that the Astros’ puffs weren’t THAT out of place last night from the first two games. A quick look at the numbers on Statcast shows 22 puffs of Astros last night over 9.0 innings, while the first two games were 15 and 17 puffs over 8.0 innings. More per round, yes, but not that out of whack. (Fun fact, the Sox themselves breathed 29 times last night.)

Again, I love the spiciness. And I hate what the Astros did. So turning up the heat is all good for me, although I would love to hear a few theories on what the Astros might be up to this time around. More work with the camera? Employees in the stands? In theory, the MLB is monitoring this stuff a lot more strictly than in the past, but who knows.

Now, Tepera was quick to say he didn’t want this to be the focal point, and it’s still up to the White Sox to compete and perform. But, well, you can’t let go of that prospect – following everything the Astros have done in the past – and not blow it up. The Astros, of course, had been using an electronic system to steal and transmit signals for years in their baseball stadium, including during their title race in 2017. It was the biggest scandal in the sport since the era. PED, and that should have resulted in the team withdrawing their title instead of a few draft picks. To say it would be maddening if they used some sort of system to steal signs again would be… yeah, an understatement.