FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — By recent standards, the heckling the Houston Astros heard at JetBlue Park was rather tame. Some boos during pregame introductions, a chant of “cheaters!” in the ninth inning.
Maybe that’s because Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and rest of their All-Stars were missing from the lineup against the Boston Red Sox.
Perhaps there was another more pointed reason.
“It could be here, too,” Astros manager Dusty Baker cautioned Thursday. “And then (the Red Sox) got to be careful of the reception.”
7 Manager Alex Cora and the team already have split — that was in the wake of his role as bench coach of the 2017 champion Astros and a sign-stealing scandal that rocked the sport and resulted in MLB punishment.