Tim Dahlberg of the AP takes a fair shot at the Astros for prospering despite their cheating scandal. A more positive spin would be that the Astros were so good they didn’t need to cheat to win, or that people or organizations that make mistakes can redeem themselves. Of course, it would be easier to take either of these stands if this wasn’t true:

Viewed at their worst, the World Series favorites consist of a core group of unapologetic cheaters who don’t deserve their names on one World Series trophy much less a spot in another.

At their best, well, the Astros are a bunch of unapologetic cheaters who, well, you try to fill in the rest.

Chron.com

The author would be happy to see Dusty Baker win a World Championship. I do have a problem with this, however:

He’s a baseball treasure who probably should have at least two World Series rings as a manager by now. Even Dodger fans can’t help but secretly root for the man who once patrolled Bakersfield in Dodger Stadium and by now he’s been long forgiven for dugout mistakes made at stops along the way.

Chron.com

That first sentence makes it sound like his teams let him down. In 2002 and 2003, however, Baker made the same mistake that cost the Giants a World Series title and the Cubs a trip to the Fall Classic. In game seven against the Angels, Baker failed to have anyone warm when Livan Hernandez melted down. In game six of the 2003 NLCS, Baker did not have anyone warm when Mark Prior lost it, Baker only saved from criticism by Steve Bartman. We will see if Baker learned his lesson this year.