Marwin and the sign-stealing

On the day that Twins pitchers and catchers reported to Ft. Myers for spring training, Marwin Gonzalez -- neither a pitcher nor a catcher but there anyway -- faced assembled reporters and expressed "remorse" for his role in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scheme and conceded uncertainty that the Astros would have won the 2017 World Series without it.

It's the most any position player on that team has said about the scandal, and he doubtless hopes he's heard the last of it. I personally suspect his remorse is directly related to the exposure, that he lost no sleep over the escapade until it became publicly known.

But this scandal is not, should not, fade away quietly. Last Friday the Wall Street Journal published a story detailing how drastically different Commissioner Rob Manfred's official report was from the letter he sent now-fired Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. The Luhnow letter tied the sign-stealing scheme directly to the front office and to executives still with the Astros. The official report described it as player-driven and directed.

The Journal report undercuts the credibility of Manfred's report. The commissioner wants this scandal to go away quickly and quietly. It won't. And it shouldn't.

Whenever or whatever he rules on the 2018 Red Sox in the other part of this scandal, we should be doubt his findings and suspect a coverup. The Astros report was a whitewash. There is no reason to expect better from his Red Sox "investigation."