Indians, Reds putting sign-stealing issue to rest
Indians, Reds putting sign-stealing issue to rest
"I'm not going to accuse anybody of something that I'm not sure of," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "You don't really have to steal signs when the ball is over the heart of the plate and up. ... It just wasn't a quality night. [Latos] made a number of mistakes last night."
During a 10-9 Reds loss to the Indians, Latos got a no-decision after he gave up seven runs and eight hits over four innings while blowing three leads. Seven of the hits went for extra bases, including three homers. He felt that the Indians had "better swings on the ball than they did most of the time without a runner on second base."
Indians manager Manny Acta denied that any sign stealing went on.
"I don't think our kids are into that. We don't teach that," Acta said. "Hey, you're going to get hit sometimes. We go through it sometimes here, too. When kids struggle, they seem to think that people are relaying signs. There's nothing to it. This is the big leagues. Everybody can hit a 99-mph fastball, and anybody can hit a pitch over the plate. They're going to do it sometimes. They do it to the great [Justin] Verlander and some other guys."
Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan acknowledged that he and Latos changed signs in the fourth inning, but not before the damage was done. Hanigan put the responsibility of protecting signs on his own club.
"I always watch to see if the hitters at second are looking in, even while I'm giving the signs," Hanigan said. "I try to give the signs quickly and try to see if I see movement or anything. I pay attention to stuff like that to make sure it doesn't happen. If they were getting signs, it's not acceptable. It's something that's preventable. I don't think that was necessarily at all the reason why things didn't go the way they needed to go last night."
One unnamed Indians hitter felt that Latos had a more pressing issue on his hands.
"Tell him you don't have to steal signs when you're tipping pitches," he said.