Since The Athletic broke the news that the Houston Astros stole signs electronically in 2017, the fallout has mostly been framed as an Astros vs. the-rest-of-MLB scandal. But this line of thought is misguided, or at least incomplete for a couple of reasons.



First, we don’t necessarily know everything that the Astros were doing, or whether they were the only team to do it. Beyond that, regardless of who was doing what and how widespread it was, both commissioner Rob Manfred and the players union will have to soothe a critical undercurrent if they hope to move the game forward.



The issue? Pitchers want blood.



Many wondered why former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers decided to go on the record about the Astros’ system and break the century-old baseball omerta — what happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. While it’s true he did have an acrimonious split with the Astros after the 2017 season, it also stands to reason that if anyone was...