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Hot Button: Oddsmaker: More Astros beanings … Dangerous Daytona finish … Trout swats ‘Stros, Turner trolls Manfred

Bob Maddamma
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Hot Button is a 'round-the-clock feature that covers anything across the scope of sports. We're here to bring you everything hot: news items, highlights, takes — everything but hot meals — whether local, national or international. Better yet, it’s interactive. Share your thoughts in comments, and even post your own links to interesting, safe-for-work, sports stories.

So let’s go! Come on in!

📌 ASTROS HBP OVER/UNDER SET

Monday, 2/17: The oddsmakers have now entered into the aftermath of the sign-stealing scandal, as William Hill sportsbook set the over/under on Astros players getting hit with pitches in 2020 at 83.5. That would represent about a 25-percent increase over 2019 when they were hit 66 times as a team, the league average.

Astros manager Dusty Baker has already pleaded with commissioner Rob Manfred to protect his hitters from retribution. Manfred stated he was already going to crack down on all intentional beanings. If so, why would he need to mention it?

Hm. Will we get Bad News Bears Yankees coach Manfred, or A Few Good Men Colonel Jessup Manfred

DAYTONA ENDS WITH CRASH

Monday, 2/17: Denny Hamlin won the weather-delayed Daytona 500 Monday after a treacherous wreck at the finish sent race leader Ryan Newman into the wall, allowing Hamlin to get to the checkered flag:

Newman's car flipped upside down and actually crossed the finish line on its roof. Newman had to be pried from the vehicle and airlifted to the hospital. Newman was listed in serious condition but his injuries are reported to not be life threatening.

All the best to Newman, his family, and his race team. — Bob

AL MVP: 'IT'S BAD FOR THE GAME'

Monday, 2/17: The number of reigning 2019 MVPs to lose respect for the Astros officially rose to two on Monday, as the usually reserved Mike Trout hammered the Astros for cheating.

The three-time honoree didn't hold anything back when meeting with reporters:

Trout also wasn't buying into Jose Altuve's reason for not wanting to have his shirt ripped off on a walkoff homer to win the 2019 ALCS:

Good for Trout to speak out, which is unusual for him. He joins the Dodgers' NL MVP Cody Bellinger in calling out the Astros, but Trout can't be accused of having an agenda — his team wasn't cheated in a playoff series like Bellinger's was. — Bob

TURNER LAYS INTO MANFRED

Monday, 2/16: Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner didn't appreciate commissioner Rob Manfred's comment's Sunday that the World Series trophy itself was "just a bunch of metal." Turner took Manfred to task for devaluing the trophy, stating, "... I don't know if the commissioner's won anything in his life. Maybe he hasn't ..."

Then there was this:

"At this point, the only thing devaluing the trophy is that it has the word 'Commissioner' on it."

Wow. I can't think how the league and Astros could have handled this situation any worse. — Bob

JULIEN FINED 10K FOR RIPPING REFS

Monday, 2/16: The NHL fined Canadiens head coach Claude Julien $10,000 Monday for blasting the officiating after Montreal's 4-3 loss to the Stars on Saturday.

Julien went off in his postgame interview, voicing his anger over calls that were made after the Habs were up 3-0:

Julien knew this was coming, of course. Publicly criticizing officiating is verboten. But it does expose a greater hypocrisy in the sport:

Best sport, worst league ad infinitum. — Bob

DEVILS DEAL COLEMAN, GREENE

Sunday, 2/16: The Islanders and the Lightning made trades with the Devils Sunday to shore up their rosters fro the stretch run to the playoffs.

The Devils sent team captain and 37-year-old defenseman Andy Greene to the Islanders for a 2021 second-round draft pick and defenseman David Quenneville. Greene should provide some veteran leadership and a steady, physical presence on the blue line.

The Lightning paid a lot for more scoring, getting forward Blake Coleman from the Devils for defense prospect Nolan Foote, their first-round pick in 2019 and the son of former NHL star Adam Foote, plus a conditional first-round draft pick in either 2020 or 2021.

The NHL trade deadline is Monday, February 24. — Bob

DUKES TOP RAMS

Sunday, 2/16: Duquesne found their way back to the win column, edging Fordham 59-54 in an A-10 clash on Sunday at Rose Hill Gymnasium in the Bronx. Its was a back-and-forth affair as Duquesne struggled from three throughout, going just 7 for 32 from beyond the arc. But Dukes guard Tavian Dunn-Martin hit a clutch three-pointer with just over five minutes remaining to take a 48-45 lead and Duquesne never trailed after.

Dunn-Martin scored 12 of his team-leading 15 points in the second half, leading a Duquesne bench which scored 29 points. Center Baylee Steele added 13 points in relief of starter Michael Hughes, who found early foul trouble. Forward Marcus Weathers led the starters with nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Guard Sincere Carry played the full forty, scoring four points with eight assists and six rebounds.

Fordham (7-17, 1-11) were led by guard Antwon Portley's 16 bench points, while starting guard Ty Perry added another 15. Forward Joel Soriano contributed eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Duquesne (18-6, 8-4) returns home to host George Washington University (11-14, 5-7) Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena. Tipoff is 8 p.m. — Bob

BISSONNETTE ALLEGES MISCONDUCT

Sunday, 2/16: Former Penguin Paul Bissonnette alleged on Twitter that former Wilke-Barre/Scarnton teammate Daniel Carcillo used racial slurs toward him and had an offensive symbol in his robe:

The ugly exchange resulted from a Carcillo tweet about a Globe and Mail article featuring Bissonette and his growing influence in the sport.

Carcillo, for his part, immediately acknowledged the slurs — and did so publicly months ago — but denied the latter accusation. He took to Twitter Sunday to offer another apology and an earnest explanation of his behavior, and offered a sit-down to Bissonnette to discuss his concerns:

Here's hoping honesty, reason and civility prevail. — Bob

KANE: NHL SYSTEM UNFAIR

Sunday, 2/16: Sharks forward Evander Kane blasted the NHL Department of Player Safety for what he feels is inconsistent punishment on illegal hits following a three-game suspension he was issued for elbowing Jets defenseman Neal Pionk on Friday night:

Kane supported his message by tweeting two incidents that weren't punished by the league — Lawson Crouse's elbow to the head of Charlie McAvoy, and Zdeno Chara's cross-check/high stick to the face of Brendan Gallagher:

To be fair, Kane isn't challenging his suspension, just that others weren't. With the league giving just seven games to Oilers forward Zack Kassian for a kick to an opponent's chest with his full skate blade, Kane has a solid point — there's seemingly no standards in place for what is and isn't suspendible. — Bob 

JONES JR. DUNKS ABOVE GORDON

Sunday, 2/16: Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. beat magic forward Aaron Gordon by one point in the NBA's Slam Dunk competition Saturday as part of the league's All-Star weekend in Chicago.

It was controversial, as many thought Gordon sealed the win when jumped over 7-foot-5 Celtics center Tacko Fall:

Jones Jr., though, found some rare air making this one from the foul line:

Still, Gordon had what many consider to be the best of the night:

It was an entertaining contest. Did Gordon get robbed or was he juuuust a few inches short in getting over Fall? — Bob

FERNANDEZ PASSES AWAY AT 57

Sunday, 2/16: Former All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez, one of the best infielders of the 1980s, passed away Saturday from a stroke caused by kidney trouble. He was 57 years old.

Fernandez played 17 seasons in the majors, 12 with the Blue Jays for whom he was a four-time All Star. He made the All-Star team once with the Padres. The Dominican Republic native finished his career with 2276 hits and slashed .288/.347/.399.

Rest in peace. — Bob

CORREA BACKS ASTROS, ALTUVE

Saturday, 2/15: Astros shortstop Carlos Correa gave a full-throated though inaccurate defense of second-baseman Jose Altuve and the Astros, one day after Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger blasted the Astros for their cheating and Altuve for "stealing' the 2017 AL MVP from Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge:

One problem: The league's report did conclude the Astros cheated in 2018, so there's that.

Correa also gave a less than credible account about why Altuve didn't want to have his shirt ripped off after hitting a walkff home run to win the 2019 ALCS against Yankees, as many speculate Altuve wanted to avoid a sign-stealing vibrating device to be revealed:

Someone should just tell the Astros and their players to just be quiet before this situation gets any worse. — Bob

TABLOID SCORCHES MCGUIRE

Saturday, 2/15: Blue Jays catcher and former Pirates prospect Resse McGuire was recently arrested for ... uhh ... lewd behavior that I had no interest in reporting in this feature. However, a Toronto tabloid headline and sub-head captured it so well, I decided to let their front page do all the reporting:

The end. — Bob

KASSIAN SUSPENDED FOR BLADE KICK

Saturday, 2/15: NHL Player Safety suspended Oilers forward Zack Kassian for seven games for kicking Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak in the chest with his full skate blade in a game Thursday night:

This suspension is important for the league because it now sets the standard for infractions involving assault with a deadly weapon. — Bob

MINORS TO GET 2021 SALARY INCREASE

Saturday, 2/15: Major League Baseball announced Friday that they are significantly increasing minor-league minimum salaries in 2021. Many minor league minimums are less than state minimum wages, but MLB got a minimum-wage exemption from the U.S. Congress in 2018. Here is the currently weekly pay and the scheduled pay increases:

Short season and rookie: going from $290 to $400; Class A: $290 to $500; Double-A: $350 to $600; Triple-A: $502 to $700.

There's irony in that MLB is toking to contract the lower minors and, if successful, those short-season and rookie-level team will never see that increase. However, its a good strategic move by MLB, which is looking to get lower-minors team to improve their facilities and conditions for players. That's a tough ask when a player can make more working a minimum wage job. — Bob

REDS GO SOFT?

Friday, 2/14: This is really good. -- DK

BELLINGER BLASTS ASTROS

Friday, 2/14: Cody Bellinger was asked about the Astros and all their cheating and "apologies" ... and my, oh my, he did not hold back with his response.

Just give this a watch:

Roasted ... and he's not wrong at all. -- Hunter 

BOUWMEESTER HAS ICD IMPLANTED

Friday, 2/14: Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had an ICD implanted Friday to regulate his heart rhythm after a scary incident Wednesday when he had to be revived after suffering a cardiac arrest on the Blues bench during a game agains the Ducks. The ICD is, in essence, a small defibrillator that will shock the heart when there is an arrhythmia (abnormal heart beat).

The Blues said that they will update Bouwmeester's condition next week after he recovers and flies back to St. Louis. It's possible to play strenuous sports with an implanted ICD, but certain underlying conditions preclude it. — Bob

SISTER READY FOR ACTION

Friday, 2/14: Sister Mary Jo, the nun who broke the internet last year with her ceremonial first-pitch for the White Sox, got in a little bullpen work at Guarantee Rate Field Thursday:

Bicep bump and all, I'd say she's ready. Dovydas Neverauskas better have a good spring. — Bob

BIG STEVEN'S FIRST 3!

Friday, 2/14: Believe it or not, this one-handed half-court launch by Steven Adams, late of Pitt and now of Oklahoma City, brought the first 3-pointer of his NBA career Thursday night in New Orleans. But never mind that, and applaud the big Kiwi's shimmy! -- DK

SHESTERKIN RANGERS' NO. 1

Thursday, 2/13: Rangers head coach David Quinn announced that, moving forward, goalie Igor Shesterkin will be the No.1 goalie ahead of Henrik Lundqvist and Alexander Georgiev, even though he is currently out with a lower body injury. Shesterkin, 24, is 6-1-0 with a 2.18 GAA and .941 save percentage since his recall from Hartford on Jan. 7.

Quinn has been frustrated that neither Lundqvist nor Georgiev has taken charge of the net.

Lundqvist, 37, is signed through the 2020-21 season at an AAV of $5.5 million. He is 10-11-3 this season with a 3.12 GAA and .907 save percentage in 28 games.

With Quinn's declaration on Shesterkin and the 24-year-old Georgiev only headed to restricted free agency in the coming offseason, will Lundqvist be on the trade block? Though not a rental, it seems like a team looking to shore up goaltending would be interested in a guy with 459 career victories plus 61 wins, a 2.28 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 128 playoff games. — Bob

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