Al Michaels roasted the Astros during Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast of the Jets and Browns, calling back to Houston’s infamous sign-stealing scandal that occurred in 2017 and beyond.
During the first half, the broadcast picked up clear sound of a fan banging on a metal material in Cleveland, so Michaels decided to make some humor out of it, knowing that the listeners at home would clearly hear the noise repeating over and over, likely coming from near the broadcast booth or a microphone near the field.
“You hear the pounding on the trash can,” Michaels said. “You’d think the Astros are in town.”
The Astros used a system with a bat banging on the top of the trash can to signal a certain pitch was coming to the hitter in the box, as a camera out in center field was locked on the catcher’s signs. It resulted in Alex Cora being suspended and fired, as well as general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch.
It offered a brief distraction for New York fans, who otherwise had to watch Joe Flacco and the Browns demolish Gang Green 37-20.