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Talk Zone / Re: More controversy
« on: November 23, 2019, 12:36:06 pm »I doubt they will touch Beltran or Cora. If so, slap on the wrist.
They have NY and Boston pedigrees which cannot be sullied
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I doubt they will touch Beltran or Cora. If so, slap on the wrist.
Then hold a celebratory parade with 10,000 trash can drummers leading the way.
I speculate that the punishment could be that the entire Astros roster will be turned over to the Brewers.
There. Now you can all go forth and tell everyone that you have heard speculation of this.
If the Astros do not fight this with every ounce of their being, I will be so disappointed. This piling on with speculation on speculation is ridiculous.
Actually, the Chris Russo I quoted is an intern, so he's not the same guy on MLB Network. Just a coincidence that two people sharing the same name could be such fools.
Thoughts and prayers.
The Twitter stuff is entertaining, but the interesting thing here is 2 more teams have suspicion cast their way publicly. Un-sourced and unsubstantiated.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2019/11/15/brewers-christian-yelich-tweets-harshly-yu-darvish-over-accusation/4206317002/
The extreme anger and butthurt by Dodger and Yankee fans over this is the greatest thing to happen to baseball since the invention of the baseball. They're calling for the Astros to be stripped of the title, banning for life of all Astros player, and long jail time for A.J. Hinch. This is awesome.
But the good news is, this just gives the Astros another way to fuck with other teams. You'll have guys on the bench doing the Bridge Over the River Kwai, some joker in the hallway going Keith Moon on a trash can, dudes in the bullpen lined up waving like human semaphore... Next season is shaping up to be a lot of fun, Cole or no Cole.
Slick trick to cheat in Dodger Stadium.
The media template right now to generate clicks or social media traffic for pretty much any major league baseball offseason discussion that doesnt have anything to with like free agency or hot stove or whatever is as follows...
1) Headline that implies or outright says that "the Astros are awful, here is what they are doing"
2) Story about a widespread "problem" that all of major league baseball has
Example...this was ESPN.com's big Astros story yesterday before they got railroaded by this story.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/28059274/why-george-springer-free-agent-winter
Works for me. MF created a huge distraction at the worst possible time.
Shoeless Joe, Pete Rose, Taubman.
Banned forever.
You've got a sample size of 30 postseason starts total and seven starts in the World Series. I'd be wary of reading too much of a trend out of such a limited data set.
We found the Fountain of Youth? He will have to be a willing partner in any reduction of his innings. Good way to piss him off.
Yes, JV
Rays: dominating win, loss on short rest
NYY: no decision (Astros won in 11), loss
Nats; loss, loss (the team had chances to take him off the hook but failed)
1-4 in the postseason. He did not pitch bad, but he dominated only once. First inning woes plagued him.
I have no idea what this means. We played really good players who were on a roll this time. Cannot explain the difference between the two teams’ performances at home and on the road.
A perspective from ESPN: Astros a great team that fell short of true greatness
Three stats pop up:
Way too simplistic, and screw him. What does “get it done”mean? Slice a homer into the foul pole just above the fence? Have the Astros hit liners right to them with RISP? Take strikes which are called balls?
The Nats played hard and scored late in Houston, but the Astros also had back-breaking, rally-killing bad luck.
I don't know. There were just a bunch of plays throughout the series that said "it's not your year".
The Nationals’ breakthrough is eerily similar to the 2017 Astros and how they responded against the Yankees and Dodgers.
The Nationals played their asses off.
Greinke was fucking nails for 6-1/3. Huge effort.
Right. This isn't about Greinke, this is all about the limp-dick offense.
In my layman's opinion: Urquidy is almost certain to be the second pitcher Hinch uses tonight (unless he brings in a true reliever to finish an inning).
He should have kept his ass in the dugout. We know you thought it was a bs call, man. You already said that. Was it worth saying it again and getting tossed out of the WS?
Astros looking as dejected as they can be.
Verlander is done.
Sad.
Well said. I hope JV has a dominating game left. I hope the bats show up and support him with early runs. I hope the team keeps playing with the intense passion we saw in DC. This will not be easy.
Uh... What?
Last 2 are in Houston, bud.
Seriously.
I wish it were a big enough lead that I could feel confident.
Cole-train
Get-ing-loud-er
Everyone get on the Cole train!
If I were the Nats, I wouldn't have said anything until it was time to warm up.
1-2-3!
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Sort of getting used to it.
Oh good. Another 3 ball count.
Trout is 1-12 career in postseason. Maybe?
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They have made Bregman their bitch, alright.
Turning point?
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Another hit.
He was sitting on breaking balls.
Unlikely to happen when there is so much virtue and righteousness to demonstrate.
Still don’t hate the Nationals. Their game is suffocating the Astros to the point where everyone is on edge and making mistakes as a result.
Ok, so Soto has some irritating gloss to his game, but is that any different to Bregman’s posing and staring? They’re beating the Astros at the Astros’ game and thoroughly enjoying doing it. So, as the adage goes, don’t get mad, get even.
Win Friday and then it’s back around to Cole/Scherzer and Verlander/Strasbourg on Saturday and Sunday. Take 2 out of 3 up there (we did in NY), bring it home, play hard and see what happens.
This sounds absolutely insane after the events of the last two years... but they're acting like this stage is too big for them.
I bet the yankees are pissed.
This Soto kid is like a lefty Pujols. He's gonna be GREAT. I think I'll hate him.
Of course, Brantley hits.
If our team can't score more than 2 runs, then they deserve to lose.
fucking hit the ball.
No AR 15s from this crew?
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I'm not sure what the fuck Bregman is up there looking for. That 2-1 92mph fastball right down the middle should have been crushed. Instead he has to swing at a 94mph pitchers pitch and strikes out. I love Bregman but fuck man, the whole postseason he just seems to want to walk rather than hit.
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Lest we forget, that's what happened in the LCS...
What a pathetic at-bat by Alex.
Huh? Diaz was used because Corbin is tough on lefties.
Diaz on deck to pinch hit for Reddick.
Offense is going to have to win this tonight.
Not true. He has a good change and a good slider.
Garnder is such a cry-baby....
They have judge’s dick down their throats over two consecutive misplays that he salvaged.
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So an amazing play by Reddick, what’s the first thing out of Joe Buck’s mouth?
I swear I’ve never listened to Buck before. I don’t know how I’ve avoided it. This is a revelation.
Well, that was nice. Fuck the yanks and their fans.
Miserable life forms.
Jesus.
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That sucks for C.C. if it's his last go. Bummer way to end a good career. But you know what? Fuck the Yankees.
Come on Josh. You have a three run lead.
Thought Machete hit one out.
That was strike 3 dammit.
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(Booth losing it's mind that they didn't call him out)
(Broadcast shows one replay from 100 miles away, then never another even still image of it)
What a stud Gerrit Cole is.
Seems like the plan is to be a base runner not a slugger.
Nice diving catch by Michael A. Taylor in CF seals it. Nationals/Cardinals NLCS. Holy shit.
I've been following this team since I was a wee tyke during the Colt .45 days. As the team and I grew older, I started paying more attention to the standings and statistics.
Around 1969 or 1970 I started making note of the team's 82nd win, or 82nd loss. A winning record was a victory in those days and I always wanted the team to get that 82nd win. Years later, sometime after the All Star break, I started estimating the number of wins needed to win the division. Usually the Astros weren't the one to get it, but I was right in 1980 and again in 1999.
Then came The Troubles and the 63rd win became an annual milestone marked with solemnity.
At last came The Great Redemption and the Crane / Luhnow era. We have seen the greatest milestone of them all: 100 wins for three straight years!
I fuckin' love this team!
He mentioned Diaz having had hamstring issues, but I didn't hear him say that was the problem with Yuli. It might be though.
By whom? He's not even in the trainer's room yet.
Yuli beats the wrap on s FC, apparently hurt. Diaz in.
1st/3rd for Tucker with 1 outs.
Young healthy players do not just die.
This is one long-ass game.
I don’t ever remember Joe Morgan saying nice things about the Astros.
How long is White going to be on this team? A ground ball to SS or a fly anywhere would have scored a run.
Should have been a 3-4 run inning.
Are they trying to maximize White's time there for potential trade partners to see?
Would have been nice last night, Tyler. Good today.
I think those HR and RBI totals are for the year.
Assuming Springer comes back and no further injuries, with Alvarez, Bradley, Reddick and Marisnick as backup, he's blocked. It's either stay at AAA or be part of a trade but it would have to be a blockbuster before I would let him go.
On the point of how awful other team's broadcasters are, enjoy former Astro Radio guy/Muppet Dave Raymond and some other boring ass fuckstick describing said play for their viewership: https://www.mlb.com/news/hunter-pence-inside-the-park-home-run-brock-holt
Pitch him away? He will pepper the LF stands.
Luhnow just said on pregame show about Alvarez, “we think he’s here to stay.”
I’m sure he’s gonna have to hit but that statement is telling. Never heard that about Tucker. Guys at the bottom of this roster, especially White, could have their days numbered.
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How many years of club control does Jake have left? I'm guessing 1 or none? I'm not sure if a rebuilding club would be interested in trading for him.
Springer’s is encouraging.
Breaking News: Doctors reveal that Carlos Correa's bones are made of cotton candy
its a pain to see the amount of injuries they are adding up
Boston loves Kulpa too
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/04/04/mlb-has-to-discipline-umpire-ron-kulpa-incident-astros-aj-hinch/
I recently finished reading Astroball and I am very emotionally invested in a Correa bounce back season.
Just reported via Ken Rosenthal that the players association has requested that the DH be implemented league wide before the start of the upcoming 2019 season. It was part of proposed changes exchanged between the MLBPA and MLB in January. The league wants a 3 batter minimum for relief pitchers when pitching changes are made.
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From Chandler:
The Astros traded J.D. Davis and Cody Bohanek to the Mets for minor leaguers Ross Adolph, Luis Santana and Scott Manea.
And:
Luis Santana is a second baseman who was ranked No. 24 in MLBPipeline's Top 30 Mets prospects. Scott Manea is a catcher who was a Single-A All Star last season. Ross Adolph is a 2018 draftee, outfielder, who was his team MVP in short season ball.
Persons arrested for robbing the crash victims.
Jake needed the comforts of some Fresno AAA women, who are probably far more seasoned slumpbusters than the bright and shiny sally-come-lately beauts that are chasing WS champs in the Houston metro area and know nothing of the struggle, adversity, and failure inherent in baseball.
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I believe in redemption and second chances. Each case and decision should turn on a thorough investigation which includes not only the facts surrounding the incident but also the player’s actions and conduct after. No absolute rule based solely on criminal history; case by case decision not related to baseball..
Not going anywhere. There was a point last season where we were down a few starting pitchers and persevered. I have faith in Luhnow and Co. to get what we need.
I could be wrong [emoji12], and I have no data to back up what I’m about to say. To me, it seems like at home we are not near as aggressive at the plate as we are on the road. Again, I could be imagining that. It seems like we watch a lot more fastballs at home versus on the road. To me, if we would be more aggressive early in the count at home, we wouldn’t be talking about this near as much.
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Astros finally put out of their misery.
What a fucking shit show by the bullpen.
He absolutely obliterated that pitch.
Bauer's always been an asshole.
B9:
Kela in to try to close it...
Gurriel chops weakly to 3B on the first pitch
Bregman 3-0...takes a strike...takes another on the corner...walks
Marwin...quickly down 0-2...whiffs. Carved. Up
McCann takes a fastball down the middle for a ball...Chirinos blocked the ump...ball 2...3-0...green light swinging foul...swings through a pitch in his eyes...full count...pops out to shallow LF
Astros put out of their misery 1-0...only offense is a seeing eye ground ball.
Astros back in first in AL West.
Well, crap. Loved Rusty. Even had a garage band named The Rusty Staubs for a short time. Man I really hated Spec Richardson and Donn Clendenon.
That was pretty much exactly how Game 6 went. Marwin's incredibly unlikely home run changed the course of history and is in my opinion the most significant moment in franchise history.
Hoffman, Guerrero, Chipper, Thome
I have literally no idea who Mary Hart is.
What do you suppose would have happened if the Astros intentionally walked Barnes in the bottom of the last inning? Would it have been worth the run risk to get rid of Kershaw?
We’re pretty lucky that dodgers dont have a run
Not one of those "strikes" called on Yuli was actually in the zone.
He is absolutely lost up there. Falling down backwards.
This bullpen makes more bad 0-2 and 1-2 pitches than I can stand.
Prefer Game 5 Morrow to the previous versions.
Jon Hamm must be observing Justin for when he plays him in the Astros movie,
I have picture of a 4 year old me with a Colt .45s shirt on. My grandfather and father didn't live to see the Astros in the W.S.
They're watching too.
Here's to you and your dad! Go Astros!
Altuve has seen him enough to hit him.
Wood is over 70 pitches through 5. I don't think he's long for the game..
Oh Puig you are so silly and refreshing.
And nice to see homeless man hit one on the ground.
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How the fuck can a ball bounce off his head and go straight to the left fielder?
Kershaw is good, so this is not surprising. But they must figure out a way to hit on the road.
Ump has dinner reservations.
[/quote
So do the players
I was surprised by the scant notice paid to The Glory of Their Times, there. Incredible collection of oral history from the days when they all had jobs in the offseason.
Still love The Curious Case of Sidd Finch.
In case anyone isn't reading the GZ...Cardinal outfielder Oscar Taveras killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. He was 22.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/10/26/cardinals-outfielder-oscar-taveras-dies-in-car-accident/17977685/
Mejdal is the NASA engineer I believe. They also reference a physicist who seems to be Mr. Fast.
That's pretty cool that Bud Norris said the Astros are definitely the Outkast of major league baseball right now, so is Luhnow Andre3000 and Sig Megdal Big Boi? Or maybe Mike Elias is Big Boi?
Seems like the Astros are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't.
http://www.spikesnstars.com/2001/12/10/a-hot-stove-in-the-dugout/#more-60
that article has my thoughts on a batting order, which I believe to be the traditional thoughts on it.
#3 best hitter
#4 best power/HR
#5 best RBI
#s 6 and 7 can also be RBI slots
I question the move as well. The guy was held in the minors past the point of having anything to prove then put in one of the most high pressure spots to hit in the order...brought along slowly only to be thrown into the fire? I am far from a great baseball mind, but I figured he would bat 5 or 6. Then again, there could be far less of a difference between AAA and Big League pitching than I imagine there being.
Astros up 6-0 middle of the 4th.
Blacked out on MLBN for me. I'm so fucking sick of this.
So where's Singleton?
Where's Springer?
Thomas, coincidentally, believes that he’s one of the reasons some players might have turned to steroids and the like.
“I think I was one of those guys that made a few guys go that direction, because of the size and the strength of a football player playing baseball,” Thomas said. “I don’t fault anyone, I really don’t fault anyone for what they did, but, hey, I did it the right way.”
guy didn't use his glove for most of his career.....what happened to stolen bases, great base running, fielding your position...oh I wanna be big like Frank Thomas...pass the roid bottle...grrrr
pissed of does not describe
Prostate cancer. Dammit.
If you consider Miguel Cabrera a marginal doofus, then yes, yes he was.
Castro was actually the runner, Cabrera the 1B and he fucked up fielding the infielder's throw somehow, if I recall, causing Castro to step on the bag awkwardly while avoiding a last-second swipe tag.
It's easily the most exciting play in sports. It also seems stupidly dangerous.
Is this because of Pete Rose? Is this his important contribution to the game of baseball?
Ah, I forgot about Justice, although that was probably years after his Braves period.
I'll believe it when I see it. I need visible signs.
Bob Costas
You don't think his successor hasn't been hand picked by FYB? It'd be a simple process:
FYB: "Who's a bigger asshat around here than me?"
I really like Luhnow. He just seems to know what he is talking about.
Kerry Wood's 20-K game is now on YouTube.
I didn't realize Jimmy Wynn had written a book... Anyone here read it? Is it good? He was before my time as an Astros fan, and I could stand to learn more about that time period in Houston's history.
Dixie Walker?
Dance with the horse that brought you.
That has to be ranked in the top ten most tone-deaf owner's remarks of all time. I can't wait to see how and what he says to undo this damage. Douchebag. And I was backing him before this boneheaded remark too.
People love to project the present far into the future. Such folly.
Not enough depth, too many holes, not enough arms, especially starters. They're getting there.
One of my baseball, and for that matter non-baseball heros. This NYE, it will be 40 years since his death. ESPN put out a darn good piece on the bat that was used for the 3,000th, and last, hit of his career. As the article suggests, I imagine that a lot of game used memoriabilia has similar stories attached. It's worth the read...
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/Roberto-Clemente-bat/enduring-mystery-roberto-clemente-bat
He just forgot...
For who?
The close with 3 at the Cubs, right?
I'll take the "over" (but I had to think about it some).
I agree. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit. A Larry Dierker-type hire would be very much welcomed, but I don't see it happening.
Well considering they are beginning the search process immediately, I don't see any reason to wait around. The front office has made it obvious that they are not wasting any time trying to get this thing on track.
I hate when that happens.
Anyone who would want to make a kick ass salary and be the manager of a major league baseball team.
"If we fire him/them now, we can show the fans we are really serious about having the best AAA team in the AL West next year."
But I think you missed the sarcasm.
I don't know what's so fucking funny about all this. The Astros were once a proud, premier organization and now they are nothing more than a well-deserved source of national ridicule. The previous owner (idiot fraud) and current owner (racist, sexist war profiteer) collaborated and capitulated to piss away fifty years of history. Now despite the bizarre and deluded fantasies that several of you insist on maintaining the team is making a soberingly serious run at distinguishing itself in modern-day futility.
So yuck it up, necks, and be sure to buy the new caps and jerseys when they release them next winter.
Without the spit-ball, yes, probably would. With the spit-ball, the dead ball era Spiders might be hard to beat.
And now I think we've gotten to the bottom of it. Like a small child, I'm sure that Bud is thinking "if I can't have mine, they can't have theirs!".
Weapon
Weapons
What are you waiting for, Bud?
Nolan's Bitch
I began following the Astros daily back in 1968 when my parents gave me a portable transistor radio, and I followed Gene Elston and Loell Passe every night. I've been with them ever since.
The BBWAA intelligentsia has already begun emitting this crap as a preemptive strike against charges of hypocrisy when they gleefully enshrine A-Rod on the first ballot. Some dork was on MLBTV immediately after the votes were released. After defending leaving Bagwell off his ballot (against some fairly stiff on-air criticism) he was asked point-blank about A-Rod: "I imagine what most voters, including myself, will do is look at a player's career and separate the pre-steroid numbers from the steroid numbers and vote acordingly. That makes A-Rod, as well as Clemens and Bonds, no-brainers". How the hell does anyone know when A-Rod starting juicing?
He went on to state a couple of times "a Baseball Hall of Fame without Bonds, Clemens, and A-Rod is unthinkable". If this guy's take represents a significant portion of the voters, all of the "they can forget Cooperstown" talk in regard to Bonds and Clemens might have been wrong.
I don't remember who described it as such, but part of the thrill of listening to baseball on the radio is that in your mind's eye, each play is elevated by your imagination; every fly ball to centerfield invokes Willie Mays going back in the World Series.
Wow. Six years in Houston cutting his teeth. It didn't seem like that long.
More sadness. This has been a tough year.
The Astros had their sights on Tejada for a long time. It could be that it wasn't until the Mitchell Report was imminent, and the Astros and Orioles both had a pretty good idea of what was in there, that the Orioles were finally willing to accept a package that the Astros were willing to offer. Maybe the Astros got a break because they were getting potentially damaged (from a reputational perspective) goods.
Wow, I expected the MLB to say this, but for Mitchell to recommend it means that is what this whole witch hunt turns out to be. A whole lot of nothing other than show that steroids is rampant, so do something about changing the climate MLB and MLBPA.
That is all, don't punish anyone... play ball.
You gotta believe that was already know by those making deals like the one Houston made yesterday. No one is going to be penalized from the report.
Oh yeah I knew that right off the bat. It was so bad Hendricks couldn't even come close to making it make any sense. I think Twinkie put it best in the Lackey Rag:
"With this Rocket situation there's two kinds of people: people that are not surprised and morons," Lance Berkman said after the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Astros 3-1 at Busch Stadium. "Where else was he going to go? He wasn't going to come back here. From the moment Pettitte signed with the Yankees, there was 100 percent certainty that that's where he was going."
To me though, Little Joe is still one of the faces of the Astros. Call me biased.
The problem with this line of thinking is that it renders retiring a number meaningless. It already pretty much is with the Astros now. When Jeff Bagwell has his number retired, it's going to be "so what?" Let's face it, there is nothing special about the Houston Astros retiring your number.
I totally agree that retired numbers in the Astro organization have less meaning than with probably every other MLB club. But what the hey. Who really gives a fuck what the Mets, Cubs, Reds, or Cards have done? The bar has been lowered and the genie ain't going back in the bottle. J. R. deserves the same recognition as Wilson & Umbricht. Just 'cause J. R. lived isn't an excuse not to honor him. Walt Bond died and didn't get his jersey retired, he did as much as Umbricht.
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I think it's a personal grudge because my sense is that the writers seem to feel "victimized" by the steroid era and this is another opportunity for them to wave their arms around and scream loudly.
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Well, that was kind of sad. But he looks good, and happy.
I was just watching the replay of Baggy's career. It was great, but I was struck with the saddness that he's not ever going to play again for the Houston Astros or anyone else.
I think I'll allow myself just a moment of saddness, but for the longterm, it's all about how great he was and how privileged we were that he was a Houston Hero!
Now that is something to be very happy about!
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?I?m excited to be going back to New York,? said Pettitte, who pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2003 and won four World Series titles. ?It?s where I need to be. ?Was it tough to make that decision? Yeah, especially after being in Houston in this laid-back lifestyle. I know New York is where God wants me and where he?s put me for this year. I?m just looking forward to helping them win another World Series. That?s the goal.?
He really did.
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bagwell is the greatest 1b in NL history; i've said this for years. he deserves to go into the HoF five years from the date of his retirement.
These are my thoughts exactly. Greatest 1B in NL history, period. Third behind Gehrig and Foxx.
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we have to call them the 1stinals. What a freakin ride for Jeff Weaver this year. I still hate them. But I think my hate for the AL is bigger and more uncontrollable. Screw your DH and All-Star wins.
Eh, I find the AL annoying but I just can't tolerate the Cardinals and a majority of the BFiB. A peronality quirk of mine.
I'm more of a National League guy, so I'm glad the Cardinals won and we can stop hearing how the AL is so much better. I'm mostly glad it's over so the Hot Stove League can begin.
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Yeah, sad news...only 61.
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I hope the Cards win tonight. Man, I just hate the fuckin' Mets.
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Is now. Corey Lidle dead.
What a bizarre story.
I think you'll find when the NTSB gets done with it's investigation is that it's not that bizarre at all but rather simply one of pilot error. Reports were that the plane had filed VFR but it was an overcast day in NY and that the plane came out of the clouds and hit the building. It's entirely possible that this is closer to JFK Jr than anything else (spatial disorientation). Pure speculation at this point though.
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I'm not sure why you're being a fucking jackass about this, but let's see if you can follow this:
I never said the teams shouldn't be IN the fucking playoffs, I said the series have been TERRIBLE, UNCOMPETITIVE BASEBALL.
Or would you like to try to put more words in my mouth and then be a prick about it?
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Even attributed material? (It does that the original source.) Sorry about that.
Yes, but you can edit your post.
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Heard on the radio this morning that this was the first time the Stros have allowed 10+ runs in 3 straight games since '62. Was 4 game series at Cincy; Stros scored 20 runs in those 3 games though (and won the 1st game of the series).
This was probably the worst series asskicking in team history. Good times.
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We're officially done as a nation. Goddamn it all to hell and then some.
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[
Now THAT is a thread killer.
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In the first, he brings up Biggio's career numbers, saying they're great numbers. He quickly follows by commenting that he's played many games away from the position at 2B and says something to the effect of, "It will be tough to decide how to look at his numbers considering he played in the OF and C." He went on and on, driving home the point. To me...he was trying to make the point that Bidge's numbers shouldn't count as a 2nd baseman and knowing Morgan, making sure everyone knows that you can't put Bidge's numbers along side his and compare.
Am I reading a little too far into his comments?
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he doesn't have it between the ears right now.
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he doesn't have it between the ears right now.
How would any of us know whether Lidge's problems are mental? You're making a rather large assumption here.
The reaction to your post isn't because other posters are "Lidge nuthuggers." It's because they don't buy your psychoanalyzing Lidge from your living room.
Implying psychological collapse in a relief pitcher fits the dramatic template fans and media all love to predict, were we imbued with Pete Gammons' power of analytical thought. It worked for Mitch Williams, but sadly, Mariano Rivera didn't assume a perpetual fetal position after the Arizona WS victory.
Lidge is fine. Who, or what is the alternative? Seven saves in April (and counting) translates to 45 or so by October. Frankie say, "Relax."
Yep. Fits the storyboard. Lidge gives up homer to Pujols to blow Game 5. Lidge never the same again. The end.
I just don't think it's mental untoughness that makes somebody walk Oscar Freaking Robles on four pitches to lead off the inning. It's a mechnical flaw or, at worst, lack of focus.
I was sitting behind the plate last night, and you could just see those balls coming in a few inches lower than he wanted them to be. Some small tweak, some small adjustment, and they catch the bottom of the knees, and Robles is sitting on the bench after that.
I'm not disputing that but the home plate ump was also a factor last night. The guy was so inconcistant with the outside corner, against righties, that Mr. Ausmus (I call him Mr. out of respect!) let him have a piece of his mind on a horse shit strike call. ...
It's unseemly to quibble about the umps, mostly because usually it's best to just try and ignore them. But last night I thought Nieve was unduly scrutinized. In the pregame, Ausmus said his key was strikes on the corner. They weren't giving him strikes on the corner. By the 9th Brad had a number of issues to discuss with Mr Marquez.
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he doesn't have it between the ears right now.
How would any of us know whether Lidge's problems are mental? You're making a rather large assumption here.
The reaction to your post isn't because other posters are "Lidge nuthuggers." It's because they don't buy your psychoanalyzing Lidge from your living room.
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Do you guys think Jeff Bagwell will return after surgery?
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Put Carlos Lee on that list too.
I like the way Berkman does it. Just lays the bat at his feet. (Maybe so he can stumble over it when he returns?)
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Bonds was fined $5,000 for wearing wristbands that violated baseball's apparel rules because of their size and logo design...
Bonds has appealed the ruling, Bob Watson said.....
Watson also said Bonds had previously run afoul of baseball's uniform guidelines before.
"He's appealed it before," Watson said. "He's been fined before."
The Link
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wow, if you think Biggio "excelled" in the OF, i have some swampland to sell you.
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Or, the writer could just forget about the ignorant so-called defensive shortcomings and admit that if Biggio reaches 3000 hits, he will be a lock, period. Funny that he never mentioned Bidge changing positions several times.
Hornsby could have had an iron glove, no matter. He was the best RH hitter in history.
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If he had simply added 200 career SB's to those numbers...
Cobb
Bonds
Speaker
Bagwell
Now also add 400 career HR's:
Bonds
Bagwell
Wow. This tells me, more than anything, that Barry Bonds is in a class by himself. A combination of power and speed unmatched in baseball history.
And Jeff Bagwell is the only other man on that list. Fun with numbers!
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"Welcome to the home of the National League's best team, where tradition reigns, expectations are high, the manager's mood tends to hinge on the results of today's game, and the players are conditioned to go along for the ride."
...guess who?
The Link
The same team that this guy wishes had played in last year's World Series?
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It is bizare to me that Bagwell was only an All Star 4 (FOUR?) times in his career. I agree with others on a previous thread that he has an excellent chance to be viewed as the best NL 1b of all time. To have only four all star appearances is strange to me.
Perennial slow-starter.
Exactly.
And B-R is a great website... been on my favorites for a few years now.
Bagwell first gets selected in '94, and was last voted in in '97. He's selected onto '99, which is the last time he appears (and he starts with McGwire as DH, I think). In '98 McGwire starts, and in 2001 Helton, then in 2004 Pujols. You can argue about who's selected instead of voted, but that's not a bad list of 1st basemen over a decade.
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Rookie of the Year in 1991
MVP 1994
Gold Glove winner
Perennial All-Star
Ranked in the top 50 all-time in 9 categories
Only first baseman with 400 HR's and 200 SB's
Twice went 30-30
Hit over .300 six times
One of only 27 players with 1500 RBI and 1500 Runs
One of only five players in baseball history with career totals of more than .290 400 HR 1500 RBI 1500 RUNS and 200 SB
6th most seasons of any player all-time of 30 HR 100 RBI 100 Run seasons with eight
Most seasons of any major league player ever with 30 HR 100 RBI 100 Runs 10 SB with seven
In my mind, there's no doubt. He's a Hall of Famer and right next to Craig Biggio as the greatest Astros ever.
If anyone has any more of these hall of fame type numbers, by all means, add on...
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Yeah he deserves to get in. His numbers resemble a hall of fame resume. The worst thing would be if somehow Frank Thomas got in and they ommitted Bags!
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HOF
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I grant that anabolic steroids have been illegal for some time, but the lack of enforcement is a failure of management, not the individual violators.
So you're OK with committing crimes if the law enforcement is weak in that area? I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that you think with the logic of a 6-year old, or that you are apparently completely morally bankrupt.
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What you have effectively is a giant uncontrolled experiment occurring nationwide at all levels of sport, but the dosing and types of enhancement drugs represent a vast improvement over the cruder agents employed by eastern bloc Olympians and extending into the NFL in the 1970s. It may not be medically sanctioned, but this field is achieving a level of sophistication which may render some of the early anecdotal horror stories moot. What separates these actions from previous perturbations affecting baseball (ie, the color line, WWII, 1930s offensive explosion, DH, 1960s pitching)is that steroid use crosses the line of individual initiative and thereby puts others at a competitive disadvantage. Again, until 2002, this was all legal. The objection seems based more on the latter point of competitive initiative and can only be supported on that basis.
I disagree that objections to steroid use in baseball can only be supported on the basis of competitive disadvantage, but I think competitive disadvantage is the chief reason that makes steroid use different from other forms of cheating. If you cork a bat or scuff a ball, that's also cheating, but other players don't have to risk their health and life in order to neutralize it.Quote:
I agree that Mel Ott would be HOF material in any era, but his and other offensice statistics of the 1930s were all inflated, and thus diminished in relative terms. Street and Smith's current yearly preview issue addresses this directly, ranking Bonds seventh all-time behind Ruth, Aaron, Foxx, Mays, Gehrig, and Ott in peer-adjusted home run totals. That is the proper and only way to rank these players. It negates the extraneous factors given above.
How can peer-adjusted home run totals take into account steroids when not everyone uses them? An era adjustment to statistics only works when the advantages and disadvantages of the era apply to everyone.
For example, the National League as a whole batted .303 in 1930. The batting leaders, and the percentage by which they exceeded the league batting average, were as follows:Player Avg +PctNow take the 2002 National League, which batted .259 as a whole. The league leaders, again with percentages over the league average, were as follows:
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Terry .401 +32%
Herman .393 +30%
Klein .386 +27%
O'Doul .383 +26%
Lindstrom .379 +25%Player Avg +PctNow, tell me how that era adjustment takes into account that the guy at the top of that list had his bat speed remarkably raised (and now it's speculated even his eyesight improved) by taking steroids?
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Bonds .370 +43%
Walker .338 +31%
Guerrero .336 +30%
Helton .329 +27%
Jones .327 +26%
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To elaborate on the above, there was no steroid policy until 2002. Baseball cannot even rid themselves from 60+ years of amphetamine abuse.
Steroids increase strength and promote healing. These are "bad" things? Would baseball be a better on the field product had Bonds retired at the typical age of 35? Players today are in shape year around, and have medical and nutrition advances unknown to players of yore. An ACL once laid you up all year. Now its a two month layoff, and you come back stronger.
Regarding the ease of hitting HRs, Bill James references a change in strike zone reading in favor of the batter. Pitchers are more loath to challenge hitters, making the encounter a sort of batting practice. Homes runs sell, and everyone in baseball knows it.
If I understand your post correctly then you are saying that as long as the results are good, it doesn't matter how you achieved them? To me that is fine if your sport is pro wrestling or some other spectacle where the spectator knows that it is a farce. But baseball? I don't want my kid growing up thinking that for him to be successful at a sport, then he must put himself in harms way just to be competitive. I'm no expert on roids but from what I've heard, when properly admistered for appropriate medical conditions then they are a useful tool. But I never hear anything but the dangers when used for bodybuilding and sports applications. My opinion is that when players think they have to put themselves in harms way physically just to play on an even field, then the sport is a farce, regardless how many homeruns a juiced up freakazoid can hit.
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Bonds is one of the two greatest hitters that i have seen in my lifetime, the other one being Ted Williams. he is a liar, and his HR records are now as phony as are Sosa's and McGwire's, but steroids did not make him a great hitter.
i don't hate him for taking steroids any more than i hate a friend of mine who did to try to make MLB. they are killing themselves, and i feel sorry for that.
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Why? LaRussa managed a banged up team to 100 wins. After watching the NLCS, I was shocked the Cards won as much as they did. They looked nothing like the team that owned us earlier in the season. Of course, neither did we.
15-30 with hardly any offense ... all the way to the World Series seems to be more difficult. Garner was pulling rabbits out of his hat daily.
LaRussa had injuries, but the team was third in runs scored and first in ERA. I am not discounting what LaGenius did (or Cox did), but Garner did more with less.
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In comparing his numbers to Vizquel one that stands out are the PO numbers. Does playing on a team whose staff yeilds the Big Three put him at a disadvantage here, meaning less hits coming his way to make PO's(209AE-234OV)?
Not sure why put outs are a big deal. They mean little when judging how good a fielder one is.
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Didn't see this on Sunday, but Al Lopez, the oldest current HOFer died Sunday at the age of 97.
Lopez broke in with the Brooklyn Robins in 1928 and played 20 seasons with the Robins/Dodgers, Braves, Pirates, and Indians. He ended his playing career with the most games ever caught in a career, a record that stood for 40 years.
After retiring, Lopez became a successful manager, skippering the Indians to a then-record 111 wins in 1954 and managed the last Chicago White Sox team (prior to this year) to reach the World Series, the "Go-Go Sox" of 1959. If you don't think that's an accomplishment, just consider that from 1949-1964, those were the only teams not named the New York Yankees to win a pennant.
He is also the last surviving Major Leauge player to play a game prior to 1930.
On a side note, I once got a chance to meet Al Lopez when I was a kid. He was a nice guy, talked to us kids for an hour.
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But these days, it's tough supporting two great-field, no-hit guys like Ausmus and Everett in the lineup.
holy crap. seriously we only just went to 7 games in the LCS last year, and went to the world series this year with those two great field no hit types.
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Say what you will about hitting w/ RISP in the playoffs
ok i will. that was what lost us the series. no if's, and's, but's or dumbshit's about it.
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reason
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What a great ride it's been this year. Thanks for some really enjoyable baseball even when you were tearing our hearts out. We'll be back on board in the spring.
Oh, and congrats to the White Sox, who outplayed the Astros hands down in this World Series.
We'll be back.
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I was watching Selig's monitor last night and Roy was on the mound ready to pitch, the batter was in the box ready to bat, the commercial ended, and I thought "Ok, her we go", then another fucking "House" commercial came on. Thirty more seconds of waiting for Fix and their fucking promos. Fuck them.
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I switched to hating them just as soon as all those 4's started flashing in the dugout. Asswipes.
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It would be in "The Best Interests of Baseball." Go Bud Go!
So would having steroid-free athletes and a final score in the All-Star game.
Fuck 'em.
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I think Fredia was primarily referring to the 66 users that have registered new accounts since the Astros made the playoffs.
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Some feller in the Express-News wrote this misty tale about his crotchety old grandma who had little patience for anything, but always hope and faith in the Colt 45s/Astros and baseball. A nice read.
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Well, it worked last series, didn't it? Not that I was really taunting Cards fans.
You know, it's funny. I hope we win, but it won't crush me at all if we lose. Not even close.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS is the biggest feat of my Astro fandom. I'm ok with it.
Just attending the Astros World Series is going to be a memory of a lifetime. If we win, it'll just be that much sweeter.
And I really don't have anything whatsoever against the WhiteSox.
I suspect your outlook may change considerably in the next couple of days.
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He picked the Bravos, the Co-ards, and now the White Sox. A good sign, don't you think? The Link
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I miss my dad like hell tonight. He introduced me to Astros baseball--he loved Lee May and Doug Rader and Bob Watson and Terry Puhl. He knew it was only a game. He loved listening to baseball on the radio. He died in 2001 after seeing Arizona beat the the hated Yankees. He would have so LOVED tonight's game--Oswalt, tough as nails and cool as a cucumber. That's what it's all about.
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Yeah I like the Gammons picked us to win it all at the beginning of the playoffs online and now picks the ChiSux. Way to stick to your guns "baseball expert."