Look at the guy sitting to your right and left — and get used to ’em
So says Jerome Solomon says Ed Wade says (or something like that) to the Astros before the last game prior to the All-Star break.
“If we’re going to get to the finish line first, it’s going to be with the guys in the room. I don’t think we’re short. I think the talent is here. It’s the little things we have to tighten up on and we have the guys that can do it. It’s not like we’re asking a bunch of inexperienced guys to go out and figure it out. We have veterans who have done it before.”
Other Wade tidbits from Solomon’s article:
“I like the guys we have here. There may be guys out there this year at the trade deadline that might make us better, and we won’t pass up a bargain, but not all teams that make blockbuster deals are going to be playing in October. That’s where you get back to hope. We hope we avoid the major injury to key players, and we hope we do what we’re capable of, and we hope we get to the finish line. That’s what I told the team in the meeting. ‘It’s on this group to get it done. And this group can get it done.’”
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Reflections on 10 years in the Majors
McTaggart with some more on Lance Berkman’s decade with the Astros.
Berkman on being called up from Triple-A New Orleans:
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ I had to spend the night in Arizona and fly the next morning. I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep at all. My wife [Cara] was out there with me and we flew the next day, and I showed up at the Dome at 1 o’clock, which might be the earliest I’ve ever gotten to the field.”
“It was just surreal. I was almost lightheaded from the lack of sleep, and the excitement made me almost giddy. I didn’t think I was going to play because I had just flown in, but I’m sitting there on the bench and sure enough, [manager Larry] Dierker said I was going to pinch-hit for the pitcher.”
On his first MLB at bat:
“The first pitch I saw from Justin Thompson, who was this left-hander with a great big ol’ curveball, looked like it started way up high and ended up low on the inside corner for a strike. I just remember thinking, ‘If that’s a Major League curveball, I’m going to have trouble because that’s nasty.’ I ended up hitting a sharp grounder, but I hit into a double play and killed the rally.”
On accomplishments and on winning:
“I can say I’m happy to have accomplished the things I have so far, and hopefully I have a few more good years left in me. When you’re playing you’re not saying, ‘Oh, I need to do this and end up here and I’d like to hit this many home runs or drive in his many so I can be ranked first or second or whatever it is.’ For me, when you get to a certain point in your career, the numbers individually are nice, but you’d just like to win. It’s a lot more fun when you win. We still haven’t won a championship here and I would love to do that. I’m more proud to have been part of the first World Series in the history of the organization [2005] than any of the individual accomplishments. Not that I don’t enjoy those individual accomplishments because there’s a big individual component to the game of baseball. It’s neat to be recognized and look at your name and see that in most offensive categories it’s me, Bagwell and Biggio. That’s pretty cool. But as far as doing stuff to cement my legacy, I’m not thinking about that.”
On whether he’ll continue to play after his current contract expires (2010, with a club option for 2011):
“A lot of it has to do with if I’m healthy and feeling good and still productive. I’m 33 this year, and you could play until you’re 40, but I don’t know I will. At some point it’s going to be a year at the time, and we’ll take it form there.”
On the possibility of getting into the Hall of Fame:
“I’m afraid I’m probably going to be a borderline guy if I stay healthy and continue to be somewhat productive, as far as compared to what I’ve been in the past. If you project another five or six years, my numbers will get to the point where people will be like ‘Hmm, you know, possibly.’ Then you just have to hope enough of the sports writers like you.”
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The walking wounded
Berkman left Thursday night’s game with a mild left calf strain, and is day-to-day. Per Berkman:
“It’s been bothering me for a while, to be honest with you. It’s been manageable, but that’s as hard as I’ve run in a while. It doesn’t feel great, but hopefully in the morning it will feel better.”
As for Berkman’s primary back-up, Erstad says he’s almost there.
“I’m very close. It won’t be very long if it will be. I’m fully ready to go. It’s under control right now unless something crazy happens.”
And in related news, Erstad wasn’t phased from banging his head into the foul territory warning track on Thursday night.
“There’s nothing to hurt in there.”
After being unavailable for the last three games prior to the All Star break due to back spasms, Hawkins says he’s still feeling some discomfort in his back but that he “feels better”.
Brocail will throw a simulated game today, and (hopefully) will be close to setting a schedule to rehab in the minors. Per Brocail on rehab assignments:
“I need to get in the situation of breaking to first [base]. You can’t really get that until you get in the game. As much as I hate rehab assignments, this one is going to be a necessity only because if I over-stride or if I move too quickly, I’ve got to know what it’s going to do.”
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It’s now or never
Sean McAdam, a ‘special’ to FOXsports.com, says time is of the essence for the Astros – “it’s win (soon), or else risk falling out of the race altogether.”
Somebody else — Cubs? Brewers? — was supposed to run off ahead in the National League Central. Instead, it’s the most crowded of the game’s divisions, with five teams within five games of first place. The Astros used second-half rebounds to make the playoffs in 2004 and 2005 and made late-season runs at the postseason in 2006 and 2008. Do they have the right stuff to make a fifth second-half surge in six seasons? *** Two series with St. Louis and one each against Milwaukee and the Cubs — all before Aug. 9. — will determine whether the Astros have yet another late-season run left in them.
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Manny-b-Pujols?
Cooper will approach pitching to Manny over this series like he’d approach pitching to Pujols.
“If there’s a chance to walk him when he has a chance to hurt you, you have to walk. The only way to do that is you have to get the guys out in front of him. Will he change the strategy? Not a whole lot. But you can’t let him beat you.”
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What they said (a look at what the Astros fan blogs are writing about)
Remembering the past
Chronicle fan blogger Chip Bailey has some historical reminders to share with Astros fans.
Since 1997 — that would be 12 consecutive seasons — the Astros have turned in a better winning percentage after the All Star break than in the first half, including a winning record in the second half in 11 of those 12 seasons. Using the ’97 season as a gauge again, Houston has been at .500 or better at the midway point seven times, qualifying for the playoffs six of those seven seasons.
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BP blows
As if Astros fans need another reason to hate Baseball Prospectus? AstrosAndy at the Crawfish Boxes go behind the ‘pay wall’ to give Astros fans a reminder that BP doesn’t know jack about the Astros (and seemingly doesn’t care). The BP quote over at the Crawfish Boxes is a doozey, but to summarize briefly:
Ed Wade blah, blah, blah, kamikaze run to nowhere, blah, blah, blah, equally feeble race for relevance. Blah, blah, blah, second rate relievers, blah, blah, blah, third rate bullpen. Blah, blah, blah.
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It’s (not just about) the economy, stupid
Astros County takes an in-depth comparative look at 2008 and 2009 Astros attendance figures.