For many sabermetric types, the A’s of recent seasons have represented the ideal offense: a slugging (and sluggish) line-up that understands the importance of drawing walks and swinging for the fences. Little ball is not in vogue at the Coliseum. Oakland’s popularity among the stat-geek crowd also derives in no small part from the fact that A’s General Manager Billy Beane knows what on-base percentage and slugging percentage are without having to consult the glossary of Total Baseball.
Owner Drayton McLane and general manager Gerry Hunsicker gave Astros fans an early Christmas gift this offseason. Houston free-agent signings typically feature such hot commodities as Kent Bottenfield, Tripp Cromer, Alex Diaz, Doc Gooden, Jack Howell, Pete Incaviglia, T. J. Mathews, Mike Maddux and the inestimable Dave Clark. These lumps of coal have been pushed aside by the acquisition of 2000 National League Most Valuable Player Jeff Kent.
My memories of AstrosConnection will always be associated temporally with two things: watching perhaps the best right side of the infield in baseball history, and enjoying four division titles in five seasons. Granted, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio are now in decline, and the Astros never got within six victories of the World Series. But sharing some of the 40-year-old franchise’s finest moments with an electronic community of devoted fans was pleasurable nonetheless.
The media has been full of blather lately about how baseball is doomed if the players walk off the job this week in the sport’s ninth work stoppage since 1972. While another late-season strike that threatens the postseason would by no means be a good thing, if the players are only off for a week or so, the damage isn’t likely to permanently diminish baseball’s appeal.
Roaring back into the division race, the Astros have minted a 26-13 record since the beginning of July and a 22-11 mark after the All-Star break. The club has rediscovered itself at the plate and on the mound.
Third place, 6.5 games out, 41-45 wouldn’t have sounded too promising leaving spring training. Given where the Astros looked to be heading a couple of weeks ago, though, it’s a fairly decent accomplishment. Since dropping three of four to the Brewers and two of three to the Mariners in mid-June, the Astros have run off 10 wins in 13 games, moving to within four games of .500. That’s progress considering that the Astros finished the Seattle series 10 games below even.
