Analysing the Central

Posted on June 9, 2003 by Limey in Limey Time

We are now past the 1/3rd pole (and I am not referring to Jose Canseco’s ‘roid impaired peepee) and things are starting to crystalise in the NL Central:

The Brewers suck. Maybe not as much as they have in recent times, but they still suck.
The Pirates suck. Maybe not as much as they have in recent times, but they still suck.
The Reds have been upgraded from “Harmless” to “Mostly Harmless”; and The Red Messiah continues to be printed onto the list of the disabled.
The Jakes still play the Astros hard, and still consider it their God-given right to win each year because their fans are the self-declared best in baseball (whilst simultaneously booing Tino Martinez).
The Cubs are a joke.

Amazingly, this could’ve been written at this point in any of the last 3 or 4 seasons. In fact, it probably was, by me, but with AC off the air you’ll never be able to prove nothing. And if you do, I’ll just claim that I use this passage for typing practice and never intended to put it in an actual column.Read More

Like Homeless Guys Selling the Chronicle, Opening Day is Upon Us

Posted on March 31, 2003 by Andyzipp in Zipper Flap

The trees are greening, lawns are getting lush, and those damn love bugs are starting to clog up air-filters all over south east Texas. And more importantly baseball is being played again.

Once again, an opening day is upon us, and for some reason, once again the Astros are starting a day late for no apparent reason. Sensing a trend, I was very tempted to post this a day late as well. But since I last shared one of these mishaps with the world about three-quarters of a year and one website ago, I figured that I was late enough as it is.Read More

Billyball vs. Mikeyball

Posted on February 17, 2003 by Arky Vaughan in Crunch Time

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.

Shuffling the Deck: Kent and Biggio

Posted on December 21, 2002 by Arky Vaughan in Crunch Time

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.

End of an Era

Posted on September 29, 2002 by Arky Vaughan in Crunch Time

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.

It All Comes Down to This

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Limey in Limey Time

Mano e mano. The big dookaroo. St. Louis in one corner and the Astros in the other.

It’s pretty obvious to anyone who doesn’t still think that the Cowboys are a good team (obligatory football dig…check), that the home and home series between these two clubs is crucial to the outcome of the NL Central. The Astros must win – full stop! They cannot afford to drop more than a game (maybe two) of the remaining seven. But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture (shh, no one tell Co Russa) because the Astros and Co-ards also have to keep winning in their other series too.

At this point, the STL starting rotation is hanging on by a thread. A thread that I believe the Astros can cut with a chain saw this weekend. Morris and Williams have not proven themselves fully recovered as yet. In Morris’ case this is because he’s only been back one game, but neither of them has faced anything like a team with the quality of the Astros. In fact, the last time the Co-ards faced a team over .500 was way back in the first week of August, when they were swept by Atlanta.Read More