Drayton McLane, Gerry Hunsicker and the rest of the Astros front office weren’t exactly met with holiday cheer after the announcement of the Mike Hampton trade two days before Christmas. The Astros were blasted by radio callers and the local newspaper alike. Houston Chronicle columnist John P. Lopez carped, like he did when Carl Everett was traded a couple of weeks earlier, that the Astros have become a farm system for big-market teams.
By Matthew Becker
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on December 18, 1999.
In the last few days, the most common question asked on the TZ is “How do the Astros expect to win with this?” Well, the answer to that question is reliant on one condition: winning what? If you want to win the Central my friends, we’re already there. To put our moves in perspective, let’s look at what the teams in our division have done to “improve” their teams, and with apologies to Ray K, here are my Central Division Power Rankings.Read More
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Ahhh… to dip my toes in the pool of my own mediocrity…could anything be sweeter???
And I come back just in time to hear all you freaks and nut-jobs whining and gripping about getting Ken Griffey, Jr. in the railroad stripes for the upcoming year.Read More
By Jim R.
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on October 19, 1999.
Smug smirks and an occasional loud guffaw greeted the announcement of Larry Dierker’s appointment to be manager of the Houston Astros. Absolutely no one predicted that decision. Dierker was an entertaining and successful broadcaster, was an erudite occasional newspaper columnist and showed the world a personality that was relaxed to an extreme. Nicknamed “The Wrangler” by broadcast partner Milo Hamilton, he affected Hawaiian shirts, did not mind hoisting a few and spent more time on golf courses than in ballparks. Media wags suggested he would manage more like Jimmy Buffett than Jimmy Leyland. Yet Dierker has had the last laugh on his initial detractors, and no one honestly can say “I told you so.”Read More
By Arky Vaughan
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on September 28, 1999.
For much of the season I savored the prospect of Jeff Bagwell winning another MVP award by an overwhelming margin. Yet Bagwell has allowed the gap between him and the rest of the league to close in the last couple of months. Many commentators now believe that Chipper Jones is the frontrunner for the award due to his sparkling performance against the Mets last week. Folks shouldn’t be so quick to annoint Jones, however. For starters, let’s look at some other candidates. Here are the league leaders in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging average):Read More
For much of the season I savored the prospect of Jeff Bagwell winning another MVP award by an overwhelming margin. Yet Bagwell has allowed the gap between him and the rest of the league to close in the last couple of months. Many commentators now believe that Chipper Jones is the frontrunner for the award due to his sparkling performance against the Mets last week. Folks shouldn’t be so quick to annoint Jones, however.
