Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Dear Santa… Please Bring the Astros a compass for Christmas.
My head is currently bleeding profusely from the scratching I’ve been doing since Sunday afternoon.
In the winter of 1998, Brad Ausmus was overrated veteran surplus that could be moved because the catcher of the future, Mitch Meluskey, was ready to step in (at the minimum salary) and take over the catching duties. Ausmus was traded to the Tigers for absolutely nothing, spread out over 6 easy players.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Thud.

Tuesday night on a humid, rain-dampened diamond located in what used to be known as Joe Robbie Field, there was a dull almost inaudible noise. If you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed it. (Well you might have missed it if you somehow missed the 962 replays from differing angles in the constant and overwhelming effort of all-sports networks everywhere to bring you the “news” as they see it.) But as Craig Biggio’s weight came crashing down on his knee, there was a deep, but somehow quiet thud. And not just the thud of 190 pounds of hustle hitting the ground, but the thud of a season and an era coming to an end.

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Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

HOUSTON – In an interesting move described by a team official as, “the only thing that will make these damn fans happy,” Drayton McLane sold the Houston Astros to Santa Claus. The sale, which is pending approval by Major League Baseball, is expected to cost Claus in the neighborhood of 400 million dollars (US).Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

I talked the girlfriend into going to see the latest Bruckheimerarian epic known as “Gone in 60 Seconds” on Sunday night. It was the typical things-blow-up-I-eat-popcorn-by-the-bushel-girlfriend-who-can’t-sleep-through-my-snoring-falls-asleep-within-30-minutes mental masturbation that I have come to expect from the brain/wallet that brought us “Con-Air”, “Armageddon” and “Young Doctors in Love”. Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
First of all, let me inform everyone that ripping the owner of a teats-up Major League Baseball franchise is an amazing way to get people to come out of the woodwork and write responses.

Contrary to popular belief, no threats were forthcoming from Drayton’s office.  No harsh words were uttered. I stopped checking my brake lines after a couple of days.  So, no, the reason I haven’t written a column has nothing to do with being tied to train tracks of any sort.  I am very much alive and kicking.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Dear Drayton,
First of all, as a life long fan of baseball and especially the Houston Astros, I’d like to thank you for putting a competitive team on the field since you took over the reins from John McMullen several years ago. I think sometimes I lose sight of what it was like to be a fan of a franchise where winning happened about as often as one of your current pitchers going more than an inning without giving up a homerun.Read More