Messages

1

Talk Zone / Re: 2019 schedule has been released

« on: August 23, 2018, 10:35:08 am »

It's a joke the Astros keep ending the season on the road. This will make it six seasons in a row. And some of the road trips are ridiculous, though not as bad as the second half of this season when the Astros have basically spent July and August on the West Coast.

Still, all five of their AL East series are NOT paired with another AL East foe. A NY-Boston trip should be mandatory, especially for all teams west of the Mississippi.

Tampa-Arlington
Minnesota-Mexico in May
Detroit-Boston (same time zone, but not a close trip)
Cincinnati-New York (see above)
Breaking up a home stand for a two-game trip to Denver
Toronto-Milwaukee in August/September, which probably isn't too bad though it's a time zone change after getting out of customs.

But the worst is the incredibly convenient Baltimore-Chicago-Oakland road trip in August with no off-days once the trip starts and followed by another seven games at home with no off-days.

And if the Astros-Rangers rivalry was so important to the point that the Astros had to be the ones to switch leagues, why are the Astros and Rangers done in Arlington after mid-July for the second year in a row? The Astros play 17 of 19 with the Rangers before the end of July. This year, they were done completely before the end of July.

Screw the MLB office, which probably takes great pains to make sure the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Cardinals all get to make all of their West Coast trips in one fell swoop.

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Talk Zone / Re: next years schedule

« on: September 09, 2014, 06:22:51 pm »

natural rival

Actually for next year, Arizona is the "natural rival" since the Astros play six games against them, three home and three away. MLB doing this with Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, Dodgers-Angels, etc.

Astros also play four against the Giants, split into two two-game series at different times of the year.

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Talk Zone / Re: Porter Fired

« on: September 05, 2014, 12:44:18 pm »

Tarrik Brock is clearly a Porter guy (both were in the Cubs organization at the same time during their playing days and more recently worked together as coaches for the Marlins from 2006-2009). So why wasn't he fired as well?

Good question. Maybe Trembley was a media leaker?

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Talk Zone / Re: Porter Fired

« on: September 04, 2014, 06:50:46 pm »

Quote from: jbm on Today at 03:39:52 PM
Seems kind of unfair to imply that he was the one feeding shit to the press...

To clarify, that comment was tongue in cheek more than anything else though obviously that didn't come across. That rumor is out there though. I guess I am curious as to why he was the sole coach to get his walking papers. Did Lawless insist on this when offered the manager job? Or did Luhnow believe he was the leaker and canned him as well? Or were there other reasons as to why he was fired?

Trembley was Porter's guy. Trembley managed Porter when Bo was a player in the minors.

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Talk Zone / Re: Selig Can't Go Soon Enough

« on: August 13, 2014, 09:03:03 am »

If this story is correct in its reporting, we may have Selig for a while. If none of the three candidates gets the necessary votes, Selig would probably stay in place. Deep down, I'm sure he would be thrilled to hang around.

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Talk Zone / Re: Astros raise prices for 2015

« on: August 01, 2014, 12:31:25 pm »

This organization is remarkably tone-deaf. If I thought contraction was a realistic possibility, then I would understand the almost-intentional "f**k yous" sent to the fans on a regular basis.

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Talk Zone / Re: Luhnow open to trading Keuchel, McHugh and Cosart

« on: August 01, 2014, 08:48:48 am »

I'm not too worried about it. Even with Fowler, what's he going to do? Overshoot what the club should pay him in arbitration? Then, he loses his client's case and costs him money. He could sway a client away from us after the season, but he'll get over it eventually.

Agreed. I think the idea of pissing off an agent and it being a "reputation" problem is overblown and mostly a media creation. The Astros will have to overpay in dollars or years (see Scott Feldman) because they're a losing team. That would be the case with most players anyway.

8

Talk Zone / Re: Aiken

« on: July 22, 2014, 09:12:20 am »

Was anyone else other than Oakland offering Kazmir a two-year deal? If not, that's probably a huge reason why he signed with the A's, not because of someone "reputation" problem in Houston.

The Marlins have had maybe the worst perception problem of any organization in MLB for years until the current Astros regime came along. And a few big-name free agents signed with the Marlins a couple of years ago when they went on their spending spree. Why? The Marlins offered the most money. Even in Houston, Scott Feldman signed with the Astros last offseason because they gave him a three-year deal, and I don't think anyone else was going to give him a third year, not to mention the money he got in the deal.

Bottom line: In most cases, players will go where the money (big names) or the years (mediocre to rehab projects) are more than anyone is offering.

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Talk Zone / Re: Altuve article on Grantland

« on: July 16, 2014, 12:11:30 pm »

Nah, it's just the usual fare you get when a Boston-based writer does a story on the Astros. To sum it up: "This place isn't Fenway Park; therefore, it sucks."

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Talk Zone / Re: Aiken

« on: July 15, 2014, 10:58:29 am »

If the No. 1 overall pick goes unsigned for whatever reason (significant injury or Astros' screwjob on Aiken), the entire front office should be cleaned out, especially since the fifth-round pick would also go unsigned. If the Astros drafted damaged goods at 1-1, then you question why there wasn't due diligence to the highest level. And if they're just screwing with the kid to sign Mac Marshall and it blows up in their face, they should also be gone. You don't get cute at 1-1. When you're not signing draft picks, you're back to the Tim Purpura days.

And if the owner is behind all of this, then God help us.

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Talk Zone / Re: Hitch and Go

« on: September 14, 2007, 11:22:01 am »

Just a damn shame a kid who's been in the bigs one season needs a reminder to hustle. It's not like he's any of the other geezers on this team.

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Talk Zone / Re: You stay classy, Houston

« on: February 28, 2007, 04:12:57 pm »

Caminiti returned in '99. Perhaps he was still on the juice then.