June

[NeilT]

I always lose track of the season in June.  I go to some games, but I stop watching every game.  I fish more, and always have a lot of work stuff going on.  June and July just drag for me.

Something special happened this June, though.  I saw the worst ballgame I will ever see, June 19, 'Stros-Rays, almost 4 hours of unrelieved awfulness, narrarated by a loud woman sitting behind me who punctuated the game with gems like "He won't make it unless he runs!" (Bourn on a ground out to second base) and "Why did the manager leave him in?  Couldn't he see it was time to pull him?"  (Pick a pitcher.  this was a continuing refrain).  She got mad because I stood up between innings and made her lose track of the can shuffle.  Really.  It was awful, she was awful, I was so miserable that it was kind of fun, in a perverse unhappy way. 

Three good things.

1.  Bourn.  This season I've ragged on Bourn:  His OBP isn't high enough, mostly.  He is, though, the best baserunner I will ever see, and maybe the best defensive center fielder.  I love to watch Bourn play.

2.  Pence.  I don't care if Pence runs in circles in right field, does a nose-dive and a back-flip, misses the cut-off man with an underhand flip, then stares at the sun until his brain melts.  Maybe he's already stared at the sun until his brain melted.  This season Pence has hit.  He's hit the slider to opposite field, he's hit in situations, he's hit like he knows what he's doing.  .301 in June, .314 for the season.

3.  Keppinger/Johnson.  Keppinger is back, and is doing what he did last year.  Why does Mills want to trade Keppinger?  Johnson hit .300 in June.  I think these two things are not unrelated.  Johnson needs Keppinger.  It's a very 21st century kind of thing.

Three things that are just a wee bit neutral.

1.  Mills.  This is a historically bad team, with no pitching, injuries, and talent enough to explode the surest win.  Last year I heard nothing bad about Mills.  this year I hear Mills and Cooper mentioned in the same breath.  It's a lousy team, and Mills is starting to get some of the blame.

2.  Jim Crane.  Crane said not to expect much next year, that they would still be rebuilding.  I don't know why that made me unhappy.  I wanted a new owner to fix everything now.

3.  Wallace.  Wallace hit .250 in May, .230 in June.  Is this something I'm supposed to blame on Mills?


Three things that are just awful.

1.  Braves fans.

2.  Happ's nibbling.

3.  We lost the Silver Boot, and someone thought I might care.

[roadrunner]

How can you blame Mills for Wallace's performance?  Because he doesn't start him against lefties?  I doubt he will start hitting homers because the ball is tailing away from him from lefty pitchers.  Wallace is Ed Wade's deal, and I know it's still early, but he has been a disappointment this season.

[MusicMan]

Happ is probably my biggest disappointment this season, even beyond the bullpen at this point.

[EasTexAstro]

I still think Wallace will be fine, even if he is struggling now. Average and power could come. He is patient with a nice swing, and Bagwell had positive things to say about him.

I am very disappointed in Happ. I never expected him to be an ace, but I thought he could be solid and grow a little this year. He has some nice pitches, but his control is not very good. The nibbling bugs me. If the control was there, he might be able to got that corner call, but the ump won't give him that call with the inconsistency he shows.

[chuck]

I just can't believe you stood up in the middle of the can shuffle. Don't you realize how important the can shuffle is to some of us?

[Lurch]

I just can't believe you stood up in the middle of the can shuffle. Don't you realize how important the can shuffle is to some of us?

If I ran the can shuffle, I'd edit it to show the wrong can as a winner.  The place would go ape shit.

[lc_db]

If I ran the can shuffle, I'd edit it to show the wrong can as a winner. 

This would be worth the price of admission. 

Either that or allow someone to take a pitchfork to those "racing" sauce packs.

[moriartp]

I never get the right fucking can. It's embarrassing.

[chuck]

If I ran the can shuffle, I'd edit it to show the wrong can as a winner.  The place would go ape shit.

When I was in second or third grade we were playing Heads Up Seven Up one rainy recess. As one of the seven I got a sudden flash of inspiration and went around and selected six or eight people rather than the one I was supposed to select. At the teacher's call of Heads up, seven up! fifteen people popped up and it was fucking bedlam. The teacher immediately knew what had happened and shouted at everyone to sit down and take out their science book or whatever subject we were on to next. It was way better than I'd hoped for, the total, unrefined chaos. Sort of like the time I put laundry detergent in a public fountain.

[Bench]

If I ran the can shuffle, I'd edit it to show the wrong can as a winner.  The place would go ape shit.

I think it's silly that they have it in the "right" can at all.  It's not gambling if you're not wildly guessing, and eyesight is not a skill the average person should particularly trumpet.  They completely fuck up a modern twist of a noble street tradition. 

[strosrays]

When I was in second or third grade we were playing Heads Up Seven Up one rainy recess. As one of the seven I got a sudden flash of inspiration and went around and selected six or eight people rather than the one I was supposed to select. At the teacher's call of Heads up, seven up! fifteen people popped up and it was fucking bedlam. The teacher immediately knew what had happened and shouted at everyone to sit down and take out their science book or whatever subject we were on to next. It was way better than I'd hoped for, the total, unrefined chaos. Sort of like the time I put laundry detergent in a public fountain.

A turning point for you, I gather.  Very nice.

[strosrays]

Something special happened this June, though.  I saw the worst ballgame I will ever see, June 19, 'Stros-Rays, almost 4 hours of unrelieved awfulness, narrarated by a loud woman sitting behind me who punctuated the game with gems like "He won't make it unless he runs!" (Bourn on a ground out to second base) and "Why did the manager leave him in?  Couldn't he see it was time to pull him?"  (Pick a pitcher.  this was a continuing refrain).  She got mad because I stood up between innings and made her lose track of the can shuffle.  Really.  It was awful, she was awful, I was so miserable that it was kind of fun, in a perverse unhappy way. 

Maybe you were sitting in front of this.

[Lurch]

Maybe you were sitting in front of this.

jeezus gawd you suck.

[Ron Brand]

Maybe you were sitting in front of this.

That was a shitty game but you didn't have to take a big shit on top of it, did you? My eyes are fucking bleeding. I'll never get that 60 seconds back, and only liberal splashes of gin in each eye is keeping me from blindness. You bastard.

[strosrays]

That was a shitty game but you didn't have to take a big shit on top of it, did you? My eyes are fucking bleeding. I'll never get that 60 seconds back, and only liberal splashes of gin in each eye is keeping me from blindness. You bastard.

It seems she is devolving, and I didn't think that was possible.  How do you go backwards from amoeba?

[Ron Brand]

It seems she is devolving, and I didn't think that was possible.  How do you go backwards from amoeba?

I've worked hard - and to this point, successfully - to blot her from my memory. I can't believe that there are people who take her seriously, and by seriously I mean that they don't punch her in the face or vomit on her feet when they see her.

Perhaps her price of fame is a complete absence of intelligence and understanding, to be demonstrated in public.

[MusicMan]

I've worked hard - and to this point, successfully - to blot her from my memory. I can't believe that there are people who take her seriously, and by seriously I mean that they don't punch her in the face or vomit on her feet when they see her.

Perhaps her price of fame is a complete absence of intelligence and understanding, to be demonstrated in public.

All of the above could apply to Pinwheel.

[strosrays]

All of the above could apply to Pinwheel.

Pinwheel is not on the masthead at Hardball Times.

[Ron Brand]

All of the above could apply to Pinwheel.

I think it does, except that he's at least a cell above whatever life form LG has devolved into. I can't imagine him squealing idiocies at full volume at a game, but I can sure as hell picture her doing it.

[MusicMan]

Pinwheel is not on the masthead at Hardball Times.

The fact that she is, is why I never take HBT seriously.

[strosrays]

The fact that she is, is why I never take HBT seriously.

I kind of know how that evolved, and it is a pathetic tale.

BTW, Neil has Mills wanting to trade Keppinger, Astro-dingbat has that crazy Ed Wade wanting to do it.  Which is it?

[Ron Brand]

It makes more sense if it's Wade, but that doesn't make it true.

[MusicMan]

I kind of know how that evolved, and it is a pathetic tale.

They have the "tale told by an idiot" and "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" parts down pat.

[Andyzipp]

I kind of know how that evolved, and it is a pathetic tale.

BTW, Neil has Mills wanting to trade Keppinger, Astro-dingbat has that crazy Ed Wade wanting to do it.  Which is it?

Wade wanted to trade Keppinger to afford Hall, when it was thought that Hall could still hit, and that the Astros needed some more power in their lineup to improve on their 2010 second half finish.

If Wade wants to move Keppinger now I'm guessing it's because he's hoping he can get any sort of youth/value for him.  And Wandy, Myers, et al.

[Reuben]

Wade wanted to trade Keppinger to afford Hall, when it was thought that Hall could still hit, and that the Astros needed some more power in their lineup to improve on their 2010 second half finish.

If Wade wants to move Keppinger now I'm guessing it's because he's hoping he can get any sort of youth/value for him.  And Wandy, Myers, et al.

I saw almost zero Astros baseball in June, and very little in May for that matter (wedding/honeymoon). How has Kepp looked at 2B? His range was never great, but I'm curious if the foot has affected him in the field.

[hostros7]

Wade wanted to trade Keppinger to afford Hall, when it was thought that Hall could still hit, and that the Astros needed some more power in their lineup to improve on their 2010 second half finish.

This makes me sad. 

[NeilT]

I kind of know how that evolved, and it is a pathetic tale.

BTW, Neil has Mills wanting to trade Keppinger, Astro-dingbat has that crazy Ed Wade wanting to do it.  Which is it?

It would be really cool if I could tell you I was making a subtle joke about Mills being to blame for everything, including Wallace's hitting, but it wouldn't be true, at least not consciously.  I just made a mistake.  I did think about it later, though.

Actually, I was making a subtle joke about Mills being to blame for everything, including Wallace's hitting.

[Ron Brand]

I thought he was being shopped late in the season, before Hall was on the radar, but he got hurt and then couldn't be traded and Hall was more of a necessity with hope.

[Reuben]

I thought he was being shopped late in the season, before Hall was on the radar, but he got hurt and then couldn't be traded and Hall was more of a necessity with hope.

Well, they had Sanchez they could've used as a stopgap 2B, but I think besides the desire for more power (Kepp's only real "weakness" hitting-wise), they wanted to get quicker and better in the field. Hence my asking about Kepp's D since he came back, I wonder if the Astros still want a better defender there.

[Ron Brand]

His range factor is down just a tad, 4.77 to 4.57, fielding pct down from .990 to .984. Slightly below league average.

[NeilT]

His range factor is down just a tad, 4.77 to 4.57, fielding pct down from .990 to .984. Slightly below league average.

over 30 games?  No wonder they're losing.

[Ron Brand]

over 30 games?  No wonder they're losing.

Exactly. The difference is tiny, not enough to notice, so that's good news. It's really hard to judge fielding at 2B anyway, so much of it is placement and pivot.