ESPN.com on Astros

[David in Jackson]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/32974/reasons-why-luhnow-likes-astros-move-to-al

[Limey]

I like it. It's an opportunity to find a particular kind of player, a hitter who may be more limited defensively. In the National League, you can get such a pileup at first base or left field.

He does realise that every other team in the AL, most of whom have a salary budget far in excess of $30mm, are allowed to have DH too...right?  I'm trying to decide if this is more or less stupid than hitting the pitcher 8th, and I can't decide.  That's not a good thing.

[Bench]

He does realise that every other team in the AL, most of whom have a salary budget far in excess of $30mm, are allowed to have DH too...right?  I'm trying to decide if this is more or less stupid than hitting the pitcher 8th, and I can't decide.  That's not a good thing.

I think he's happy to have another toy to play with when putting the roster together. 

[Mr. Happy]

He does realise that every other team in the AL, most of whom have a salary budget far in excess of $30mm, are allowed to have DH too...right?  I'm trying to decide if this is more or less stupid than hitting the pitcher 8th, and I can't decide.  That's not a good thing.

What else could he have said?

[jbm]

Carter's playing experience in the outfield amounts to 85 games across eight seasons as a pro, and none in the majors since 2010, when he was fairly brutal in left for the A's. And the bulky Wallace's best position ever since he was drafted in 2008 -- by Luhnow and the Cardinals -- was always “hitter.” Although Luhnow cited last year's five-start experiment with Wallace at the hot corner as an indication he will be able to handle the position in 2013.

This quote will inspire the pitching staff.  

The meaning of "handle the position" must be very broad.  

[geezerdonk]

By handle the position, I think it is meant that Wallace is adequate to stand at third and watch the 400' shots sail over the outfield fence.

[Limey]

What else could he have said?

He could have said a lot of other things that did not consist of anally-directed smog.

[astrosfan76]

What else could he have said?

Yep, they can continue whining about having to move, or move on and deal with the hand they've been given (or whatever verb you find appropriate).  Whether he's genuinely happy about the move is irrelevant (and not something the public's likely to discover), but he's smart enough to look for advantages in the system and apply them to their situation. 

[Limey]

Yep, they can continue whining about having to move, or move on and deal with the hand they've been given (or whatever verb you find appropriate).  Whether he's genuinely happy about the move is irrelevant (and not something the public's likely to discover), but he's smart enough to look for advantages in the system and apply them to their situation.  

I'm not sure how having a whole roster, being paid only marginally more than your opponent's DH, is an advantage.

[chuck]

So that's Wallace's new swing, huh?

[astrosfan76]

I'm not sure how having a whole roster, being paid only marginally more than your opponent's DH, is an advantage.

Not advantages relative to the competition, but advantages relative to the rules of the new league versus those of the NL.  The results may (will) still be ugly, but he can give certain players more ABs in the AL, which helps him in assessing which players are part of the future.  So, from a talent evaluation standpoint, I get what he is saying.  I still hate the move, but there's not anything they can do at this point, so might as well make the best of it.

[Noe]

I still hate the move, but there's not anything they can do at this point, so might as well make the best of it.

Must. Fight. Urge to post inappropriate Coach Knight reset!

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

Must. Fight. Urge to post inappropriate Coach Knight reset!

Don't pull a Clayton Williams.

[MusicMan]

Don't pull a Clayton Williams.

Never go full Clayton.

[Bench]

From the Grantland wing of ESPN is an article calling the Mets' current outfield possibly "the worst unit in professional sports and maybe all of life." 

Whoa ho, you say?  What about the Astros?  The author excuses the Astros' inadequacies because "[t]hey're less a pro sports franchise and more a socioeconomic thought experiment at this point."

I think I'm stealing that line for 2013's These Are Your Astros!

[David in Jackson]

From the Grantland wing of ESPN is an article calling the Mets' current outfield possibly "the worst unit in professional sports and maybe all of life." 

Whoa ho, you say?  What about the Astros?  The author excuses the Astros' inadequacies because "[t]hey're less a pro sports franchise and more a socioeconomic thought experiment at this point."

I think I'm stealing that line for 2013's These Are Your Astros!

Hey, it's a process.

[Limey]

Hey, it's a process.

Like processing sewage?

[Reuben]

From the Grantland wing of ESPN is an article calling the Mets' current outfield possibly "the worst unit in professional sports and maybe all of life." 

Whoa ho, you say?  What about the Astros?  The author excuses the Astros' inadequacies because "[t]hey're less a pro sports franchise and more a socioeconomic thought experiment at this point."

I think I'm stealing that line for 2013's These Are Your Astros!

The Astros' 2013 OF, as bad as it is likely to be, actually has a pretty good chance to be better than what the Mets are planning to throw out there. If only I could be sure that Dominguez is the 2nd coming of David Wright, then I could say their infield will be better, too.

[Mike S.]

From the Grantland wing of ESPN is an article calling the Mets' current outfield possibly "the worst unit in professional sports and maybe all of life." 

Whoa ho, you say?  What about the Astros?  The author excuses the Astros' inadequacies because "[t]hey're less a pro sports franchise and more a socioeconomic thought experiment at this point."

I think I'm stealing that line for 2013's These Are Your Astros!

No, no.  This is accurate.  By "virtue" of being the goddamn, motherfucking steM, they automatically qualify as being the worst in all of life.  I think that actually would be redundant.