Appel’s fast track causing Astros’ clubhouse uproar

[Navin R Johnson]

Appel throws a 9AM BP session for the Astros pitching coach, prior to players arriving at the field.  Astro players are pissed?


WARNING JdJO article.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2014/07/27/appels-fast-track-causing-astros-clubhouse-uproar/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#22102101=0&25405103=0

“Unbelievable,” one Astro said. “I’m not in a good mood.”

“So now you get rewarded for having an 11 ERA? And you have two guys down there (at Class A Lancaster) with 2 ERAs who can’t get called up?” the Astros player said on the condition of anonymity, alluding to Appel’s ERA and lefthander Josh Hader’s superb season at Lancaster.


WFW

[matadorph]

WFW indeed, but it sounds like Porter has his players' backs on this one and may not be happy with the way the front office handled it.

[Ron Brand]

“Getting caught up with what a minor league player does shouldn’t affect them. They’re professionals. They’re getting paid handsomely to do a job and we expect them to go out there and do a job.”

Stick it up your ass, JdJO. I bet he makes 25-30K to go out and stir the pot.

Fuck you. A high school kid could do your job. Asshole.

[Ty in Tampa]

Fuck you. A high school kid could do your job. Asshole.

Better.

[Bench]

Asinine.

[chuck]

This is another fine example of what I was talking about the other day. Luhnow is alienating the rest of the league, important agents and now for the second time recently his own players. Yet some of you guys want to focus blame on Ortiz.

The Astros were just swept at home - handily - by a team that is plainly not trying to win. I see no reason not to think that they won't have the first overall pick for an incredible fourth straight year. (Not that they've demonstrated any consistent ability to take advantage of that, quite the opposite, actually.) The organization is a league-wide joke and the big league team is on the cusp of mutiny.

It's funny. Now I have the unshakeable image of Ortiz sitting is a police substation getting grilled about Luhnow à la Verbal Kint.

[Ron Brand]

I don't agree with a lot of what has gone on with this team. Why was Appel in Lancaster? It's pretty clear this tandem thing didn't work given his health and injuries either. He needed mechanical work and stamina work. The trick is that I'm not on the fucking inside and neither are any of us. We can speculate and judge all we want to, but we don't really know a goddamn thing other than what we convince ourselves of by remote observation of about 1% of what actually goes on.

But this other ancillary stuff - losing games, getting crosswise with an agent, supposedly alienating the rest of the league - all that is extraneous. The question at hand here is that we're supposed to all of a sudden accept the lens of JdJO as to clubhouse unrest and that players offered their opinions to him, knowing they'd be printed.

We've seen before how biased and bush league he is. It's entirely possible that two guys on the fringe got upset and said something. I'm sure something happened, but this is a team without leaders or real experience, and fanning the flames of a couple of frustrated guys is pure Bullshit 101. The players shouldn't have popped off. Right or wrong, pissed about this or something else, it was not handled well and JdJO is running around trying to tease this into something it isn't so he'll have another run of columns to write. That's what I blame him for.

[Navin R Johnson]

Not sure why now, but I just get the feeling that Porter is about to get the axe.

Anyway, the latest from the clubhouse...

@OrtizKicks
"Evan Drellich's @HoustonChron feature on Mark Appel is taped to the giant pin wheel in the clubhouse. Read into that what you want."

[Ron Brand]

Classic Ortiz. He tweets it so we'll all know, but he gives the credit to Drellich. Dick.

[chuck]

If the team played in a real city with a real media this sort of thing would be revealed all the time because rather than one guy standing around trying to discreetly pull his Jockeys out of his ass crack there would be dozens of motivated reporters running around trying to stir up shit. I'm not nearly as scandalized by this as I might be.

But it's true, it's all ancillary to what happens on the field. I was about to say we all see happens there but that's not quite true, is it?

[jbm]

I hope Porter doesn't pay for the fiasco above him.  

I not sure about the significance of the article, or pinning it on the pinwheel. Does his promotion contradict some of the axioms on the pinwheel?  

[Ron Brand]

If the team played in a real city with a real media this sort of thing would be revealed all the time because rather than one guy standing around trying to discreetly pull his Jockeys out of his ass crack there would be dozens of motivated reporters running around trying to stir up shit.

That's absolutely true. I'd hope that if this were the case, the team would've been burned so badly by their continual PR fuckups that they'd actually have working professionals in place who could take care of that sort of thing, instead of the interns and social media mavens they currently have.

I want to be clear here - I'm not defending the team or the front office. I'm saying JdJO is full of shit and is entirely capable of stirring up a storm of some magnitude just by playing fast and loose with the facts and taking advantage of kids who have no better ideas about how professionals take care of business. This team needs leaders as much as it needs people in the front office with a fucking clue.

[subnuclear]

I'm not nearly as scandalized by this as I might be.

You think entire organization is a fraud and you don't know what is going on. Why would you be scandalized?

[chuck]

I want to be clear here - I'm not defending the team or the front office. I'm saying JdJO is full of shit and is entirely capable of stirring up a storm of some magnitude just by playing fast and loose with the facts and taking advantage of kids who have no better ideas about how professionals take care of business. This team needs leaders as much as it needs people in the front office with a fucking clue.

Absolutely. I'm obviously enjoying a Sunday trot on one of my prize hobby horses as well as savoring the unfamiliar experience of a tentative alliance with Chuy.

[chuck]

You think entire organization is a fraud and you don't know what is going on. Why would you be scandalized?

Given that I actually watch quite a few of the games I would say that I have a much better idea of what goes on than do most people who claim to follow the team.

[Jacksonian]

I don't agree with a lot of what has gone on with this team. Why was Appel in Lancaster? It's pretty clear this tandem thing didn't work given his health and injuries either. He needed mechanical work and stamina work.

This part is beyond me that anyone is trying to make this case.  Not just you but the front office and media types.  He was in Lancaster to get a little real game work before being promoted to Corpus.  Luhnow fucked this all up by not keeping him in Kissimmee until he was ready.  He would have been in a tandem in Corpus so that argument is bogus.  If he'd been sent to Corpus instead of Lancaster, knowing what we know now, he'd been lit just as bad by the better-than-high-A AA hitters.  People throwing out the high winds are full of shit.  They don't affect to any where near that extent pitchers who throw quality strikes.  Case in point the winds don't seem to be bothering Hader.

Ironically, IMO, Hader may be the jewel in Luhnow's best trade.

[austro]

Given that I actually watch quite a few of the games I would say that I have a much better idea of what goes on than do most people who claim to follow the team.

Of course, it's a whole other issue that you have to move to Panama to be able to watch the fucking team.

[roadrunner]

It would be nice to know which players are upset.  Other than Springer or Altuve, I'm not sure anybody else really matters, including Porter.

[Fredia]

this  explains it all   alll the fault of the wind



http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140727&content_id=86556048&notebook_id=86556050&vkey=notebook_hou&c_id=hou

[roadrunner]

I can't wait for the backlash when Porter is fired.  It's almost too predictable.

[Ty in Tampa]

It would be nice to know which players are upset.  Other than Springer or Altuve, I'm not sure anybody else really matters, including Porter.

This.

[jbm]

It would be nice to know which players are upset.  Other than Springer or Altuve, I'm not sure anybody else really matters, including Porter.

All players matter, IMO. No need for preferential treatment in any aspects of a team, either in promotions or who can hold opinions.

[roadrunner]

I just don't understand the entitlement. This is a team that just got swept by the Marlins at home.  They should be thanking the Astros for the opportunity to play in the big leagues.

[Ron Brand]

This part is beyond me that anyone is trying to make this case.  Not just you but the front office and media types.  He was in Lancaster to get a little real game work before being promoted to Corpus.  Luhnow fucked this all up by not keeping him in Kissimmee until he was ready.  He would have been in a tandem in Corpus so that argument is bogus.  If he'd been sent to Corpus instead of Lancaster, knowing what we know now, he'd been lit just as bad by the better-than-high-A AA hitters. 

I'm saying what you're saying - not that Lancaster per se was wrong, but why was he there and in a tandem when he clearly did not have the strength or the stamina for it yet? He needed to work on his mechanics and his health first.

[MusicMan]

Ah, here's the real source of hurt feelings. As usual, it's JdJO whose feelings are hurt.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who set up Appel’s bullpen, did not respond to multiple requests to comment on Appel’s visit or his players’ feelings.

[MusicMan]

Guess who hates JdJO and wants to talk to a pro?

@MarkBermanFox26: Tonight FOX26 News @ 9 Astros GM @jluhnow explains why 2013 top pick Mark Appel threw for pitching coach Brent Strom today @Minute Maid Park

[austro]

I don't understand why these mouth-breathers (hello, JdJO) would find it so odd that a guy on his way to Corpus from California -- which, big surprise, probably involves transiting through Houston -- might throw a bullpen session for the big brass.

I wish Twitter had never been invented. Anything that causes people to stop for 5 seconds and think about what they're about to say is a good thing.

For the record, it took me 6 or 7 seconds to pop this off.

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

For the record, it took me 6 or 7 seconds to pop this off.

Your poor wife.

[austro]

Your poor wife.

She thought this was hilarious.

[Bench]

I'm saying what you're saying - not that Lancaster per se was wrong, but why was he there and in a tandem when he clearly did not have the strength or the stamina for it yet? He needed to work on his mechanics and his health first.

I don't think we can rule out the appendix.  Maybe it does serve a purpose after all.

[austro]

I don't think we can rule out the appendix.  Maybe it does serve a purpose after all.

I don't know: I've still got mine, and nobody is asking me to pitch for them.

[Bench]

I don't know: I've still got mine, and nobody is asking me to pitch for them.

I don't and I can't pitch for shit.

[Bench]

It would be nice to know which players are upset.  Other than Springer or Altuve, I'm not sure anybody else really matters, including Porter.

Who's the mouthiest middling 'neck on the team?

[Aussie Astro]

Who's the mouthiest middling 'neck on the team?

I would still need to be convinced that something was said in the first place.  You get a ball player with a room temperature IQ, alone with some dipshit 'journalist', a few leading questions and not entirely faithful recording of the responses and this is what you can get.  Anonymity, really... what is this, Watergate or Contragate?  I try to like Bo but this makes him look like a dummy.  Quiet news day? Storm in a tea cup anyway. 

[Mr. Happy]

I have this eery feeling that we're about to see a massive roster change and managerial change.

[das]

Stick it up your ass, JdJO. I bet he makes 25-30K to go out and stir the pot.

Fuck you. A high school kid could do your job. Asshole.

You do know McCracken said that, right?  His ML career, current position and respect in the baseball world means he gets to say that and anything like that all day long, in my book.

[Ron Brand]

You do know McCracken said that, right?  His ML career, current position and respect in the baseball world means he gets to say that and anything like that all day long, in my book.

That McCracken said what I quoted? Yes, I thought it was the mature, sane part of the whole article and that's why I quoted it. Unless you have an instance of him telling JdJO to stick it up his ass, which I agree with as well.

[Ron Brand]

Footer is chiming in on Twitter. I can't copy it or link to it from here, but it's pretty good. It's quite clear that she and McTaggart have little respect for JdJO.

[Nate Colbert]

Footer is chiming in on Twitter. I can't copy it or link to it from here, but it's pretty good. It's quite clear that she and McTaggart have little respect for JdJO.

JDJO "reports", Footer debunks.

[Aussie Astro]

Does Ortiz get paid per click?

[Navin R Johnson]

And McTaggert's article pretty much shits all on JdJO's "story"

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/hou/jason-castro-no-ill-will-among-astros-toward-top-pick-mark-appel?ymd=20140728&content_id=86743930&vkey=news_hou

"As far as I know, nobody had a problem with Mark coming here and throwing on his way to Corpus, on his bullpen day," Castro said. "It's pretty much what it boils down to. It pretty much is a non-issue for everyone here. On a personal note, I'm happy for him that he's moving on up and getting out of Lancaster and going to Corpus, and hopefully he has success there. There are no feelings of ill will or anything like that in the clubhouse here toward him or anything like that. I wanted to clear that up."

[subnuclear]

Drellich is pushing back on McTaggert's story on twitter if that interests you.

[Navin R Johnson]

He is new around here, he doesn't realize what a troll JdJO is.

[Reuben]

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich  ·  2h

You know, everyone who refuses to believe this was a thing — do you think @OrtizKicks posted a story on Appel on the pinwheel? Snuck in?

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich  ·  2h

That’s fair RT @MadHatterBelvin: @EvanDrellich Everyone believes it was a thing. No one understands WHY it was a thing.

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

Castro indicated that whoever made the comments to the Chron were mostly kidding:

It really started as a joke and kind of got blown out of proportion a little bit.

When in doubt, trust the Stanford grad.  Right, Bizdy?

[BizidyDizidy]

Castro indicated that whoever made the comments to the Chron were mostly kidding:

When in doubt, trust the Stanford grad.  Right, Bizdy?

At your own risk.

[Reuben]

Castro indicated that whoever made the comments to the Chron were mostly kidding:

In this instance I'm inclined to think that at least one or two guys were actually bitching about it (why is beyond me), but in general I can absolutely believe that Ortiz would either not realize a player was joking/being fake angry, or simply use it as an excuse to stir shit up.

[MusicMan]

I can absolutely believe that Ortiz would either not realize a player was joking/being fake angry, or simply use it as an excuse to stir shit up.

Especially once Luhnow wouldn't answer his questions about it.

[HudsonHawk]

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich  ·  2h
You know, everyone who refuses to believe this was a thing — do you think @OrtizKicks posted a story on Appel on the pinwheel? Snuck in?

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich  ·  2h
That’s fair RT @MadHatterBelvin: @EvanDrellich Everyone believes it was a thing. No one understands WHY it was a thing.

What the fuck does this mean?  Are those supposed to be words and sentences?  Is there a coherent thought in there somewhere?  No wonder Drellich can't be taken seriously.

[HudsonHawk]

Castro indicated that whoever made the comments to the Chron were mostly kidding:

When in doubt, trust the Stanford grad.  Right, Bizdy?

I work with a bunch of Stanford PhD grads.  They:

1.  Are really smart.
2.  Never shut up.
3.  Can't write worth a shit.
4.  Are lousy dressers.

[Limey]

Does Ortiz get paid per click?

Basically, yes.

[BizidyDizidy]

I work with a bunch of Stanford PhD grads.  They:

1.  Are really smart.
2.  Never shut up.
3.  Can't write worth a shit.
4.  Are lousy dressers.

I got a Masters in philosophy, which is a whole different kettle of fish from those who pursued useful degrees. In other words, only 2-4 apply.

[Duman]

Footer's Responses:

1. We need to be careful not to paint all players with the same broad brush. If 2 players spouted off, that leaves 23 that did not.

Most of the players had no issue with Appel throwing an early-morning BP session with the club's pitching coach.

2. This notion that there is some unwritten rule that forbids a minor leaguer from being on a ML field is, as I suspected, pure bunk.

I asked a former player that I respect a lot, and a former manager that I respect 100 fold, and they had never heard of such a thing.

There is also a segment in a clubhouse, as is the case in life, where a group of people needs to grow the heck up..

If you have invested $6.5 mill and part of the future of your club on someone who is blowing up in A ball w/a 9+ ERA, and that guy is...
...passing through HOU on his way to Corpus, you can bet your bibby he's going to spend some time with the team's ML pitching coach, who...
...by definition, should be the top pitching eye in the organization.

The notion that ML players would care either way is so beyond stupid my head actually may explode just thinking about it, even a day later.

[HudsonHawk]

I got a Masters in philosophy, which is a whole different kettle of fish from those who pursued useful degrees. In other words, only 2-4 apply.

These are mostly PhDs in chemistry or biochemistry.  I was in a meeting a few months ago and there were 12 of us, and I was the only non-PhD, though one was from Cal Tech and one from Berkeley.  I told them that they had to be able to explain their work to me because a) I'm the one who approves their invoices, and b) at some point they're going to have to explain it to other non-biochemists, so if they can make *me* understand, they can make anyone.  Couldn't do anything about their stripes and plaid combos, however.

[BizidyDizidy]

  Couldn't do anything about their stripes and plaid combos, however.

Have them virtually outsource their style (this is apparently what is hot among the fashionless, SF tech set).

https://www.trunkclub.com/

[HudsonHawk]

Have them virtually outsource their style (this is apparently what is hot among the fashionless, SF tech set).

https://www.trunkclub.com/

So this is basically just adult Garanimals.  I suppose it leaves them free to remember to bathe, so that's a plus.

[geezerdonk]

We are very lucky to have Footer's input.

[Reuben]

So this is basically just adult Garanimals.  I suppose it leaves them free to remember to bathe, so that's a plus.

This has been a problem for braniac science-types for a while. For instance, Bruce Banner, way back in the early issues of the Hulk, decided to only buy white shirts and purple slacks, so he never had to think about what to wear. Left him free to focus on other things, like not getting angry.

[subnuclear]

Have them virtually outsource their style (this is apparently what is hot among the fashionless, SF tech set).

https://www.trunkclub.com/

75% of the ads on my Facebook and twitter feeds are from these people.

[OregonStrosFan]

How in the the hell is JdJO back covering the Astros again, and why any of y'all are bothering to pay him any heed whatsoever?

[BizidyDizidy]

75% of the ads on my Facebook and twitter feeds are from these people.

Maybe they are trying to tell you something

[BizidyDizidy]

How in the the hell is JdJO back covering the Astros again, and why any of y'all are bothering to pay him any heed whatsoever?

He got kicked off of the middle school soccer beat

[subnuclear]

Maybe they are trying to tell you something

I don't post that many pictures either.

[HudsonHawk]

This has been a problem for braniac science-types for a while. For instance, Bruce Banner, way back in the early issues of the Hulk, decided to only buy white shirts and purple slacks, so he never had to think about what to wear. Left him free to focus on other things, like not getting angry.

I refuse to accept that being smart and dressing like a clown are necessarily related. 

[chuck]

Maybe they are trying to tell you something

What it tells me is he needs to get some adblock.

[BizidyDizidy]

What it tells me is he needs to get some adblock.

My adblock doesn't do anything to in-line facebook ads or promoted tweets

[chuck]

My adblock doesn't do anything to in-line facebook ads or promoted tweets

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that you have a master's degree in philosophy.

[BizidyDizidy]

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that you have a master's degree in philosophy.

Currently non-practicing

[Fredia]

you could make a mint here

[Dark Star]

Thread Face Killah

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

Thread Face Killah

Ol' Thready Bastard

[Curly]

Rotoworld saying that Appel went 5 scoreless last night in debut with AA.  http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/mlb/baseball-player-news

[Jacksonian]

Rotoworld saying that Appel went 5 scoreless last night in debut with AA.  http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/mlb/baseball-player-news

So does the Bus Ride.

[Curly]

So does the Bus Ride.

  I should have known better...Cabrera'd by the short bus!

[Jacksonian]

  I should have known better...Cabrera'd by the short bus!

We drive it; you ride it.

[Curly]

I've got my helmet!

[Navin R Johnson]

So since JdJO's faux mutiny, the Astros won 2/3 from the best team in baseball and then took 3/4 from a team that is on pace to make the playoffs.  Not a bad weeks stretch, and if wasn't for 1 bad 9th inning from the teams closer, they win 6 of 7, instead of 5 of 7.   During the 7 game stretch the Astros outscored the Jays/A's 41-21.

[Jacksonian]

So since JdJO's faux mutiny, the Astros won 2/3 from the best team in baseball and then took 3/4 from a team that is on pace to make the playoffs.  Not a bad weeks stretch, and if wasn't for 1 bad 9th inning from the teams closer, they win 6 of 7, instead of 5 of 7.   During the 7 game stretch the Astros outscored the Jays/A's 41-21.

They just needed something to pull it all together.

[BizidyDizidy]

As with the tombstone,  all credit to the chron