"I got a bad taste in my mouth"

[MusicMan]

 JDJO on Oswalt

JDJO's blog had indicated a 5-year deal would be necessary; now he's saying 6 at $15M per.

[cc]

Quote:
JDJO on Oswalt

JDJO's blog had indicated a 5-year deal would be necessary; now he's saying 6 at $15M per.

Why do we torture ourselves?  Where have you gone, Harry Shattuck and Dick Peebles?

[Alkie]

You know what, this guy's been my favorite Astro for about 4-5 years now, but seriously?  FUCK YOU, ROY.

FUCK.  YOU.

Shut the fuck up and pitch.  If you had just done that from the beginning, none of this bullshit (even if it was media-driven) would have ever happened.

Shut the fuck up.

You complain and complain about your team in the media, you make damn sure everyone knows that you're going to be testing free agency in '07, then when the possibility that you might get traded comes up and you pout like a bitch.

Fuck you.  

The worst part about this is that I really respected this guy and it turns out he's just a giant vagina.  

Shut up and pitch, Roy.

[pravata]

I think Roy ought to talk to someone other than stir the pot, hoping to get hired by a northeastern media outlet, Ortiz, for instance the Baltimore Sun,

According to several reports the Astros at one point offered star pitcher Roy Oswalt, but no deal involving Oswalt had been presented to owner Peter Angelos as of 9 p.m. on Sunday, according to a high-ranking team source, an indication those talks weren't serious.
The Link

Oswalt said before the season started if he didnt have a contract extension he was going to go FA.  Nothing has changed.  Except maybe he's gotten more mumbly.

[Alkie]

Quote:
Oswalt said before the season started if he didnt have a contract extension he was going to go FA.  Nothing has changed.  Except maybe he's gotten more mumbly.

And you know what that makes him?  That makes him the assholes I used to work for at the CPA firm in El Paso.

They hire me, move my family to BFE, and give me a shit job.  When they then tell me that despite record revenues, they need to pare payroll, I can either quit or accept a paycut, and I am told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  When I accept it and, a week later, am told that I'm being moved out of the area I was good at and into an area I didn't even know how to SPELL, I was told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  Then, when I show up one day and quit to set up a firm of my own, it's fucking personal and the owners take it as though I raped their daughters, calling my PARENTS to whine (?!).

Well, that's Roy.  Roy can be "business, not personal" all fucking year, then I'll be god DAMNED if he doesn't take it personal when the team finally LISTENS to his bullshit rhetoric about testing the FA waters, and thinks about the possibility of considering a chance of a trade while we can still get something in return for his business-not-personal ass.

Pussy.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
According to several reports the Astros at one point offered star pitcher Roy Oswalt, but no deal involving Oswalt had been presented to owner Peter Angelos as of 9 p.m. on Sunday, according to a high-ranking team source, an indication those talks weren't serious.
The Link

They had a deal finalized on Friday night.  Houston was going to ship Ensberg and Everett and perhaps one prospect (lower minors, but I'm not aware of who it is).  Baltimore said yes and Houston was getting ready to prepare a press release.  That's when Angelos stepped in and told the Astros he had not cleared the deal his baseball people were making and wanted to talk more.

He, as told to me, told the Astros he wants Oswalt as well as what they had already agreed upon.  Houston got mad and told him they were no longer interested in dealing.  He said when they were, it would have to include Oswalt because he thought he could make other deals if he had Oswalt along with the players already offered.

Houston said don't expect a call back and that is where this particular Baltimore article is correct.  They never called the Orioles back, and it was deemed as *not serious* interest by the Orioles at that point.  But they had made a deal, until Angelos got involved and said he was now in charge and screwed everything up for all involved... including his own team.

[pravata]

Quote:

Quote:
Oswalt said before the season started if he didnt have a contract extension he was going to go FA.  Nothing has changed.  Except maybe he's gotten more mumbly.

And you know what that makes him?  That makes him the assholes I used to work for at the CPA firm in El Paso.

They hire me, move my family to BFE, and give me a shit job.  When they then tell me that despite record revenues, they need to pare payroll, I can either quit or accept a paycut, and I am told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  When I accept it and, a week later, am told that I'm being moved out of the area I was good at and into an area I didn't even know how to SPELL, I was told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  Then, when I show up one day and quit to set up a firm of my own, it's fucking personal and the owners take it as though I raped their daughters, calling my PARENTS to whine (?!).

Well, that's Roy.  Roy can be "business, not personal" all fucking year, then I'll be god DAMNED if he doesn't take it personal when the team finally LISTENS to his bullshit rhetoric about testing the FA waters, and thinks about the possibility of considering a chance of a trade while we can still get something in return for his business-not-personal ass.

Pussy.

Right, but what I'm saying is, nothing has changed.  And while we're at it, "it's business not personal" is one of the most soulless zombie bullshit phrases that has ever been uttered by cowardly greedy punks in the history of the World. Ever.

[Alkie]

He ran his mouth again in the press today.

Call it what you want..."more of the same," whatever.

I'm fucking sick of hearing about it.  

If I made what that whiny asshole was making, I'd find a way to use the phrases they teach you in rookie league.  That's baseball, good lord willing.

[Alkie]

Quote:
And while we're at it, "it's business not personal" is one of the most soulless zombie bullshit phrases that has ever been uttered by cowardly greedy punks in the history of the World. Ever.  

Just to be clear, I wasn't using the line, it was used on me.

[pravata]

Quote:
He ran his mouth again in the press today.

Call it what you want..."more of the same," whatever.

I'm fucking sick of hearing about it.  

If I made what that whiny asshole was making, I'd find a way to use the phrases they teach you in rookie league.  That's baseball, good lord willing.

Agreed.  It's been his position all along. But today, the press found it in their favor to write about it. Also, the whole thing is bullshit.  Baltimore Sun says the trade was never a serious offer. Whose agenda is advanced by stirring up this? Jose de Jesus Ortiz's that's who.

[Rebel Jew]

Quote:
[

They hire me, move my family to BFE, and give me a shit job.  When they then tell me that despite record revenues, they need to pare payroll, I can either quit or accept a paycut, and I am told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  When I accept it and, a week later, am told that I'm being moved out of the area I was good at and into an area I didn't even know how to SPELL, I was told not to take this personal, it is strictly business.  Then, when I show up one day and quit to set up a firm of my own, it's fucking personal and the owners take it as though I raped their daughters, calling my PARENTS to whine (?!).
 

Damn Alkie, that sounds like a seriously messed up situation.  I'd be hella pissed, and it sounds like you rightfully were.  How did your parents become involved in all this (meaning, how did your company know your parents enough to think they could call them-- assuming you were serious about that part of the story)?

[Alkie]

I got the interview in the first place because good friends of the family owned the firm.

[Alkie]

Quote:
Jose de Jesus Ortiz's that's who.

Fuck him AND Justice too.

[pravata]

Quote:

Quote:
According to several reports the Astros at one point offered star pitcher Roy Oswalt, but no deal involving Oswalt had been presented to owner Peter Angelos as of 9 p.m. on Sunday, according to a high-ranking team source, an indication those talks weren't serious.
The Link

They had a deal finalized on Friday night.  Houston was going to ship Ensberg and Everett and perhaps one prospect (lower minors, but I'm not aware of who it is).  Baltimore said yes and Houston was getting ready to prepare a press release.  That's when Angelos stepped in and told the Astros he had not cleared the deal his baseball people were making and wanted to talk more.

He, as told to me, told the Astros he wants Oswalt as well as what they had already agreed upon.  Houston got mad and told him they were no longer interested in dealing.  He said when they were, it would have to include Oswalt because he thought he could make other deals if he had Oswalt along with the players already offered.

Houston said don't expect a call back and that is where this particular Baltimore article is correct.  They never called the Orioles back, and it was deemed as *not serious* interest by the Orioles at that point.  But they had made a deal, until Angelos got involved and said he was now in charge and screwed everything up for all involved... including his own team.

Notice nobody got Tejada, nor any other of the tradeables on the Orioles.  Buncha morons.

[Twoniner]

Quote:
They had a deal finalized on Friday night. Houston was going to ship Ensberg and Everett and perhaps one prospect (lower minors, but I'm not aware of who it is). Baltimore said yes and Houston was getting ready to prepare a press release. That's when Angelos stepped in and told the Astros he had not cleared the deal his baseball people were making and wanted to talk more.

He, as told to me, told the Astros he wants Oswalt as well as what they had already agreed upon. Houston got mad and told him they were no longer interested in dealing. He said when they were, it would have to include Oswalt because he thought he could make other deals if he had Oswalt along with the players already offered.

Houston said don't expect a call back and that is where this particular Baltimore article is correct. They never called the Orioles back, and it was deemed as *not serious* interest by the Orioles at that point. But they had made a deal, until Angelos got involved and said he was now in charge and screwed everything up for all involved... including his own team.

Hilarious.  "Oh, and just go ahead and toss in one of the top 5 pitchers in your league, and we will do that deal we agreed upon".   The Astros hanging up the phone there makes a shit load more sense than Jose's the rediculous idea that we sent them the Oswalt-Mo-Everett deal.

[matadorph]

This story makes no sense to me. The Astros front office isn't comprised of morons--there's no fucking way they ever seriously entertained trading Roy Oswalt in a package deal for Tejada. Um, if Oswalt is on the table, it's the other guy putting a package together, not the Stros.

"Haha, you want Roy Oswalt, too? Nah, I like my poohole as it is thank you very much."

So if the talks were never serious, why did Roy pop off? Did management talk to him or his agent to tell him to cool his jets?

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
So if the talks were never serious, why did Roy pop off?

Because it's been his Modus Operandi for pretty much the whole season.  Big britches I think it's called.  You'd think a man would settle for a bright yeller bulldozer and be done with it.

Never thought he'd grow a head larger than Barrah Bones after game six of the NLCS.  Did you?

[AllyDStros]

doesn't sound like it, from what Purpura said on ESPN 790 earlier. He said something about "having a call in to Roy" to let him know what had gone down.

[Colt 45]

I hope they communicate better than this in the dugout !

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
Hilarious.  "Oh, and just go ahead and toss in one of the top 5 pitchers in your league, and we will do that deal we agreed upon".   The Astros hanging up the phone there makes a shit load more sense than Jose's the rediculous idea that we sent them the Oswalt-Mo-Everett deal.

"What Stoneman, Houston GM Tim Purpura and anybody else inquiring about Tejada have in common, according to league sources, is this: It's business as usual with the Orioles this trade deadline, who remain caught between inert and paralyzed."

This is what Chris Miller wrote for CBSSportsline.com several days ago.  The Orioles are inert because Angelos doesn't make up his mind nor does he allow his baseball people to make final decisions.  It's tough to deal with them.  He went on to say this:

It's not working with Tejada -- last we checked, he's not a pitcher. And the latest hard lesson learned by the Orioles is that even if they go to Lourdes, er, Atlanta, to find a miracle-worker pitching coach, Leo Mazzone can't turn frogs into princes. Exhibit A: Daniel Cabrera, who has been demoted to Triple-A Ottawa.

"Look, if I'm Baltimore, if they could get Adam Everett back (from Houston) to fill Tejada's spot, and Jason Hirsh, and something else, I'm in," an executive with one club says.

There is no clear indication whether the Astros can be convinced to deal Hirsh, a right-hander who's one of their prized pitching prospects.

But part of that is because, according to sources with knowledge of Houston's discussions, talks have not even reached the point of exchanging names -- because the Orioles continue to send mixed signals about whether they're even willing to deal."

When the talks came back to them that the Orioles were targeting Oswalt late in the game of negotiation, the Astros were taken aback.  How it became a report that Purpura had actually offered Oswalt/Ensberg/Everett in all this is beyond me.  Even the Baltimore papers reported the Astros never offered Oswalt.  How in the hell did the Houston hacks go so wrong on this I'll never know.  I refuse to think they're malicious... but inept does come to mind.

Is research that hard to do?

[rifraft]

Quote:
You know what, this guy's been my favorite Astro for about 4-5 years now, but seriously?  FUCK YOU, ROY.

Alkie, you put it perfectly, right there.  I have felt the exam same way about Roy, he has been my favorite player on the team since the 14-3 start to his career in 2001.  
But seriously, I echo your FUCK YOU, ROY.  
I made excuses for him when he popped off about the offense earlier in the year, but now, all I can say is, shut the fuck up, pitch, stop giving up leads(like you have all season) and man up.  
I never realized they raised little bitches like Roy in Mississippi.
Someone needs to talk to him and shrink his head back to normal proportions.  Does he not realize his threats of testing FA may actually come back and bite him in the ass?

Lidge handled the last few days much better than Roy.  He has said the right things.  He may be pitching like shit right now, but at least he's not blaming the front office for his struggles, or for looking into trading him.

[Navin R Johnson]

i have never read JDJO "blog" before now, so it is tough to know if this was said toungue in cheek or if this assclown really holds himself in such high regard.

anyway, from his Blog today....

 

Quote:
I told Oswalt that former Astros closer Billy Wagner of the Mets said Oswalt would be enough to bring a championship to the Mets. I agreed with Wagner. I also told Oswalt that if he holds off until free agency, I'll give him a great recommendation to Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice versa. Heck, Minaya listened to my brilliant endorsements of Carlos Beltran and Wagner. My friend Ethan Wilson, a PR official with the Mets, is so grateful for the contributions of the former Astros on the Mets' roster this year, he sent my daughter Kathleen a Mets build-a-bear stuffed animal three days ago.

 

 

He cant be serious, right?

[Holly]

Good grief. That's a sense of self-worth inflated more than CB Bucknor's. Laughable. Like MLB players need referrals... much less from two-bit wannabe "reporters."

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
Good grief. That's a sense of self-worth inflated more than CB Bucknor's. Laughable. Like MLB players need referrals... much less from two-bit wannabe "reporters."

From what I understand, his book from last year's season of memories pretty much follows form.  Lots of "I talked to Roy Oswalt's family about..."  He's made himself part of the picture and that he may as well of included himself on the list for thanksgiving dinner this November as it were.  So much for objectivity.

Oh, and by the way, he once bragged on the radio that he was upset at the Astros for trading away Billy Wagner, a guy he personally liked and would pick up at the airport to give a ride to an Astros dinner function two years ago.  He also made a mortal enemy of Tal Smith because of JDJO's insistence that Smith is a racist.  Smith was reportedly held back from going after the twerp in the Astros clubhouse.

So he's not one to stay away from being the story in his own story.  Seems most of the Chronicle writers who tout themselves as columnist nowadays like this sort of thing.  Lopez, Justice, Jesus De Ortiz.  Doesn't matter, they're the show instead of reporting on the actual show itself.  How Mariotti of them!

[Navin R Johnson]

well judging by your reply Noe, chances are that JdJo was being serious.    Unreal.    Not only is his self image off the charts, but it seems as though he is openly rooting for Oswalt to land with the Mets.

 

Quote:
  I also told Oswalt that if he holds off until free agency, I'll give him a great recommendation to Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice versa.

And what is with the vice versa in that statement?   Is OSwalt supposed to reccomend JdJo to the mets?  I dont get that.

[astro pete]

Quote:

And what is with the vice versa in that statement?   Is OSwalt supposed to reccomend JdJo to the mets?  I dont get that.

I couldn't figure that one out either.

[Frobie]

Quote:
Good grief. That's a sense of self-worth inflated more than CB Bucknor's. Laughable. Like MLB players need referrals... much less from two-bit wannabe "reporters."

This is completely irrelevant to the current discussion, but I was listening to the Red Sox-Indians slugfest tonight.  Bucknor was umping at the plate, and about halfway through the game--and for no apparent reason--Tom Hamilton (Indians PBP guy) said almost to himself (paraphrased), "You know, C.B. Bucknor is a nice enough guy, but he has absolutely no business being a major league umpire."  I got a good chuckle out of that.

We now return you to your regular program.

[AllyDStros]

There are no words for me...

 Oswalt's whining, this time to Alyson Footer

actually, there are words. I don't necessarily have issues w/ him being upset (a guy's entitled to his feelings and whatnot), I more or less have an issue w/ how he's handling his increased media visibility. He doesn't need to (and shouldn't) join the ass-kissing fest that was Lidge/Ensberg's responses to not having been traded, but he could be a little more diplomatic.

I personally almost felt his throwing Mo under the bus for his hitting (particularly since Mo ended up trying to play hurt at that point--not that that was the right thing) was right up there w/ Baggy throwing him (Oswalt) under the bus w/ the Barrett deal.

[Navin R Johnson]

 

Quote:
"We have good sources outside of Houston who know a lot that went on," Oswalt said. "People don't think that I know."

 

And of course those people outside of Houston, would be best served if Roy became a free agent.   I am sure they are looking out for themselves.

I cant believe that Dick Justices and JdJO got played into spreading this bullshit.   Fucking idiots.   Of course it doesnt help matters that Roy was educated in Mississippi and aint smart enough to figure this out on his own.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:

Quote:
"We have good sources outside of Houston who know a lot that went on," Oswalt said. "People don't think that I know."

 

And of course those people outside of Houston, would be best served if Roy became a free agent.   I am sure they are looking out for themselves.

I cant believe that Dick Justices and JdJO got played into spreading this bullshit.   Fucking idiots.   Of course it doesnt help matters that Roy was educated in Mississippi and aint smart enough to figure this out on his own.

New York is outside of Houston and would be slapped with a tampering violation by the MLB if the source Oswalt is talking about is Met's organization men whispering sweet nothings or spreading rumors in his ear.

Of course I don't believe for a minute Oswalt has outside sources.  He has JDJO for that and he touts himself as the man about town with the inside information and the feelings of teams such as New York.  Don't believe it, just ask JDJO... he said as much in his blog, eh?

[No? in Austin]

Here is the truth in a nutshell:

Quote:
Oswalt, according to a Major League executive, was never offered by the Astros. Any mention of Oswalt's name came from the Orioles, who ended up not dealing Tejada to any team by the 3 p.m. CT deadline.

After the Orioles asked for Oswalt, the two sides continued discussions, but the Major League source estimated the odds of any deal being made involving the ace right-hander were less than 20 percent.

That makes at least four media outlets now that are reporting the same thing:

1. The Astros never offered Oswalt... to Baltimore, to the Mets... to anyone!

2. The Orioles asked for Oswalt *after* the Astros thought they had a deal's framework in place with Ensberg/Everett.  Angelos was the one who morphed the deal in the 11th hour.

3. Houston was never seriously listening to the Orioles after that.  The Baltimore Sun reports correctly that as of Sunday, 9 pm, Houston did not call Angelos back with even a counter proposal.  They never really talked at all after Angelos' ploy.

4. Houston's media, namely Justice and Ortiz are looking more foolish as things unravel and the truth is revealed.

'nuff said, Oswalt should just shut up and pitch.

[Navin R Johnson]

this is the only thing I have seen that can even remotely be construed as the AStros dangling Roy as trade bait.

from
The Link

 

Quote:
"Every player that was where we could trade them, we certainly reviewed them all," McLane said. "Roy, Roger (Clemens) or Brad Lidge, whoever was tradable, certainly we looked at every combination with Carlos Lee, Tejada or Soriano. We looked at them, but that didn't mean we were going to trade them.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
well judging by your reply Noe, chances are that JdJo was being serious.    Unreal.    Not only is his self image off the charts, but it seems as though he is openly rooting for Oswalt to land with the Mets.

His bio on Amazon.com has the following:

Quote:
Jose de Jesus Ortiz has been the national baseball writer and the lead Astros writer for the Houston Chronicle since the 2001 season. He worked in New York from 1998 until 2001, serving as the Newark Star-Ledger?s primary New York Mets beat writer from 1999 until 2001. He began his career at the Long Beach Press-Telegram in California. His story on Flynn Kile, widow of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kile, was honored as Notable Sports Writing of 2003 in the 2004 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. Ortiz has been called "one of the best baseball writers in the country because of his ability to bring the most out of the subjects he interviews," by New York Post media critic Andrew Marchand. He was one of four finalists for the 2004 Reporter of the Year at the Chronicle. Ortiz and his wife and daughter live in Kingwood, Texas.

JDJO's modus operandi is to get close to the person (or subject) and with said friendly, get comfortable approach, he can pry the in-depth information from them.  It's not an uncommon thing in a journalist bag-o-tricks.  The reporters/writers who like to write series or in-depth personality analysis for magazines and/or newspapers all do this.

It explains a lot of what JDJO writes for his readers... more of the feelings of the person/subject matter, even at the expense of researching truth and facts about an actual subject beyond the person.  It's a failing with such writers.  Facts often get in the way of raw emotions that they love to write about.  What makes that person tick, sort of stuff.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
this is the only thing I have seen that can even remotely be construed as the AStros dangling Roy as trade bait.

from
The Link

 

Quote:
"Every player that was where we could trade them, we certainly reviewed them all," McLane said. "Roy, Roger (Clemens) or Brad Lidge, whoever was tradable, certainly we looked at every combination with Carlos Lee, Tejada or Soriano. We looked at them, but that didn't mean we were going to trade them.

The Astros once called the Reds to ask about Adam Dunn.  This was after his first year in the majors.  Word had spread that the Reds were more enthused about Austin Kearns and were really surprised at Dunn's rise through the ranks.  Kearns had gotten hurt that season in the minors and lost his chance to progress to the bigs before Dunn, who came out of nowhere.

GM Gerry Hunsicker called Jim Bowden, then GM of the Reds and asked if he would consider trading Dunn to the Astros.  Bowden didn't miss a beat and said in reply "Sure, give us Roy Oswalt for him".  Oswalt has just completed his rookie season with the Astros and lost the ROY voting to Albert Pujols of the Cardinals.  Hunsicker didn't skip a beat in his reply to say "Okay, nice talking to you Jim." and hung up.

In short, there has probably been hundreds of such calls made in Oswalt's tenure with the Astros.  Teams can certain ask about Oswalt and this time the Astros even said that they would consider trades for guys with no-trade clauses if the price was right.  That includes Oswalt's name being off any untouchable list.  Lance Berkman has a no-trade clause, so does Brad Ausmus and Andy Pettitte, so be it.

But the price *HAS* to be right.  Oswalt should be flattered that much like the price put on Dunn, Oswalt has a huge price tag... higher than a Miguel Tejada rental.  You talk to me about Lirano or Joe Mauer from the Twins for instance, I'm going to listen, even if the talk is about Oswalt.

That's not bad, that is good sound baseball business.

[Navin R Johnson]

concur.  but this obviously flew right over the Chron bloggers head, who interpeted such as being the AStros were trying to trade Roy.

Now Roy seemingly believes it too.

Thanks Chronicle.

[Golden Sombrero]

Quote:

Quote:
So if the talks were never serious, why did Roy pop off?

Because it's been his Modus Operandi for pretty much the whole season.  Big britches I think it's called.  You'd think a man would settle for a bright yeller bulldozer and be done with it.

Never thought he'd grow a head larger than Barrah Bones after game six of the NLCS.  Did you?

No, especially after what should have been the humbling Game 3 of the WS.  His arrogance is costing him this year, with him challenging batters when he has no reason to, and it costing him the lead the Astros offense had just eked out for him.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
concur.  but this obviously flew right over the Chron bloggers head, who interpeted such as being the AStros were trying to trade Roy.

Now Roy seemingly believes it too.

Thanks Chronicle.

That's the most dissappointing of the whole matter.  In the interest of wanting to continue a relationship with Oswalt as he did with Wagner and tried with others, JDJO just blindly spread a rumor about the Astros organization.  An organization that he has ripped for racist tendencies in the past.  

He wants to write about the players and what makes them tick... he wants to be on their side... whatever that may mean.  And an MLB organization is just fair game to take shots at as if it is a machine to rage against rather than a bunch of humans just like the players.

Ortiz has his agenda laid out pretty well for his career sake... he's just living it out as large as he can make it.  It's amusing and sad all at the same time.

Richard Justice on the other hand is just proving out to be just a tad on the light bulb is dim side.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:
So if the talks were never serious, why did Roy pop off?

Because it's been his Modus Operandi for pretty much the whole season.  Big britches I think it's called.  You'd think a man would settle for a bright yeller bulldozer and be done with it.

Never thought he'd grow a head larger than Barrah Bones after game six of the NLCS.  Did you?

No, especially after what should have been the humbling Game 3 of the WS.  His arrogance is costing him this year, with him challenging batters when he has no reason to, and it costing him the lead the Astros offense had just eked out for him.

Someone mentioned the Bagwell flap with Oswalt two years ago.  Remember when Bagwell said of Oswalt's dot on Barret's back "It just looks bad, that's all I'm saying".  Oswalt was livid that a team leader would call him out in the media instead of talking to him first.  Bagwell went to him and they did talk it out.  Nothing was ever said about it again.

Now you fast forward to this season and Oswalt did the same thing to MoBerg and has continue to talk to the media *before* he talks to the folks he has problems with.  He needs to learn from his own experience and how he felt when Baggy talked about him to the media.

The same consideration should be given to othere Roy Boy.  That includes Tim Purpura, who you've now indirectly took a shot at as speaking from both sides of his mouth.  Ahum, that's bad... m'kay!  All because you believe every word a media hack said to you.  Roy, you're forgetting everything that is important about being a teammate and a baseball is much bigger than the player guy.  That's what you should be.

Ironically, if you read JDJO's entry about Jeff Bagwell, you would get the idea rigth away how it's done to talk to such a reporter.

 Jeff Bagwell's Leadership Void

[Rebel Jew]

Quote:

Quote:
well judging by your reply Noe, chances are that JdJo was being serious.    Unreal.    Not only is his self image off the charts, but it seems as though he is openly rooting for Oswalt to land with the Mets.

His bio on Amazon.com has the following:

Quote:
Jose de Jesus Ortiz has been the national baseball writer and the lead Astros writer for the Houston Chronicle since the 2001 season. He worked in New York from 1998 until 2001, serving as the Newark Star-Ledger?s primary New York Mets beat writer from 1999 until 2001. He began his career at the Long Beach Press-Telegram in California. His story on Flynn Kile, widow of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kile, was honored as Notable Sports Writing of 2003 in the 2004 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. Ortiz has been called "one of the best baseball writers in the country because of his ability to bring the most out of the subjects he interviews," by New York Post media critic Andrew Marchand. He was one of four finalists for the 2004 Reporter of the Year at the Chronicle. Ortiz and his wife and daughter live in Kingwood, Texas.

JDJO's modus operandi is to get close to the person (or subject) and with said friendly, get comfortable approach, he can pry the in-depth information from them.  It's not an uncommon thing in a journalist bag-o-tricks.  The reporters/writers who like to write series or in-depth personality analysis for magazines and/or newspapers all do this.

It explains a lot of what JDJO writes for his readers... more of the feelings of the person/subject matter, even at the expense of researching truth and facts about an actual subject beyond the person.  It's a failing with such writers.  Facts often get in the way of raw emotions that they love to write about.  What makes that person tick, sort of stuff.

i recall something posted here a few weeks ago where jim deshaies was talking between innings of a broadcast about how JDJO approached him and got into what seemed like a casual conversation about some such astros issue.  then JDJO takes out his notepad and starts writing down what JD just said, and JD says something like, "whoah, hold on, what are you doing..."

sounds like a true journalist to me.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
i recall something posted here a few weeks ago where jim deshaies was talking between innings of a broadcast about how JDJO approached him and got into what seemed like a casual conversation about some such astros issue.  then JDJO takes out his notepad and starts writing down what JD just said, and JD says something like, "whoah, hold on, what are you doing..."

sounds like a true journalist to me.

Yeah, apparently it was during an MLB broadcast that was carried on satellite tv.  They didn't cut away to commercials, so you got to hear Jimmy D talk to Brownie or a producer about his encounter with JDJO prior to the game.

It was pretty much what you said.  JimmyD was stunned that what he thought was a casual conversation that they were having was now something JDJO was going to jot down and use for a notebook entry.  "Whoa, whoa, whoa... all this was off the record Jose... geese, louise!" was about what I remember what was reported what JimmyD said.

[Craig]

Quote:
i recall something posted here a few weeks ago where jim deshaies was talking between innings of a broadcast about how JDJO approached him and got into what seemed like a casual conversation about some such astros issue.  then JDJO takes out his notepad and starts writing down what JD just said, and JD says something like, "whoah, hold on, what are you doing..."

That was from me. I heard it during a commercial break, because the dinky Little Rock station that carries Astros games often stays with the live feed instead of a commercial. The guys in the booth have interesting conversations when they think no one is listening. I missed the first part of it, but J.D. said something like, "Ortiz was going around asking everyone, and he asked me too. He started writing it down, and I said 'Whoa, don't quote me on that!'"

Like I said, I missed part of it, but J.D. was talking to someone else in the booth and the tone was like 'I couldn't believe he actually thought anyone would answer his stupid questions, much less be quoted.' The whole thing had a feeling of "Can you believe what that dipshit Ortiz is doing now?"

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:
So if the talks were never serious, why did Roy pop off?

Because it's been his Modus Operandi for pretty much the whole season.  Big britches I think it's called.  You'd think a man would settle for a bright yeller bulldozer and be done with it.

Never thought he'd grow a head larger than Barrah Bones after game six of the NLCS.  Did you?

No, especially after what should have been the humbling Game 3 of the WS.  His arrogance is costing him this year, with him challenging batters when he has no reason to, and it costing him the lead the Astros offense had just eked out for him.

Someone mentioned the Bagwell flap with Oswalt two years ago.  Remember when Bagwell said of Oswalt's dot on Barret's back "It just looks bad, that's all I'm saying".  Oswalt was livid that a team leader would call him out in the media instead of talking to him first.  Bagwell went to him and they did talk it out.  Nothing was ever said about it again.

Now you fast forward to this season and Oswalt did the same thing to MoBerg and has continue to talk to the media *before* he talks to the folks he has problems with.  He needs to learn from his own experience and how he felt when Baggy talked about him to the media.

The same consideration should be given to othere Roy Boy.  That includes Tim Purpura, who you've now indirectly took a shot at as speaking from both sides of his mouth.  Ahum, that's bad... m'kay!  All because you believe every word a media hack said to you.  Roy, you're forgetting everything that is important about being a teammate and a baseball is much bigger than the player guy.  That's what you should be.

Ironically, if you read JDJO's entry about Jeff Bagwell, you would get the idea rigth away how it's done to talk to such a reporter.

 Jeff Bagwell's Leadership Void  

Starting to sound like a broken record but I share your opinion.  Not only is Bagwell a leader, he's been loyal to Houston.  If anyone can explain to another player that there's a line, you can say some things, just know when to keep your yap shut.  

Berkman made some comments last season about Houston not being the only team in Texas blah blah blah.  He got his deal.  This will pass if Oswalt is willing to set aside his "hurt in the ass" attitude.  Houston wants him.  It's really a matter if he's going to accept Houston's money.  The man must have amnesia because the owner, after a pre-game discussion, gave him a friggin' Bulldozer for winning 1 game.  1 fucking game.  If that's not an indication that the owner knows how special a player you are, you are an idiot in the mold of Billy "Gas Can" Wagner.  And quit bitching about the offense.  There are going to be games when he stinks and will need the offense to pick him up.  

That said, I can easily chalk this up as a fiercely competitive guy growing incredibly frustrated with how this season is going.  Lord knows I have to take a break from the game and all I'm doing is sitting on my ass at home.

[AllyDStros]

He was reminding a bit of Wags there.

Ugh.

Oh, and I couldn't agree more about the offense occasionally having to pick him up. In fact, they did it the start before last in case he's *ALREADY* forgotten.

He gave up 4 runs, so the bats picked him up to the tune of 5 runs of support while he was still in and 8 total.

BTW, strange Sparky fact that I just noticed while looking at his game-by-game stat log for this season. He's allowed a HR in 8 of 10 games he's pitched in since returning from the DL in mid-June.

[juliogotay]

somebody needs to explain to Roy that his name probably wouldn't have come up in talks if he wasn't out there publicly talking about free agency. That leaves the club in a position where they must explore all options. This works both ways Roy.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

I missed this last night but something smells funny about this statement:

"We have good sources outside of Houston who know a lot that went on," Oswalt said. "People don't think that I know."

Pressed for further explanation, Oswalt declined to elaborate.

I just hope his source isn't JDJO.  If so, someone get me his ph# because Roy's in need of some help in picking his friends.  

Seriously, I'd wager his "source" is none other than Billy Wagner.  Anyone else know someone flapping their gums like anyone cares?  Hell, he even so much as said Omar Minaya asked him his opinion of Oswalt and Lidge.  Yeah, I'm sure the GM checks in with him to see if it's a good idea to go after 2 pitchers like Oswalt and Lidge.  Maybe that's what Gas Can meant all those years where he insisted McLane didn't do what he needed to do to win.  All this time, I thought he meant it was adding players and he actually meant checking with him on who they SHOULD acquire.  Jeez, it sounds so simple now.

edited to add:
Oh yeah, now I'm absolutely certain it was Wagner.   NYPost article.
According to this article it was a done deal that Angelos pulled back.  Does this put the Angelos/Orioles on the list, along with Boras, of teams/people Houston will never deal with again?

[Lefty]

Quote:
I personally almost felt his throwing Mo under the bus for his hitting

I remember it, but can't seem to find that article.  Any help (prav?)?

[MikeyBoy]

Quote:

Quote:
I personally almost felt his throwing Mo under the bus for his hitting

I remember it, but can't seem to find that article.  Any help (prav?)?

I'm not prav, but I think this is the article you're referring to...

 The Link

 "I think sometimes they try too hard," Oswalt said of the hitters. "We had a lot of guys on third tonight. Instead of swinging at the ball like nobody's on, they're trying to feel for the ball, trying to do something with it, instead of just swinging."

[ybbodeus]

This thing's starting to look like it could escalate out of control.  Or is this just business as usual in the bigs...the kind of stuff that new york papers cook up every day but that we somehow miss down here...and the Houston papers are starting to catch on?