Thursday, July 16. 2009
Astros 3
Dojers 0
W: Wandy (9-6) | L: Wolf (4-4) | S: Valverde (9)
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SnS Friday Communiqué
Look at the guy sitting to your right and left — and get used to ’em
So says Jerome Solomon says Ed Wade says (or something like that) to the Astros before the last game prior to the All-Star break.
“If we’re going to get to the finish line first, it’s going to be with the guys in the room. I don’t think we’re short. I think the talent is here. It’s the little things we have to tighten up on and we have the guys that can do it. It’s not like we’re asking a bunch of inexperienced guys to go out and figure it out. We have veterans who have done it before.”
Other Wade tidbits from Solomon’s article:
“I like the guys we have here. There may be guys out there this year at the trade deadline that might make us better, and we won’t pass up a bargain, but not all teams that make blockbuster deals are going to be playing in October. That’s where you get back to hope. We hope we avoid the major injury to key players, and we hope we do what we’re capable of, and we hope we get to the finish line. That’s what I told the team in the meeting. ‘It’s on this group to get it done. And this group can get it done.’”
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Reflections on 10 years in the Majors
McTaggart with some more on Lance Berkman’s decade with the Astros.
Berkman on being called up from Triple-A New Orleans:
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ I had to spend the night in Arizona and fly the next morning. I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep at all. My wife [Cara] was out there with me and we flew the next day, and I showed up at the Dome at 1 o’clock, which might be the earliest I’ve ever gotten to the field.”
“It was just surreal. I was almost lightheaded from the lack of sleep, and the excitement made me almost giddy. I didn’t think I was going to play because I had just flown in, but I’m sitting there on the bench and sure enough, [manager Larry] Dierker said I was going to pinch-hit for the pitcher.”
On his first MLB at bat:
“The first pitch I saw from Justin Thompson, who was this left-hander with a great big ol’ curveball, looked like it started way up high and ended up low on the inside corner for a strike. I just remember thinking, ‘If that’s a Major League curveball, I’m going to have trouble because that’s nasty.’ I ended up hitting a sharp grounder, but I hit into a double play and killed the rally.”
On accomplishments and on winning:
“I can say I’m happy to have accomplished the things I have so far, and hopefully I have a few more good years left in me. When you’re playing you’re not saying, ‘Oh, I need to do this and end up here and I’d like to hit this many home runs or drive in his many so I can be ranked first or second or whatever it is.’ For me, when you get to a certain point in your career, the numbers individually are nice, but you’d just like to win. It’s a lot more fun when you win. We still haven’t won a championship here and I would love to do that. I’m more proud to have been part of the first World Series in the history of the organization [2005] than any of the individual accomplishments. Not that I don’t enjoy those individual accomplishments because there’s a big individual component to the game of baseball. It’s neat to be recognized and look at your name and see that in most offensive categories it’s me, Bagwell and Biggio. That’s pretty cool. But as far as doing stuff to cement my legacy, I’m not thinking about that.”
On whether he’ll continue to play after his current contract expires (2010, with a club option for 2011):
“A lot of it has to do with if I’m healthy and feeling good and still productive. I’m 33 this year, and you could play until you’re 40, but I don’t know I will. At some point it’s going to be a year at the time, and we’ll take it form there.”
On the possibility of getting into the Hall of Fame:
“I’m afraid I’m probably going to be a borderline guy if I stay healthy and continue to be somewhat productive, as far as compared to what I’ve been in the past. If you project another five or six years, my numbers will get to the point where people will be like ‘Hmm, you know, possibly.’ Then you just have to hope enough of the sports writers like you.”
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The walking wounded
Berkman left Thursday night’s game with a mild left calf strain, and is day-to-day. Per Berkman:
“It’s been bothering me for a while, to be honest with you. It’s been manageable, but that’s as hard as I’ve run in a while. It doesn’t feel great, but hopefully in the morning it will feel better.”
As for Berkman’s primary back-up, Erstad says he’s almost there.
“I’m very close. It won’t be very long if it will be. I’m fully ready to go. It’s under control right now unless something crazy happens.”
And in related news, Erstad wasn’t phased from banging his head into the foul territory warning track on Thursday night.
“There’s nothing to hurt in there.”
After being unavailable for the last three games prior to the All Star break due to back spasms, Hawkins says he’s still feeling some discomfort in his back but that he “feels better”.
Brocail will throw a simulated game today, and (hopefully) will be close to setting a schedule to rehab in the minors. Per Brocail on rehab assignments:
“I need to get in the situation of breaking to first [base]. You can’t really get that until you get in the game. As much as I hate rehab assignments, this one is going to be a necessity only because if I over-stride or if I move too quickly, I’ve got to know what it’s going to do.”
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It’s now or never
Sean McAdam, a ‘special’ to FOXsports.com, says time is of the essence for the Astros – “it’s win (soon), or else risk falling out of the race altogether.”
Somebody else — Cubs? Brewers? — was supposed to run off ahead in the National League Central. Instead, it’s the most crowded of the game’s divisions, with five teams within five games of first place. The Astros used second-half rebounds to make the playoffs in 2004 and 2005 and made late-season runs at the postseason in 2006 and 2008. Do they have the right stuff to make a fifth second-half surge in six seasons? *** Two series with St. Louis and one each against Milwaukee and the Cubs — all before Aug. 9. — will determine whether the Astros have yet another late-season run left in them.
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Manny-b-Pujols?
Cooper will approach pitching to Manny over this series like he’d approach pitching to Pujols.
“If there’s a chance to walk him when he has a chance to hurt you, you have to walk. The only way to do that is you have to get the guys out in front of him. Will he change the strategy? Not a whole lot. But you can’t let him beat you.”
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What they said (a look at what the Astros fan blogs are writing about)
Remembering the past
Chronicle fan blogger Chip Bailey has some historical reminders to share with Astros fans.
Since 1997 — that would be 12 consecutive seasons — the Astros have turned in a better winning percentage after the All Star break than in the first half, including a winning record in the second half in 11 of those 12 seasons. Using the ’97 season as a gauge again, Houston has been at .500 or better at the midway point seven times, qualifying for the playoffs six of those seven seasons.
* * *
BP blows
As if Astros fans need another reason to hate Baseball Prospectus? AstrosAndy at the Crawfish Boxes go behind the ‘pay wall’ to give Astros fans a reminder that BP doesn’t know jack about the Astros (and seemingly doesn’t care). The BP quote over at the Crawfish Boxes is a doozey, but to summarize briefly:
Ed Wade blah, blah, blah, kamikaze run to nowhere, blah, blah, blah, equally feeble race for relevance. Blah, blah, blah, second rate relievers, blah, blah, blah, third rate bullpen. Blah, blah, blah.
* * *
It’s (not just about) the economy, stupid
Astros County takes an in-depth comparative look at 2008 and 2009 Astros attendance figures.
Happy 10th Fat Elvis (and other stuff)
Berkman celebrates 10 years in the majors
David Barron at the Chronicle thinks it has been a dandy decade for Lance Berkman.
Lance Berkman made his major league debut on July 16, 1999 in the Astrodome against the Detroit Tigers.
“[10 years is] a significant milestone,” [said Berkman]. “When you start as a young player, what you hear about is getting your 10 years. It’s sort of a special thing. I don’t know how many people get to it, but more guys who start out don’t get there than those who do.”
Puma gets some love for being in the top 20 among active players in six primary offensive categories (and in the top five Astros in every significant offensive category).
“There aren’t many better in this generation,” said Red Sox consultant and baseball historian Bill James.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that he belongs with (Craig) Biggio and (Jeff) Bagwell,” said his college coach, Rice’s Wayne Graham.
“He’s trending Hall of Fame,” said … Jim Deshaies. “It depends on how long he plays. He’s real close to being on the (Astros) mountain now, and when he’s done, he will be.”
It’s the attitude that wins ‘em over.
“The likability factor is substantial,” Deshaies said. “To say that people view him as John Kruk would be too much of a stretch, but he’s not an Adonis-type guy. If Lance can do it … he looks more like we do. “In reality, he’s in great shape and is strong. There’s just something about his look — the whole Fat Elvis thing. That, and his sense of humor.”
Said Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt, a teammate for nine years: “It’s his carefree attitude more than anything. He can be going not too good and still have an upbeat attitude. The biggest thing is that he can criticize himself before anybody else does, so people don’t know where to go once he does it to himself.”
Life under Wayne Graham.
“He makes you tough mentally,” Berkman said. “This is a tough sport in a lot of ways, particularly as you move along, and nobody has helped me more with the mental side of the game.
“He says I chewed him out, and I call it constructive criticism,” Graham said. “I did provide him with a lot of after-dinner material. He should be grateful. But he remembers some things I don’t remember. I’m not so sure he’s not inventing some of those stories.”
Berkman on the road to Damascus’
“I had a buddy [Kara’s brother] who was a strong Christian and lived his life in accordance with that. This guy was different, and the more that I was around him, I realized that I was a guy who claimed to be a Christian, yet my life didn’t look any different from someone who didn’t claim Christianity. That was my Damascus road experience, where God said either you’re in or you’re out. If you’re going to claim to be a Christian, you’d better demonstrate that. Otherwise, don’t even bother.”
And then there is the story of the nickname, but you already know that one…
* * *
Richard Oliver at the San Antonio Express thinks Berkman is still scary (10 years later).
Berkman admits that over the years, he’s battled himself nearly as much as two-seam fastballs.
After the intrinsic urgency of high school and college baseball, “You sign a professional contract, you go to the Florida State League, and there’s 10 people in the stands, it’s a thousand degrees, and there’s no intensity,” he said. “It’s just a completely different environment. So you have to learn how to manufacture concentration.
“Now that I’ve played 10 years, for me it’s a constant battle to keep my focus, keep my concentration at a level that it needs to be.”
That’s where a little terror comes in handy.
“That,” Berkman said, “is when it’s fun.”
* * *
The San Antonio Express also gives a brief comparison of other 1997 draftees that have made it to the majors.
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Midterm report
Brian McTaggart writes about the Astros season thusfar.
You have probably heard this one before. The Astros get off to a slow start in April and May before clawing their way back to respectability at the All-Star break and putting themselves in position to contend in the National League Central division. *** But if Houston is going to have another second-half surge, it’s going to need the starting pitching to hold up. *** The offense, meanwhile, needs to find more consistency.
All things considered, Ed Wade thinks the Astros are in a pretty good position.
“We’ve been inconsistent offensively, and we’ve left a lot of opportunities out there. But that being said, the pleasant part of things is the starting rotation has stepped up and done exactly what we had hoped and expected it was capable of doing, especially at the top, with Roy and Wandy.”
McTaggart’s mid-season awards: Berkman for the ‘club MVP’; Wandy for ‘staff ace’; the starting rotation for the ‘greatest strength’; the offense for the ‘biggest problem’; and Michael Bourn for the ‘biggest surprise’.
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Miscellaneous Astros (related) Links
Jerome Solomon asks you “how many games will the Astros win?”
Since 1997, the Astros have been .500 or better at the All-Star break seven times. Guess what. They made the playoffs in six of those seasons.
There’s an Astros fan in Bristol? Really? Evidently so, and Astros County has a Q&A with him.
Astros County: How hard is it to be an Astros fan in Bristol?
Robert Flores: I wouldn’t say it’s hard but it can be lonely. There aren’t alot of us up here. This is mostly Red Sox/Yankee country.
The Sporting News puts the fantasy baseball spin on Brian Moehler.
Frank Fitzpatrick at San Luis Obispo Tribune says that it was ‘control problems’ that KO’d Roger Clemens.
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Power rankings
Larry Dobrow, special to CBS sports, ranks the Astros at 20 (Cardinals at 12, Cubs at 16 and Brewers 17). He also presents a season-to-date recap in ‘precisely eight words’ and gives his predictions on the second half.
“[Recap] You can’t understand them so don’t reprimand them.” … MVP: Lance Berkman. His slow start was just that: a slow start, as opposed to the first hints of imminent decline … LVP: There’s no single worst offender — which is pretty astonishing, given that the Astros use Kaz Matsui, Brian Moehler and Russ Ortiz on a regular basis … BCS: GM Ed Wade convinces Drayton McLane that most of the players aren’t likely to replicate their darn-OK first-half performances, then trades away contract-year guys like Jose Valverde to restock the farm … WCS: Drayton McLane goes for it, like he always does, and the farm system continues to exist in a state of suspended disrepair … Prediction: Beats the crap out of me. I thought they’d win 66 games this year, tops, with that pitching staff. I have no credibility in all matters Astro.
Aram Tolegiam at Fox Sports has the Astros at 18 (Cards at 10, Brewers at 12 and Cubs at 16).
Not sure even Astros fans want Drayton McLane to make a run for it this year. But then again, Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman should only get hotter.
ESPN has the Astros at 19 (Cards at 8, Brewers at 11 and Cubs at 17).
By going 8-4 in their past 12 games, the Astros finished at .500 at the All-Star break.
Ryan Fagan at The Sporting News has the Astros at 19 (Cards at 8, Brewers at 15 and Cubs at 18).
Houston is in contention and has been the king of the second half in recent years. Don’t count out the Astros.
Anthony Stalter at The Scores Report has the Astros at 19, and labels them ‘pretenders’ (Cardinals at 10, Brewers at 12 and Cubs at 17).
The Houston faithful has to at least be somewhat pleased that the ‘Stros are making an effort to stay competitive this season. But this isn’t a very good offensive club and while the pitching has actually been pretty decent, it’s not good enough to carry Houston in the second half. At this point, I think the Cubs have more overall firepower to turn things around than the Astros do, but maybe Houston will make things interesting for a little while in the NL Central.
Jack Davis at Scouting the Sports has the Astros at 15 (Cardinals at 10, Brewers at 12 and Cubs at 16).
-Somehow, the Houston Astros remain in the race for the division crown. Maybe it’s the lack of a dominant first place team, but we gotta give it to the Astros. Miguel Tejada is having a great year, batting .329, and Jose Valverde is finally healthy. Wandy Rodriguez has been stellar, only surrendering a 2.96 ERA. I don’t expect the Astros to finish the season over .500, but after a few solid finishes, we are in for a treat.
The Bleacher Report ranks the Astros at 16 (Cubs at 11, Cardinals at 13 and Brewers at 15)
At this point, the Astros are making a decent Wild Card push, but the offense will not carry them past the Brewers, Cardinals, and Cubs.
Then again, everyone knows that power rankings are bullshit.
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The definition of mediocrity
Collin Atherton at the Study of Sports says that the Astros are the definition of mediocrity.
Are the Astros a good team or a bad team?
[T]his is not a good team, at least thus far. But you can’t say it’s a bad team either, not when they sit at the .500 mark and in a dead heat with the preseason favorite Chicago Cubs.
At the halfway point, have the Astros been a success or a failure?
[I]f you’re grading the Astros’ first 88 games of the schedule based solely on preseason expectations, then it’s clearly been a success. The experts in Vegas set the over/under for Houston wins at 73 ½ prior to the season. Right now, the Astros are on pace to win 81 games and have placed themselves in prime position to at least contend in the NL Central during the second half of the season.
What are the Astros’ keys to contention?
And if the Astros do wish to contend in the second half, it’ll be these next four weeks or so in particular that will have the biggest impact on their postseason chances. *** [I]f Houston can come out of the break playing high-caliber ball for two or three weeks, then that will be a great indicator that they can really be in this thing for the entire duration.
Are the pieces there to make a run?
[A]fter analyzing his lineup, Ed Wade should not be thinking that they have the pieces to put together a productive offense in the second half. If he is under that assumption, then he’s either in denial or very dumb. I’m guessing Ed Wade is not dumb. But he might be in denial if he believes this club as currently comprised has the look of a championship team.
Do the Astros stand a chance?
They’re at .500 now, and that’s probably an overachievement, taking all things into consideration. But hey, the Astros are only 3.5 games out! And who in the National League Central right now looks to be unbeatable? It’s the worst division in baseball, and in that, the Astros have a chance.
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Win Susan
Not an Astros, or even a baseball related story, but a worthwhile read nevertheless.
DOWN BY THE WATER
SEASONS IN HELL Vol. I, No. 5
Astros (44-44) @ Dodgers (56-32)
July 16-19, 2009
•Chavez Ravine, El Lay
•”City In The Smog” (On a clear day, UCLA)
Little fish, big fish
Swimming in the water
Come back here, man
Bring me a Dodger
VENTILATOR BLUES. The other day I was driving back from lunch, and I decided to take a short cut I knew down some side streets to get back to work. Soon I was sailing along, going over some figures in my head, humming a Marilyn Manson song to myself, driving through these little picturesque Old Beaumont neighborhoods, and thinking about how clever I was. . . I was just at peace with myself, really.
Then I came around the last turn before an intersection with a major thoroughfare, and I had to slam on the brakes. Parked along this side street, along the side of a strip shopping center, was a big McLane Trucking semi-tractor/trailer, with the back door part way up and a ramp down to the street. Two guys with hand trucks were unloading something going somewhere, just taking their time. There was traffic coming the other way, so I had to sit, because the street wasn’t wide enough for me and the oncoming traffic to pass next to this big truck.
As I sat there and waited, I was calm at first. I had just got finished singing the last verse of “The Dope Show” to myself, and realized with satisfaction I remembered all the words this time. But as the minutes crept by and the oncoming traffic kept on coming, I realized all the time I’d saved by taking the shortcut was being eroded away. I was being forced to give up an advantage I had secured for myself, goddammit it, through no fault of my own, and as I sat there staring at “McLane” in large bold letters on the ¾-rolled up back door of the this trailer, something in my mind snapped.
It didn’t help that Drayton McLane’s pro baseball team had just subjected us to another desultory series, playing half-assed baseball at home against the Nationals, the worst team in the major leagues; all this with a chance to get over .500 and make an emphatic statement about their second-half chances just before the All Star break, a chance at a psychological boost for the team and its fans heading into the brief mid-season respite.
But, no, I thought, how could that ever happen? Not with an owner who had himself a Nieman-Marcus team and then opted to go cut rate, bringing in a smiling, vapid Wal-Mart manager fond of motivational cheers and cheesy bromides; cheap knock-off Wal-Mart players who somewhat resemble the ones in the tonier stores, but cost a lot less; a cut-rate front office – hell, he even chintzed on the radio announcers, replacing quality with a couple of generic markdowns I still haven’t learned the names of after 4 or 5 seasons of them, nor do I care to. That goddamn McLane, I thought, sitting there in the heat, looking at the back of his goddamn truck – that motherfucker is personally out to cheapen the quality of my life, with everything he does. Well, not this time. I grabbed the gun from under the seat, and reached over to open the door of my truck.
I don’t know what stopped me from doing what I had every intention of doing that day – mainly, standing there in the street with my pistol, methodically blowing out every tire on that tractor and trailer that was sitting there with Drayton McLane’s name all over it, causing me so much annoyance. I’ll teach these motherfuckers. . . but then, I wasn’t really mad at the poor truck driver and his helper. They were proles like me, trying to make a living working for some rich bastard who picks his teeth with money while casually averring that us have-nots just need to learn to think like champions. Motherfucker. Then he foists a Wal-Mart baseball team on us and tries to act like it’s the real thing. It was Drayton McLane I was really shooting at, those 9mm cartridges ripping through the recap tires (of course) were really tearing through him and his cheap-ass, metaphysically corrupt philosophy of how to do things, and his fucked up ideas about just how gullible we all are. “Fuck you, McLane,” I was screaming, as I reached for another clip. People were gathering around now – at a distance – to watch. “This is the last fucking time you. . .”
But I didn’t do it. The mental image I had of me doing it, standing there in the street like fucking Dirty Harry, killing this truck, caused me to start laughing at myself. I was amused too by the idea of the poor driver, huddled down behind a nearby dumpster on his cell phone, calling 911: “Yes, ma’am, he’s wearing tan Dockers, and a casual short-sleeve button-up shirt, eggshell color maybe, kind of looks like a Hickey Freeman. . . yes, ma’am, he’s got a 9mm Beretta, yes ma’am. . . yes, every single tire on my rig. . . he keeps saying something about ‘another effing great idea by Pam & company’, I don’t know who ‘Pam’ is, no ma’am. . . ” Drayton McLane (and his truck) are just lucky I am a mentally healthy individual, more or less, and that I normally end up laughing at myself when I get really torqued about something stupid, instead of starting to shoot. But that is still no excuse for what he is running out there onto the field every night, at MMPUS and elsewhere, trying to make us all believe it is a real, contending baseball team. Um, no, it is not. McLane is the old man greeter at the door, Cooper is the department manager who smiles at your complaint but doesn’t really give a fuck, and this is really a fucking Wal-Mart team, put together in some sweat shop for 20 cents an hour overseas. American Cheaply made, should win the pennant break in a few months time.
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Thursday (16th)
9:10 p.m. CDT, FOX-Houston
Friday (17th)
9:10 p.m. CDT, FOX-Houston
Saturday (18th)
9:10 p.m. CDT, FOX-Houston
Sunday (19th)
3:10 p.m. CDT, FOX-Houston
**********
We live on the edge of a body of water
Warmed by the blood of the cold-hearted slaughter of the otter
Wonder how she feels? Mother seal?
It’s no wonder the Pacific Ocean is blue
PACIFIC OCEAN BLUES. I used to despise the Dodgers with as much venom as I do now the FTCubs. Well, almost as much. Of all the old NL West opponents, I think I hated the Dodgers the most, more than Atlanta, more than the Giants, even. Part of the reason was that the Dodgers were consistently good, and often took part in undoing the Astros hopes. The rivalry was probably at its peak in 1980 and 1981, when the Dodgers, fresh off of 2-3 NL West pennants and a couple of memorable World Series appearances, had the division wrested from them by the upstart Astros; in 1980 in a one game playoff in LA; and almost again in the screwed up, bifurcated 1981 season, when – the Dodgers won the “first half” of the season by virtue of being ½ game up on the division when the players were suddenly locked out the second week in June. The Astros won the “second-half” of the season (the Reds actually had the best record in the division overall and were the ones who really got fucked over royally in the deal. . . too bad, so sad, Dickities) only to lose to LA in an extra round of playoffs necessitated by MLB turning the post-season into a tee-ball league type round-robin tournament. Everybody gets to play, everybody gets a ribbon. Bud Selig did not have a hand in that particular mess – he was too busy selling used cars in Wisconsin at the time – but he should have.
Up above the sunny skies in South California
There’s a wounded rocket flying high, heading homeward
It came from a hollow, under a hill
And soon there’ll be nobody left to kill
In California
I also hated most of the Dodgers players, individually and collectively. I had a grudging respect for Reggie Smith and, to an extent, Davey Lopes; but, ooooh, the rest of ‘em. . . I hated Steve Garvey with a passion. And Mickey Hatcher and Rick Monday and Steve Yeager and Mike Scioscia (who I have since come to respect.) I couldn’t stand Don Sutton or whiny-ass Tommy John or the Aggie lefty they had for a few years, I can’t remember his name at the moment. And let’s not forget Dusty Baker, or the drunk-ass “Five O’clock” Bob Welch, with his drunk-ass buddy Rick Sutcliffe. Or Bill Russell. I especially hated Bill Russell, though I cannot remember exactly why. I think he started a fight one time or something. And all the rest who came and went. And then there was Tommy Lasorda. There aren’t words to describe my withering distaste for that fat-ass, self-promoting sack of crap.
On through the 1980s, the Nolan Ryan no-hitter, the 22-inning game, etc., the Astros-Dodgers rivalry festered and flowered. The Dodgers seemed to usually get the best of the Astros, which only made me hate them more.
Then in 1994 the NL reshuffled the divisions and, suddenly, half the old rivalries were gone. Evaporated. Still, it took a long time for my enmity for the Dodgers to subside. But it has by now. It has been over fifteen years since Houston and LA mattered all that much to each other, and the old feeling just isn’t there anymore. Most of the old adversaries are long gone. This recent batch of Dodgers is quick and successful and – dare I say it? – have become a team I grudgingly admire. They play something like the old Dodgers did, built on good pitching; with an offense based as much on speed and opportunism as raw power. They have been quite successful of late, pillaging in the Western provinces for a couple of years now; and they have even earned a bit of affection from me for completely fucking over and unceremoniously dispatching the HurriCubs in last season’s NLDS. I even like Charlie Steiner now, who has emerged as the voice of the Dodgers for many, since Vin Scully has basically eased into semi-retirement. To my surprise, Steiner is quite listenable. He just did not do anything for me back in his New York/ESPN days; but he has made a smooth transition to the West Coast. I hear him a fair amount on XM, and he is mostly pleasant to listen to, is informative, and calls a good game.
Last night, Captain Black went dancing at the Whiskey A-Go-Go
When a well-known groupie knocked him back, busted his ego
Stoned out of his head, he crawled off to bed
The following morning he went to the pad
The missile was standing, pointing to the skies of
California
However, the Dodgers being the Dodgers, they insured my nascent admiration for them would have a wet blanket thrown over it, by going out and acquiring Manny Ramirez mid-season last year from Boston, where he had entirely worn out his welcome. In baseball terms, it was a brilliant move. Manny had a fabulous last half of the season out in the El Lay sun, and was a large factor in the Dodgers success. In a way, Manny is kind of a modern day version of Richie “Dick” Allen, the extremely talented mercenary and sometime malcontent the Dodgers imported for a year in the early 1970s and dropped into their mostly Punch-and-Judy batting order in hopes of getting over the hump. It didn’t quite work for them then, but you’d have to say it has this time around.
Of course, Manny hasn’t had much at all to do with this season’s success, sitting out most of it on suspension for using performance enhancing drugs, some kind of Viagra or something, I never did quite get it straight. But he is back now, and I cannot think of any negative scenario his return means for the Dodgers. They’ve already been through the traveling freak show atmosphere that comes with employing Manny after bringing him in last year, and it did not hurt them any. Fears he would somehow negatively affect the Dodgers team chemistry did not materialize, either. If Manny gets back in and starts hitting anything like he did last season, wow. The Dodgers, currently 7 games up on the rest of their division, might finish 15 games ahead.
But before I get to effusive about LA, I would do well to remember that this team essentially sprung from the loins of the hated old 1970s-1980s Dodgers, after all. The fucking Steve Garvey Dodgers. The Kirk-fucking-Gibson Dodgers. The fucking Tommy fucking Fat-Ass fucking linguini-in-clam-sauce Lasorda fucking Dodgers. Those motherfuckers, the ones I used to hate so much. So, you know what? Fuck the Dodgers, these Dodgers. Fuck ‘em all (save for our old friend Brad Ausmus, of course; unless. . . my friend BudGirl might, well. . . tell you what, I’d better let her make any further comments on that aspect.)
The red balloon was flying high, watching the weather
Captain Black was trying hard to get it together
Immediate names came into his brain
A rocket from China, a Russian plane
He pushed the wrong button and soon there’ll be no place called
California
**********
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Thursday July 16 (9:10 p.m.)
Houston – Wandy Rodriguez (8-6, 2.96)
•”He’s so high, you can’t get over him
He’s so low, you can’t get under him
He’s so wide, you can’t get around him
Help me, somebody. . . ”
Los Angeles – Randy Wolf (4-3, 3.45)
•Wolf has been healthy in 2009 so far – this will be his twentieth start of the season, which leads the NL. He’s really a 6-inning pitcher these days, with Joe Torre tightly managing his pitch counts bringing in his relievers early and often. This results in a hell of a lot of no decisions, but in a very pedestrian sense, Wolf gets his job done – he keeps his team in games. The Dodgers are 12-7 when he starts.
Friday July 17 (9:10 p.m.)
Houston – Roy Oswalt (5-4, 3.85)
•”You thought you knew where I was and when
Looks like I keep fooling you again
You thought that you’d got me all staked out
Baby, looks like I’ve been breaking out
I’m a dark horse, running on a dark race course. . . ”
Los Angeles – Chad Billingsley (9-4, 3.38)
•Billingsley is 24 years old, and in his 4th MLB season already. He is tied with Wolf for the lead league in starts. A strikeout pitcher all the way; his K/IP ratio is down slightly from last season, but that is quibbling. He hasn’t had a win since mid-June, four of his last five starts were no decisions.
Saturday July 18 (9:10 p.m.)
Houston – Mike Hampton (5-6, 4.52)
•”The student body’s got a bad reputation
What they all need is adult education
Back to school it’s a bad situation
But what you want is an adult education. . . ”
Los Angeles – Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 3.16)
•Kershaw is 21 years old, a stylish lefthander in his second major league season. Out of Dallas, he is right behind Wolf and Billingsley in the games started category. He has won his last four decisions (in six games.)
Sunday July 19 (3:10 p.m.)
Houston – Russ Ortiz (3-4, 4.44)
•”Who could ever be so cruel?
Blame the devil for the things you do
It’s such a selfish way to lose. . .
But I know it’s nobody’s fault, nobody’s fault
But my own.”
Los Angeles – Hiroki Kuroda (3-5, 4.67)
•”My mama borned me in a ghetto
There was no mattress for my head
But, no, she couldn’t call me ‘Jesus’
I wasn’t white enough, she said
And then she named me ‘Kung Fu’
Don’t have to explain it, no, Kung Fu. . . ” *
* – For anyone who missed him, I pity you. Curtis Mayfield was a rock ‘n’ roll genius.
**********
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE. I am writing this series preview from the sunny climes of the beach, specifically from Caplen, on the Bolivar Peninsula.
I’ve written series previews down here once or twice before, and at least one was for a Dodgers series, too, I believe. Anyway, as I am sure I related somewhere previously, it is a tradition in my family to pack up the household and move to the beach for 2-3 weeks in the middle of the summer, to escape the heat back in town, literally and figuratively. This time is a little bit different than any others, though. This is our first significant time down on the peninsula since Ike came through.
The beach is so weird to me now. The landscape has literally been transformed. The Bolivar Peninsula is really just a big sand bar; big enough that your normal everyday weather doesn’t affect it all that much. What Ike did was move the whole fucking peninsula around. It eroded some beaches and built up others. Tons and tons of sand washed up onto the land and settled. One of the first things you notice is there is very little green anywhere. All the open marshland as well as the carefully cultivated lawns in the subdivisions are now covered with sand. The sand dunes that used to run from High Island all the way down nearly to Point Bolivar are entirely gone. You can see the gulf from anywhere on the peninsula now, which I actually kind of like. By the same token, I was looking out the north-facing windows of the cabin yesterday, one of the relatively few cabins that survived intact, and I realized that the tugboat and barges that appeared to be moving magically across the landscape were actually sailing up the Intracoastal. I’d never been able to see the ship canal from the beach side of the highway before. I’ve been coming down here all my life, and now it is hard to recognize anything. People have told me with all the landmarks washed away, they could not find their own property after the storm. It was just one giant sand pile. They were using old surveys and GPS to find the buried roads and streets. The whole effect of this lack of almost any significant landmark is kind of surreal.
Actually, though, I am amazed at how much has come back down here already, and there are numerous signs that the recovery effort is ongoing. There is heavy equipment everywhere, mostly Galveston County crews rebuilding the beaches. When I saw it a couple of weeks after the storm came through, I did not think Bolivar would ever be habitable again. But it is slowly coming back. Until the next storm comes through, anyway.
A couple of evenings ago me and the beagle were taking a walk down the beach, just before sundown. He was having a great time, sniffing out who knows what and running off in every different direction at once. He chased wading birds, and dug up a pair of bikini bottoms and brought them to me (I have no idea.) He is a pretty dog, all beagle but a mix between the standard breed, and a “lemon” beagle on his mother’s side. He is almost all white, with just a patch here and there of brown and black. He looks like a show dog, but he is not. What he is, is wild as hell. And he can pretty much run free down here (unlike in town), and he was enjoying our walk very much, and I was happy for him.
While the dog was doing his thing, the man was walking along, alternately staring out to sea and at the horizon and the setting sun, and looking ahead at miles and miles of empty beach before us. What a gorgeous scene, I was thinking. I was looking down, too, trying to avoid stepping on anything really sharp. This part of the beach, near Gilchrist, has always had a lot more shell than the rest of the beach down here, I don’t know why. As I looked down at millions of fragments of broken up seashells, it occurred to me that what really defined this picture postcard scene more than anything else, was death. Death loomed everywhere. In the broken shells, on the empty beach. Looking inland at the barren landscape that used to be full of beach houses and people drinking and laughing and barbecuing and shooting off fireworks. All gone. There were dead bodies, too. Most of those were found with everything else that used to be on this peninsula, washed up on the far shore of Trinity Bay, in southern Chambers County. There are many more, I am told, that have yet to be found.
I’d like to be really dramatic and say part of me died in that storm, too; but that would not be accurate. I am sorry for what happened down here, sorry for everyone’s losses, but I find myself strangely unmoved by the complete leveling of a place I spent so many happy hours, from childhood up to last summer. It just doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It is still the beach, after all. Despite all the hell-raising and womanizing and surfing and whatever else I did down here for all those years, the truth is that all that ever really mattered to me was the beach itself, the wide stretch of smooth sand and then the ocean. That part is still here.
My life went where it went, but I always, always had the beach in the back of my mind. I still do. Just the physical act of sitting or walking on the sand and looking out to the gulf is so powerful. I can sit out there for hours and just stare at the horizon, listening to the surf. I took up surf fishing several years ago, not because I am such a fanatic about catching fish, but rather so I would have a cover when I wanted to come down here and just meditate. A guy sitting on the beach for hours staring out to sea with a fishing pole in his hands is one thing; a guy just sitting there all day looks a little weird after awhile.
But just looking was never really good enough for me, either. I was never more than a half-ass surfer, but I really didn’t care. I just liked the feeling of riding on a wave, the accompanying lifestyle, and the fact the pursuit caused me to spend every available moment on the beach, with people as inspired and crazy as I was.
But even more than surfing, my favorite thing of all is to swim in the surf, at night and preferably alone.
**********
INJURIES
Houston – Aaron Boone (heart condition), 60-day DL, 2010 – Thanks to Boone, I went and got my ticker checked. . . “Ticks just fine,” my doctor said, then he told me about his new boat; Doug Brocail (strained left hamstring), 15-day DL, early July maybe – Brocail has missed three entire seasons due to injury in his 18 years, and parts of two others; he has pitched in just 7 games this year.
Los Angeles – Ronald Belasario (RHP) (right elbow), 15-day DL, mid-August – former Magnum, PI and Airwolf producer blew his elbow out in a bar; Jonathan Broxton (RHP) (big toe), day-to-day, will linger all season – Just about anything gets you on the injury list these days; Hong-Chih Kuo (LHP) (left elbow), 15-day DL, return unknown – Whatever; Doug Mientkiewicz (1B) (right shoulder dislocation), return possibly mid-July – Wow, I had entirely forgot this guy; Eric Milton (LHP) (back), 15-day DL, out for the season? – He doesn’t really have a job to come back to, anyway; Will Ohman (LHP) (left shoulder), 15-day DL, return unknown, needs MRI – Deteriorating shoulder not a good sign; Xavier Paul (OF) (staph infection) 15-day DL, return unknown – Staph will kick your ass, no lie; Jason Schmidt (RHP) (right shoulder) 60-day DL, surgery scheduled, return unknown – Out since early 2007, his right arm is basically duct-taped to the shoulder; what a joke.
**********
INTO THE SEA, EVENTUALLY. I picked up the somewhat dangerous habit of swimming in the ocean at night when I was 12 years old. My scout troop was camping out at Gilchrist, not far from Rollover Pass. That was probably the best campout I ever went on. The surf was really rough that weekend, and we body-surfed all day long. Then at night, we sat around the bonfire we’d made from driftwood, and listened to our scoutmaster (who was a pervert, we later found out) tell stories that were either supposed to be funny or scary, I forget which. That got boring pretty quickly, and me and a friend of mine slipped away in the darkness and went down to the water’s edge. I wanted to go swimming, but he was too scared to. So I went by myself.
I have always been a strong swimmer. Not for speed – I never swam competitively – but I could swim all day and never get tired. And I had no fear. That spring, in order to qualify for Second Class scout, I’d participated in a mile swim. They would take all the boys to a spot on the Neches River, above Collier’s Ferry on the Jefferson County side, and we were to swim from there a mile downstream, to a pick up point on the far bank of the river, in Orange County.
A mile sounds like a long way, but actually it was a pretty easy trip. In the springtime the current in the Neches is pretty strong, one can almost float a mile as fast as swim it. In fact, the toughest part of the mile swim was getting across the river to the opposite bank before you passed up the pick up point. That current was strong. . . you’d be in the water and see big cedar logs passing you up, and sometimes a drowned dog, or a water moccasin. . . it is a wonder no kids drowned. I doubt seriously the mile swim is still conducted in this manner.
WE LIVE AS WE DREAM, ALONE. Anyway, that night at the beach I swam out into the surf alone, and it was the most incredible feeling of freedom and loneliness, I’ll never forget it. I was hooked. Since then, I have gone swimming in the ocean almost every chance I got. I like swimming at night especially, because no one knows you are out there. You are on your own. If you get fatigued and start going under, no one is going to save you. You’re fucked. On the other hand, knowing no one is watching over you, being your ‘lifeguard’, is part of the allure. People say, “I’m all alone,” all the time. But when you are out in the water by yourself at night, so far out the lights on the horizon from the beach highway are just tiny dots, you know you really are all alone.
I read a story once about Clint Eastwood. In his early 20’s he was in the military reserves, and one night he and another guy were flying from Alaska, I think, down the Pacific coastline to somewhere in California. About 2 miles offshore in northern California their plane shut down, and they ditched in the surf. The plane sunk quickly, and Eastwood and his buddy realized if they were to live, they’d have to swim 2+ miles at night, through the cold and rough Pacific, to the California shoreline. So that is what they did.
That story is just incredible to me. At that point Eastwood hadn’t even begun acting yet. He had his whole fabulous career and life ahead of him. But I am guessing he probably had his life-defining moment out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that night, when he was barely twenty years old. It had to seem like it was all downhill from there.
I DON”T KNOW IF I’LL MAKE IT HOME TONIGHT. I really got into night time surf-swimming in earnest in my twenties, and have continued up to today. I’ll just disappear for a couple of hours, no one knows. Usually, when I get to the water’s edge, I swim straight out against the surf for 750 to 1000 yards. Depending on the tides, that is past the third sandbar, the water is probably 25-30 feet deep. That is a tiring swim, so once I am out there I float for a little while and rest; then once I’m rested I swim parallel to the shoreline for a mile or so, then head on back in.
And that is it, really. A friend once told me that at dusk and just after is when sharks like to look for dinner. I hadn’t known that, but I will occasionally feel a sand shark ramming into the side of my leg with it’s snout. That is startling, and it scares the hell out of you, which is why they do it, I think. Sometimes I’ll come back in criss-crossed with welts from jellyfish; though I’ll admit that they usually look a lot worse than they really are. Mostly it is just stings from cabbage-heads, which itch more than hurt.
I’ve been asked, Why? Almost immediately I will hear Perry Farrell’s voice in my head. If you ask why, you’ve really asked and answered the question. Why? Because it makes me feel free. Because it makes me feel all alone. In short, why the hell not? I could (theoretically) get swallowed whole out there by the biggest sand shark in recorded history, there one minute, gone the next. Or I could huddle in the safety of my beach cabin, safe from a seemingly unthreatening hurricane that seemed unthreatening right up until the moment the giant dome of water it was pushing ahead of it suddenly showed up on my doorstep, and washed me away like so much flotsam and jetsam; only to wash up days later mangled and tangled up in a bunch of trash and debris on the shoreline of a remote marsh in southern Chambers County, where I might not be found for years and years, if ever.
Given a choice, I’ll take my chances swimming with the sharks.
**********
Astros split the series, 2-2.
California survives earthquake after fire after mudslide after drought, we get wiped out by one wayward, half-ass hurricane. Joe Niekro and Dave Smith are dead, Steve Garvey and Tommy Lasorda live on. I was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas Eve, when the New York Times said, “God is dead, and the war’s begun.”
I’ve got the revolution blues
I see bloody fountains
And ten million dune buggies
Coming down the mountains
I hear that Laurel Canyon
Is full of famous stars
But I hate them worse than lepers
And I’ll kill them in their cars
— “Revolution Blues”, Neil Young
THE WEATHER
It never rains in Southern California (but it pours, man it pours.)
++++++++++
Buddy, ain’t this LA? I’ve traveled such a long way
Buddy, ain’t this LA? I’ve traveled such a long way
And I still don’t know where I am going
But without my baby, I’d better not stay
++++++++++
When you’re out there, in this world alone
There’s gonna be many a night, you’ll miss your happy home
It’s gonna rain down tears, rain down tears
And you’ll need a shelter somewhere
++++++++++
Trip the light fantastic
Dance the swivel hips
Coming to conclusion
Button up your lips
Walking, walking in the rain
**********
Astros misc: Wednesday morning edition
Hunter Pence has a stalker, but it’s not such a bad thing… Footer follows Pence as he Beakers his way through the All Star game festivities in Hunterpalooza (all-access pass, part 1, part 2 and final installment).
More importantly though, Miggy has a private jet.
Doug Brocail is an ornery redass SOB, and is planning to pitch for the Astros again this year. He feels good, but can’t throw strikes for spit. Hopefully he’ll find his groove again when he pitches a simulated game on Friday in Los Angeles.
Zach Levine is road-tripping it to Corpus, and wants to use his press credentials to help you answer your questions about the Hooks.
Fangraphs thinks the Astros have been really, really lucky.
Rumors that Manny Acta could be joining the Astros as bench coach are false. False, as in fabricated.
The Bleacher report tells some of the J.R. Richard story.
Baseball Musings takes a look back to see what went right and what went wrong for the Astros in the first half of the season.
Justice takes a look at the numbers, and determines that the Astros are a lousy baseball team (but notes anything is possible).
The Kennebec Journal catches up with former bus rider Tip Fairchild.
Did you know? Pete Rose’s application for reinstatement “is under review” (still, 12 years after it was originally filed).
Getting a jump on the ’09 Elias Rankings
Getting a jump on the ’09 Elias Rankings
Last year, Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts was apparently able to reverse-engineer the Elias rankings. These rankings are used by Major League Baseball to determine valuations for free agents who, after rejecting arbitration offered to them by their current team, sign a contract with a new team. This year, MLB Trade Rumors (in an exclusive agreement with Bajek) has provided a preview of the 2009 Elias rankings.
The 2009 Elias rankings will be created utilizing players stats from the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Baseball America describes the relevance of the Elias rankings as follows:
Players who rate in the top 20 percent of their position group (catchers; first basemen, outfielders and DHs; second basemen, third basemen and shortstops; starting pitchers; and relief pitchers) are designated as Type A. Players who rank in the 21-40 percent bracket are designated as Type B.
If a Type A or B free agent’s former club offers him arbitration, then it will receive compensation if he signs elsewhere. Type A free agents yield the signing team’s first-round choice and a supplemental first-rounder, while Type Bs return only the sandwich-rounder. Clubs who finished in the bottom half of the major league standings can’t surrender their first-round selection, and compensation picks for failure to sign draftees from the previous year can’t change hands either.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Astros have 12 players whose contracts expire this season. These players are as follows: Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Doug Brocail* (2010 club option), Brian Moehler* (mutual option for 2010), Mike Hampton, Darin Erstad, Ivan Rodriguez, Geoff Blum, Aaron Boone, Jason Michaels and Russ Ortiz.
*(I am unclear on how the club/mutual options work in relation to whether or not the Astros could offer arbitration / receive draft pick compensation, so am including Brocail and Moehler in the event that the are potentially draft pick compensation eligible).
According to the linked MLB Trade Rumors preview (based on statistic for the 2008 season and the 2009 season through July 11th), the Elias rankings for potential Astros free agents would be as follows:
|
Name |
Position Group |
Type |
Score |
Notes |
|
Ivan Rodriguez |
NL Catchers |
B |
65.873 |
Final ‘A’: 74.008; Final ‘B’: 60.714 (3 players from ‘A’, 5 from ‘none’) |
|
Darin Erstad |
NL 1B / OF |
None |
42.25 |
Final ‘B’: 56.07 |
|
Aaron Boone |
NL 1B / OF |
None |
28.33 |
Final ‘B’: 56.07 |
|
Jason Michaels |
NL 1B / OF |
None |
— |
Final ‘B’: 56.07 |
|
Miguel Tejada |
NL 2B / SS / 3B |
A |
80.77 |
Final ‘A’: 72.25 |
|
Geoff Blum |
NL 2B / SS / 3B |
None |
52.2 |
Final ‘B’: 58.16 (5 players from ‘B’) |
|
Brian Moehler |
NL SP |
None |
51.634 |
Final ‘B’: 58.088 (12 players from ‘B’) |
|
Mike Hampton |
NL SP |
None |
44.771 |
Final ‘B’: 58.088 |
|
Russ Ortiz |
NL SP |
None |
33.905 |
Final ‘B’: 58.088 |
|
Jose Valverde |
NL RP |
A |
80.948 |
Final ‘A’: 67.603; Final ‘B’: 56.612 |
|
LaTroy Hawkins |
NL RP |
A |
67.603 |
Final ‘A’: 67.603; Final ‘B’: 56.612 |
|
Doug Brocail |
NL RP |
B |
65.248 |
Final ‘A’: 67.603; Final ‘B’: 56.612 (5 players from ‘A’, 26 from ‘none’) |
While these rankings will change as a result of performance statistics collected through the end of the season, they nevertheless provide a legitimate basis for determining potential valuations of the aforementioned Astros at this seasons end (and are relevant in determining whether or not to offer these players arbitration, as well as valuation of these players in potential trade discussions).
As it stands today, the Astros would have 5 free agents (potentially 7) who could bring back draft pick compensation if offered arbitration:
‘Type A’ free agents: Tejada, Valverde and Hawkins
‘Type B’ free agents: I. Rodriguez and Brocail (also potentially Blum and Moehler)
[Other ‘Type A’ rated Astros include: Lee, Berkman, Pence, Oswalt and Sampson (narrowly). ‘Type B’ players include: Matsui and W. Rodriguez (narrowly missing ‘Type A’ status)].
2009 salaries for these potential free agents are as follows:
Miguel Tejada: $13.0m
Jose Valverde: $8.0m
LaTroy Hawkins: $3.5m (plus up to $600k in performance bonuses)
Ivan Rodriguez: $1.5m (plus up to $1.5m in performance bonuses)
Doug Brocail: $2.50m (club option for ‘10, buyout of $250k m if not exercised)
Geoff Blum: $1.25m (plus up to $350k in performance bonuses)
Brian Moehler: $2.3m (mutual option for ‘10)
Given the salary information above, in concert with arbitration risks, organizational needs and potential to be offered contracts by other teams sufficient to entice a player to refuse arbitration, I speculate that the Astros will offer arbitration to Valverde and will decline to offer arbitration to Tejada. The others are anyone’s guess.