Hey, Ump…Yer Outta Here!

Posted on July 27, 2001 by Waldo in Bleacher Rap

By Waldo
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on July 27, 2001.

Boneheaded calls by sports officials are nothing new. No one has to look further than the January 17, 1999, NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons to find a fantasic example. Going into overtime (and, hence, sudden death) at the HumpDome, the teams were tied at 21, and the Vikings had just missed a 38-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation that would’ve sent them to Super Bowl XXXIII. After the team representatives and the referee had gathered for the coin toss, the Vikings called it in the air. “Tails.” The coin landed tails.Read More

Well Balanced Attack

Posted on July 13, 2001 by Arky Vaughan in Crunch Time

One of the few bright spots for the Astros last year was the second-half offense, which was the hottest in baseball. The Astros entered the first half of this season without skipping a beat. They rank at the top of the National League in the most important offensive categories and, as their road statistics demonstrate, are by no means a mere creation of Enron Field:

Split     R/G   Avg   OBP   Slg   HR%
-------------------------------------
Total    5.52  .276  .352  .474  4.50
NL Rank   2nd   2nd   2nd   2nd   1st
-------------------------------------
Road     5.30  .272  .346  .463  4.45
NL Rank   3rd   2nd   2nd   1st   2nd

Obligaroty Midterms

Posted on July 10, 2001 by Andyzipp in Zipper Flap

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

There’s nothing more important or popular than arbitrary grades picked by ill-informed yokels such as myself at the mid-point of a season. Especially when that midpoint happened 5 games ago. The Stros are 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 1999 season, and playing well enough to win games. I’ll be the first to admit that they are also playing about 10 games over my expectation level of this team, so as an Astros fan, I’m pleased. Here’s what I think about everyone in an Astros uniform this season:Read More

Turning The Page

Posted on July 6, 2001 by Andyzipp in From Left Field

By Breedlove
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on July 6, 2001.

On June 23rd the Astros parted company with one of the great characters in franchise history when they traded the troubled Jose Lima to the Detroit Tigers for righthander Dave Mlicki. Over his few short seasons in the Astros rotation Lima’s star rose to heights and fell to depths rarely witnessed in Houston sports. By the end even El Loco himself was ready to acknowledge he had to move on, but he will still be missed. For a time, watching the Astros without Jose Lima will be like reading the Sunday paper without the comics.Read More

Fans Screw Berkman Over

Posted on July 6, 2001 by Andyzipp in Bleacher Rap

By Pepper28
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on July 6, 2001.

It’s All-Star time again. You know what that means: three days with no meaningful baseball, two of which are the only days in the year on which there are no professional sporting events in America; hype increasing at an exponential rate as the quality of the product decreases at an even faster speed; and, of course, idiot fans electing the wrong players.Read More

June 2001 in Review

Posted on July 3, 2001 by Arky Vaughan in Crunch Time

Record and Standings

Record      W   L
-----------------
April      12  12
May        14  13
June       15  12
-----------------
Total      41  37

Unlike the first two months of the season, in June the Astros played reasonably well the second half of the month. They stood at .500 on June 15 but subsequently won nine of 14 games.