Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Nearly 20 years ago, in the fall of 1979 the Houston Astros made history. They signed a free agent who was on what was supposed to be the downside of his career by the name of Lynn Nolan Ryan. The Astros would make Ryan the first million dollar-a-year man in baseball. The team he was leaving claimed that any .500 pitcher could replace Ryan.Read More
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Well, I just knew it’d be a matter of time before one of the esteemed columnists around here and I disagreed about something, and I’d have laid money that it’d be Ray K.Read More
By Clint B.
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on July 13, 1999.
Well, here we are- the midway point of the 1999 season. Lots of surprises have filled the world of baseball this season. Who would have thought that the Diamondbacks, who finished with the majors’ second worst record in ’98, would be in contention in the N.L. West? Who would have ever imagined that Cincinnati, instead of say Chicago, would challenge the two-time defending N.L. Central champion Houston Astros? Not many. Right now, there are lots of questions surrounding the state of the Astros. Sure, they have played extremely well under the horrific circumstances, but have lacked some enthusiasm the past month, and have let the Reds creep into the race and into first place after the Fourth-of-the-July weekend series split with Cincy. Here are some of the things I will expect in major league baseball’s second half. Read More
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Halftime…go to your individual corners, talk to your cut man and get some water. In what looks to be a wild second half, fans and players are going to need all the rest they can get.
Last year, the Astros, Braves, Padres, Indians and Yankees were leading their divisions at the all star break; only the Angels blew a mid season lead. This year there are races aplenty, including the D-backs against the Giants, Reds and Astros, Braves and Mets, Yankees and Red Sox and Rangers and Oakland. All are with-in at least 5 games of one another and all teams have the potential to get better. So now is as good a time as any to make some predictions for the second half of the season. Read More
1999
NOTE: you will find that a number of this year’s HOF takes are quite lengthy. Much like the Guinness Book of World Records discourages people from trying to break the record of that a-hole who ate a bicycle in 15 days, Kev & Scott would like to emphasize that the place for extremely long takes should be our Bleacher Rap column. We would just like to say that despite appearances, “size doesn’t matter” when selecting the year’s best takes. Like last year, at the bottom of the list, we identify the 1999 TalkZone MVP, so you might be interested in checking out who’ll be hoisting the coveted Golden Scott Award aloft in victorious fashion…
THE FOURTH LEGEND
Ray K
Let it be known that Ray K becomes only the fourth individual in AstrosConnection history to receive the title of “TZ Legend”, joining Prince of Heck (1997), Michael N (1997) and Andyzipp (1998) at the highest permanent position a Zone-dweller may achieve. Ray K clinches the honor absolutely and with authority for many reasons – here are a few: Huge number of quality posts, ability to deliver crushing blows to a wide range of opponents, his mind-boggling “Astro League” simulation, the fact that he rarely makes a fool of himself in the TZ, and of course the philanthropy extended to less-skilled Zone-dwellers through the mighty family of ASS software.Read More
By Clint B.
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
So what? The Astros coughed up a division lead. They did the same last year with Chicago. The important thing is the ‘Stros went on a tear in July and cruised to their second straight division title. There’s no reason to think that won’t happen this year. But, some things must be resolved before Houston reclaims their division lead.Read More
