Note: Content is incoming, as I'm just now in a mood to try to process the 2016 Astros season. Hope you like content. Content is my brand.
*Jose Altuve will appear as a cartoon character on Uncle Grandpa. I have a four-year old daughter who loves Uncle Grandpa, the only cartoon whose target demographic is both toddlers and people tripping on LSD. I can't wait. It's on at 11:15am today (Saturday, October 22).
*Astros prospect Ramon Laureano won the Arizona Fall League Player of the Week after hitting .571.
*Astros beat writer Angel Verdejo will no longer cover the Astros as he shifts back over to high school coverage for the Chronicle.
*Check out the incredible video (by the same director who did the fantastic Dock Ellis documentary) about the time the Mets trashed the team plane following their victory over the Astros in the 1986 NLCS.
*The Astros are up to the top half of MLB in ESPN's Ultimate Standings...thing. ESPN, with a dose of reality:
There's nothing about the Astros that screams championship (besides Correa and Altuve), but there isn't anything that makes you wonder what the heck they're doing, either.
*Brian T. Smith got Twitter to write him a column about the Astros, and Houston in general.
*Forbes: Update on the new CBA, which is expected to be approved before the 2017 season.
*Good news, degenerates! Congress is thinking about re-doing the laws on sports betting.
*Jayson Stark: Why the best teams don't win the World Series.
*NLCS Game 6 comes down to Kershaw vs. Rizzo.
*Jeff Sullivan: Why don't people run all over Jon Lester?
*Jose Fernandez's mother wrote a piece in the Miami Herald.
*Reminder that MLB isn't perfect, but the NFL - as a business - is trash.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Houston Chronicle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston Chronicle. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Sunday Morning Hot Links
*A.J. Hinch thought that, with two strikes, Michael Feliz could put David Ortiz away. He couldn't. Loss.
Yeah, I think it's easy now [to second guess]. You walk a guy with two strikes and the odds are still in your favor, the percentages are still in your favor that things are going to go fine. If you'd like to replay it, I'd happily walk him, sure.
*Boston manager John Farrell was surprised Hinch didn't walk Ortiz:
I think we were a little surprised that they wouldn't (walk him). They might look to expand the strike zone, and if they walk him they have the right-hander on deck.
*The Astros made sure that SI could all breathless and sweaty about Ortiz.
*Every time Ortiz got to second base Correa asked him why he was retiring.
*Carlos Gomez was given a "mental and physical day" off yesterday. Gomez:
It's a tough moment right now, but I have confidence and believe in myself that I'm better than that. I don't know what's wrong with me right now.
*The editor of the Houston Chronicle apologized for the way Brian T. Smith quoted Gomez in that one article:
With regards to quoting Carlos Gomez: We sincerely apologize for any offense that was taken. Our writers are encouraged to AP style rules...I reviewed the rules myself after this arose and found the guidelines on quotes to be less than adequate for a community like ours, full of immigrants from all over the world, and for whom English is often a second language.
You know BTS: always been a slave to them AP Style Guidelines...
*Gomez told ESPN Radio that he felt Smith quoted him the way he did in order to ridicule him.
*George Springer is loving playing near home.
*Ken Giles is pitching with more confidence.
The hard work is paying off now and I have more confidence in my mechanics now. They're more in tune, and I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing.
*Giles also talked about how not to talk to a reliever.
You can't tell someone he got his ass kicked. It's the worst thing you can possibly say to somebody, especially a young guy. There's no way he should feel he got demolished because he's not good enough. You should never, ever think that way.
*Alex Bregman felt comfortable getting his first start at third base.
I feel like I'll be very comfortable here really soon - really, really soon. I'm pretty comfortable there already, but I feel like in a few days I'll be very comfortable there.
Luhnow emphasized that they didn't want to promote Bregman to Double-A AND have him get used to another position:
We didn't want him to switch positions or have him try a new position while he was getting accustomed to a higher level. It's pretty clear he's been able to fit in well at that level offensively, and we figured now's a good time to at least try out some alternatives.
*Joe Musgrove's Triple-A debut: 5IP, 5H/1ER, 5K:2BB.
*MLB.com's latest mock draft is out, and has the Astros looking at high school arms like Ian Anderson out of Clifton Park, NY.
*Washington Post: How Stephen Strasburg's extension came to be.
*Peter Gammons got salty early on a Sunday:
Yeah, I think it's easy now [to second guess]. You walk a guy with two strikes and the odds are still in your favor, the percentages are still in your favor that things are going to go fine. If you'd like to replay it, I'd happily walk him, sure.
*Boston manager John Farrell was surprised Hinch didn't walk Ortiz:
I think we were a little surprised that they wouldn't (walk him). They might look to expand the strike zone, and if they walk him they have the right-hander on deck.
*The Astros made sure that SI could all breathless and sweaty about Ortiz.
*Every time Ortiz got to second base Correa asked him why he was retiring.
*Carlos Gomez was given a "mental and physical day" off yesterday. Gomez:
It's a tough moment right now, but I have confidence and believe in myself that I'm better than that. I don't know what's wrong with me right now.
*The editor of the Houston Chronicle apologized for the way Brian T. Smith quoted Gomez in that one article:
With regards to quoting Carlos Gomez: We sincerely apologize for any offense that was taken. Our writers are encouraged to AP style rules...I reviewed the rules myself after this arose and found the guidelines on quotes to be less than adequate for a community like ours, full of immigrants from all over the world, and for whom English is often a second language.
You know BTS: always been a slave to them AP Style Guidelines...
*Gomez told ESPN Radio that he felt Smith quoted him the way he did in order to ridicule him.
*George Springer is loving playing near home.
*Ken Giles is pitching with more confidence.
The hard work is paying off now and I have more confidence in my mechanics now. They're more in tune, and I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing.
*Giles also talked about how not to talk to a reliever.
You can't tell someone he got his ass kicked. It's the worst thing you can possibly say to somebody, especially a young guy. There's no way he should feel he got demolished because he's not good enough. You should never, ever think that way.
*Alex Bregman felt comfortable getting his first start at third base.
I feel like I'll be very comfortable here really soon - really, really soon. I'm pretty comfortable there already, but I feel like in a few days I'll be very comfortable there.
Luhnow emphasized that they didn't want to promote Bregman to Double-A AND have him get used to another position:
We didn't want him to switch positions or have him try a new position while he was getting accustomed to a higher level. It's pretty clear he's been able to fit in well at that level offensively, and we figured now's a good time to at least try out some alternatives.
*Joe Musgrove's Triple-A debut: 5IP, 5H/1ER, 5K:2BB.
*MLB.com's latest mock draft is out, and has the Astros looking at high school arms like Ian Anderson out of Clifton Park, NY.
*Washington Post: How Stephen Strasburg's extension came to be.
*Peter Gammons got salty early on a Sunday:
NL scout:"Foltynewicz command improved twofold in a year." Shut out KC. Sat 96.8-98.4. Remind us why Astros traded him...— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) May 15, 2016
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
The Astros and Angels won yesterday while the Mariners lost and the A's and Rangers were off. So the Astros' lead stands at 4.0 games, with FanGraphs giving the Astros a 37.5% chance of winning the division, with a 61.6% chance of making the postseason. CoolStandings is showing that the Angels are due for a big-time surge, while the Astros are still projected to play a touch under .500 the rest of the way out.
*The Astros have had nine runners thrown out at home, including one last night where Marwin was halfway between third and home before the ball reached the catcher's glove. A.J. Hinch talked about The Aggressiveness.
*Jason Castro was hit in the knee by a Ubaldo Jimenez fastball, stayed in the game, and then left when it started to stiffen up.
*Here's Owen Watson on whether or not the Astros' bullpen is for real.
*Here's ESPN's David Schoenfield on the importance of bullpens (including a quick note on the Astros)
*Carlos Correa isn't in Houston, Take 14: He sat last night because of a sore right heel.
*"Last year pretty much sucked," Jacob Nix told USA Today, "I was literally in the wrong place and the wrong time." (Note: This is an excellent read)
*Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of the Tombstone edition by the Chronicle, and Ortiz wrote about the reaction to the graphic.
*The Astros have had nine runners thrown out at home, including one last night where Marwin was halfway between third and home before the ball reached the catcher's glove. A.J. Hinch talked about The Aggressiveness.
*Jason Castro was hit in the knee by a Ubaldo Jimenez fastball, stayed in the game, and then left when it started to stiffen up.
*Here's Owen Watson on whether or not the Astros' bullpen is for real.
*Here's ESPN's David Schoenfield on the importance of bullpens (including a quick note on the Astros)
*Carlos Correa isn't in Houston, Take 14: He sat last night because of a sore right heel.
*"Last year pretty much sucked," Jacob Nix told USA Today, "I was literally in the wrong place and the wrong time." (Note: This is an excellent read)
*Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of the Tombstone edition by the Chronicle, and Ortiz wrote about the reaction to the graphic.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Oh You Have To Be Kidding Me, or, The Day A Bullpen Session Got The Chronicle All Whipped Up Into A Tizzy
I slept on it. I wanted to see if my perspective had changed with six hours of sleep. (Any more than that and I lose my #edge which hurts my #brand). It didn't.
So let's start with What We Know.
*We know Mark Appel has struggled this season.
*We know that on July 24, Mark Appel threw 6IP, 5H/2ER, 7K:0BB at Stockton in the longest start of his career and the best start of his season.
*We know that, following that July 24 start, Mark Appel was promoted to Double-A Corpus.
*We know that, on his way to Corpus, the Astros had Mark Appel come to Minute Maid for a bullpen session yesterday (Sunday) morning to throw for Houston pitching coach Brent Strom, before the players arrived for the third game of a series with the Marlins.
This is where the plot begins to wobble, because I interpreted yesterday morning's events (and I don't feel as though I was alone) as such: Seeing as how Houston is kind of on the way from Lancaster to Corpus, it made sense for the Astros to bring him in to pitch for possible future pitching coach Brent Strom, you know, to looks at his mechanics, offer some advice, you know, generally take a little bit of extra time with your 2013 1-1 pick in light of this month's events with the 2014 1-1 pick. It made perfect sense to me, a guy who has never pitched on any level beyond BP to his 7-year old nephew.
The Astros, however, did not like the fact that Appel threw a bullpen at Minute Maid Park, just hours before the Marlins finished off a sweep in which the Astros scored five runs.
It then turned into A Thing. "It's (expletive) unbelievable," said one anonymous Astro. Another Astro voiced his concern to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, and dropped even more expletives.
The Chronicle, smelling blood in the water and yet another chance to rip the front office, went full-on Hard Nipples on the Apparatus:
Randy Harvey piggy-backed on the hoopla to write a column (which is apparently on the FRONT PAGE OF THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE TODAY):
The players don't believe Appel should have been working out in the Astros' home park until he has earned the right to call it home...the Appel incident makes it appear as if management is either tone deaf when it comes to players' feelings or, even worse, doesn't care.
This is absolutely preposterous. Do the Astros value Mark Appel more than, say, Josh Hader, who had his own thoughts in a since-deleted tweet. Of course they do. They spent $6.35m on Mark Appel, and traded Bud Norris for Josh Hader. That doesn't take anything away from Hader, he's a good young pitcher having an excellent season in a challenging environment. Mark Appel is an older pitcher struggling in the same environment, and the Astros wanted to get him out of there as quickly as possible to see if a change of scenery improves his career. You can swing and miss on trades. You don't swing and miss on your 1-1 pick.
You could say the Astros were trying to sneak Appel in, or you could say that there are only two non-stop flights from Houston to Corpus on Sunday mornings, and they really wanted him to make it to Whataburger Field in time for the Hooks' game vs. Midland.
You could even say that the two anonymous Astros players need to focus more on not getting swept by the Marlins. You could say that the two anonymous players should be more concerned with their own jobs than with what Mark Appel is doing before their game.
So let's start with What We Know.
*We know Mark Appel has struggled this season.
*We know that on July 24, Mark Appel threw 6IP, 5H/2ER, 7K:0BB at Stockton in the longest start of his career and the best start of his season.
*We know that, following that July 24 start, Mark Appel was promoted to Double-A Corpus.
*We know that, on his way to Corpus, the Astros had Mark Appel come to Minute Maid for a bullpen session yesterday (Sunday) morning to throw for Houston pitching coach Brent Strom, before the players arrived for the third game of a series with the Marlins.
This is where the plot begins to wobble, because I interpreted yesterday morning's events (and I don't feel as though I was alone) as such: Seeing as how Houston is kind of on the way from Lancaster to Corpus, it made sense for the Astros to bring him in to pitch for possible future pitching coach Brent Strom, you know, to looks at his mechanics, offer some advice, you know, generally take a little bit of extra time with your 2013 1-1 pick in light of this month's events with the 2014 1-1 pick. It made perfect sense to me, a guy who has never pitched on any level beyond BP to his 7-year old nephew.
The Astros, however, did not like the fact that Appel threw a bullpen at Minute Maid Park, just hours before the Marlins finished off a sweep in which the Astros scored five runs.
It then turned into A Thing. "It's (expletive) unbelievable," said one anonymous Astro. Another Astro voiced his concern to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, and dropped even more expletives.
The Chronicle, smelling blood in the water and yet another chance to rip the front office, went full-on Hard Nipples on the Apparatus:
I don't think the Astros' brass was shocked about the anger over Appel. They tried to sneak him in & out of MMP without anybody noticing.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) July 27, 2014
Some folks are missing the reason for the Astros' anger. It's more than Appel. It's a year's worth of frustration over FO commitment to win.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) July 27, 2014
Many of the Astros feel the front office doesn't care about winning now. That's a huge burden that Jeff Luhnow must overcome. Huge burden.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) July 27, 2014
Players & coaches need to believe Luhnow cares more about winning than experimenting with their careers. That's where the disconnect is.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) July 27, 2014
And hey here comes Texans beat writer Brian Smith!
For the last two years, players and coaches have believed the front office doesn't care about the current MLB team. Appel's bullpen was ...
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) July 27, 2014
... yet more proof. It also gives the middle finger to every unwritten rule that isn't supposed to be broken in #MLB.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) July 27, 2014
To baseball players, making and staying in the majors in life. Simply getting in the clubhouse is a dream. Appel doesn't belong at MMP yet.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) July 27, 2014
And there it is. By getting last year's 1-1 pick in for a bullpen session with a pitching coach before the players arrived for the game, before said pick's final leg of his promotion to Double-A, the Astros have violated an unwritten rule.Randy Harvey piggy-backed on the hoopla to write a column (which is apparently on the FRONT PAGE OF THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE TODAY):
The players don't believe Appel should have been working out in the Astros' home park until he has earned the right to call it home...the Appel incident makes it appear as if management is either tone deaf when it comes to players' feelings or, even worse, doesn't care.
This is absolutely preposterous. Do the Astros value Mark Appel more than, say, Josh Hader, who had his own thoughts in a since-deleted tweet. Of course they do. They spent $6.35m on Mark Appel, and traded Bud Norris for Josh Hader. That doesn't take anything away from Hader, he's a good young pitcher having an excellent season in a challenging environment. Mark Appel is an older pitcher struggling in the same environment, and the Astros wanted to get him out of there as quickly as possible to see if a change of scenery improves his career. You can swing and miss on trades. You don't swing and miss on your 1-1 pick.
You could say the Astros were trying to sneak Appel in, or you could say that there are only two non-stop flights from Houston to Corpus on Sunday mornings, and they really wanted him to make it to Whataburger Field in time for the Hooks' game vs. Midland.
You could even say that the two anonymous Astros players need to focus more on not getting swept by the Marlins. You could say that the two anonymous players should be more concerned with their own jobs than with what Mark Appel is doing before their game.
And let's be clear: this was a manufactured story. Ortiz tweeted two anonymous players who had problems. Brian Smith felt as though it was his job to spend a significant amount of time commenting on an unwritten rule of which no one has ever heard. Randy Harvey wrote a column about it. The Chronicle went ESPN on this story, manufacturing outrage (I fell victim) and perpetuating it all day.
Perhaps you remember a few years ago when the Houston Press wrote about how the Chronicle killed a story examining PEDs and Roger Clemens, among others (http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/01/craig_biggio_steriod_user.php). It feels as though the Chronicle's pendulum is now swinging the other way, where there has been an editorial directive to be the Tough Voice On The Astros, consistency and logic be damned.
It's not as though the Astros don't deserve criticism. From CSN Houston to Brady Aiken there have been plenty of well-founded opportunities to emote a shrug of the shoulders in print. But this is different. I saw literally zero people taking the players, or the Chronicle's, side on this. "Don't let a minor-leaguer use your bullpen before a game" is not an unwritten rule, it's a nitpicky way to act like a tough guy, to whip the dead horse of the Front Office's perceived indifference to basic human emotion and social skills.
But if the Astros players don't feel as though the front office shows a commitment to winning, what does that say about them? "The front office doesn't want to win - and I'm Exhibit A in this, because if they cared, I would be on some other team's Triple-A roster!" That's ridiculous.
It's a farce, and I'm mad at myself for having wasted this much time on it. A lot of growing up needs to happen - the Astros players themselves, and the people who cover them for a living.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Some thoughts on the Houston Chronicle/BBWAA
Good work, everyone. In the voting for the AL Rookie of the Year, 30 ballots were cast - two for every AL market. Houston was represented by the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo and the New York Post's Ken Davidoff.
Davidoff voted for Wil Myers, Jose Iglesias, and was the only voter to vote for someone who played for Kansas City named David Lough - who, thanks to Baseball-Reference, I know posted an *amazing* .724 OPS in 96 games for the Royals, good enough for a 96 OPS+. I'm not so cynical to think that this had anything to do with Lough hitting .375/.375/.625 in a four-game series at Yankee Stadium in July. Nick Cafardo, again of the Boston Globe, one of five voters who picked Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias as the AL Rookie of the Year, followed by Wil Myers and Dan Straily. For the AL Cy Young Award, the Houston representatives were Gaku Tashiro of Sankei (Japan) Sports and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (New Jersey) Record.
They represented Houston's chapter of the Base Ball (yeah, two words) Writers Association of America. Why? According to the BBWAA, Houston did not have enough "eligible voters" which led to the BBWAA choosing two writers from other cities to fill their spots.
Houston is the 4th largest market in the country, yet because they didn't have enough eligible voters in the BBWAA, Houston-based writers didn't get to vote on the AL Rookie of the Year or the AL Cy Young. Jose de Jesus Ortiz was the lone Houston-based writer to vote on the AL MVP and Manager of the Year. SI.com/MLB Network's Tom Verducci was the other "Houston representative" for the MVP voting, and the New York Daily News' Bill Madden was the other "Houston representative" for the AL Manager of the Year.
This is stupid. How is it that the 4th-largest market in the nation doesn't have enough eligible voters to participate in the end-of-season awards? It's not because I want Jarred Cosart to come in 14th in the Rookie of the Year voting - I just want Houston to be represented in the voting. Why did this happen? Because (BBWAA member and Crawfish Boxes' guru) David Coleman discovered that it's because former-Astros/now-Texans beat writer Brian Smith was moved over to the Texans beat mid-season. Because that's exactly what the Chronicle needs - more writers to cover the Texans (who doesn't love a good train wreck).
And I get it. Of course I get it. The Texans were pre-season Super Bowl contenders (whoops), and easily more interesting than an Astros team that was approximately in the 4th level of Hell in Dante's Inferno when Smith's switch happened. But the short-sightedness of the BBWAA saw Houston get shut out of even voting on the awards.
Is it petty for me to get *this* pissed off about it? Probably. What do I care if State Farm agent David Lough got some Rookie of the Year votes? Am I going to regret this? Absolutely not. Figure your crap out, Houston BBWAA.
UPDATE (without deleting any of my above rant): Let's be sure to keep in mind that the Chronicle has lost Richard Justice and Zachary Levine. New beat writer Evan Drellich was covering the Red Sox, so it's not exactly fair to ask him to leave the playoffs to come sit and DERP on what the Astros may or may not do in the off-season (and I like Drellich thus far). It seems as though my issue is with the Houston BBWAA chapter president - the Fort Bend Herald's Bill Hartman - for picking NY/BOS/Japan-based writers as opposed to Houston-based writers who follow baseball (and there are plenty) to vote on the awards.
And let's remember all the way back to September, when the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA selected Jason Castro as the team MVP in a "unanimous vote." That probably wasn't a unanimous vote of one.
Davidoff voted for Wil Myers, Jose Iglesias, and was the only voter to vote for someone who played for Kansas City named David Lough - who, thanks to Baseball-Reference, I know posted an *amazing* .724 OPS in 96 games for the Royals, good enough for a 96 OPS+. I'm not so cynical to think that this had anything to do with Lough hitting .375/.375/.625 in a four-game series at Yankee Stadium in July. Nick Cafardo, again of the Boston Globe, one of five voters who picked Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias as the AL Rookie of the Year, followed by Wil Myers and Dan Straily. For the AL Cy Young Award, the Houston representatives were Gaku Tashiro of Sankei (Japan) Sports and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (New Jersey) Record.
They represented Houston's chapter of the Base Ball (yeah, two words) Writers Association of America. Why? According to the BBWAA, Houston did not have enough "eligible voters" which led to the BBWAA choosing two writers from other cities to fill their spots.
Houston is the 4th largest market in the country, yet because they didn't have enough eligible voters in the BBWAA, Houston-based writers didn't get to vote on the AL Rookie of the Year or the AL Cy Young. Jose de Jesus Ortiz was the lone Houston-based writer to vote on the AL MVP and Manager of the Year. SI.com/MLB Network's Tom Verducci was the other "Houston representative" for the MVP voting, and the New York Daily News' Bill Madden was the other "Houston representative" for the AL Manager of the Year.
This is stupid. How is it that the 4th-largest market in the nation doesn't have enough eligible voters to participate in the end-of-season awards? It's not because I want Jarred Cosart to come in 14th in the Rookie of the Year voting - I just want Houston to be represented in the voting. Why did this happen? Because (BBWAA member and Crawfish Boxes' guru) David Coleman discovered that it's because former-Astros/now-Texans beat writer Brian Smith was moved over to the Texans beat mid-season. Because that's exactly what the Chronicle needs - more writers to cover the Texans (who doesn't love a good train wreck).
And I get it. Of course I get it. The Texans were pre-season Super Bowl contenders (whoops), and easily more interesting than an Astros team that was approximately in the 4th level of Hell in Dante's Inferno when Smith's switch happened. But the short-sightedness of the BBWAA saw Houston get shut out of even voting on the awards.
Is it petty for me to get *this* pissed off about it? Probably. What do I care if State Farm agent David Lough got some Rookie of the Year votes? Am I going to regret this? Absolutely not. Figure your crap out, Houston BBWAA.
UPDATE (without deleting any of my above rant): Let's be sure to keep in mind that the Chronicle has lost Richard Justice and Zachary Levine. New beat writer Evan Drellich was covering the Red Sox, so it's not exactly fair to ask him to leave the playoffs to come sit and DERP on what the Astros may or may not do in the off-season (and I like Drellich thus far). It seems as though my issue is with the Houston BBWAA chapter president - the Fort Bend Herald's Bill Hartman - for picking NY/BOS/Japan-based writers as opposed to Houston-based writers who follow baseball (and there are plenty) to vote on the awards.
And let's remember all the way back to September, when the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA selected Jason Castro as the team MVP in a "unanimous vote." That probably wasn't a unanimous vote of one.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Monday Morning Link Dump
Here's your link dump from the weekend:
*Tony DeFrancesco doesn't respect Ryan Howard, this is Charlie Manuel's complete lack of surprise.
*Fernando Martinez is dealing with right knee inflammation.
*The Astros invited Facebook fans to lunch with Joe Niekro, who died in 2006.
*Marwin Gonzalez just might return from his ankle injury this season.
*Joe Maddon thinks Dave Martinez is a worthy candidate for the Astros.
*Here are the Chronicle's Top 50 Astros of all time.
*Tony DeFrancesco doesn't respect Ryan Howard, this is Charlie Manuel's complete lack of surprise.
*Fernando Martinez is dealing with right knee inflammation.
*The Astros invited Facebook fans to lunch with Joe Niekro, who died in 2006.
*Marwin Gonzalez just might return from his ankle injury this season.
*Joe Maddon thinks Dave Martinez is a worthy candidate for the Astros.
*Here are the Chronicle's Top 50 Astros of all time.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chronicle lines up behind Crane
Hey, so here's an editorial from the Houston Chronicle, weighing in with an opinion on the Jim Crane Saga:
We don't know why Commissioner Selig has drawn out this process, but we do know that Crane has put together a more-than-fair proposal, including a solid ownership team of local investors. Rather than leaving the Astros and Houston in limbo, Major League Baseball officials need to specify whatever objections they have to the deal. If Crane can't win their approval, it's time to say so.
We don't know why Commissioner Selig has drawn out this process, but we do know that Crane has put together a more-than-fair proposal, including a solid ownership team of local investors. Rather than leaving the Astros and Houston in limbo, Major League Baseball officials need to specify whatever objections they have to the deal. If Crane can't win their approval, it's time to say so.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Constable goes all George Will on us
The Constable outs himself as a former employee of a prominent organization, and gets a little dewey-eyed with a tear running down his leg about the Magic of Cooperstown for the Chronicle.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Towles vs. Corporan
The Constable has some astute, and not-so-astute, observations on the catching prowess of J.R. Towles, over at the Chronicle.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Constable, on Berkman's return
So The Constable has a post for the Chronicle on Berkman's return, and how you should feel.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Constable's article on Host Families
The Constable posted an article on the importance of Host Families in the minors. It's not bad.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Should the Astros have thrown Happ last night?
The Constable questions the decision over at the Chronicle.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Interview with Will Carroll
The Constable did an interview with Will Carroll over at the Chronicle...
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Constable, on Lyles and Super Two status
So The Constable dropped his reasoning for Lyles' being sent down to minor-league camp over at The Chronicle this morning.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Playoff Teams
And The Constable drops his second post on the Chronicle today, examining some trends among the eight 2010 playoff teams. It has four hits. Throw him a bone.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Boom - The Constable's first actual post at the Chronicle
So The Constable has his first post up at the Chronicle, on attendance in 2011.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Oh yeah, that announcement
So the pleasing announcement from yesterday is that The Constable sold out and joined the Chronicle's blog team. Some questions, answered:
What does this mean for him?
It means that he'll be even more of an insufferable prick.
What does this mean for Astros County?
Not a single thing. He'll be providing some commentary a couple of times a week over at the Chronicle, and we'll link to it.
What does this mean for the Chronicle?
Personally, the rest of us think that the Chronicle has made a serious mistake. They don't know what they've gotten themselves in to. Keep watching, because the train is about to crash. Or maybe we're jealous. Oh well - he started the blog, he should be responsible for its demise.
What does this mean for him?
It means that he'll be even more of an insufferable prick.
What does this mean for Astros County?
Not a single thing. He'll be providing some commentary a couple of times a week over at the Chronicle, and we'll link to it.
What does this mean for the Chronicle?
Personally, the rest of us think that the Chronicle has made a serious mistake. They don't know what they've gotten themselves in to. Keep watching, because the train is about to crash. Or maybe we're jealous. Oh well - he started the blog, he should be responsible for its demise.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Text of Oswalt's Thank-You ad
So Roy Oswalt took out a full-page ad in the Chronicle today, here's the text:
Since joining the Astros in 2001, the city of Houston has been a special place to me and my family. The overwhelming support I have received from Astros fans has been unbelievable. I will never forget how the city rallied around our team, especially during our amazing run to the World Series in 2005.
I will cherish my memories in Houston for a lifetime and am blessed to have grown up with the Houston Astros family.
I want to personally thank all of the loyal Astros fans, Drayton McLane, and the entire Houston Astros organization.
Please know that Houston will always hold a special place in my heart.
Sincerely,
Roy Oswalt
Aww, shucks.
Since joining the Astros in 2001, the city of Houston has been a special place to me and my family. The overwhelming support I have received from Astros fans has been unbelievable. I will never forget how the city rallied around our team, especially during our amazing run to the World Series in 2005.
I will cherish my memories in Houston for a lifetime and am blessed to have grown up with the Houston Astros family.
I want to personally thank all of the loyal Astros fans, Drayton McLane, and the entire Houston Astros organization.
Please know that Houston will always hold a special place in my heart.
Sincerely,
Roy Oswalt
Aww, shucks.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Easy Eddie: Maybe everything will work out!
The Chronicle apparently just found out that the Dodgers may be interested in Roy, and went to ask Ed Wade.
Wade:
“I don't talk about trades...We believe we can win with the guys that we have here. I still think that as the offense continues to improve, and it will improve, that we have a chance to get back into this thing.”
Hmmm.
Wade:
“I don't talk about trades...We believe we can win with the guys that we have here. I still think that as the offense continues to improve, and it will improve, that we have a chance to get back into this thing.”
Hmmm.
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