If you missed last night's All-Star Game (or if you tuned out after Justin Verlander imploded), then a brief recap of the Altuve action is in order:
Jose entered the game as a defensive replacement for Dan Uggla in the bottom of the 5th, then assisted in doubling up Detroit's Miguel Cabrera an inning later to help preserve the National League's shutout. Altuve got one AB in the top of the 8th, facing Baltimore's Jim Johnson, grounding to second and getting called out on a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery close play at first. But the NL won in their last game with Houston's assistance, so it's all good.
A few other notes/links from the last couple of days:
*From Monday, Wilton Lopez is officially back from the DL, and David Carpenter is back to OKC.
*FOX 26's Mark Berman reported that Roger Clemens is back with the Astros, in... some capacity.
*USA Today had a nice feature on Altuve the All-Star (including a shoutout to the Juvenile Court Clerk's wildly popular How Many Altuves?).
*The Chronicle's Zachary Levine had a nice chat with fans on all things Astros yesterday.
*Preston Tucker (7th round) is Houston's highest remaining unsigned draft pick, and the signing deadline is Friday, but he has an excuse this week: he's accepting an award at the ESPYs tonight. Expect news of his signing tomorrow or Friday.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Mark Berman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Berman. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Johnson, Wallace never saw this coming
Mark Berman talked to Chris Johnson, who was predictably shocked by this evening's news:
"They called me and Wally in and said they were sending us to Oklahoma City to clear our heads and get things going. Oh yea, we were shocked. They said they got a month left and we're going to go there and just play. It's really tough. It's a big blow. I know I had a tough start, but the organization is making some changes and I guess me and Wally aren't part of it. We've gone through the grind all year. I've battled, learned and made adjustments. It's shocking. It's tough. It's not something we expected, but the organization is going in a different direction I guess.
They're making changes, going young and bringing up some younger guys and to send us out tells you maybe they don't want you to really be a part of it. We're just going to have to try to work harder and win them back, I guess."
Communication hasn't exactly been the Astros' strong point, but yeah, they're going to have to go back to OKC and win them over again.
I would say that Wallace has a longer leash than Johnson. There's no one really at Triple-A contending for a 1B/3B spot. Kody Hinze is raking at Corpus, but has only been there a month or so. If they can go back and get it going again, it could re-inspire confidence in both.
"They called me and Wally in and said they were sending us to Oklahoma City to clear our heads and get things going. Oh yea, we were shocked. They said they got a month left and we're going to go there and just play. It's really tough. It's a big blow. I know I had a tough start, but the organization is making some changes and I guess me and Wally aren't part of it. We've gone through the grind all year. I've battled, learned and made adjustments. It's shocking. It's tough. It's not something we expected, but the organization is going in a different direction I guess.
They're making changes, going young and bringing up some younger guys and to send us out tells you maybe they don't want you to really be a part of it. We're just going to have to try to work harder and win them back, I guess."
Communication hasn't exactly been the Astros' strong point, but yeah, they're going to have to go back to OKC and win them over again.
I would say that Wallace has a longer leash than Johnson. There's no one really at Triple-A contending for a 1B/3B spot. Kody Hinze is raking at Corpus, but has only been there a month or so. If they can go back and get it going again, it could re-inspire confidence in both.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Astros acknowledge they're thinking about moving Pence
Brian McTaggart says that the Astros are talking to six teams, though a deal is not imminent.
Mark Berman lists the six teams as three we already knew: Reds, Braves, Phillies, and three unknown AL teams.
Let's speculate on the AL teams (do you understand? PURE SPECULATION):
We can guess the Red Sox are one of the teams, since J.D. Drew is out with Suck. I would imagine the Indians were part of the conversation, but they got Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs today. Doesn't mean they're out, but it's probably less likely than it was today. Could it be the Angels, who are two games behind the Rangers, and a poor-hitting Torii Hunter in RF (.697 OPS)? Could it be the Rays - who have a ton of pitching (and a possible GM) available, and will likely be trying to replace B.J. Upton? Who knows?
What I do know is that I'm ready for Monday.
Mark Berman lists the six teams as three we already knew: Reds, Braves, Phillies, and three unknown AL teams.
Let's speculate on the AL teams (do you understand? PURE SPECULATION):
We can guess the Red Sox are one of the teams, since J.D. Drew is out with Suck. I would imagine the Indians were part of the conversation, but they got Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs today. Doesn't mean they're out, but it's probably less likely than it was today. Could it be the Angels, who are two games behind the Rangers, and a poor-hitting Torii Hunter in RF (.697 OPS)? Could it be the Rays - who have a ton of pitching (and a possible GM) available, and will likely be trying to replace B.J. Upton? Who knows?
What I do know is that I'm ready for Monday.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Deal to sell Astros is in place
Mark Berman (aka, "The Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness") has the report that Drayton has made the agreement to sell the Astros to Jim Crane.
Transfer of ownership could begin towards the middle of next week, but McLane says the MLB approval process could take four to six weeks. While they haven't announced a price, that part has apparently been agreed upon for quite some time.
Drayton is also lobbying for Pam Gardner, Tal Smith, and Ed Wade to keep their jobs...for a while:
"I have negotiated with Jim and he has definitely not told me what his plans for management...They have great people here, but one of the things a new owner can do, he can determine what leaders he wants, but I've encouraged Jim to finish the year with the group he has, but that's his decision."
In a post this morning, Justice advised Wade not to sign a long-term lease, and that the appointment of George Postolos as CEO pretty much eliminates the need for Gardner's job.
Justice:
But the Astros as we know them are in for dramatic changes. It’ll take time and millions of dollars to get them competitive on the field again, but the turnaround will begin the moment ownership of the team is transferred. And over the next year, a new franchise will take shape.
Transfer of ownership could begin towards the middle of next week, but McLane says the MLB approval process could take four to six weeks. While they haven't announced a price, that part has apparently been agreed upon for quite some time.
Drayton is also lobbying for Pam Gardner, Tal Smith, and Ed Wade to keep their jobs...for a while:
"I have negotiated with Jim and he has definitely not told me what his plans for management...They have great people here, but one of the things a new owner can do, he can determine what leaders he wants, but I've encouraged Jim to finish the year with the group he has, but that's his decision."
In a post this morning, Justice advised Wade not to sign a long-term lease, and that the appointment of George Postolos as CEO pretty much eliminates the need for Gardner's job.
Justice:
But the Astros as we know them are in for dramatic changes. It’ll take time and millions of dollars to get them competitive on the field again, but the turnaround will begin the moment ownership of the team is transferred. And over the next year, a new franchise will take shape.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sale of the Astros to be completed in a couple of weeks?
With a captip to Citizen Street, we get word that Drayton may be closer than we expected to selling the Astros to Jim Crane.
Mark Berman has the details from Drayton, indicating that the middle of May could be when the Astros are sold:
"Jim would be a very good owner, a very responsible person, but he's working on his financing and we're negotiating the deal, so there's more work to be done. So It's premature to say anything has been concluded."
Mark Berman has the details from Drayton, indicating that the middle of May could be when the Astros are sold:
"Jim would be a very good owner, a very responsible person, but he's working on his financing and we're negotiating the deal, so there's more work to be done. So It's premature to say anything has been concluded."
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Astros won't pursue Lance
Mark Berman tells e'rybody that Ed Wade and Michael Moye - Berkman's agent - that the Astros will not be pursuing Lance this off-season.
Wade:
"I heard from Mike Moye and he inquired about whether we had interest in bringing Lance back and I was candid with him and told him it didn't fit for us. As much as we love and respect Lance and what he's done for our organization, We had these internal conversations in July when we made the decision to go ahead and move him.
"Lance had said he'd be open to a trade at that point in time and realistically evaluating where we thought we were going to be going into 2011 we didn't think there was going to be a fit there with regard to picking his option up. We had that internal conversation then and moved forward and made the trade.
"Our situation hasn't changed in any great regard other than as a result of the moves we made in July we also added Brett Wallace to our mix. So we know that Carlos Lee can play first base. We know that Brett Wallace can play first base. Again, as much as we love and respect Lance and recognize what he's meant to our organization, we've moved past that at this point."
Lance:
"To be honest I don't know how I feel. I really need some time to digest it."
It's a sad day, but it's not like we (or Lance) didn't know it was coming. One thing I'm not a big fan of is Wade mentioning Carlos Lee at first base, over Brett Wallace. But these are conversations we have over three months to play out.
Wade:
"I heard from Mike Moye and he inquired about whether we had interest in bringing Lance back and I was candid with him and told him it didn't fit for us. As much as we love and respect Lance and what he's done for our organization, We had these internal conversations in July when we made the decision to go ahead and move him.
"Lance had said he'd be open to a trade at that point in time and realistically evaluating where we thought we were going to be going into 2011 we didn't think there was going to be a fit there with regard to picking his option up. We had that internal conversation then and moved forward and made the trade.
"Our situation hasn't changed in any great regard other than as a result of the moves we made in July we also added Brett Wallace to our mix. So we know that Carlos Lee can play first base. We know that Brett Wallace can play first base. Again, as much as we love and respect Lance and recognize what he's meant to our organization, we've moved past that at this point."
Lance:
"To be honest I don't know how I feel. I really need some time to digest it."
It's a sad day, but it's not like we (or Lance) didn't know it was coming. One thing I'm not a big fan of is Wade mentioning Carlos Lee at first base, over Brett Wallace. But these are conversations we have over three months to play out.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
DeShields in Houston for physical
Mark Berman is on fire. Fox26 is reporting that Delino DeShields, Jr is in Houston to take his physical and sign a contract - as of yet undisclosed as to the terms.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Report: Roy traded to Philadelphia
Big thanks to Deputy Street for giving the heads-up that the Astros have a deal in place with Philly for Roy. Here's the situation, though nothing much has changed since the Berman report broke around midnight Central.
-The players and money are agreed upon, Roy is aware of the deal, he has his 60 hours notice, and the Astros are waiting on his approval.
-We should have an answer today. He's scheduled to pitch tomorrow night in the series opener against the Brewers.
-Details are sketchy. But let's make some notes:
*We've done the match before, but let's do it again. Roy makes about $92,592 per game, so there's $5.64m (-ish) left on his contract in 2010 + the $16m he's guaranteed in 2011. And we don't know about the 2012 option.
*The Astros were asking for four prospects. We don't know what they're getting in return, but could it be possible that there are more pieces going to Philly than just Roy? Are the Phillies not comfortable with throwing Happ and Kendrick out there? Take Roy and Myers (pure speculation, and highly unlikely), or maybe Jeff Keppinger is part of the deal. Or...Or...Or... You get the idea.
*I'm going to guess that the Astros will pay the rest of Roy's salary in 2010. As far as the players go, who freaking knows? Happ, Worley, and two players from Lakewood.
Stay tuned, it's going to be an interesting morning.
-The players and money are agreed upon, Roy is aware of the deal, he has his 60 hours notice, and the Astros are waiting on his approval.
-We should have an answer today. He's scheduled to pitch tomorrow night in the series opener against the Brewers.
-Details are sketchy. But let's make some notes:
*We've done the match before, but let's do it again. Roy makes about $92,592 per game, so there's $5.64m (-ish) left on his contract in 2010 + the $16m he's guaranteed in 2011. And we don't know about the 2012 option.
*The Astros were asking for four prospects. We don't know what they're getting in return, but could it be possible that there are more pieces going to Philly than just Roy? Are the Phillies not comfortable with throwing Happ and Kendrick out there? Take Roy and Myers (pure speculation, and highly unlikely), or maybe Jeff Keppinger is part of the deal. Or...Or...Or... You get the idea.
*I'm going to guess that the Astros will pay the rest of Roy's salary in 2010. As far as the players go, who freaking knows? Happ, Worley, and two players from Lakewood.
Stay tuned, it's going to be an interesting morning.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Say what? Four finalists leaked.
Mark Berman is reporting (as well as Brian McTaggart) the four finalists for the managerial gig are as follows:
Phil Garner
Dave Clark
Brad Mills
Manny Acta
Acta and Mills were in Houston Wednesday for their second interviews with club officials and that group now includes Astros owner Drayton McLane who had been out of the country.
General Manager Ed Wade confirmed Acta's second interview. He did not confirm Mills was brought back again.
Surprised? I am. I thought Melvin would be in there for sure.
Now this is interesting. Jose de Jesus Ortiz has the following (from before the McTaggart, Berman stories):
Clark, who served as the interim manager for the final 13 games of the season, said he had not heard anything about a possible second interview as of late Wednesday afternoon. Neither had Pedrique, the club’s director of minor league operations.
As of Wednesday night, Acta, former Astros manager Phil Garner and Mills appeared like the front-runners.
Phil Garner
Dave Clark
Brad Mills
Manny Acta
Acta and Mills were in Houston Wednesday for their second interviews with club officials and that group now includes Astros owner Drayton McLane who had been out of the country.
General Manager Ed Wade confirmed Acta's second interview. He did not confirm Mills was brought back again.
Surprised? I am. I thought Melvin would be in there for sure.
Now this is interesting. Jose de Jesus Ortiz has the following (from before the McTaggart, Berman stories):
Clark, who served as the interim manager for the final 13 games of the season, said he had not heard anything about a possible second interview as of late Wednesday afternoon. Neither had Pedrique, the club’s director of minor league operations.
As of Wednesday night, Acta, former Astros manager Phil Garner and Mills appeared like the front-runners.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)