“Hello Roger!
Well, Helloooooooooo Roger!
It’s so nice to have you back where you belong
You’re looking swell, Roger,
We can tell, Roger,
You’re still glowin’, you’re still goin’
You’re still throwin’ strong.
So here’s your cap, Roger
You stayin’ where you’re at, Roger…”
(apologies to Jerry Herman)
So the Rocket got permission from MLB to come to ST to pitch to the Astros minor leaguers.
You know, he just warming up for the Bud Selig Tournament – you know, the one that guys are dropping out of at record rates with, uh, pulled something or, um, uh, strained whatevers. But after that, Roger can just decide if he wants to give it another go.
Smile
I don’t see him working out at the Yanks/Red Sox/ Rangers complexes, do yall?????
And I’m pretty darn sure we ain’t gonna see him at their ML parks, neither.
No news on the Baggy front. Just the usual – waaaal, we’ll see how things go ay-yup. Yes Drayton and Jeff just wanna see how things go and they shook hands yesterday like gemmuns do and things be hunkydory yessiree. Drayton is keeping mouth SHUT bout the insurance… IF Baggy can hit with power and throw well this spring, AND he convinces the insurance company that he’s not disabled so he does make the team, who knows if he’ll hold up through the entire season playing every day? He might could split playing time with Lance and Lamb anyhow…
One thing I thought of – yall know that this year, baseball is supposed to be drug-free (cough, cough) and that means not just illegal steroids, but illegal amphetamines, too. Now, of course, I don’t know IF any guys on the Astros have done “greenies” to, um, help them play (I guess I’m not supposed to say enhance performance, because that’s only roids, used by bad guys like Barry, Sammy, Raffy and McGwire to desecrate the Sacred Home Run Records. Oh yeah, and used by el-sucko players like Alex Sanchez and Manny Alexander for comic relief…)
Anyhow, it seems to me that there’s gonna need to be a lot more platooning if guys aren’t allowed to use because they gonna be more tired than usual. (Note, I am NOT accusing anyone in particular of doing drugs – although I find it hard to believe that IF greenie use is as widespread as some players have said, that the entire Astros team is squeaky clean…)
Using bench guys more often would most DEFINITELY fit with Phil Garner’s style, fer SHER…
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
It’s probably best to assume that most Astros (yes even the famous ones) have at the very least dabbled with the pep pills. The greenies have a hallowed history both within the game in general and with the Astros in specific, if you’ve read Ball Four. Dierker’s gone on about his experience with them on more than one occasion, too.
I’m sure that the usage has gone down since Bouton first published his book, as everyone’s become more “ath-aletic type” but with teams frequently playing 21 games in 21 days, you can bet your keister they haven’t gone away entirely.
Not that I’d really want ‘em to, if they make Brandon Backe–to suppose just one purely hypothetical not making any kind of accusations at all example–behave in the entertaining way that he does.
or, um, Jose Lima . . .
I’ve read stories from the punditocracy comparing amphetamine usage with that of steroids, but to me they’re two different fish. I guess if steroids didn’t have an effect on the statistics I wouldn’t be so pissed off about them either. . . .
Lisa—I want to know if Poppa Rocket popped a greenie before brushing sonny boy back Monday afternoon.
…*he ducks…he runs…*—Jeff
Rastronomicals—Jose Lima didn’t need a greenie to shift his act into gear. He’s the kind of ebullient that’s great for a team even when he isn’t pitching well. My fellow Met fans (I speak from experience, having spent a year watching Lima Time out here on the left coast in ’04) are going to love this guy even if he has days when not even pinking shears would help him cut the corners…(P.S. The only thing we know about ‘roids is what we don’t know. And what we don’t know, as Mr. Will Carroll makes plain enough in his imperative book, The Juice, is…plenty.)—Jeff
rastronomicals -
well, i’m not real too sure that roids DID have much of any effect on statistics, unless, of course, you mean the Sacred Home Run Record.
seems to me the users mostly AAAA junky guys. and seems guys who gained a lot of muscle suddenly got injured a LOT. so i’m not real too worried.
and if you found out that, say rickey, was on greenies the year he got the stolen base record, would you be all Up Set?
and jeff,
here and i’m wondering if sonny boy popped a greenie before homering offn the old man…
lisa
Nah, if someone wrote in his book that Henderson took a pep pill at breakfast lunch and dinner it wouldn’t bother me. . . .
If you agree that steroids have affected the home run totals–and yes! I think they’re sacred–it’d be hard to make the case that they haven’t affected other numbers as well.
For example in 1993 NL slugging hadn’t been over .400 but once since 1959. It’s never been *under* since.
OBP’s on the other hand have been up slightly, but haven’t been that much above, 1987, let’s say.
There’ll be an even stronger link, I’m guessing after the 2006 season has played out.