Sorry bout that – guess all the reports wuz rongggg. He’s apparently talking to the Rangers and – get this – the Astros?? He is no longer worth 15 mill a year, but he’s certainly worth more than minimum wage. It’s not that I’m exactly into Veteran Presence, but I’m going to be sicker than sick watching AA and AAA starters (besides Bud Norris) try to last 5 innings vs major league hitters.
I’m not sure that I do want him back if his back is so bad that he’s looking at minimum wage jobs.
I’ve been looking at Biggio’s records, now that he’s up for the Hall of fame next year. You know, in 1997, he created more WAR than Barry Lamar Bonds Himself?? Biggio was THAT damm good, and my last memories of him are of the 40 year old crotchety guy handing on for dear life to get to 3000 hits when he should have long since retired. I had almost forgotten how GOOD he used to be. I don’t want my last memories of Roy to be of yet another washed up starter or crappy reliever.
I want to remember the guy who stared down Uncle Albert every single PA, in spite of the fact that Uncle had a .906 OPS against. I want to remember the guy who pitched to Barry Lamar Bonds on Opening Day 2004, 8th inning, with the tying runs on base and the Astros leading 3 - 1.
That’s really the first entry I ever wrote – it’s was for David Pinto’s Baseball Musings. I remember how he talked me into blogging. I also see that very very few blogs on his sidebar are the same ones that were there in June 2004 when I finally started this here very blog.
Anyway, I doubt Roy would want to come to a 120 loss team. He wanted OUT just 2 years ago because it looked like a 100 loss team and he as tired of the attitude. It’s not like the attitude has improved, and there are fewer good players. Roy always SAID he would not want to hang on forever,long after he’d lost his stuff, but of course, it’s easy to say that when you are a 24 year old ace on a good team…
Tags: Houston Astros
If we end up with Kyle McClellan out of the deal, we could do a lot worse.
Lisa,
You called Barry Bonds…hot. *Inigo Montoya voice* “You called Barry Bonds…hot. You called Barry Bonds…hot. Prepare to die”
Eric
eric
laughing
he was one of the 5 most beautiful, most perfect looking men i have ever seen. i mean, before age 40. I did, however, prefer the leaner version. he had a killer smile and when he was happy, just oozed charisma. it is too bad he couldn’t turn it on at will, he could have really been something on TV/movies – but he really didn’t have any interest in it.
Well, Bond’s “cream and clear” is gonna keep him out of Cooperstown. It’s just too bad that Jeff Bagwell is likely collateral damage as far as his HOF chances go..he was unlucky enough to have played in the Steroid Era.
Unless the HOF voters have a significant change of heart…pretty much anyone named in the Mitchell Report is NOT going to get inducted into Cooperstown, period.
Yeah I know Babe Ruth was a drunk and Ty Cobb was a complete and unmitigated jerk. And I have little doubt Gaylord Perry’s HOF path was eased by a good deal of sandpaper and Vaseline.
To this day when I think of Rafael Palmeiro’s finger wagging at Congress and telling them that he absolutely did NOT do steroids..well that pretty much cratered all of his HOF chances.
And I’m astonished Bug the Dud Selig is getting a extension, but frankly speaking I regard him as being simply a hand puppet for MLB owners. He wrung his hands over the entire steroid era as much as he wrung his hands over the tied All-Star game. If he ever gets elected to the HOF, it’ll be one of the biggest jokes evah.
Still…I hope that if either Bags or Biggio gets inducted into the HOF..it’ll be as a pair. They were the face of the Astros throughout their entire careers.
eric
cmon, bud and everyone else knew good n well that the guys were using steroids. they aided and abetted until they had to pretend they knew NOTHEEEENK. buddy boy released some kind of statement, not legally binding on major leaguers, in the early 90s, about steroids – then he tries to pretend 10 year later he didn’t even know they existed or some such crap. i guarantee you the ball was juiced and i know that the strike zone was all shrunken.
when all the hollerin got started after nowitski’s little private war against barry lamar got sponsored by the taxpayer money, buddy and the owners decided to pretend how outRAGED they were bout every thang those AWFUL ballplayers were doing.
i actually believe palmeiro’s story that he got a bad B-12 shot from miggy tejada who we KNOW did steroids. not sure why nobody believes him. of course, that doesn’t mean he hadn’t tried them before.
the way the BBWAA have decided, WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE, who is guilty and who is innocent, is really an interesting thing. the psychologist ought to get at it. i mean, deciding that griffey must be innocent. deciding that bagwell must be guilty. not caring a bit about guys like pudge rodriguez, who is actually on the mitchell report, and is a no doubt about it hall of famer.
and the reaction by people who are so horrified by the use of steroids – you’d think they were more dangerous to adult males than any of the other drugs that are shrugged at. they can’t even be used to help athletes repair muscle damage.
i sometimes wish i had tapes from the games in the 90s. i remember how good the teams were, but the years and the games all run together and it’s only when i read some box scores or look at stats that i remember. biggio was the best player in the NL in 97 but larry walker hit more home runs. and, poor larry, even that won’t get him into the Hall. the writers don’t think much of 5 tool guys unless they hit a lot of homers
Yep, Bud the Dud did the ostrich head in the sand thing as far as steroids go. Anyone who didn’t think Bud knew that steroids were all over the place is purely delusional. For all the mockery about Jose Canseco and his book on baseball and steroids..he definitely had the last laugh.
The entire steroid era pretty much vindicated most of what Jose had been saying all along.
But I agree..the persecution of Barry Lamar Bonds was a complete waste of money and so was the Congressional hearings on steroids in baseball. That was after all taxpayer money they were spending like it was Monopoly money.
And on a side note, Congress itself needs investigating far more than baseball ever deserved or needed.
eric
trouble with congress is that it might could attract some decent people but the ones who might could have been decent turn into greedy power hungry shttheads right quick
doesn’t bother them to have wasted umpty millions of dollars persecuting barry lamar and rogah clemens
I had a crazy dream last night about the Astro’s season….
They stunk in April. The sophomore’s regressed. The pitchers were driven out early in the game. Closers blew the few opportunities they had.
But something happened in May. They started to win a few games.
Lowrie started hitting home runs. Lanky Weiland stopped walking batters and began to hit the corners. Bourgeois became a starter in the outfield and stole a few bases every week. The sophomores began making adjustments.
They kept winning. Trade rumors about the deadline began to subside. They won ten games in a row at one stretch. Art Howe said he’d run the bases in a chicken suit if they made it eleven. They did.
In early July, Luhnow announces that “we’re in a pennant race”. No one is traded at the deadline.
After the rough August, the team bands together and plays like the Astro’s of old. “Carpenter Nails” gets save after save, though the game scores can run a little high.
They are within striking distance of one of the Wild Card slots, and the town really pulls together to back them. Bourgeois steals home for his 70th stolen base and the Wild Card slot…
Then I woke up. Man!!!
Bruce,
Whatever you took that night..I want it.
eric,
youse gots to lay off the spicy foods before going to bed…. i mean, if we gonna have fantasies, i would have had bogusevic setting the Astros stolen base record. and jack shuck in there with Bourgy too. with mary jane schafer in double A like they sent towles that one year. and CJ having a mo ensberg 2005 year. and kody hinze getting called up after brett wallace once more couldn’t hit ML pitching. and chris wallace called up after castro stubbed something and got wally pipped. and altuve winning the batting title. And Julio Daniel Martinez hitting like he did at Corpus – 959 OPS. And chris snyder having a monster comeback year.
except it would also kill me for crane to have any success after selling us out to the AL – it WAS his doing – got his 70 mill pieces of gold…
Here’s our secret weapon – sshhhh!
http://www.rotohardball.com/2011/10/31/2526111/matt-downs-deep-sleeper
From 13 pieces of silver to 70 million pieces of gold…well inflation’s definitely made betrayal/selling out very lucrative indeed in modern times.
Lisa- speaking about Roy Oswalt, he has manged to p$ss off a few teams who would have signed him. This might come back to bite him in the a$$. The Cards
aren’t gonna give him $10 million to pitch for them, you can take THAT to the bank. *IF* he signs with the Cards, he will fight for a spot in the rotation. They really don’t NEED him, neither do the Rangers. Funny how things have worked out for him……..from the “ace” of the staff for the Astros, to looking for a new home. My, my…. my…….how the mighty have fallen! Becky:)
Roy,
Come home! We’ll buy you a trailer for your bulldozer!
becky
i’d rather have roy in the rotation than westbrook. and i would be VERY surprised if roy signed with the astros because of 2 reasons:
1 – crane ain’t paying more than minimum wage
2 – roy doesn’t want to go back to pitching for a 100+ loss team
Oswalt is *NOT* coming back to the Astros. PERIOD! No amount of money would be worth his returning to a team, who can’t score runs for him. He’s a victim of his own greed. Becky:)
13?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1052303-houston-astros-predicting-the-astros-opening-day-lineup
Apropos of Everything Astros: At a recent BarBQ/Silent Auction fund raiser by a 5-A Houston high school for their baseball program, the only item that did not receive even one bid??? Astros shirt/cap and tickets.
I’m wearing my Astros cap around in the frozen north.
zagger,
they aren’t worth anything any more, not surprised. Am also not surprised to hear they didn’t draw flies to their usual winter traveling caravan – because don’t nobody CARE no mo.
bruce,
that’s a good idea – what you hear about it will make your ears burn…
The party is OVAH, its time to call it a night.
but sceptor,
dontchu want to watch brett wallace “play” 3rd base? i mean, even for comic relief???