Well, I just sat through the press conference.
He’s back.
Looks like Newsday DID scoop Ken Rosenthal. hehhehheh.
Looks like Steve Phillips was dead wrong. hehhehheh.
Roger gonna be paid a 22 mill pro-rated salary. He’s going to go to Lexington (where Koby is) to face live hitters, to get himself in game shape, but there’s no word on when he’s actually going to re-join the rotation. He’s going to take either Taylor Buchholz or Fernando Nieve’s spot, and at this time, I’d guess Fernando, who would be the long man, or he’d be sent down – he takes a LONG time to warm up.
I really never thought he’d go back Up There – he’s too happy here. He’s got all the Ringsss and Thingsss already and he wants to be THE Daddy, not just another guy. He LIKES working with the other pitchers, he doesn’t have to be “The Captain” – that is a title the bosses give a guy. Males always talk about “leader” – to me, that’s some guy who pushes other guys around by intimidation or by force. That’s not Roger at all. I think every guy on this club thinks Roger, even though he only plays every 5 days, is the ONE thing we need to Go All The Way.
Gonna be a lot more sellouts here at the Box. Roger has done more to make Astros baseball THE Houston sport than anyone has ever done, including Nolan Ryan. Roger is worth every penny he’s paid.
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
I would also guess that Nieve will be the one bumped from the rotation. Buchholz has been inconsistent but has shown glimpses of above-average-ness while Fernando has just been consistently mediocre.
Too bad Roger doesn’t hit like Albert. Well, at least he might be better than Willy or Preston. Maybe Koby will be able to hit and play outfield and Roger will demand that he play.
I was in STL over Memorial Day weekend and had a chance to stick around for Monday’s game, but it would’ve meant not getting home until midnight, then having to do laundry before work Tuesday morning. Given the game, I think I made a wise decision.
I hope Roger likes the worship he’ll get, plus the decent payday; I don’t think there’s a return trip to the playoffs for the Astros this year, unless 75 wins manages to cut it. Then again, this time last year, I figured they’d end up about 70-92, so you never know.