The Astros and their finest hour

In the movie Apollo 13 there is a special moment when things are looking grim for the three astronauts and the crippled spaceship that the crew and the support staff on the ground are all trying to baby back to Earth. The director of NASA says, “This could be the worst disaster NASA’s ever experienced.” At this Flight Director Gene Kranz replies, “With all due respect sir, I believe this will be our finest hour.” And it was.

Sometimes all an organization or a team needs is that type of attitude from someone in a lead position when things are looking their worst.

And let’s face facts. Though the Astros are dealing with a tough offseason of disappointment, loss on the field, loss in the locker room and potential loss of respect throughout baseball, the team is not in the type of shape that crippled spaceship was in back in 1970.

Still, this team could enjoy its finest hour if it can overcome the losses or potential losses of Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley, Collin McHugh, Will Harris, Joe Smith, Hector Rondon, Jake Marisnick, Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado, the salary restrictions of bumping up and over the luxury tax level and whatever findings and punishment potentially appears out of the cheating scandal.

So what should the Astro fans hang their hats on in expecting this team to experience their finest hour?

  1. This lineup. The Astros, even if they don’t improve the catcher spot (which I fully believe they will), they are loaded. Look at these names – Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, George Springer, Michael Brantley, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez, and Yuli Gurriel. Each one has the ability to be an All Star, to be a Player of the week or month and most have the ability to at least be talked about in the MVP race.
  2. Space for offensive improvement. while the catcher spot might regress a bit there is certainly potential for upward improvement with this team. ROY Yordan Alvarez will play a whole year this time not half a season. Carlos Correa could easily play a lot more games this time around. Kyle Tucker may get a lot more chances to show he is an offensive force with his bat and his feet. Aledmys Diaz also could play more – he was just coming into his own when he got hurt. And of course  there is some addition by subtraction with no Tyler White or Jake Marisnick at bats.
  3. The rotation is not chopped liver. A rotation of Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers, Jose Urquidy and the Charlie Morton / Wade Miley flavor of the year would be quite a solid five when compared to what most teams toss out there. And then if Forrest Whitley or Bryan Abreu or one of the other youngsters forces their way into the picture…they could easily be a top 5 rotation.
  4. More space for offensive improvement. The Astros were not an especially good team with runners in scoring position or RISP with 2 outs. They were insanely bad when trailing headed into the 9th for a team with 107 wins. If they just improve these a little bit it could make a huge difference in their performance.
  5. Been there done that. This team knows how to win. They’ve won more than 100 games three years in a row. In the last five seasons, they’ve given themselves four good chances to go all the way (Winning it all in 2017, losing to eventual champs in 2015, 2018 and 2019).
  6. The top supports the bottom. Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow have shown the ability and the will to do what it takes to make big moves for this team
  7. This seems to be a solid coaching staff with AJ Hinch holding a solid but not too tight rein on his team

The bottom line is that this team has the type of talent and pedigree to win it all in 2020, which could represent this team’s finest hour.

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80 responses to “The Astros and their finest hour”

  2. Yeah, I just read it too.
    For years MLB has abused the Astros every chance they’ve had. Going all the way back to the 2005 WS and the open roof fiasco.
    This is gonna be bad and ugly and will probably be drawn out until ST.
    I will be surprised if any player will want to come here as long as this owner and front office are together.
    30 teams and MLB has chosen ours as their whipping boy.

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    • Yeah well it seems that part of the punishment is in delaying the real punishment long enough to help make this off season all the more difficult to navigate for the Astros!

      But alas Dan, how fitting you are at Disney World! It’s given you a positive outlook on things! I was optimistic yesterday. I’m optimistic today. We’ve got a very good baseball team right now. Of course, some young guys will have to make the best of the opportunities that they’ll have a shot at. Guys like Straw, Urquidy, Abreu, Whitley, Toro, Javier. And I like Diaz in 2020. There are other names too. And so importantly, the roster, especially our starters, is going to have to stay healthy. Wouldn’t it be great if Carlos Correa took on a leadership role and had the best season of his career over 150 games?

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  3. I apologize for not linking to these stories but I have limited access/abilities on the road. (If I only had the maids clanging the trash cans out here on the road….)
    On mlbtraderumors they talk about the Correa situation and the Astros vs the luxury tax line. They also include Mets’ interest in Correa, some other interest in Toro and that the Astros have kicked the tires on Dodgers’ catcher Austin Barnes

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  4. The Rule 5 draft is later today. The Astros have two of their top 30 prospects exposed, OF Ronnie Dawson, a former high draft choice and SS Jonathan Arrauz, who came from Philly in the Giles trade. However, often the ones drafted are a surprise or an unknown to most of us fans. We shall see.

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  5. I will predict we lose Yohan Ramirez; and possibly Nick Tanielu to the Mariners. Arauz is too light hitting, although he showed well in Corpus last year.

    There was a question about Jojanse Torres being in the MIL org, and whether he’s exposed; I don’t believe he is, or he’d be snagged. Jayne has him exposed actually. Not good.

    Brandon Bailey is a definite possible to be taken (thereby receiving NOTHING in the Laureano trade).

    If I were another team, I’d be interested in Ralph Garza. Some who I hope “messed up enough to be overlooked” are Felipe Tejada, Carlos Sanabria, Humberto Castellanos and Chad Donato. I also like Pinales and Leovanny Rodriguez, but they should be safe.

    Last year, Riley Ferrell and Drew Ferguson were taken, and subsequently returned.

    Here is the always excellent primer.
    https://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/

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      • Sad, sad, there goes Yohan… 100 mph with poor control but wipeout stuff /sigh.
        Anybody even heard of him here? Even the Sporting News misspelled his name Johan. After my friend’s son told me on the Dodgers AA team, I tried getting the word out immediately.

        We lost Arauz to Cora.

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      • Can’t help to like Yohan. Low hits per 9. Great K numbers. But alas, although guys fear digging in against him, he’s not been able to keep the ball over the plate. Maybe he’ll figure it out all of a sudden and make some Club very happy one day.

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    • So the rest of the majors decided we should lose three guys, while 22 teams lost no one in the major league portion of the draft. Further punishment on us or a sign of how good our minors are?

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  8. I’ll keep reading this blog, but I don’t care anymore. I threw every single thing astros related a month ago.

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  9. Becky, I know you care. You can’t make me believe you don’t. I was thinking last night what kind of an attendance drop we’ll have in 2020. Hard to guess at until we find out the sanctions against our team and who might be guilty of what. One thing I do know is we are going to have a lot of guys out to prove they did not put up stats by cheating. Let’s see where the process takes us! In the meantime, peace to you and yours..

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  11. Some Astros thoughts:
    * The Astros could have kept the two pitchers they lost in the Rule 5 draft, by DFAing a couple of players on the 40-man. But, they didn’t. That tells me they did not think it was worth it.
    * There were not a lot of Astros rumors floating around the Winter Meetings and that tells me the Astros Luxury Tax situation has them sitting on the brake pedal.
    * It seems to me when there are $100+ million deals flying all over the place, that there wasn’t much time to discuss $4 million deals. I believe the Astros will take their time finishing up the roster.
    *The health of Tyler Ivey is the biggest mystery and the biggest wild card in the Astros farm system, in my opinion. When he has been available, he has pitched so well.
    * Now that they have figured out what happened to make the baseball a “superball” last season, I wonder if they will fix it. All the talk about how the Astros ruined pitcher’s careers with their cheating, doesn’t come close to how many pitcher’s careers Major League Baseball ruined by putting that ball into play in the majors as well as AAA, turning ERAs into a farce.
    *Teams are spending boatloads of money this year trying to actually win and you can tell how happy all the sport writers/tweeters are that players are raking in stupid money.
    *Long after 1oldpro is gone, will you younger folks remember that he was the first to predict that Scott Boras will be the first agent elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

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    • I sure hope Ivey is not just a tease. It’s time for him to put a year together with no suspensions and no trips to the DL. When you go from 112 innings down to 52, can we expect more than 125 in 2020? That might be too many.

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  12. Here are some interesting stats:
    – The Round Rock express had the fifth lowest team ERA in the PCL last season, despite being the youngest age of any pitching staff in the league at 25.2 years of age. League average age of pitchers was 26.7 years old.
    – The league average ERA in the PCL was 5.49. Brandon Bielak’s ERA was 4.41 at age 23.
    – The Round Rock express had the second youngest average age of position players in the PCL, at 25.0 average age, behind only the Memphis Redbirds at 24.8 yo
    – Despite being so young, the Express led the PCL, by far, with the feweast errors by their team. They committed only 69 errors in 140 games. Iowa was second with 79 errors.
    – The Astros do not stash older players in AAA. They move their younger players up.

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    • It is so weird – they were both so very good that either one could have won it with no complaints from REAL fans.
      Cole was a great K guy
      Verlander WHIP number was historically good
      You certainly can have an opinion on either but an absolute proof is just silly

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  15. Looking back on the 2019 season, I think August 9th was one of the most significant nights of the year, because I think this is the night the Astros lost their fourth starter, Wade Miley.
    It looks like an innocent little 3-2 Astros win against what was then the worst team in baseball. But Miley really struggled that night and threw 100 pitches in 5.2 innings against a terrible club. He was never the same for the Astros.
    I’ll wonder about if he started to feel pain that night and what if he had been the same pitcher from then through the playoffs that he had been from April through July.

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  17. What if you, as an owner and a GM, had talked it over and figured out that it was likely the MLB was going to come down on your franchise in a crippling way, consisting of:
    1. Banning of the GM for life;
    2. Fining the owner multi-millions of dollars;
    3. Suspending at least one of your star players – probably Bregman, Springer, Correa, or Altuve- for the entire 2019 season;
    4. And taking away, and giving to the teams you beat in the playoffs in 2017 your top three draft picks in 2020 [3rd pick to Boston, 2nd pick to the Yankees, and the top pick to the Dodgers].

    If you knew these things were about to happen, how would you handle the off-season?

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    • Unless MLB tells you exactly what they are going to do I don’t know how you decide what to do. Each of those items affect you differently.
      GM goes away – most places have a progression plan – so maybe you let that person be more hands on?
      Going to get fined personally? You cut down caviar portions at your holiday parties?
      Losing a star for a season? You pretend he blew an ACL and play without him
      Losing draft picks? Really no short term affect

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    • The players union would wreak havoc if they picked one player to suspend. First of all, a suspension would mean that player loses his salary. There’s a lawsuit right there by that player and his agent.
      I guess MLB could suspend Fiers for a year, since he knew about it and didn’t try to put a stop to it.
      They could not give draft picks to other teams from the playoffs. They would have to give draft picks to all the teams the Astros faced during the season. They can’t work out a deal like that. If you are gonna punish the Astros you just take away some of their picks.
      If I am the Astros, I know penalties are coming. But I continue to do business and that business is to win the World Series. If the Astros are not in the running for the playoffs by the deadline, I trade Springer, and Brantley and Reddick and Peacock and Gurriel for prospects to make up for all the lost draft picks because those guys will be free agents and Springer is the only guy who you would offer a QO to and he is going to turn it down and you’d only get a late second round draft pick for him in return. Those trades would drop enough payroll to get under the luxury tax and come next off season I reload in a big way so that I have good players signed for the coming years when the crap hits the fan with a new CBA in the winter of 2021.

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      • 1OP, and I’d add Verlander and Greinke to that list should the Astros be in such a position come July.

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  18. This is where I am today December 15 2019:
    I have supported, cheered for, and cried tears of joy when this team won it all.
    I cannot tell you the sadness and anger I’m feeling right now. To some of you, this is just business and a bump in the road. Clearly it is far more than that for me. I will not forget or forgive the *JERKS* who came up with this idea to steal signs using a camera to do so, or the person who banged the garbage can in the dugout. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to tell my grandsons their hero’S were not cheaters. I love this team…..but the sadness and anger that this has brought me has been devastating. Along the way I might comment on this blog, but those comments will be few and far between. This crap will forever taint this club, I’m sure they will be booed everywhere they play ESPECIALLY at the Yankees. I wonder what Garrit Cole will tell his new teammates????
    I’m done here, nothing will make it better. Becky

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    • What if they were exonerated?
      I can’t blame you Becky for being this angry – if true this is a big let down
      I think a lot of us out in the world are so worn down by the world that nothing surprises us anymore – we are almost numb to what happens every day

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      • Dan, that is what I am talking about. Everyone appears to believe the club is guilty already and the investigation is not even over and there are so many holes in the complaints.

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  19. Thought provoking posts today. I’ve already suggested that if our GM or manager gets suspended for a year by MLB, then our owner (assuming the owner is not found to be involved himself) should just terminate the suspended and move on. As far as other sanctions go, I’m sure MLB will provide definitive penalties and not leave any of that decision making to our organization.

    Becky, it’s not just business to me. I’m pretty sure we did something wrong. But I want to see to what degree we cheated and what MLB decides to do about it before I react. I know I’ll have plenty to say once the court of Manfred rules.

    Seems that the Rangers will at least have a batch of guys that will give them innings, even if they lose an arm or two along the way. I suppose that might make them better. At the very least, we’re going to have a more competitive division in 2020.

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  20. Becky, I understand your pain. I feel it too. But ever since this incident came to light, this blog lost contributors to it that I don’t want to lose.
    I refuse to let this incident put a dent in this blog, so I am going to continue to fly in the face of this and keep talking about the Astros.
    It’s not easy to not hear from people I have been involved with in a special way for years.
    Forgive me if I seem callous by talking about everything Astros. I am just not going to quit. My wife and I pray for you by name every night and it was for you that we do it, whether it’s for you in your fight against cancer, or your fight for the team you love. Our prayers cover everything Becky.
    The next time I think of something to write about the Houston Astros, I’m going to do it. Right here. Whenever I feel like it.
    My son ordered me one of those Astros WS commemorative championship rings online for my birthday. And when it gets here, I’m going to put it on with sass.

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  21. I agree 1oldpro. I absolutely refuse to believe that what we are accused of isn’t going on other places to a similar degree. I still don’t see how it benefited us all that much considering we didn’t win a game in the WS and in 2017 played way better on the road than at home. And I know all this has been stated before here on this blog. I personally don’t think it’s going to be a domesday scenario when it’s all said and done. And I also believe, as others have stated, that our team may well play with a chip on its shoulder in order to prove that our success was due to talent and work ethic and not by gaining an unethical advantage. Just my 2 cents.

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  24. I haven’t mentioned this but since op brought it up – I’m a little frustrated with the lower numbers around the blog as far as views, number of hits, number of different people coming in etc.
    It always go down offseason but it has been way down this time.
    I will try to continue giving good content and hope things pick up a bit

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    • Dan, that was a biter pill to swallow, those last 2 and 2/3 innings of the 2019 season. Some people might still be in therapy. Then we got hit with the Fiers Report. And there was the Goldstein idiocy. Combined, enough to send many into hiding. I’d guess other sites are experiencing the same issues.

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    • We’ve gone through a month and a half of no good news. We haven’t signed anyone. The leadership of the league plans to take us over the coals. And the other Cole went to play for the Empire. We kind of need something to happen so we can resume the off-season.

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  25. I have been in cell service purgatory for a few months. That limited my comments but again, did not have much to add. This team for the past few years has been competitive. With a break or two, they could have three WS rings. This coming season, they have a good chance to advance in the playoffs.

    Now for my political take. If we have learned anything over the last three years, if you want factual information, your best bet is twitter, some off the wall Internet site (insert Chipalatta) and not your normal news and information sources. Until I see something concrete on the Astros cheating, I am gong to treat it as just another rumor hyped by sports sites that is just “click bait.” That does not prove guilt or innocence, but what somebody saw or thought they saw or heard now 3 years ago does not meet my standard for what happened a couple months ago. I will be patient.

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  26. OP….thank you for bringing me back down from my hiding place, where I don’t allow anyone in. I’ve been reading about this investigation on ESPN, Jeff Passan and Tom Verducci have been writing about what’s new. Evidently Manfred has said several people who have confessed to it. It’s just too much for me to take.
    Someone with this organization decided to cheat, and I can’t forgive them for it. This man has taken my *ONE* earthly passion for over 50yrs and destroyed it. Time eventually heals the pain, but how long will that take?? The Astros fans Booed Beltran for YEARS everytime he played here. How long will it take before the booing stops when our guys go to another park to play???? My guess is it will be a very long time. And what about our team? How will this effect THEM? Can they block out all the stuff they will hear??? I wonder if Mike Fires realized the snowball he set in motion….the people who will lose their jobs, his former teammates who despise him for what he did?? I can’t imagine how our guys are feeling right now.
    Thank you your healing prayers OP…..sometimes it’s overwhelming getting poked and scanned to death. My oncologist gave me some good news last month and that was I don’t have to see him again until next June! I promise not to leave fellas and my girlfriends❤ It’s just going to take me some time to get through this. I’m just so dang sad.
    Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran won’t escape Manfred’S long arm…..maybe they should have thought about that when they went along with this….or maybe it was THEIR idea.

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  27. I don’t particularly think very much of Mr Fiers if he knew about it when he was here and didn’t say anything. Maybe he was too engrossed with winning and then he was all upset when he didn’t make the playoff roster. The sad part of this is that if those are guilty of the accusations then they should be punished. And I mean all those who participated no matter who they play or coach for now. I’d prefer that it all be a cooked up scheme in Fiers head but it doesn’t appear to be that. I thought that what if the alleged cheating didn’t result in any significant advantage? I would say that makes no difference as cheating is still cheating. The league had better have their ducks in a row over this and make some changes to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately, teams will still be looking to gain an edge any way that they can. The question is walking up to the line rather than crossing it into the realm of dishonesty.

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    • Sorry, long winded, scroll down if you wish, but a few mentions. First, I suppose that wa a good win for the Texans, Dan, probably a better week to write about football than last.

      Thank God, Sparks and his wife acted so quickly, and were in the hospital when it happened! I love Steve Sparks’ enthusiasm and dedication to the team. He and Ford talk about such complexities, I would have been absolutely devastated to lose him.

      Also hoping all the best for Becky, getting a little reprieve til June. I took my mom to several of those visits, and it helps to know you’re not alone in your fight! I can understand how thinking about the Astros is a reminder of some sour things.

      Comfort and more Christmas’ for Op1 and his wife, and to those others like Billy who are suffering. This blog is a unique place to share Astros thoughts and personal hurdles, where others care.

      As for the accusations, I don’t believe we used realtime electronic feed to signal pitches, after perhaps a spell that was Beltran’s idea in 2017. He and Cora were known for this, while Correa played with Beltran in the WBC in 2017. We all discussed openly how these players were known for it, but again why would he use signals on 2B (Beltran), if we had another elaborate scheme working?

      Dierker and Garner both think sign stealing is overblown, as neither effective nor possible. Garner said Ray Knight was so surprised when No Astro wanted his stolen signs, because it was misleading. If you’ve played baseball, you understand how easily it is to not only give a false sign, but also to know whether the other team is reading it.

      Logically, if a player has .004 seconds to decide whether to swing on a fastball, and the pitcher and catcher can change a sign with any type of undetectable signal, there is too great a chance the electronic feed will not be accurate. What player would risk his career, his instincts and integrity over a long period of time, AFTER the league has already punished Yankees and Red Sox? And what Manager would openly answer the question during the ALCS, “if we knew Yankees would be this focused on signaling signs, we’d have worked in Spring Training on it”? Not a guilty one.

      These are my hopes, and what I expect to happen.

      I think Manfred will suspend Luhnow for a year, or 6 months. He will take (2) 1st round picks, and fine the team $1M. He will only be able to corroborate the 2017 incidences, but show that it wasn’t used in the WS. He should suspend Cora, and Beltran for 3 months, if he is going to suspend Hinch.

      The Astros used a live feed to decode signs (“industry standard”), but did not use the information to signal pitches. If anything, video shows banging did NOT correspond to certain pitches, nor whistling, so it could have been used as the same way Cintron used his middle finger.

      To let them know, we know they are looking, too!

      Garner said back in the day, they just threw a baseball at your head if you tried stealing a sign. Baseball is so soft these days /sigh.

      Just let the teams decide it on the field, there is no going back from Pandora’s Box. Video will continue to be used — how in the world will anyone be able to prove they aren’t using it to decode and signal?! Manford is going to WRONG direction to punish harshly. Technology is going forward, smart phones tell you what you are already thinking! If you’ve read Astroball, or Lindbergh/Sawchik’s, The MVP Machine (using data to build better players), you know how deep into development the Astros are…

      I’M DIGGING IN FOR A FIGHT, and back my guys to the end, ALWAYS! When someone judges you, it says more about them. They are just angry at something in their lives than to get so bent out of shape. The utter hypocrisy of wanting everyone fired, but then paying our best pitcher any amount of money. They won’t be living rent free in my head though.

      I hope that our fans remain civilized, and try our best to ignore Fiers. To build a competitive fire under false accusations. To have some love in my heart for all the good that remains in the game. It’s not my choice we are talking about cheating, instead of prospects, and the most powerful team built. As per Fangraphs we are the favorites in WAR prediction in 2020. Why would we need a blockbuster trade? All we need is to shed one of the OF salary to get some flexibility back.

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      • “Garner said back in the day, they just threw a baseball at your head if you tried stealing a sign. Baseball is so soft these days”

        As someone who has had numerous concussions and several strokes, and have issues with short term memory, and I’m 41… I can safely say that I’m glad baseball is “soft” then.

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      • Bah….I hit submit before I was ready

        I’m glad sports are taking brain injuries more seriously now. I remember being 14 playing junior high football, getting my clocked clean , and being told I had to go back in one play later. I’m surprised I even remember that much. 8th grade football is Serious Business I guess.

        I wonder if Dickie Thon’s career would have ended immediately if his beaning had happened these days. Might as well have, as he had to play for both the Rangers AND the Phillies…I’d have retired immediately!

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      • The Angels threw at Jake’s head. I didn’t like it. Blummer objected. I see your point. But, it was the game policing itself, Marisnick taking the lump and moving on. And that. Was that. It’s a hard-nosed game, and not everyone can, or has the guts to play.

        But, because No 3B stopped the action during a trash can beating, or after we were publicly accused of whistling, no umpire stopped the game, then there shouldn’t be going back on it. That should have been vetted at the time.

        The Yanks know we look at their dugout, and they look at ours. We have been accused of filming it, but the Yanks have too because they saw Cintron shooting them the bird.

        They are all doing it, the difference is that in Garner’s day, you didn’t have to prove anything. It got settled immediately. This was my point.

        Sorry you got concussions. Were you wearing a baseball helmet?

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      • I really wish there was an edit option. And for some reason I’m only able to post new posts, just replies.

        Fiers can go **** himself. I didn’t care for him here, certainly not going to go all giddy over him now.

        You hit the nail on the head in regards to sign stealing not really having as much of an effect as is led to believe. There will be egg on a lot of faces after the Astros’s next WS win.

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      • @GoStros1 Happened on the football field, actually. Dude led with his helmet . Had one from baseball only, thanks to a tossed bat.

        My apologies if it looked like I was being prickly in my response. I’m ok with retaliation, just not at someone’s head. Plunk ’em in the side or something

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      • No problem, Billy.

        On the head injuries in sports, that’s a really tough one. While I side with more player compensation, it is terribly difficult to prove the higher leagues are completely responsible for a residual type of injury, if a person has been playing football for a long time before the pros, for instance.

        Plunking is probably always going to be around, and any teammate pitcher is expected to retaliate in obvious cases. Fiers went after Valbuena’s head, and that was the end of it in Houston for him. In retrospect, Mike Fiers looks like a cry baby who accepted his money and ring, and didn’t have the guts to challenge the Astros to come clean on their own. I feel the same about the journalist who could have gone to the team and league only. The story could have been in the off season about each entity’s complicity, but instead it took center stage on the eve of all we worked for all season.

        If we are found too harshly criticized, Manfred owes us an apology for dragging this through the mud, and only leaking information in increments that maximize extended cheating coverage. When he punished the Sox and Yanks, he couldn’t wait to be done with it, at the most minimal damage.

        Think of this — Manfred knew in 2018 (because Cora told them about Beltran, surely) about 2017, and promised harsher penalties for those in the future, AFTER the other two culprits were caught red-handed. How long has this been in the works, Mr. Commissioner?

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  29. This is a long read, but, if you would like to know more about how teams are scouting players without scouts, this is an important thing to absorb.
    It will definitely help you understand where the information was coming from and where it will be coming from in the future.

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  31. Thanks, OP.

    Let me pose a hypothetical to this audience?

    You all know what a bulldog competitor Lance McCullers, Jr. is. I can recall several times he has buzzed the tower to send a message. One memorable one against Nomar Mazara (after they had hit Altuve, and Gurriel) that LMJ bowed up and was ready for a fight, where Brain McCann had to tell the Ranger to cool his jets.

    I really believe Lance McCullers is going to retaliate against the A’s. Let’s say the Astros are *mostly* exonerated. What type of “answer” would you think is appropriate for Fiers, if any? I’m not sure how I would feel if the entire stadium was boo’ing the A’s, and we took some similar acton.

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    • My personal feeling is that you “retaliate” by cleaning Fiers clock from the batter’s box – knocking him out of the game – 6 runs in a couple innings. I think if you do anything that feels like you are throwing at his teammates for what he has done that mlb might put you on a looooong suspension.

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      • “My personal feeling is that you “retaliate” by cleaning Fiers clock from the batter’s box – knocking him out of the game – 6 runs in a couple innings. ”

        Shouldn’t be TOO hard; it’s Mike Fiers after all

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      • I wish I could agree, but the last two seasons he has been 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA and 15-4 with a 3.90 ERA (and somewhere in there he had his second no-hitter, which I think was his 2nd career complete game). For some reason he has been a lot better since leaving Houston.

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      • Any one remember Mike Fiers being accused of cheating when he threw the no hitter for Houston and again with the A’s. Yes, something might be stinky and its not that left over tuna that’s been sitting out a couple of days. Be careful Mikey, Paybacks are hell.

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  32. I want to know who I am pissed at for what before I determine how I’d like to “mash dem up” as the locals would say.

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      • One of them would be the young woman in October of 2018 who spilled her contraband rum something down my back from the row behind, then an inning later fell over on my back with a newer beverage in hand. No help was available from the security experts in the vicinity. It was not until she threw up on my back that Houston’s Finest finally came down, grabbed her and the posse and then sent them out the door into the night with an ejection. I sure hope none of them had a car to drive. Anyway, she would be perfect for Manfred.

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      • I would suggest a small change here, daveb. While she was throwing up on Manfred’s back, I would suggest that we set up a diversionary tactic to distract the security folks so she can throw up a few more times

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      • Be sure she eats something totally disgusting from the concession stand prior to the event. Maybe she can have a paregoric cocktail prior to the event. My mother game me a spoonful the summer I graduated from High School after an evening of way too much drinking. I can vividly remember the whole incident and it was many moons before I ever took another drink.

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      • Z, I would suggest the following that should be available at the park…
        – Foot long hot dog with chili cheese
        – A potato with brisket and BBQ sauce, sour cream and chives
        – Green chili chicken nachos
        – Fried Mac and Cheese
        – Rainbow dippin’ dots

        Now that should keep it coming for awhile and ruin any $10,000 suit the commish might be wearing

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