Some days this Astros’ writing is a tough job

Your loyal servant, Dan P, is sick of “it” at this point. “It” of course being the interminable and depressing Astros cheating scandal.

My mind keeps drifting back to the movie “Speed” and a line that Dennis Hopper as cop turned bomber Howard Payne says. “A bomb is made to explode. That’s its meaning. Its purpose. Your life is empty because you spend it trying to stop the bomb from becoming.”

I feel a bit empty lately because I want this story to stop. I want to stop it from becoming. But it is like when the Cat in the Hat is trying to clean up the house and instead he keeps spreading the dirt more and more. This story is a wildfire that is not getting put out any time soon, because the media loves “clicks” and it is not to the media’s benefit (read bottom line) to wrap this up and move on to another story.

It is also a story for which it is easy to keep fanning the flames. You think you can end it by letting AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow go? No. Because every day they are looking for a replacement, every day they are bringing in another candidate it will get mentioned. Will hiring their replacements bring it to an end? No. Because then you have to talk to the replacements about it and you have to try and see if someone not named Hinch and Luhnow shares in the blame (players/Crane), Will having the players do a very controlled apology press conference followed by a wide-open locker room for interviews end it? No. Because everything that is said or not said is parsed and dissected by the media who were there or were reading the Cliff Notes second hand. Will playing exhibition games end it? No. Especially when you lead off with the 2019 WS Nationals. Will starting the season end it? No. Every time you play someone you played in the playoffs (or within a hundred miles of someone you played in the playoffs), it will get brought up. Every time you play a team where a former player now resides it will get brought up. Every time you play some team or player who thinks they suffered something at your hands since 2016 (or even before) it will be brought up. Will making the playoffs or even winning the World Series end it? No. The media has found nice fresh meat and they will ride this story as long as there are folks fired up and incensed about this. There will be folks who think if they win in 2020 that they cheated some more. There will be folks who think they are “getting away with it” if they win with players that they think should have been banned for life.

So where is Dan P’s head right now…..

How much can you trust a cheater? It is a weird situation. The players were given immunity by the league if they told the truth. We know they absolutely cheated in 2017 and maybe a bit in 2018. Do we believe them when they say they did not cheat before 2017 or especially in 2019 when the Astros almost won a World Series that might have been clouded too? Do we believe Jim Crane when he does his best Sgt. Schultz “I knew nothing” routine? Do we believe him when he lays it all at Luhnow and Hinch’s feet? Do we believe Carlos Correa when he says his good buddy and countryman Carlos Beltran did not intimidate younger players to follow him? Do we believe Jose Altuve when he says modestly is why he didn’t want his teammates to take off his jersey back when he walked off the 2019 ALCS?

Is this karma coming back around? Friend of the blog, Diane hit on this, but many of us were a bit uncomfortable with some of the over the top gamesmanship of players, especially Alex Bregman. Most of us thought teams like the Yankees were owed some bad karma for their arrogance and feelings of entitlement over the years. But is there anything cockier than someone possibly launching a homer after being signaled what pitch was coming and then posing like a peacock in the dugout?

On the other hand…. Relative to 2019, Gerrit Cole, who now is getting paid the equivalent of a small country’s GNP for the Astros’ playoff rival (the Yanks) has straight out said he saw no cheating in his time with the Astros. He has no reason to not be honest and to endear himself to his new fans. Unless….well of course he could be using semantics in saying he did not “see” anything if it was all done by buzzers under the clothes. Oh, my brain hurts from this.

Astros PR advice either sucks or is not being taken…. After a complete fail in public relations with the Brandon Taubman meltdown, the press conference on Thursday seemed to continue a tendency for this organization to have a tin ear towards the public. While it was not as ignorant as the way the club backed up Taubman and accused his accuser without really gathering all the facts, the choice to have Jim Crane as a very defensive emcee standing behind his fairly stiff and very tight-lipped apologist ballplayers was a poor one. As Seth Payne stated on 610 Sports (KILT) this morning, they would have been much better off going straight to the open clubhouse interviews than the 90 second long “I’m sorry – can we move on” canned scripts. As Payne stated, this allowed the national press to concentrate on Crane’s contradictory statements and answers and the inadequate apologies, when the clubhouse interviews were more sincere and more natural. Note – I was wondering if you go back to the speeches and looked really close you could find Bregman, and Altuve blinking in code “My family is being held captive by the MLB and I am being forced to read from their script.” 

OK – I am ready to return to real baseball in my next post, but I had to get this out of my system.

←
→

68 responses to “Some days this Astros’ writing is a tough job”

  1. 1971. The James Gang, featuring Joe Walsh.

    ‘Seems to me . . . you don’t wanna talk about it –
    seems to me . . . you turn your pretty head and walk away.’

    This should be our entire team’s walk up music for 2020.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Full lyrics, for the unitiated:

      Takin’ my time; choosin’ my lines
      Tryin’ to decide what to do
      Looks like my stop! Don’t want to get off
      Got myself hung up on you

      Seems to me … you don’t want to talk about it
      Seems to me . . . you just turn your pretty head and walk away

      Places I’ve known; things that I’m growin’
      Don’t taste the same without you
      I got my self in the worst mess I’ve been
      And I find myself starvin’ without you

      Seems to me … you don’t want to talk about it
      Seems to me . . . you just forget what we said and greet the day.

      I’ve got to cool myself down; Stompin’ around
      Thinkin’ some words I can’t name ya
      Meet you half way, got nothing to say
      Still I don’t suppose I can blame ya

      Seems to me … you don’t want to talk about it
      Seems to me . . . you just turn your pretty head and walk away

      Like

      Reply

      • Some age better than others. But just let me say that . . . well, yes . . .
        life’s been good to me so far.

        Like

      • From a PR standpoint, Crane could probably improve his public presentation if he wants to represent our Houston team. That said, it really doesn’t matter if he had been more statesman like. Those who are not Astro fans seem to be in a feeding frenzy of abuse toward this team. Apoligizing at this point should be to the city of Houston and Astro fans. I personally don’t care about the feelings of Yankee, Dodger, Oakland players, their fans and these national writers. All those teams have cheated to some extent too. Our players will benefit themselves and our fans by being at their best this season. Apology time should be over. We have a very talented team and the rest of the league knows it.

        Liked by 4 people

  2. I’m hoping this is the last time I react to the noise (wish I could promise). What the Astros did was wrong, and really foolish. But, they did it, not me. I don’t have to internalize any of the criticism, because it’s not how I would have done it.

    This is one of the best explanations for my mindset. It comes from an Astros friend who has followed the minor leagues for 40 years, an approved father and husband, and good man. Will leave it at that.

    “None of us have specific proof that we can provide to you as none of us were in the clubhouses or video rooms during games. However, quite a number of us and probably you know there are many, many publicly available quotes/stories regarding suspicion of rampant sign-stealing throughout baseball. Whether or not it was illegal in nature we cannot be certain but it’s not much of a logical leap.

    In at least a couple of the MLBPA meetings the last few years, pace of play has come up as an issue and pervasive sign-stealing has been acknowledged as a culprit. Not surprisingly, nothing was done to try and curb it. The Commissioner’s Office has received multiple complaints about teams going beyond “acceptable” bounds in stealing signs over the last 3 years but very little was done until Mike Fiers went public.

    While I share your disappointment (it’s bad when one guy breaks a rule, it’s worse when there is org-wide conspiracy to go beyond bounds) it’s not inconsistent to look at the available evidence and conclude, unlike Mr. Manfred, the use of electronic devices/systems in order to steal signs and communicate them in real-time is not limited to just one team. So while the Astros deserve their lumps it is not inconsistent to say ‘we did wrong’ and yet feel like a scapegoat.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. This takes me back to high school. Margie broke up with me. Then she felt like she needed to EXPLAIN why she broke up with me. So it started at SHOCK but the more she talked and talked and talked – the more it went to ANGER.

    But it took maybe a couple weeks, but then it meant nothing to me. We will get over it and survive. So will the Astros.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. That Rosenthal guy seems to have one job these days. Ken, how about a bit of an effort on the Boston transgressions, or do you not want to offend any of your pals at MLB in New York?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. -I eliminated MLBTR from my favorites because of their obvious attempts to trash the Astros in every blog they post about anything to do with the Astros. I am not as well informed on baseball because of my decision to not give them clicks, but it is the only way I can repay them for what they are doing.
    – Because of my decision, I didn’t know Tony Kemp had been traded. I saw an article about him on MLB.com and read it, but it turns out it is an article used to trash the Astros. So, what I will do is keep reading MLB.com, but not read any of their articles about past or present Astros players.
    -I’m not searching on anyone’s baseball twitter account except for McTaggart, because his affiliation with the team will limit his references to the scandal, hopefully, and give me info on the team and its players.
    -I am still contemplating what to do about watching games this season. I pay a pretty good amount of money for the package on AT&T, so that is something that I will need to weigh carefully, as the medical bills and drug bills keep on coming.
    -I have had conversations with Mrs. 1op almost daily for the last several years about baseball, but I have tried to shield her from as much of this crap as I can without deceiving her. I keep her up to date on changes but I no longer talk much about our team, like I have in the past.
    -Another reason for not discussing it with anybody is because it hurts. It hurts real bad.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Just to echo what you posted 1OP, I went to “Spit” dot com to see what was going on in Spring Training. It was about this guy in LA, or that guy in Philly, and another guy some other giving his opinion about “it.” When we are forced to watch Fox games this year, you can bet it will be muted.

      Like

      Reply

  8. The Boston Globe is reporting that the MLB report on the Red Sox will come out by the end of February and allegations will be less severe than with the Astros.
    If they know it is less severe already why isn’t the report ready now? What are they doing for the next two weeks – running it through the lawyers?

    Like

    Reply

    • Ha ha ha. Dan, that’s a shocker! The repeat offenders are supposed to get off easier, no? More and more I believe that Cranes fellow owners have worked with Manfred to continually throw Houston under the bus, deflecting blame away from other offenders by using guys like Rosenthal to further their agenda. So far, their plan is working flawlessly. We made our own bed and now we’re the most duped organization in MLB on top of it!

      Like

      Reply

  9. Like OP, I’m debating whether or not to drop the Astros package.
    It’s not that I don’t still love the team but I’m so disgusted with MLB.
    This. Has has been so one sided it’s ridiculous.

    Like

    Reply

  10. My MLB package is up for renewal but I’m going to go ahead and let it renew. It includes the Spring Training games also so I really want to see what happens. It’s like watching a good movie and you have to leave in the last 15 minutes so you have to hear what happened from somebody else.
    Lots of videos on youtube. I must have watched a total of 10 hours at least on all of “It” (That’s what being retired and a cold, wet winter will do for you) . Curt Schilling said that he’s positive that the Astros used the buzzer. Paul La Duca stated that the three biggest beneficiaries of the Banging were Marwin Gonzales, Beltran, and Springer. That’s the 1st time I’ve heard Springer’s name. Aside from Beltran and Marwin, it’s always been Altuve and Bregman. The other thing I hear all the pundits saying is that the 2017 WS title should just be vacated, no winner.
    It’s time for the individual players get in front of a camera, admit what their part in the scheme was and then shut up. Otherwise it’ll never stop.
    Oh, and in answer to Dan on your comment that the Red Sox “it” will come out in two weeks, I predict it will amount to nothing. They already have their scapegoat, the Astros. Sure don’t want another.
    One final comment is that MLB, Manfred, and the league in general have made a total cluster$%#@ of this whole situation. It could have been nipped in the bud early on but they chose not to address the issue until it was past the point of no return.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. From Chandler Rome “Carlos Correa addressing the 2017 ALCS against the Yankees: “They scored one run in the first game, one run in the second game, they scored one run in Game 6 and they scored no runs in Game 7. If you expect to win with three runs in four games, you’re out of your mind.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. One of our guys who will get hit is Correa….his demeanor is quite cocky.
    He and Bellinger, got into it over night about Altuve and his involvement in this crap. The”sorry, not sorry” attitude was on full display…..he will get a ball to the knees in one of the first games they play.
    Speaking of getting hit, Dusty has asked MLB to address that very thing before the season starts. Will it help? Probably not. Pitchers probably won’t throw head shots, but you can take it to the bank, that they WILL try to take out the guys by throwing balls to the knees, and hands. I will be surprised if 4-5 don’t end up on the DL because they got hit. They will get no sympathy from me.
    Yeah OP…..it hurts real bad.

    Like

    Reply

  13. I’ve gained a ton of respect for Mr. Correa after reading his comments today. It took a lot of courage to admit to wrong doing while adamantly defending his teammate. I’m very proud of him for being the one to stand up for his team and tell their side of the story.
    Sign stealing is as old as baseball. The only thing that’s changed is the way it’s being done. Heck, I used to type on a typewriter. Now I let a computer correct my mistakes. It’s called progress.
    The only crime I see here was doing it after they were told to stop. But if the manager and players weren’t told about the memo then the crime was committed by the GM.
    If the commissioner doesn’t put a stop to this before someone gets hurt then shame on him.
    I’m about sick of these baseball players pretending to be so shocked and innocent at what happened. If there was any fairness in the world every team would get investigated. Then we could see the whole story.
    Carlos Correa has become a hero in my book.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • My own take Sandra, is that Carlos Correa needs to be the center of attention. What better situation for him than now, when the rest of his teammates just want to move on. Correa is happy to cozy up to Rosenthal and give him an exclusive, even as that writer continues to pump out hatchet jobs on his organization. I wonder how that is playing in the clubhouse? One thing I know is that Jose Altuve does not need support right now. He’ll go out and play 155 games in 2020 and be in the mix for another MVP while he keeps his mouth shut.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Agree that CC needs attention to feed his ego. But still, it took some guts to say what he did. At least he put the Astros on the defense.
        Now let’s see if Cora and Beltrán go in front of the camera and admit their part in all this.

        Like

    • I keep defending Correa while blasting Bregman for his antics. I get that there is possibly some hypocrisy there. What Correa did was a dangerous thing and I applaud it. He either told the truth that much of the baseball world (especially writers) don’t want to hear or he told some lies that will eventually come back to haunt him. Verlander didn’t go quite as far, but it’s pretty easy to read between the lines that his comments were aimed at Bauer, Bellinger, and some folks wearing pin stripes.

      Like

      Reply

  14. No Sargeh, I’m not. The old saying that “baseball police’s its self” will follow the Astros all year. Sandy, I’m kind of conflicted about Correa. He took the bait from Bellinger, went on MLB and yes, he took up for Altuve but came off rather petulant. Taking up for your team is great……but remember this scandal was really bad. No body is going to give these guys an inch, they are pi$$ed off.
    Stealing signs is pretty much rampant through MLB….but these guys took it to another level. Because the commissioner made such a HUGE deal about it, and it costs Hinch and Luhnow their jobs…..the other teams think the Astros players should have been suspended or banned as well. My opinion only, but my recommendation is “don’t take the bait”.
    If MLB doesn’t come down on Cora and Beltran with the same or more punishment…..it will be a travesty. Remember the Red Sox and yankees got in trouble stealing signs in 2017 as well. Meanwhile I’m waiting for the same or more punishment for Cora and Beltran. And…..I hope this will keep Beltran out of the HOF. I mean that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Very well said Becky.
      If Beltrán and Cora come out of this unscathed and Beltrán
      waltzes gracefully into the hall then the whole game is nothing but a sham.
      Yeah the Sox and Yanks got in trouble. How big of a deal was made of that. The Red Sox won the WS in 18. Did they cheat their way there? Don’t see anyone From the Dodgers suing them. Everything rides on the outcome of the Commissioner’s findings on Boston. If Houston ends up twisting in the wind alone then something is seriously wrong.

      Like

      Reply

    • Do you remember a week before the Mitchell report came out there was a “leak” online that had all sorts of players like Bagwell and Pujols named? That’s what this whole situation feels like…except the internet and social media has evolved so that it’s easier to put disinformation out there that soon becomes the accepted “facts.” I was hurt that Beltran left Houston the first time around. I hated watching him play in STL and BOS. I was appreciative that he came back for a run at a ring with HOU and all the positive things he said early in the season. I really hope the majority of what is said about his role in this scandal is not true and he was “just” a participant as opposed to the guy carrying the whip. Maybe we’ll know for sure in a few years time. I agree with you, though, that if we still believe Carlos Beltran was the villain when he comes up for the ballet I hope the voters don’t put him through. That’s a real shame given how good of a player he was for such a long time. At the rate we’re going they’ll have to add a new wing for shaming the players who broke the rules though.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Beltran didn’t have the numbers anyway to get in the HOF. If he ever is elected, it will be for his humanitarianism, what he’s meant to Latin players, as a “godfather” to their careers and families! An example was in 2017, it was publicized, Cuban-born Yonder Alonso playing for the A’s, got a long text message from Beltran about swing adjustments — always a mentor. Accused by some for exlusively helping Latins, it’s like he couldn’t win no matter what he did.. that’s how this feels to me.

        I’d like you all to read this from Seattle’s blog, the scathing article about not being able to trust anything from the Astros. This comment of a fan when the light bulb finally dawns on him–

        “I’m a Dodgers fan. Mookie Betts was asked a direct question about the Boston situation yesterday in an interview and he, just like the Astros players have been doing, chose to give an ambiguous response to the question asked.

        The MLB has lost credibility with me.
        The actions/lack of actions the MLB has taken combined with the way just about everyone in a decision making position in the game hems and haws and attempts to skirt the issue when it is presented leads me to believe this type of cheating is a wide spread problem in the game.
        There is not a rug large enough to sweep all of this stuff under to hide it.
        The cat is out of the bag.”

        [So, I’m tired of blaming and not trusting the Astros. This is my team, and I’m behind them 100%. Baseball has always had an underbelly. Our players said they were competing in a climate it was rampant, just because Fiers team was too lazy to support him with runs, there’s no crying in baseball, Mike! Give back your ring and money. Now, let’s play ball and see what Astros have in store this year.]

        Like

      • I disagree on the Beltran numbers thing. He doesn’t have the magic numbers of years past, but how many switch hitters have 2725 hits like he does while playing a premium defensive position? He only won 3 gold gloves in CF, but his career also overlapped with some guys like Mike Cameron, Torii Hunter, and Andrew Jones. The player comp I’d actually give is Roberto Alomar who actually had 2724 hits and was a switch hitter as well. While Alomar’s 10 GG are out of this world and it should be recognized that both he and Beltran were complete offensive players, Beltran represented a shift in offensive philosophy that the league adopted. His efficiency moved away from high batting average towards high slugging and OPS. Also, his work stealing bases and defining efficiency for that skill is the benchmark. Add in the off the field accolades and I believe the writers would have put him in Derek Jeter territory. But I think Beck is right – this black spot may be enough to keep them out. It may also soften their thinking on steroid cheaters still on the ballot.

        Like

      • Maybe you are right, I’m going by my cursory search before we traded for him. I guess switch-hitter, base running reference is a boon. Honestly, I don’t care much at all about who is In the fraternity Hall, or not. Seems pretty subjective in many cases. I never really liked the way Carlos Beltran left in 2005, his return and this debacle has been terrible.

        But, even if he was “intimidating,” or how ever it is couched, they all had a choice to say No! for themselves. Obviously, since we have known that several players were emphatic against using banging; and the Tony Adams research confirms.

        Blaming Beltran fully is a ruse. Such a misuse of time I’ve come to realize, blaming.

        The national narrative is truly offputting. Then, ya have Astro fans accusing any positive spin on our team as “homers,” when Yahoo/SI/NBC/MLB Network/The Atlantic/Fangraphs/ESPN spends all day trashing the organization, and in effect shaping the discourse.

        To which Correa answers, if you don’t know, then “Shut It!” Only our guys know the truth — you can see the conviction of supporting one another. I’d just as soon they keep that fire in-house, and use as fuel to avenge last year’s title.

        They were probably told to keep mouths closed until the report and punishment, and before they had time to re-group. At this point, it looks like they are allowed to reply to false claims, but not to accuse any other teams of sign stealing. That’s my take, has nothing to do with ethnicity, unless the media is doing more of that stirring up crap.

        Like

      • I also don’t see HOF stats for Beltran. If he gets in, it will be because he’s bought writers drinks at bars for twenty years, not on account of his .837 lifetime OPS.

        Like

  15. Among the many elephants in the room, with Correa’s defense of Altuve against Bellinger/Judge now creeps in ethnicity and country of origin. Mr. Dusty can beg all he wants, but what we have here is a failure not to communicate. The unseen master of chaos strikes again.

    Like

    Reply

  16. This appears to be what we now today. It happened in 2017. At least three teams participated. MLB knew about it in 2017 and placed “monitors” in all dug outs in 2018. No one did anything of the sort for close to 2 years. Fiers give his opinion on 2017. MLB opens an investigation on Astros and catches a Met and a Red Sox in the trap. To date, ONLY the Astros are punished. Other team(s) walk. I don’t get it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • According to McHugh’s wife, Ashley, Mike Fiers was “peddling his story” long BEFORE it was known publicly. And Drellich (an out-of-town planted “journalist” in Houston) had the story as early as 2018.

      It was ORCHESTRATED when released, not that Fiers *waited* to tell. Buck Showalter confirmed that many people knew. As I’ve mentioned, teams even during 2017 suspected other teams. The Cincinnati r\Reds catcher said that after the memo, nobody told him of the rule change, he had to read it for himself.

      It is easy to figure out your signs are being seen, especially if they are given by the dugout, which almost all teams had a camera pointed into dugouts.

      What was I writing a month ago? The league had better get ahold of all this violence talk? Just yesterday that narrative has surfaced, finally. Don’t throw batteries at the Astros, and don’t plunk them. the outrage culture is being fed constantly.

      Yesterday, Urshela said Altuve “probably did cheat against Chapman.” But the headline reads he is Outraged! And the public believes — even our own fans quote them, when they should be ignored.

      Like

      Reply

  17. And speaking of Correa – Tony Fernandez who was another highly skilled SS with a gun for an arm passed away at a way too young 57

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh man…was a fan of his. Thinking of him made me think of Tony Gwynn (another one gone too soon) who was possibly my favorite non Astro player growing up. They were always a middling team but for some reason I used to like the Padres. Now I forget they exist sometimes

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  18. First, don’t click the link unless you want to waste 45 minutes of your life. About 34 minute mark, Manfred said Altuve used a buzzer in 2017-2018? But not 2019?. At the end he says because of this, there will be new, harsher rules for HBP. Finally, if cheating was a problem and he sent more than one memo to (GMs) teams, why no press release so players and agents could look at it.

    Like

    Reply

  19. This whole thing is becoming an unmitigated disaster. It’s becoming more and more apparent that MLB and the commissioners office screwed this thing up big time. The comment that AC45 made about the memo that only went to the owners stinks worse than a rotten potato or Limburger cheese!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. My fear here is what Manfred will do in reaction to all this media pressure.”Oh we went back and decided that maybe Altuve did cheat in 2019 and because he did not admit it to us and because we have a blogger pretending to be Beltran’s niece saying he did do it we have to suspend Altuve for a season or two or sit him next to Pete Rose”

    Like

    Reply

    • If you keep wording the question differently you’ll eventually get different answers and thus “we’re you lying to us then or are you lying to us now”?
      Been reading and watching the continual garbage and I can say one thing about Correa. Either he’s telling the truth and he’s getting tired of it all or he’s not only a cheater, but a liar as well. As for the Altuve tattoo story, that’s either the most asinine story that one could possible come up with or it’s the truth. I want to believe he’s telling the truth. As for Belinger and all those other jerk wads who seem to have a crystal ball so that they can look into and know exactly what happens, I love CC’s reply to them.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. This season will be over before it starts. Once a mob mentally starts boiling over not much can stop it. Our guys are going to get hit, take that to the bank….pitchers are going to aim for the knees and the wrist. They don’t care what punishment they will have to serve….ALL they want to do is take out as many of our guys that they can. This is a mess…..A dam mess.
    Diane, yes…..he’s right in the middle of it.
    Sell the team Jim, pay everybody what they are owed, and close the door you have no friends left in MLB.

    Like

    Reply

  22. Chandler Rome reporting:

    “ James Click: “I know where our payroll is relative to the CBT line. (Owner Jim Crane) just shot it down and was like ‘We’re over it, that’s fine because we’re going to win. and if you need more for us to win, I’ll get you more.’”

    Now that is good news, if true. Maybe Crane is a little pissed also. We will see.

    Like

    Reply

  23. Well…..that’s great, but there are 29 other teams that probably won’t do business with the Astros. Unless you can find someone who wants to play for the 2017/ Shoeless Joe, team it’s a moot subject. Maybe Crane should have told Luhnow to do that…..before he got fired. Hindsight is 20/20.

    Like

    Reply

  25. I finally got to read Correa’s interview.
    https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/carlos-correa-on-criticism-of-astros

    I know some folks think this was Correa looking for attention, but I thought it was excellent. He took personal responsibility for using the trash can signals, specifically defended teammates who chose not to use them (Altuve, Reddick, Kemp), specifically addressed the buzzer issue, specifically said this did not happen on the road, etc. I think folks can argue with him on whether cheating won them the World Series – he makes compelling reasons why it did not matter (though the argument that a lot of the big hits were with people on 2nd and so complex signals were being used, does not address whether anyone cheated their way on to 2nd base).
    He also said Mike Fiers should apologize for not doing enough (something) to stop this when it happened.
    Anyways – I had no problem with it. Thought it was one of the more straight forward well thought out responses I’ve read. If you haven’t read this – I suggest you do.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • I thought so too Dan. I was right up there criticizing Correa last year but I’m looking at him with renewed respect after reading that interview.
      Like I said, it’s about time someone spoke up for this team.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. Dan, the Chronicle ran it in huge type, white on black, yesterday. I saved it. It’s something to hang onto. To me, it opens a door, maybe already open. It says now it’s every man for himself, and maybe that’s the way it should be. He says clearly Kemp didn’t, Reddick didn’t, ‘Tuve didn’t, so that’s lots more questions waiting. We all get tested every day, not this way but others. Man I don’t like it. I feel like I didn’t put myself in this situation, but somehow I got put into it. Do you want the bangs on the trash can or not? Do you want the shortcuts on the job or not? Do you want that innocent flirtation or not? No, I’m not going to carry this any further because I don’t feel like it. Might not like where it leads me on a Monday morning. It’s painfully obvious and like OP, got enough pain.

    Like

    Reply

  27. I’d love to be wrong about Correa. I love to see his rare talent on the field for 150 games this season. I’d love to see him elevate himself to be a real team leader. That would go a long way in helping put the past away.

    Like

    Reply

  28. The old saying….”the more you stir it……” everybody, including Manfred need to stop talking. *JUST STOP*.

    Like

    Reply

  29. The Astros just signed reliever Jared Hughes from the Phils. He had put up very good and consistent years between 2014 and 2018 with the Pirates, Brewers and Reds with between 67 and 76 appearances and ERAs between 1.94 (in 2018) and 3.03. He had a down year in 2019 with a 4.04 ERA between the Reds and Phillies, which looks like it was mostly due to a much higher HR rate (2 to 3 times their normal rate). Perhaps the Astros think the juiced ball is gone for good. He has a low K rate and a little high Walk rate. I suppose he spins the hell out of the ball……

    Like

    Reply

  30. Astros daily has an article from elitesports.com, that it’s time for the “ring leaders”, Cora and Beltran to own up for their part in this “it”. The article is top of the right hand corner…..VERY interesting.

    Like

    Reply

  32. Of course I am not really in alignment with what California does, but apparently California Little Leagues are not allowing teams to be named “Astros”….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  33. hey dan i really liked your comment above and the link to correa defending some of the players. it made me start to wondering, why not have a dislike button? sometimes a commenter has a personal bias and nothing but negative speculation about a player. it would be nice to be able to express your disagreement with that kinda stuff without having to write a paragraph about it. thanks for keeping things going during all the turmoil. im ready for baseball, on the field baseball. it cant get here soon enough.

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks rj – yeah I don’t have control over the “features” on this site. Up or down thumbs are nice, though I don’t mind folks having to give more than monosyllabic answers….

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  34. Answers like this have been called a “word salad” but posted for what it is worth. From Chandler Rome:

    “ Pending free agent George Springer on his future in Houston: “We’ve discussed a lot of things between me and my representation. At the end of the day; whatever happens will eventually happen. It’s way too early to make that decision.”

    Like

    Reply

    • Followed by: “ George Springer: “The fans have been great to me my whole career in Houston. The city has been great to me. I’ve grown up as an adult there, I guess. I’ve been in this organization since I was 21 years old. This organization has been very special to me, but time will tell”

      Like

      Reply

  35. Dan P’s interpretation
    George $pringer: “The fan$ have been great to me my whole career in Hou$ton. The city ha$ been great to me. I’ve grown up a$ an adult there, I gue$$. I’ve been in thi$ organization $ince I wa$ 21 year$ old. Thi$ organization ha$ been very $pecial to me, but time will tell”

    Like

    Reply

    • Yeah, he’s banking on another big season and then a whole lot more years and money than the Astros will want to come up with.

      In other non news, seems that Nephew doesn’t even have an invite to camp anywhere. Maybe his stats were helped as much as anyone.

      Like

      Reply

  36. Mike Trout: Some Astros reached out to him during season, but he’s not buying. Says he’d like to be waiting on pitches too. Lost respect. More player punishment should be dispensed.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment