Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Texans ESPN love and Houston Astros need to keep losing

First off are some sound bites I edited out of ESPN podcasts. They are giving love to my Texans.




This take is a little dated after the Astros lost a couple of games to Arizona but it's worth a post.

Well damn, I had the Houston Astros dead and buried. Right now the team is 7 1/2 games behind in the NL wild card race. Recently the Astros have been an unbelievable post All-Star team. There was the run in 2004 when Jimy Williams was fired and Phil Garner took the team to a 46-26 second half run that won the NL wild card and a seven game epic series against St. Louis.

In 2005 they started 15-30 before storming to a July record of 22-7 to find themselves in the thick of the wild card race. They clinched the wild card on the last day of the season and went on to that embarrassing sweep in the World Series. In 2006 they once again made a late season push for the wild card. They also came with in 1/2 game of the NL Central lead on Sept. 28. 2007 was a wash that saw the end of manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura.

That brings us to this season. With 41 games remaining, there are four teams ahead in the wild card standings and the Astros are tied with two teams. That basically means the Astros not only have to catch the four teams in front but they must out play the teams they are tied with. It's a tall order but another incredible run and it's not out of reach. The first focus is to continue winning and try to catch the team, the Florida Marlins, in front of them. There isn't room for error though. They are on a hot streak. Let's see if they can stay hot or revert to midseason form.

As I've written before, the Astros are a mess. The farm system is in shambles. Drayton McClain doesn't want to pay high signing bonuses for top draft picks. There are no pitchers waiting in the wings to move to the major league level anytime soon. The same situation applies to the position players. It's not pretty.

That all leads me to say: the Astros either clinching the wild card spot or making hot run at it is probably the worse thing that can happen to the Astros. Why? Simple. A strong finish will more than likely validate in McClain's mind that the team is being run correctly. Why change the way things are run? McClain will continue to sign off on making one big free agent signing every two or three years. The Astros will then supplement the team with marginal players and questionable trades. McClain will probably continue to balk at paying high draft picks upfront money and the farm system will remain empty.

The direction the Astros are going in must change soon. At the top of the list is rebuilding the farm system. Unfortunately I don't think McClain has the patience to restock the farm and let the youth work their way up.

McClain also has to be more hands off in running the club. Yes he writes the checks and has the power but he's not a baseball man. The last time the Astros had a strong GM was in Gerry Hunsicker. During his reign, the Astros won four division titles and had five second place finishes. Evidently Hunsincker and McClain clashed and resulted in him leaving the club in 2004. Now the GMs are probably handcuffed by McClain. McClain needs to let Ed Wade loose and let him have free hand in rebuilding the club.

While not exactly a premier club in major leagues, the Astros are have been one of the more consistent and successful clubs since 1994. They have had multiple second place finishes, won the division four times and clinched the wild card spot two times along with one World Series appearance. If the continue on the current track the Astros will slide to the back of the pack and McClain's worse nightmare will happen: a cavernous empty Minute Maid Field.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

I haven't been updating this blog as much as I hoped. With football season starting up the updates should at least be weekly. I spent the last week on vacation so most my ideas to write are probably out of date. So I'll just gloss over what I've kept up with for the last few days.

Astros

As much as I've been railing on the Astros, I still watch them out of the corner of my eye. I see the swept the Reds but they lose Carlos Lee for the season. That just sucks to lose him for the year. It's just another feather in the cap of a horrendous season. It's not to long until the September call ups and we get to see up close the thin ranks of the Astros farm system.

Texans Observations

I've had attention deficit disorder during NFL training camps. I'm not up to snuff on the latest news. Part of the reason is I just didn't follow news while on vacation.

A couple of concerns are already coming up with the Texans. Running back is looking thin already but what do you expect when a team goes out and signs injury plagued backs? A backfield of Ahman Green and Chris Brown doesn't strike the fear of God into opposing defenses. Green got hurt on the first play and didn't return to the preseason game against Denver. Chris Brown has pretty much been a no show at camp. He dressed for the game but didn't play. The injuries moves Chris Taylor, Darius Walker and rookie Steve Slanton to the top of the depth chart. All types of hype surrounds Taylor but I'm not to sure since it's all based on one game two years ago. Then they are working him out also as a fullback. A team doesn't work a running back at both spots if they are extremely high on him like the Texans are supposed to be on Taylor.

The other concern is the offensive line. Injuries are already an issue and depth is going to be a concern. At least rookie left tackle Duane Brown seems to be coming along nicely. With Ephrim Salaam's knee surgery it more than likely Brown will now be the opening day starter. My dream though is for someone to unseat Chester Pitts the worst lineman on the team.

Olympic Swimming, Gymnastics, U.S. Basketball

As much as I claim to dislike the Olympics, I've been watching coverage the last two nights. I've been amazed by the swimming events. I'm not caught up in rooting for the Americans or Michael Phelps quest for eight gold medals. What's been enthralling me is the pure athleticism of the swimmers. I love watching them jump in or push off the wall and seeing the distance they get underwater by waving their body. Then the shear intensity of the races and some of the amazing finishes. It's just been a joy to watch.

I also watched the women's gymnastics. The grace and athleticism of the floor exercises was fun to watch. Unfortunately the Americans faltered on three of the four floor exercises and a fifth girl was injured in warm ups. With the injury the U.S. team had to accept all four scores instead of taking the four of five. Even though it was a disappointing start they are still second overall with China in first.

The U.S. men's team is the one that I'm conflicted about. One part of me would like to a spectacular failure. On the other side I'd love to see them tear through the competition and recapture the gold. I get all nationalistic at times but I get tired of hearing about the Redeem Team. If Redeem Team isn't the lamest name for the team I don't know what is. I have no problem with the rest of the world catching up with the U.S. in basketball. It makes for better competitions and legitimizes all U.S. victories. What is the accomplishment if the field is a joke and winning the gold? Nothing in my eyes. Also, the press is acting like the U.S. has a God given right to the gold and shouldn't have to earn it. I like a tough field and want some competition for the U.S. In the end, I hope they bring home the gold.

Finally, what the hell is Chris Collingsworth doing covering the Olympics? He's worthless as a football commentator and doesn't add anything to the Olympics. NBC just needed warm bodies to send to China.

My Sports Allegiances

My favorite teams are in no particular order: Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs(NBA champs 99, 03, 05, 07, 14) and the Houston Cougars, Pittsburgh Penguins (Stanley Cups 91, 92, 08, 16, 17)
My secondary teams are: Houston Dynamo(MLS Champs 06, 07), Houston Astros (NL Champs 05), Houston Rockets (NBA Champs 94, 95)
Teams I Hate: Anything out of Dallas
Teams I Enjoy Seeing Lose: Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, Baylor Bears football
Teams that are Insignificant: rice owls