selltheastros.com

there is some press coming out about Bud Selig and the decision to require the Astros to play games directly after Hurricane Ike.  I can only venture to guess that the baseball media and punditry is just now paying attention to the matter due to Selig’s full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle.  otherwise, shouldn’t this have hit the media round about September 15th?

anyway, lots of fans are lining up to take shots at Selig - and they should - but let’s not forget who else is implicitly to blame: our man, Wal-mart McLane.

does anyone besides me think that Wal-mart McLane could have stopped this abomination?  i highly doubt had McLane pitched a fit and planned to take his complaints to the fans, Selig would have held his ground.

but one billionaire to another, all those guys saw was a chance for the Cubbies and the Astros to play a game for Selig’s hometown.

just another instance of our teams ownership and leadership not doing what is necessary and correct for our team and fans.

Drayton, seriously, please, sell the fscking team and let someone else who really cares about the product have a chance.  go back to selling cheap Chinese fiberboard crap and sucking at the teat of corporate America.

the Astros put up their best month of the year in August, going 21 and 9.  they swept the St. Louis cards to pull within three games of third place in the NL Central.  an amazing month.

even more amazing (and telling): Carlos Lee has been on the DL since August 9th; the Astros put up a 14 - 7 record without Lee and his $100mil contract.

image all that could have been possible if some of that money had been spent on pitching!

if things continue on the same path, the Astros are going to make another record in the month of August.

March/April: 13 - 16

May: 17 - 11

June: 10 - 16

July: 10 - 14

August: 16 - 7

that’s monthly win - loss records. OK, it’s not a record in a historical sense, but still, we gotta glom onto something good while it lasts.

the Astros have two 3-game series left in August; first up is Cincy starting tonight and then closing out the month are the dreaded St. Louis Cards.

hopefully we can not lose ground in the Cincy series, and gain ground in the Cards series.

it’s hard to ignore Cecil Cooper’s skills.

Sunday, with the Astros leading the D-backs 3-0 and Roy Oswalt trying for a complete game, Cooper opted to bring in Jose Valverde.

Roy had 10 strikeouts, 2 walks, and allowed only 1 hit in eight innings.

to put the risk ratio out there for Coop’s decision:

Valverde: 56 games, 30 saves in 36 opportunities, ERA 4.23

Brandon Lidge: 52 games, 29 saves in 29 opportunities, ERA 2.15

you’ll of course remember LightHouse Lidge as the poor guy we gave away b/c he sucked. please do not impugn our coaching staff; it was all Lidge’s fault.

and let’s put today’s decision in further perspective: Roy at the close of eight innings had thrown 105 pitches. in last night’s embarrassment, Backe was allowed to bat in the 5th and returned to start the 6th inning with 104 pitches! by pitch #114, Cooper visited the mound and left him in. the rest is a record.

anyway, Valverde ended up not blowing it (he did allow a baserunner) and the Astros were not only able to avoid the sweep, but were able to win one for Biggio.

which leads me to another point: Cooper got very lucky with his piss poor decision making in Saturday night’s game; since Sunday was All Things Biggio, the press and the usual suspects, all shied away from reporting on the record “two grand slams by one pitcher in one game” story. water under the bridge!

thank god i didn’t pay for tonight’s tickets. i joked with my dad that he should send the stubs to Wal-mart McLane and ask for some satisfaction. we both had a hearty laugh at the folly of that.

in case anyone has missed it, those surging Astros, the ones who won finally got above .500 and were talked about by the local pundits as turning it around - those Astros finally faced a team that was not under .500: they lost Friday 11-2 and tonight 11-5.

to pour salt in the wound, for the first time ever, an Astros’ pitcher allowed two grand slams in one game. congrats to Backe, but even more to Cooper.

if you needed more proof that Cooper is a lost cause, then please take note. Backe gave up a grand slam in the first inning. then in the sixth inning, with his pitch count at 114 and bases loaded, Cooper pays a visit to the mound. AND LEAVES BACKE IN! result? second grand slam. one pitcher. same game. Astros record.

and yes, the bullpen had two pitchers up at the beginning of the inning. there is no excuse.

i am done with the Astros for this season. the management and coaching are a joke and devalue the skill and effort of the players who wear the uniform. any fool who continues to pay to see this team is rewarding an owner who cares very little about putting out a quality product.

it took most of the summer, but the Astros defeated the Giants last night to earn a record of 59-59.  congrats guys!  now if we weren’t 12 games back from the Cards….

in other news, my sabbatical from attending Unca Drayton’s house will be ending on Saturday when i head to see the Astros v. ARI.  my sister is in town from Boston for her birthday and Pops sprang for seats, so technically, i am still not spending any money on the team.

you can still suck it Ed Wade, Cecil Cooper, Wal-mart McLane, et al.

i’m bored with the Astros…

how about that Pat Venditte, ambidextrous pitcher for the Staten Island Yankees? this at bat reminds me of how many of the Astros games end up (the Astros will be played by the Brooklyn Cyclones in this clip.)

NPR’s Talk of the Nation interviews Venditte.

let’s recap:

March/April: W13 L16

May: W17 L11

June: W10 L16

what is it that we want from our teams? is it daily excellence or just the World Series? do intangibles like hustle and spirit matter, or is it all that we remember, the wins and loses?

i don’t have a pat answer for that. ultimately, we want champions, i think. we aren’t ready to sell our soul to get one, but nonetheless, we would trade our current position to be in the running for October.

it’s the same for the guys playing; after a few seasons in the sun, they all want a ring - it’s all that matters. and once you have one, you want more, till you are playing for one for the thumb.

so 12 more games till All-Star break. we’ve played 83 games and sit at 40 wins and 43 loses; about what you would expect if you routinely followed the Astros. are we out of contention? by most metrics, no. is it pretty to be where we are? uh, no again.

while pondering our less than stellar record for 2008, it made we wonder: what is the Astros all time win/loss percentage? i had no clue. so i grabbed the data and figured it out!

since 1965 we are 3456 for 6840 games, or more useful, .505. if you had asked me prior to doing that i would have guessed over 50% but below 53%. well, there you have it. we’re almost flat out average.

but we have no point of reference for this metric. how do other teams rank? big market vs small market. oldies vs the kids. let’s take a look:

Yankees = .550

Cubs = .481

LA Dodgers = .533

Minn Twins = .499

Atlanta Braves = .531

those are win/loss percentages from 1965 forward. funny, huh? i would have expected a greater spread. anyway, here is a link to the Excel spreadsheet if anyone wants it.

so, does this prove that even the best teams are barely above a coin flip over time? does it mean anything? can teams only be managed for micro trends in a macro world?

in poker, when you get lucky and win a hand where the odds were against you, there is supposed to be decorum.  you don’t gloat and beam when you get your money in as a dog and hit that miracle two-outer.

that said: HEY BOSTON, SUCK IT FOR ALL IT’S WORTH!

sorry…i was just so excited.

all season i’ve had the feeling that the Astros’ clubhouse is not really happy with their management, specifically Cecil Cooper and Ed Wade. last night Shawn Chacon put a whole lot of credence to that.

certainly Chacon was in the wrong and is going to get his due. it was no secret prior to his signing that he had issues, mostly due to his emotional outbursts, but also with his lack of respect for authority. but unless i missed a story, Chacon has never attacked a member of management. so why now?

i have a sneaking feeling that Ed Wade has some issues too and Cecil Cooper is no angel. both men haven’t earned the respect of their team and it is evident that they are not being given the proper respect based on their roles in the organization. so in that absence, they are going to exert their authority. the results? well, let’s just say it’s chickens coming home to roost.

it’s no secret that as a fan i am not happy with the Astros play, but i am even less happy with our organization, from top down. leadership is a learned skill, not an innate attribute. you can’t make every man a leader. it might be noble of Drayton McLane to attempt to promote from within but the end result must be a fulfillment of job duties. Ed Wade lacks that fulfillment. Cecil Cooper does too.

it is not surprising that this happened. McLane operates the Astros like any other good ol’ boy network. chummy foot soldiers are promoted, not based on skills or success, but often on how much ass they can kiss on the way up. this is how you get a life long marketing guy running a major league baseball team.

and i am sure the price was right.