selltheastros.com

with the release of American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime today, Roger decided he needed to reiterate his version of the story; you know the one, it’s similar to something like this:

He got busted coming out of another woman’s house.  His woman saw him come out, knew that the woman lived there and didn’t say shit.

Wait till they got home and said:
“What the hell was you doing in that bitch’s house?”

You know what the man said?
“Wasn’t me.”

“I looked right in your face!”

“Wasn’t me.”

“Well, I’m supposed to be a fool, right?”

“Hey. Wasn’t me.”

You know what the woman said?
“Maybe it wasn’t you.”

you know what they say: ignorance is bliss!

i try to not read Richard Justice: he’s a hack who creates strawmen and feigns sincerity in almost all of his posts.  he is the proof that the Old Media should be taken out back and shot.  post haste.

nonetheless, while surfing via Google News i clicked through a link about the Texan’s new DC that took me to quite possibly the dumbest post title in the entire Roger “The Liar” Clemens affair: Is Pettitte about to send Clemens to prison?

i have to assume that Richard writes his own post titles and doesn’t employ/allow an editor.  i am sure his ego wouldn’t let that happen, despite the overall positive it would have on his work.

so, without further ado, let me get to the point: NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LIAR’S IMPENDING JAIL TERM OTHER THAN THE LIAR!

got it, “Justice”?  no stitches_for_snitches, no no_one_likes_a_tattle_tail, etc etc etc.  just like the rest of the spoiled, rich, ignorant sports millionaire class, The Liar has only himself and his moron attorney to blame.

end of story.

since the only real news concerning the Astros for 2009 is how deluded Ed Wade is about his off-season work, we’ll have to focus on other matters, like:

Rusty Hardin is the worst defense attorney you could have ever hired, Roger “The Liar” Clemens.  congrats!

looking forward to you actually doing a little time, Rog.  maybe prior to going inside you can ask Marion how her stint is going?

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?

Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, commenting on Roger Clemens’ appearance at Spring Training:

“We will always do the honorable and correct thing to do.” “He came down here and he’s certainly welcome to come here.”

Besides being a distraction, you’d think the Holy Baptist Owner would remember his history about how to treat players who are in personal trouble, i.e. throw them under the bus!