The Pecan Park Eagle

Archive for 2013

Mike Vance on the Nov. 5 Astrodome Referendum

September 1, 2013

THE UH Cougars played their home football schedule in the Astrodome from 1965 to the 1990s.

THE UH Cougars played their home football schedule in the Astrodome from 1965 to 1995.

Yesterday, in response to my August 31st column, Astrodome Area Ramblings on a Friday Night , friend and SABR colleague Mike Vance, who also serves as a force in the save “Our Astrodome” campaign, wrote some comments that I felt were genuinely deserving of their own bright spotlight on the seminal issues we are finally facing with the iconic Houston landmark.

With the November 5th Astrodome referendum now only weeks away, we are heading toward either a new start or a sad end to an architectural landmark that could mean more to the rest of the world than it does to the active voters of Harris County. If we lose the Astrodome to local apathy, greed, or misinforming information on the cost of its recovery to local taxpayers, what a both tragic and mortifying result that would be.

Read what Mike Vance has to say about it. He will have room below to respond to any questions you may have – and he certainly will have a blank date invitation to write his own new column on this subject as a guest writer for The Pecan Park Eagle any number of times he wishes to take it on between now and November 5th.

All we will do here is quote Mike Vance from his comments to TPPE on August 31st. Any elaboration or expansion to this column is also available today to Mike Vance should he have both the time and desire to take it on now. In the meanwhile, the PP Eagle will pose questions that logically fit with the answers that Mike provided yesterday.

1) How many choices remain among the many ideas that have been suggested for the Astrodome’s new use?

“The proposal that will be on the ballot on November 5 is the ONLY one we will get. It is either approve that plan to adapt the Astrodome for a multi-purpose venue that will be used by the OTC, Rodeo and all other major events at Reliant Park or it gets demolished. The time for other ideas is past.” – Mike Vance, 8/31/13.

2) Won’t that multi-purpose venue you speak of cost us arms and legs in new taxes?

“… the “higher taxes” will amount to a little less than $8 a year for a property owner whose house is valued around $200,000. (The Harris County average is $188k).” – Mike Vance, 8/31/13.

3) Houston tears down tons of old buildings every day. What’s the big deal with the Astrodome?

“For those of us who are passionate about saving the Astrodome, by far the most important building that has ever been constructed in our city, we need to educate the voting public. We have 12 weeks to do so.” – Mike Vance, 8/31/13.

4) Aren’t we talking about spending a lot of money on saving the Astrodome memories of a few long-term Houstonians? Isn’t that what we are doing – just asking people to spend money on emotional issues that have no economical basis?

“Then I suggest answering them on the economic merits. As I mention above, the cost is miniscule. Less than they spend on parking for one game or one beer.

“But that aside, the repurposed Astrodome is not about memories. It will enable Houston and Harris County to attract more of the very large conventions that bring millions of dollars into a local economy. The floor space of the New Astrodome will compliment Reliant Center to greatly increase capacity.

“The New Astrodome will also be a key component in the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four and other large sporting events that we wish to bid on. All of those, much like the OTC are huge plusses for Houston business.

“We can get something viable and vibrant or we can spend $100 million on a few more parking spaces to make the Texans more money. Anyone who cares about Houston, whether they’ve been here a long time or not, should support something that makes us a better city.” – Mike Vance, 8/31/13.

5) So what if some of us do value the Astrodome as an architectural icon and international symbol of Houston, a lot of our fellow Americans, and Houstonians, just don’t care about things of that nature – or history either – for that matter. What’s the point of even trying to save the Dome?

“Some understand the case for history, and where the Astrodome is concerned it is a history that far exceeds sports. The building was world famous and contains a litany of architectural firsts. More importantly, it is the very soul and embodiment of Houston’s can-do, bigger than life modern image.

“But for those who see dollars and cents, the case can easily be made that a facility that keeps the OTC happy and in town, that provides a state of the art space to lure large conventions and special events and one that can provide a revenue stream TO THE COUNTY as opposed to spending close to $100 million to get more surface parking that provides revenue for the Texans is the more solid idea.

“It is up to all of us believers to make this case and make sure everyone goes to vote. I know you are on board. Now we need lots more folks.” – Mike Vance, 8/31/13.

For time-critcal news and endorsements, please check out the following website for further information:

https://www.facebook.com/OurAstrodome

Tags:Mike Vance on saving the Astrodome
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Astrodome Area Ramblings on a Friday Night

August 31, 2013

The sign above them says it all for Bill and Neal McCurdy and their father/son trip to Reliant Stadium last night, 8/30/13.

The sign above them says it all for Bill and Neal McCurdy and their father/son trip to the UH Cougars opening football game versus Southern at Reliant Stadium last night, Friday, 8/30/13.

The fact it was only tiny Southern and that the Cougars handled them 62-13 hardly mattered in the bigger scheme of things of spending time with the people we love while we each have it is what really matters. ~ Add to that credo the fact that none of us, no matter the state of our ages, health, or life circumstances, can ever count on more than one moment of precious opportunity for contact – and that’s the one we are in at this time, on this day, at this particular sweep of the little second-hand on our watches. ~ Weigh that prospect against the always present possibility of nevermore and it gets easier to devote our precious time to what’s really important to us.

It was an interesting night for random thoughts and observations at Reliant Stadium.

Walking in through the NE gate from the parking lot north of Reliant, one can get a little better appreciation for the state of antipathy that many Texan and rodeo people feel for the Astrodome. I had not truly realized how close that abandoned old icon feels to the new stadium until we came into the place from that angle last night. To anyone with no historic attachment to “the old girl”, it must be close to feeling like having a falling down, abandoned house sitting in the lot next door to your still new, bright, and shiny home.

That environmental contamination feel has to be cured for any rehabilitation of the Astrodome to be successful – and it has to be for a purpose that is compatible with the main business of the neighborhood, Texans football and the rodeo. Nothing else will do ~ so, throw out that monstrous gambling casino idea from the start. You couldn’t get that one by my HOA either.

UH QB John O’Korn, #5, awaits confirmation of his 3rd and final TD pass of the game.

My son Neal doesn’t feel too optimistic about the November referendum, even though we both favor a plan to salvage the Dome in some manageable form. Neal fears that there are too many new residents who care nothing about the Dome and too many people who will vote against anything that smacks of higher taxes to get the Astrodome safely home. The park conversion proposal may be the only one that flies aesthetically and financially. It would certainly open up and beautify that proximity of the Dome to Reliant that causes, with neglect, that sore-eyed hovering feel about the place.

As for the game, we Cougars are not delusional about who we beat so badly, but then, neither should Texas A&M today, if they do the same thing to Rice.

I did like the 6’4″ UH freshman QB, John O’Korn, who completed 11 of 15 passes on 5 scoring drives, including 3 TDs by passes. The Cougar pass defense looked vulnerable and they committed far too many dumb penalties to hope for much success against a good team, but their running game looked really healthy with 372 yards rushing. All totaled, UH garnered 627 yards by ground and air.

It helped make for a nice start to the Labor Day Weekend for us Cougars, in spite of who we actually beat. (I guess I’m still primitively hooked on the idea that it’s better to win than lose, no matter what.)

Anyway, we hope your holiday is great too – and that you get to spend it doing what you want – with whomever you care to share the moment.

Tags:UH 62 SU 13 (2013)
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Our Proposed New NCAA Athletic Penalties

August 30, 2013

In view of that painful half game, 30 minute suspension of Johnny Manziel for signing autographs that may be converted into retail items and actually sold for personal profit by the individuals who received them, perhaps, the NCAA should propose that their not-so-funny penalty hammer should now fall heavily with even greater weight and force upon individuals and schools who are found guilty in the future of violating these other similarly miscreant acts.

We think that he NCAA wants the general public and the ticket-buying fan population to know that, even though this is not a serious and official proclamation of their true intentions, that no one on their rules and enforcement governing committee could think of anything dumber than the recommendations being made here in parody – nor could any NCAA rules maker look us straight in the face and tell us that the Manziel Decision was anything more than a step taken to clear the way for the NCAA’s own profit plans for the 2013 college football and general sports season.

The NCAA should also vow to do all in their power to keep the unpaid exploited amateur athletes who play college sports from getting in the way of the billions of dollars in profits that pass directly to the universities, television sponsors, bowl games, related equipment and uniform supply entities, and the NCAA itself as a result of these healthy, exciting, and popular athletic activities.

Our Proposed New NCAA Athletic Penalties

1) All NCAA athletes found guilty of signing their autograph(s) for persons known to be potential retailers without proof of payment to the athletes themselves must “Take the Manziel” and miss the first half of their next scheduled event.

(100 meter track runners, for example, will be forced to begin their races at the 50 meter mark, but they will be allowed to start running when the starter’s gun fires for all runners.)

2) Team sport players getting “The Manziel” when their next foe is Rice will get the option of (a) either taking the half game suspension against Rice – or else – (b) giving up the consumption of rice, including the little dabs that come with Chinese takeout food orders, for the balance of their respective seasons.

3) Players found guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct will not face suspension for their actions, but they will be required to either (a) lay out their next game, or else, (2) play their next game unprotected by the rules governing unsportsmanlike conduct toward them by other players.

4) Never allow any unpleasant reality to get in the way of the season starting out as an attractive television franchise. Use the half-game suspension, or its 30 minute equivalent, to cover and instantly cure a broad variety of nettlesome pre-season nuisance problems.

That’s enough for now. If we are followed, we should give the NCAA rules committee the power and direction they need to pretty much get better at what they now already do in great abundance, anyway – and that is, doing pretty much whatever they damn well please.

OK. Everybody! – Have a nice Labor Day weekend on these first hot days of the new college football season.

The preceding piece is strictly a fictional mockery of the NCAA and their ruling in the Johnny Manziel autograph signing for dealers case and is not presented as an actual account of any real actions the real NCAA is either offering or presenting.

Tags:an ncaa rules parody
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Johnny (Football) Be Good

August 29, 2013

Johnny Manzeil, QB Texas A&M, 2012 Heisman Trophy Award

Johnny Manziel, QB
Texas A&M, 2012
Heisman Trophy Award

The Manziel Penalty came down from the NCAA on Wednesday, 8/28/13. …

Johnny Football cannot play for one-half of the home versus Rice game coming up this Saturday as the opening contest in 2013 for both teams. Manziel will undoubtedly sit out the first half versus the heavily outgunned Rice Owls and then pump the TV ratings for ABC/ESPN by starting the second half to a record-roaring full house crowd of Texas Aggie fans at Kyle Field.

That transaction thus nails the issue into the books as closed and resolved. The NCAA did their job by handing out a wrist-slap to the Aggie 2012 Heisman Trophy winner for … what? It wasn’t for Manzeil selling his autographs. That action was both denied and unproven. No, the NCAA penalized Manziel “for perhaps knowingly signing with autograph dealers”.

How’s that? …. “For perhaps knowingly signing with autograph dealers”?

If you sign with an autograph dealer as a star athlete, doesn’t that imply some notion to the possibility that the athlete expects to get paid for his signatures somewhere down the line? And would not that language be contained in what now exists as a contract (legal or not) between the athlete and the dealer?

Or do you actually have to have either a confession or a proof of a cash payment to hold up a signed contract as evidence of a wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Manziel? – Apparently that is the case. I don’t know what he signed his named to do for those autograph dealers, but apparently it doesn’t matter if he denies getting any money from them and the NCAA can’t find any bullets that had been fired from the smoking gun as cash payments.

Now the NCAA, Texas A&M, college football, the TV networks, and the sponsors get to have the 2013 football season they were hoping for before it was discovered this off-season that the Heisman is no award for wisdom, maturity, restraint, or common sense.

Since the NCAA proved today that they were only interested in getting this turkey baked prior to the start of the season, it would have made it more interesting for them to have given Johnny Manzeil at least one option to that cruel half-game penalty versus Rice.

How about this NCAA offer that never happened:

Mr. Johnny Manziel, for cavorting, or otherwise signing with known sports autograph dealers, even though you apparently never accepted or expected to get paid by them for your services, please select one of these two equally weighted options as your penalty for making this the kind of public issue that the NCAA cannot totally avoid:

(1) Sit out half the game that Texas A&M plays at home against Rice this coming Saturday, August 31, 2013; or else,

(2) Give up eating rice in any form, including Chinese takeout, until after the 2013-2014 college football and bowl season is concluded.

Either way, Johnny, work a little harder this season on the business of thinking through the fact that we all, and that includes Heisman Trophy winners, face consequences for every action we take. Do that much and you may even yet grow up to be a real cool version of “Johnny Football”.

Tags:Johnny Manzeil Penalty
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2013 College Football Season Arrives Thursday

August 28, 2013

College Football Returns This Week!

Big time college football returns tomorrow night with a slate of 17 games for Thursday, August 29, 2013, at various times. The two earliest get our nod as season openers for their 6:00 PM ET kickoffs, one featuring North Carolina at #6 AP/#7 USA Today South Carolina and the other down-sliding to Liberty at Kent State. – No question here where the spotlight shines brighter between these two.

At any rate, here are the fairly comparable pre-season AP and USA Today rankings of the Top 25 teams in the nation. What a job these ranking experts face each pre-season. How can they possibly come close to picking who will be the best among teams that have yet to play a single down?

It’s easy. Just check out their names. Their bank accounts. And their conference affiliations. Then, it’s about as difficult as the job facing Casablanca Police Chief Captain Renaud, once he witnesses the murder of German Nazi Major Strasser shortly before the former’s gendarmes forces arrive to get their arrest orders:

“Round up the usual suspects!” Renaud exclaims.

Well, round ’em up, they did in these cases too – and here they are – starting with a couple of wild guesses in favor of Alabama to repeat as the 2013 season national champions.

At least, we can still get college football over the tube.

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (58)	0-0	1498
2	Ohio State (1)	0-0	1365
3	Oregon	0-0	1335
4	Stanford	0-0	1294
5	Georgia (1)	0-0	1249
6	South Carolina	0-0	1154
7	Texas A&M	0-0	1104
8	Clemson	0-0	1083
9	Louisville	0-0	1042
10	Florida	0-0	894
11	Florida State	0-0	845
12	LSU	0-0	802
13	Oklahoma State	0-0	755
14	Notre Dame	0-0	748
15	Texas	0-0	677
16	Oklahoma	0-0	579
17	Michigan	0-0	531
18	Nebraska	0-0	382
19	Boise State	0-0	328
20	TCU	0-0	323
21	UCLA	0-0	286
22	Northwestern	0-0	199
23	Wisconsin	0-0	185
24	USC	0-0	134
25	Oregon State	0-0	129

Others receiving votes: Michigan State 95, Baylor 92, Virginia Tech 86, Miami (FL) 85, Arizona State 53, Kansas State 43, Fresno State 36, Vanderbilt 19, Washington 17, Northern Illinois 16, Ole Miss 11, Utah State 8, Georgia Tech 6, Cincinnati 3, Arizona 3, North Carolina 3, Penn State 2, Brigham Young 1

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (58)	0-0	1545
2	Ohio State (3)	0-0	1427
3	Oregon	0-0	1397
4	Stanford	0-0	1262
5	Georgia	0-0	1250
6	Texas A&M (1)	0-0	1215
7	South Carolina	0-0	1136
8	Clemson	0-0	1047
9	Louisville	0-0	1010
10	Florida	0-0	930
11	Notre Dame	0-0	872
12	Florida State	0-0	844
13	LSU	0-0	797
14	Oklahoma State	0-0	726
15	Texas	0-0	622
16	Oklahoma	0-0	620
17	Michigan	0-0	589
18	Nebraska	0-0	426
19	Boise State	0-0	420
20	TCU	0-0	400
21	UCLA	0-0	202
22	Northwestern	0-0	186
23	Wisconsin	0-0	172
24	USC	0-0	165
25	Oregon State	0-0	135

Others receiving votes: Kansas State 113, Miami (FL) 101, Michigan State 89, Baylor 80, Virginia Tech 65, Fresno State 62, Arizona State 51, Ole Miss 32, Vanderbilt 29, Utah State 23, Brigham Young 20, North Carolina 19, Northern Illinois 19, Tulsa 9, San Jose State 8, Ohio 8, Arizona 5, Cincinnati 3, East Carolina 3, Mississippi State 3, Kent State 3, Washington 3, UCF 2, Tennessee 1, Toledo 1, Rutgers 1, Arkansas 1, Arkansas State 1

Tags:2013 college football, pre-season polls
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2013 Astros? Biggest Profits in Sports History?

August 27, 2013

Jim Crane
Owner
Houston Astros

Talk about lighting a bond fire!

That Forbes Magazine story that came out yesterday showing the 2013 Houston Astros as the biggest profiting team in all of sports history has started both a forest fire of attention and a sand storm of protest from Astros owner Jim Crane in the past 24 hours . As simply another little pea in the Houston Sports Pod, The Pecan Park Eagle doesn’t even pretend to know the truth in this matter.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2013/08/26/2013-houston-astros-baseballs-worst-team-is-most-profitable-in-history/

According to Forbes, the worst team in baseball, the 2013 Houston Astros, are on their way to pulling in $99 million dollars in profit from the current season, an amount greater than the combined profits of the last six World Series winners. Forbes says that a slashed payroll and skyrocketing income from television revenues is making the difference for the game’s biggest losers, but that conclusion begs the obvious questions: With Astros tied into the Comcast TV deal, only 40% of their market is now receiving all televised games. – Where’s the income skyrocket? Is the club share in the national TV contracts that great? And, even with the payroll scratched to next-to-nothing by today’s standards, the gate is way down. – Where’s the income source that justifies the Forbes conclusion?

Luhnow Better Be Right!

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow better be right in his rebuild-with-babies approach because, if this team isn’t winning competitively by 2015, or 2016, at the latest, there is going to be a wholesale order placed by the club for executive-strength guillotines that far exceeds the demand for annual season ticket sale renewals.

With the Astros’ payroll now at $13 million, the attached article puts this face on the club’s situation:

“Sixty-four major leaguers make more individually than the Astros’ current 25-man active payroll makes collectively. The New York Yankees pay nine players more than the Astros payroll. Twenty other teams pay at least one player more. And Jason Bay, who is not even on a team, earns more than the all of the Astros, thanks to an old contract with the New York Mets.”

Then, if the plan does work, it still fails if the Astros don’t come up with the money by that time to lock in the stars of tomorrow to long term contracts, but Reid Ryan says the club is counting on the Comcast deal getting settled in time to provide that dough.

Oh well, if Forbes is even close to being right on their estimation of Astros profitability, money for salaries won’t be a problem. We’ll just need to see signs from the club that the will is there to pay out salaries on a sustained championship competitor basis. And that’s a whole other realm.

Meanwhile, let’s hope that the Astros never get too comfortable making big money as a loser. My initial guess after hearing him talk last Saturday is that President Reid Ryan isn’t going to let that kind of sloppy entitlement mind set to slip into the saddle as the Astros operational plan.

Tags:Forbes report on 2013 Astros
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Baseball’s Little Moments

August 26, 2013

CASTROS' 2ND 8/24 HR HITS IN SABR SEATS: Herb Whalley (top center) and Bill McCurdy (top right, with star cap) watch the pursuit.

JASON CASTRO’S 2ND 8/24 HR HITS IN SABR SEATS: Herb Whalley (top center) and Bill McCurdy (top right, with “H” cap) watch the pursuit.

The easiest remembered moments at a baseball game are not always the walk off homers in the bottom of the ninth or the strike out of the other team’s big hitter with two outs and the sacks loaded with the tying runs on base in the top of the final stanza.

Sometimes it’s just the little moments that bring the game we’re watching close to us personally in a way that sticks in our conscious minds forever. I may have added two or three of those memories to my own rather full, but grateful pail of happy times at the old ballpark site this past Saturday from my seat in the right center field stands at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

I was sitting with several members of our SABR chapter members after our annual meeting at the ballpark, a meeting which provided most of us with the opportunity to meet and hear from new Astros President Reid Ryan for the first time – and that one was a baseball-memorable moment in itself, but not quite on the everyday thing level I’m talking about here.

The above picture from Sunday’s 8/25/13 Houston Chronicle shows fellow SABR member Herb Whalley and yours truly simply watching the descent of Jason Castro’s second homer of the game into the grasping hands of fans sitting in front of us. We never had a shot, but now we have the memory – helped along by an e-mail from our SABR Chair, Bob Dorrill, that this photo made the papers.

Other memories for me on Saturday included:

(1) The little toddler dressed in Astros gear who got passed for holding time to about ten adults in the apparent close family group that was attending the game together;

(2) SABR member Herb “The Quiet Man” Whalley as he religiously kept score of the game. Herb is keeping score of games for a very special reason this season, but only he is free to divulge his motives;

(3) Those two Castro home runs that landed to the left and right of me, just in time to remind me of the time in 1950 I tried to catch a long foul ball in the Knothole Gang at Buff Stadium with a mustard-heavy hot dog in my glove hand – only to end up with a lost ball, a memory, and no meal;

(4) The confectionary vendor who both sold me the Cracker Jack box I purchased and then soulfully blessed it as guaranteed fresh by his powers as a “Reverend”; and,

(5) The row of six or seven ladies down near the rail who performed synchronized arm dance routines every time the loud speakers blared out loud rock music as player introductions; they were having a good time as performers – with acts that included movements that ranged from fisherwomen pulling in fish to some moves that looked like very serious palates sequences.

That’s only five for me, but think about it. If you could attend all 81 Astros home games and pick up 5 new memories each time, that would multiply up to 405 new memories for that season.

Of course, you could also save your money by dreaming up the whole thing from an easy lawn chair as you listened to the game’s radio broadcast in your own backyards, but you’d have to imagine the blessed baby, the blessed Cracker Jack, the rain of homers, the dancing girls, and also do the scorekeeping – all by yourself.

Have a nice Stormy Monday, everybody!

Tags:little moments at the ballpark
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Astros Prexy Ryan Addresses Houston SABR

August 25, 2013

REID RYAN
President, Houston Astros
August 24, 2013

Pull out all the stops in nailing down who Astros President Reid Ryan really is: Son of Nolan, Alvin Guy, One of Us, Fellow Who Walked Out on UT, TCU Pitching Ace, Former Minor Leaguer, Founder of the Round Rock Express, Strong Character, Family Guy, fairly new President of the Houston Astros, and genuinely nice and articulate human being. – All of these and many more like them apply, but we need to stop here with the identity attributions and get to what we recall of what he said yesterday when he addressed and took questions from the membership of the Houston Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR, the Society of American Baseball Research, in the Union Station Conference Room at Minute Maid Park. The meeting took place at 4:00 PM on Saturday, August 24, 2013 prior to the 6:00 PM game between the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and our home Houston Astros.

(PLEASE NOTE: All quotes below are paraphrased. My literal memory is not that good.)

On The Early Years: “I grew up in a baseball family in Alvin, Texas. Everything that happened to me came with a touch of baseball and it was all good. From early on, I wanted to be a baseball man too when I grew up.”

His Father’s Advice: “If you have the talent for it, getting to the big leagues is not the hard part. – The hard part is having the strength of character that will allow you to stay there.”

His Own Experience: “As a minor leaguer, the hard part for me was simply trying to find a way to move up to the next level. By age 24, I had found my player mountaintop and it was Class A+ Visalia. I was out of the game and looking for a new start.”

The Round Rock Express: “Fortunately, I had finished my degree by the time my playing career ended, I also had the best advisor in the world available to me in my dad and all his contacts. Since I wanted to own a baseball club, I was able to put that all together for the sake of establishing the Round Rock Express, where I have served as part owner and CEO since the turn of the century.”

The Houston Astros: “When Jim Crane offered me the job as Astros President last spring, I couldn’t wait to say yes. I saw it both as an exciting challenge and a comforting invitation to go home to Houston. I believe in Jeff Luhnow and what this organization is planning to do.

The Comcast TV Standoff: “We (The Astros) are doing all we can to press for resolution, asap. The problem is on the power sides in this argument. The Astros and Rockets are the guys with the plastic spoons. – Comcast is the giant with the nuclear cannon. – And, unfortunately, we, the Astros, need that lost TV money to be ready for the day we have to pay to keep the talent we are raising now.”

(Unfortunately, we found no way around or through this problem in our brief touch upon it at the SABR meeting. As “The Pecan Park Eagle” pointed out to Ryan, his analogy suggests that we are not engaged here in a money war, but a “siege” in which the ultimate winner is already known to be Comcast. All they have to do is wait out the Astros and Rockets to claim victory – and if that happens – will the Astros be left short of the funds to sign the “keepers” now under development? No answer was forthcoming. And it really could not have been expected in this situation, even if the facts dance fairly close to the truth.)

The 2014 SABR National Convention in Houston: “Yes, I want to be involved.”

Future of the Astrodome: Ryan’s many words boil down to these. ~ The Astros will have no organizational response on the issue of restoration versus demolition. Reid Ryan personally thinks the cost of restoration for an asbestos-loaded facility like the Astrodome is both impractical and not viable. If it is preserved at all, Ryan likes the “save the stadium structural beams as a memorial for a park area”.

An Astros History Museum at Minute Maid Park: Ryan says that idea is under active consideration for either MMP or some nearby property that would be appropriate to this purpose. We’ve heard this kind of talk from the old Astros for years. Again, we will have to wait to see if there’s anything new to an old politically acceptable answer on the museum question.

The Game Itself, Astros 8 – Blue Jays 5: At the game, Astros catcher Jason Castro went crazy with the bat, banging out 2 home runs and a double as the Astros took the Blue Jays, 8-5, for their second win in a row and a wrap on the series victory.

One Burning Question Remains: From our seats in right center field, we came close to being the “incoming” sites for both of Jason Castro’s homers – and we also had the chance to study the contrasting uniform-wearing styles of the two starting right fielders.

Please respond with a comment vote!

Regardless of which team, if either, that you support, which player appears to be more in uniform for baseball as he wears his uniform pants? Or does the idea of “uniform” even matter to you?

Here they are:

RAJAI JAMES, RF Toronto Blue Jays August 24, 2013

RAJAI DAVIS, RF
Toronto Blue Jays
August 24, 2013

L.J. HOES, RF
Houston Astros
August 24, 2013

Have a peaceful Sunday, everybody. ~ And please comment on Reid Ryan and/or the uniform question.

Tags:Reid Ryan Addresses SABR, uniform pant leg styles
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Black Heritage Night Was a Thing of Pride

August 23, 2013

Two Men of Appropriate Pride and Life-Leveling Humility: Charlie Pride (L) and Jimmy Wynn.

Men of Appropriate Pride and Life-Leveling Humility: the great Charlie Pride (L) and the great Jimmy Wynn.

And you can definitely take the headline of this column in the two ways it’s intended. The “Black Heritage Night” program of the Sugar Land Skeeters at Constellation Field that was offered as a pre-game feature on August 22, 2013 was both a night a pride in the unifying goal quality of black baseball players over the years and also a tribute to the program’s special guest, the great Charlie Pride, a country and western singing star who also spent his early years in pursuit of that same dream of the others as a professional baseball player.

Bill McCurdy (#15) of The Pecan Park Eagle Press was on hand to covers things.

Bill McCurdy (#15) of The Pecan Park Eagle Press was on hand to cover things. – In this photo, the players read this way, left to right: BACK ROW: Kevin Bass, J.C. Hartman, Scipio Spinks, J.R. Richard, Cecil Cooper, Bob Watson, Trenidad Hubbard, Brian Williams, Anthony Young, and Chuck McElroy. FRONT ROW: Ralph Garr, Deacon Jones, Charlie Pride, Sylvester Cooper, Jimmy Wynn, and James Mouton. – This one terrific photo was contributed by good friend Darrell Pittman.

Charlie Pride & Company posed for a number of group photos this summer afternoon and beautiful summer evening.

The guest list was long and celebrated. The crowd was first entertained by a concert performed by the “Ocean of Soul” band from Texas Southern University. Then, as a fun introduction at home plate, each of the former players arrived in his own personal chauffer-driven luxury car to be introduced and given his own named and numbered Sugar Land Skeeters jersey by Skeeters host Deacon Jones.

The home plate arrival scene at Constellation Field.

The group of former players on hand for the honor included Kevin Bass, Cecil Cooper, Ralph Garr, J.C. Hartman, Trenidad Hubbard, Chuck McEroy, James Mouton, Charlie Pride, J.R. Richard, Scipio Spinks, Bob Watson, Brian Williams, Jimmy Wynn, and Anthony Young, (If I somehow missed your name, please let me know by e-mail and I will make sure that it is included in this column. There was a lot to keep up with last night and I may have missed someone. – houston.buff37@gmail.com

Charlie Pride took about 25-30 practice swings from the BP tosses of Scipio Spinks while he was on the field. He hit the ball hard, lining several for clean hits into the outfield gaps. – Pretty darn good for a man in his middle to late 70’s. Oh yeah, Charlie also threw out the first pitch prior to tonight’s Skeeters-Shellacking of the Camden Riversharks by a 10-1 mark.

Watching Charlie Pride pound the ball are: Michael Point, a writer for the Corpus Christi Hooks, Deacon Jones, Skeeters Manager Gary Gaetti, and Skeeters Special Advisor Tal Smith. The hits just rang and rang and rang.

One of the "Red Tails", that famed African-American group of fighter pilots from WWII was present too. Here we see him pictured with Marie Wynn. Now all we need is his name to give him the full credit he deserves.

One of the “Red Tails”, that famed African-American group of fighter pilots from WWII, was present also. Here we see him pictured with Marie Wynn. Now all we need is his name to give him the full credit he deserves.

Dick “Lefty” O’Neal and a large contingent of former Negro Leaguers were also present last night and I would be happy to also include their names here too, if someone could pass on an attendance roster to me. We would like to give everyone their personal nod for their participation in this beautiful evening.

The first 2,000 fans also got this handsome, welcoming bobble head of Deacon Jones to take home with them.

The Deacon Bobber does one thing that the real Deacon NEVER does. He turns his back. The REAL Deacon never turns his back on justice, family, friends, or baseball - and that pretty well allows him to touch all the bases, 24/7.

The Deacon Bobber does one thing that the real Deacon NEVER does. He turns his back. The REAL Deacon never turns his back on the needs of justice, family, friends, or baseball – and that pretty well allows him to touch all the bases, 24/7.

Keep it up, Deacon Jones. Black Heritage Night needs to be thought of as the first offering of an annual event.

Tags:Black Heritage Night, Charlie Pride, Deacon Jones, Jimmy Wynn, Sugar Land Skeeters
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MLB Pitchers: Youngest of the Youngest

August 22, 2013

Thanks to a link-alert from dear Shirley Virdon yesterday, I was reminded of the role that World War II played in bringing the youngest pitchers to win and play in the big leagues into the box scores during the last great global conflict. Stating the most obvious factor, the shortage of manpower for homeland baseball league play was critical. Older players with lesser abilities and too much experience were getting to play MLB ball due to the scarcity of talent, as were younger kids with glimpses of talent and zero professional time on their resumes.

Youngest Pitcher to Appear in an MLB Game … Joe Nuxhall

Joe Nuxhall Youngest Pitcher to Appear in an MLB Game June 10, 1944

Joe Nuxhall, Age 15
Youngest Pitcher to Appear in an MLB Game
June 10, 1944

As is most commonly misunderstood, Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds was not the youngest player in MLB history to win a big league game. The 15-year old Nuxhall was only the youngest pitcher to actually perform in a major league contest. It all happened on June 10, 1944 in the top of the 9th inning of a game at Crosley Field, a game in which the hometown Reds already trailed 13-0 and needed an arm to hopefully get them through to the end at the least cost to tired arms and future games. The ball passed to 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall (DOB: 07/30/1928) – who was still several weeks shy of his 16th birthday when he got the call.

Was it too much for the kid?

“I was pitching against seventh, eighth and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old… All of a sudden, I look up and there’s Stan Musial and the likes. It was a very scary situation.” – Joe Nuxhall.

Scary and costly, had the Reds really still been in the game. Nuxhall pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up 5 runs on 2 hits and 5 walks before he was taken out by veteran Manager Bill McKechnie in favor of 22-year old Jake Eisenhart, who used his only appearance in an MLB game to get the final out. Neither Nuxhall nor Eisenhart, of course, were tagged with the losing decision.

Nuxhall would get the first of his 135 career MLB wins, but it would not come for another eight years in 1952. Nuxhall’s mark in the big leagues for 16 seasons (1944, 1952-66) was 135-117 with an ERA of 3.90.

Youngest Pitcher to Win an MLB Game in the Modern Era … Rogers McKee *

Rogers McKee, Age 17
Youngest Pitcher to Win an MLB Game
October 3, 1943

Lefty Rogers Hornsby McKee (DOB: 9-16-1926) was 17 years 2 weeks, and 3 days old when he won his first and only decision as a big league pitcher on the last day of the season as a complete game pitcher for the visiting Philadelphia Phillies over the home team Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field on October 3, 1943. THe score was 11-3, Philles. McKee worked the whole 9, giving up 3 earned runs on 5 hits. He also walked 5, struck out 1, and never won again in the bigs. In fact, the breadth of his MLB CAREER (1943-44) consisted of 5 games and a 1-0 record with a 5.87 ERA..

McKee hurt his pitching arm in 1944 and shifted mainly to the job of playing first base as a minor leaguer for 12 seasons (1944, 1946-57), achieving a career minors batting average of .287 with 157 home runs.

Joe Nuxhall passed away on November 15, 2997 at the age of 79. Rogers McKee lives in retirement at the age of 86.

* 8/24/13: As “accuracy police chief” Cliff Blau has duly inferred and noted in his comment on the original presentation of this data, TPPE was remiss in not clarifying two factors in the Rogers McKee mark: (1) (unstated) There is no official baseball mark for the earliest age pitching win in baseball, and (2) (stated) “Willie McGill (1890, pre-modern era) won 11 games for the Cleveland Players League team ay the age of 16.”

Therefore, Rogers McKee, at best, can only be credited with the unofficial earliest pitching win in the modern era. That is, for all players in the Modern Era, beginning with the advent of either the first year of the American League (1900) – or the first season of the 20th century (1901). Even that beginning date is sometimes debated among purists.

Tags:Joe Nuxhall, Rogers McKee, youngest pitchers to play and win
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