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An Astros-Cranky Morning

August 11, 2010

"Some" Nights at Minute Maid Park Aren't Picture Perfect!

I woke up this morning with some good news and some bad news affecting my experience at the Braves@Astros game that my grown son Neal and I attended Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.

The bad news is that several things on the field , especially losing as we did, affected our enjoyment of the game and one thing at the concession stands struck both Neal and me as an abomination to the memory of an iconic Houston business reputation. Speaking only for me now, the good news is that I still care about the fates and fortunes of our hometown Astros and the way we handle the good things in our history when it comes down to putting them into commercial service to any private group.

Let’s deal with the game stuff first. It isn’t all bad.

J.A. Happ pitched another great game Tuesday night!

J.A, Happ and Brett Wallace – two of the three young players we got in the Roy Oswalt trade – are already paying dividends on the future. Wallace is hitting .333 and swinging with fluid authority from the port side against right and left-handed pitching – and Happ is two for three in great starts as an Astro. In a physically remindful appearance to Andy Pettittee, Happ worked 111 pitches for 6 1/3 innings last night, giving up only one run on two hits, while walking four and striking out six. The Astros simply could not get him any runs off Atlanta pitching until sloppy defense by the Braves opened the door for a two-spot in the bottom of the eighth.

The Astro stuff that bothered me happened in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Astros had just tied the lead at 2-1 on a Braves throwing error and had Pence at second and Lee at first with only one out – and with our hottest hitter, Chris Johnson, at the plate. That’s when somebody (Pence, third base coach Dave Clark, or manager Brad Mills) decided to just run us out of next scoring opportunity. Pence took off and was retired at third for the second out on a questionable call, but that was not my problem, My problem was that Pence went at all from scoring position with Johnson batting.

As soon as Pence was called out, you knew what was coming next for sure. Johnson rammed the single to right that would have scored Pence from second and increased the lead to 3-1. All it did was advance Carlos Lee to third with two outs and bring rookie Brett Wallace to the plate with a scoring opportunity.

UhOh! Now it’s managerial genius time!

Are the Astros inadvertently training Wallace to think he cannot hit lefties when the game is on the line? Operant behavioral modification is a technique I've studied for a thousand years in my primary field. Don't think it cannot happen.

Atlanta’s Bobby Cox brought in a lefty, Venters, to face Wallace, so naturally, Brad Mills felt as through he had to bring in the right-handed Jason Michaels to pinch hit for the lefty rookie. I know all about the righty-lefty percentages. I didn’t just wake up yesterday – nor am I unaware that “JayMike” has played a hot hand lately. – And, no, I don’t know what special game circumstances with Wallace may have made a contribution to Mills’s decision.

I just wouldn’t have lifted Wallace – and for a couple of good reasons: (1) Wallace is hitting .333 in the early go and is already showing signs that he can hit lefties as well as righties; (2) as a manager, I want to show Wallace that I have confidence in his ability to hit lefties in a game-pressured situation. I do not want to train him to expect the hook whenever this situation comes up again.

On the surface of things, I felt Mills let his rookie down when he pulled him for Michaels. Of course, as you might also expect, Michaels completed the cycle of disappointment by taking strike three for the third out with the bat on his shoulder.

The final disappointment was s hugely shared one. Closer Lindstrom came in to pitch the ninth for the Astros and then  surrendered three runs on two homers to blow the game into a 4-2 Atlanta win. How can Mills showing confidence in Lindstrom as a pitcher be more important than showing confidence in Wallace as a hitter? There seemed to be an air of that difference involved in the way last night’s game played out.

Lindstrom has good stuff, but he’s slightly off track now, and that diversion has grown quickly into the difference between victory and defeat. We don’t want young Wallace to lose his confidence as a hitter against lefties in tight situations – and we do want Lindstrom to get his confidence back as a closer. It’s not there at the present time.

Prince's Burgers "Fit for a King?" - Not at Minute Maid Park!

We finally got around to trying the Prince’s hamburgers at Minute Maid Park for the first time. It will also be our last. What they are serving there as the iconic Prince’s hamburger from 1934 is both a culinary disaster and an embarrassing insult to the Prince family name. The current licensees to the use of the Prince family name should be ashamed of themselves for placing  this piece of food garbage out there at Minute Maid Park. To put in mildly, the Prince’s hamburger at Minute Maid is one horrendous misrepresentation of the original great Prince’s recipe for burgers. They don’t even have the famous original sauce available at MMP.

The whole purchase and attempted consumption experience was ridiculous  to the extreme of becoming almost laughable. First of all, the counter help has no idea what the original Prince’s burgers were all about to Houstonians for generations. When you ask for “original recipe sauce,” they simply tell you “we ain’t got nothing like that. What we got is a burger, with or without cheese. You have to put your own stuff on it from one of those carts out there.”

The burger comes fried to a bone dry crisp with no salt. American processed cheese is your only choice, if you want it, and it comes laid out on a toasted bun that could be from anywhere. The basic burger is $8.75 because you have no choice but to buy it with fries. The fries are pretty good – and you can order them separately for $4.25. When we asked about buying a burger separately, the guy told us, “You may as well take the fries, ’cause we going to charge you for them anyway. If you don’t want ’em, just throw ’em in that trash can over there.”

"Ain't That a Shame" - by Fats Domino (It's a good fit.)

A Better Look at the MMP Prince's Prices

As things turned out, it was most of both the burger and the unwanted fries that Neal and I each tossed, We figured: “Better to toss it this way now than another way later.”

Look! I have no problem with the price of concessions at the ballpark. If people want an economic meal, they need to dine elsewhere, either before or after the game. My problem is with paying high prices for poor quality – and in this case, paying for something that is basically a desecration of what always stood out as THE burger standard in Houston, Texas since 1934.

The Prince family is simply shamed by this egregious abuse of their family name at Minute Maid Park. Shame on the vendors who sold this idea to the Astros!

As someone who always has supported the Houston Astros, it is my hope that the Prince’s vendor plan is either totally corrected or eliminated by the time we get to the 2011 season. It’s just plain awful as it is.

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Oswalt for Happ, Et Al? Astros Have Done Worse

July 30, 2010

Joe Morgan: Little Joe was the key figure in the worst Astros trade of all time.

Count me among those who feel OK about the Roy Oswalt trade with the Phillies. When a player says he’s ready to move on, for whatever reason, you’ve already lost him. From there it’s just a matter of whether or not your club is going to find any takers on a deal – and if you are going to get any value for him in return. In my opinion, Astros General manager Ed Wade did as good a job as possible in working out both those ends, plus the other contingency in Oswalt’s case – gaining the support of owner Drayton McLane on the matter of eating a big part of Oswalt’s contract for the sake of making any move palatable to another club.

Oswalt was always a fast-working, even-steven guy on the mound, but I really didn’t see his heart or usual confidence working all that much in recent outings. With three chances to tie and break Joe Niekro’s all time franchise record of 144 wins before the July 31st trading deadline, Roy blew two of those “ops” and then left the third one dead-still on the table tonight. Instead, Roy will be in Washington this evening, going for his first win as a Phiilie, while J.A. Happ makes an attempt at his first Astros victory at Minute Maid park.

Two minor leaguers,  shortstop Jonathan Villar and Michael Bourn model outfielder Anthony Gose were the two decent prospects that came with Happ to Houston from the Phillies, but Wade quickly did a turnaround trade with Toronto, acquiring minor league hitting prospect Brett Wallace, a first baseman, from the Blue jays for the Michael Bourne-redundant Gose. That secondary move made good sense from the standpoint of meeting another potential position need down the road.

Happ looked good in his first outing back from a flexor stress injury this year, a no-decision outing against the Rockies and he says he feels fine now. Last year he pitched well enough to earn runner-up honors in the NL Rookie of the Year award. At 27, the lanky lefty who relies a lot on location pitches, could be a quality starter here for years, if he stays healthy.

The eleven million that the Astros have to kick in to help pay Oswalt’s salary commitment is just part of the cost of doing business in this case. They had to pay more than that amount, if Roy stayed, and his age and damaged motivation would hardly have seemed worth the price. With the trade, money, players, and all, at least, the club gets something of apparent good value in return that fits in with our plans for the future.

Good luck to Roy in Philadelphia! Even better luck to J.A. and company in Houston!

As for our worst Astros trades ever, it’s going to take an incredible GM someday to surpass the efforts of the Rembrandt of Incompetence, former Astros General Manager Spec Richardson. Singlehandedly, Spec cost us the losses of Joe Morgan, Rusty Staub, Mike Cuellar, and Jimmy Wynn  in four of the worst deals in Astros history.

Some of our other bad trades have cost us people like Kenny Lofton, Curt Schilling, Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley, and John Mayberry, but we did pick up Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen once upon a time. That one worked out pretty well, didn’t it?

Oswalt for Happ, Wallace, and Villar – younger talents with fresh energy, younger men who all want to be here? I’ll take my chances on this one.

Nice going, Ed Wade!

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Old Timer Games at the Dome

July 24, 2010

All Time Greats at Dome in ’68 included Satchel Paige & Joe DiMaggio.

Thanks to Larry Joe Miggins, the son of former Buff and Cardinal Larry Miggins, I received this wonderful material on the All Star Games they used to play in the Astrodome during the reign of Judge Roy Hofheinz as Guiding Light of the Houston Astros. The Judge treated his invitees in first class order, honoring the old Buffs equivalently to all those national Hall of Famers during the short time they all convened in the Astrodome for a little fun on the diamond for a few fun innings of recreated greatness.

I’m sorry the above group line makes it so hard to recognize all the great stars that suited up for the 1968 game, so allow me to coast-to-coast their identities from left to tight in slightly larger type. Right here in Houston in 1968, we had Bobby Bragan, Bill Dickey, Allie Reynolds, Ewell Blackwell, Monty Stratton, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, Johnny Mize, Solly Hemus, Stan Hack, Grady Hatton, Pete Runnels, Lou Boudreau, Ducky Medwick, Harry Walker, Lloyd Waner, and Joe DiMaggio.

Let’s make recognition a little simpler. Here is the panorama, now broken into two cropped sections. left to right, as follows:

Left Side: Bobby Bragan, Bill Dickey, Allie Reynolds, Ewell Blackwell, Monty Stratton, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, Johnny Mize, & Solly Hemus.

Right Side: Stan Hack, Grady Hatton, Pete Runnels, Lou Boudreau, Ducky Medwick, Harry Walker, Lloyd Waner, & Joe DiMagggio.

All of them legends, and most of them Hall of Famers, were right here on the field level of the Astrodome, competing again on a celebratory level for no greater reason than their love of the game and an ancient desire to stay connected to what happens on the field .

How do you top that 1968 lineup? Well, maybe you don’t, but the 1969 Astrodome All Star Old-Timers’ Game wasn’t exactly chopped liver. In a game that pitted the Houston Old-Timers against MLB Stars from the 1952 National League All Star Team, Stan Musial and Roy Campanella shone pretty bright in their own realms. Here’s how those rosters appeared on the front page of Old-Timers’ Day, a September 1, 1969 publication of the Houston Sports Association:

What a great party that must have been for all those wonderful ballplayers of the greatest generation. I feel privileged to have known and been close friends with a number of the men on the Houston Old- Timers roster – and I wouldn’t trade the time I’ve spent with men like Jerry Witte, Red Munger, Larry Miggins, Frank Mancuso, Solly Hemus, and Buddy Hancken for anything in the world.

Here are a few of the photos and captions for Buddy Hancken, Solly Hemus, Frank Mancuso, Larry Miggins, and Jerry Witte. Unfortunately, the advertising article failed to provide a photo block for Red Munger and several others. Even more sadly, Solly Hemus and Larry Miggins are two of the dwindling survivors in 2010 of that roster from 1969. Please note too, that some of the information below was not copied completely for undistorted reprinting and in some cases it also was not totally accurate. Consult the Minor League Player Data file at Baseball Reference.Com for a a complete picture on the careers of each man featured here:

I’m not sure how either of these games from 1968-69 played out on the Astroturf, nor am I sure how many games were played totally. I just know that they went on long enough for Astro youngsters like Jimmy Wynn to get his fill of autographs from former stars like the great Dizzy Dean:

Jimmy Wynn Gets Dizzy Dean’s Autograph, About 1968. 

Larry Miggins reports that he went 5 for 5 overall in all Old-Timers games at the Dome, which is a pretty good average for any man’s league.

Jerry Witte once told me that Roy Campanella remembered him as a post World War II opponent in the American Association during the 1948 short time that their paths crossed as players for Louisville and St. Paul. “I remember you from Louisville,” Campy told Jerry when they met again at the 1959 Astrodome Old Timers Game.. “You were the guy who always came to the plate stomping bugs in the dirt with the business side of his bat.”

Wow! No wonder Campanella made it to the Hall of Fame. Any catcher with his talent, and there weren’t that many, who could also be that mindful of the little characteristics of a hitter he saw so long ago and not that often is bound to have been a special talent.

The 1969 Dome game also was special in light of the fact that two of its players, Roy Campanella and Stan Musial, had only weeks earlier been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.

I don’t know why we no longer have Old-Timer Games in Houston, but I would imagine that two factors are strongly in play as to why not: (1) liability for personal injuries to ancient warriors is probably more expensive these days, and (2) I don’t think today’s older players care as much about getting out there on the field again as their earlier counterparts once did.

Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong.

Just in case, here’s my starting lineup of former Astros whom I think could still get out there and play three to five innings – as long as they didn’t have to do it again in the same season:

2010 ASTRO OLD-TIMERS

Terry Puhl, rf

Craig Biggio, 2b

Jose Cruz, lf

Jeff Bagwell, 1b

Art Howe, 3b

Kevin Bass, cf

Phil Garner, 2b

Alan Ashby, c

Craig Reynolds, ss *

Doug Drabek, p

* I first suggested Roger Metzger for shortstop, but then, early in the day, Tom Murrah reminded me that I had forgotten an even younger, more available former Astro in Houston resident Craig Reynolds. I agreed so strongly that I made the change here.

Who would you add to the roster or delete from these starters? And please post your comments below. If you are a former Astro player, please feel free to add or delete yourself too. Maybe we can come up with a group that’s so viable we get an Old-Timers Game booked at Minute Maid Park next season.

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1980: Astros take Playoff with Dodgers, 7-1

July 17, 2010

Texas Baseball Hall of Fame Induction, 2005: Artist Opie Otterstad, Presenter Greg Lucas, Inductee Joe Niekro.

The date was October 6, 1980. By tailspinning into a three game sweep loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the West Coast, the Houston Astros found themselves facing the same club to break a dead heat tie for first place in the National League West. The winner would advance to play the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League pennant. The loser would go home to a winter of discontent that overflowed with thoughts of what might have been. Whomever advanced and then lost to the Phillies might surely do the same from a steeper cliff, but today the business was about winning the opportunity to simply try.

By an earlier coin flip, LA had won the right to be the home team n the event that the Astros and Dodgers ended up in a tie and needed a playoff. Their LA win on coin flip for the special one-game playoff site was convenient to staging since the Astros were already in town, still trying to recover from dropping a three-game series that left them in a 92-70 identical finish with the Dodgers, anyway, but that didn’t make the game any easier as a proposition for the staggering club from Houston. Down hearts came out of the woodwork with their predictions for our Astros’ full demise, but there was no giving up in us hard-core fans, or in manager Bill Virdon, or in the Astros themselves.

Astros manager picked Joe Niekro (19-12) to pitch the biggest game in franchise history. Niekro would be opposed by Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda’s selection, Dave Goltz (7-10). By league rules, stats from the special playoff game would be included in the regular season team and individual records of each club. Therefore, the stakes for Knucksie Niekro of Houston were even higher. Houston’s first division championship, a shot at the World Series, and a second straight 20-win season were all riding on what he did on the mound this special day.

Houston got on the board early. In the top of the 1st, Terry Puhl reached first base on a leadoff E-4 by Davy Lopes and then advanced to third on a single by Enos Cabell. With Joe Morgan batting, Cabell then stole second to amp the Astros threat into a “runners at second and third with nobody out” situation.

After Morgan fanned, Jose Cruz appeared to reach on a fielder’s choice, but the play at the plate was muffed by the Dodger catcher Joe Ferguson, allowing Puhl to score. With Cabell now on third and Cuz on first with one out, Houston led, 1-0.

Cabell then scored on a Cesar Cedeno ground out to make it Houston, 2-0, but that would be it for the first stanza. An Art Howe single would move Cruz to third, but Dodger starter Dave Goltz would pitch his way out of further harm.

Joe Niekro didn't just throw the ball. He fluttered wobblers by the dozens.

After Joe Niekro retired the Dodgers in order over the first two innings, the Astros added two more runs in the top of the third to increase their lead to 4-0. They got those tallies with the old “Here’s Howe” recipe. After Cesar Cedeno singled and stole second, Art Howe went deep to push the comfort zone a little softer for pitcher Niekro, but nobody was taking anything for granted – not after the standings earthquake the Astros went through in their final series of the season.

After Niekro again stopped the Dodgers in the third, the Astros added a final touch with three more runs in the top of the fourth. After Puhl reached on a bunt single and steal of second, Cabell and Morgan walked to load the bases. Puhl then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Cruz – and Cabell-Morgan both tallied on a 2-rbi single by Art Howe. Four rib-eyes? Here’s Howe! Going to the bottom of the 4th, it was Houston 7 – Los Angeles 0.

The Dodgers broke up the shutout in the bottom of the 4th when Dusty Baker singled, moved to second on an error of Steve Garvey’s batted ball by Astros third baseman Enos Cabell. Baker then scored on another single by Dodger center fielder Rick Monday, but that would be it and far from enough in the Dodger cause on this special day in Astros history.The Dodgers threatened again by loading the bases in the 6th, but Niekro shut the door on any further scoring. From there, Joe went into overdrive, giving up only one more hit over the last three innings, a two-out single in the 9th, but that would be all and it for the doomed Dodgers.

Joe Niekro (20-12) had pitched the Houston Astros to a 7-1, 6-hit, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, no earned runs complete game stop on the Los Angeles Dodgers, advancing the Houston Astros to their very first regular playoff appearance in the NLCS. In the scheme of things, Joe Niekro had won the most important game in franchise history to-date and he also had become the first pitcher in Astros history to mark twenty-win seasons for two years in a row.

What else does the guy need to do deserve having his number 36 retired by the Astros? Nothing. He already did it – a long, long time ago. He simply needs to be duly recognized by the retirement of his number 36,

Roy Oswalt takes the mound tomorrow, Sunday, July 18th, with a better than fat chance of tying Joe Niekro for the most franchise pitching wins at 144. If the rotation holds and Roy isn’t traded earlier than the July 31st deadline, Oswalt will get two additional starts at home to either tie or break the Niekro 144 mark against the Reds July 24th and then against the Brewers on July 30th.

Now is the time to act. When something is the right thing to do, now is always the time for action. We just need to hear from the one person in this world who can make it happen as it should – and that man is Drayton McLane, Jr. So far, he’s batting 1.000 on the number retirements he’s called into history and this one is just as obvious. It just fell in the cracks during the John McMullen Astros ownership years and now needs to be restored to the light of its proper place of honor in franchise history.

If you support the hope that the Astros will see fit to retire Joe Niekro’s #36 now, please go to the primary column on that subject and post your strong opinion there. Here’s the link you need to get there.

https://thepecanparkeagle.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/its-time-to-retire-joe-niekros-astros-36/

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It’s Time to Retire Joe Niekro’s Astros #36

July 13, 2010

Joe Niekro Has Been the Astros Franchise Wins Leader for 25 Years! His Total MLB WIns Exceed Those of 16 Great Starting Pitchers in the HOF at Cooperstown.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, Roy Oswalt may tie and surpass Joe Niekro as the all time leader in pitching wins for the Houston Astros before he then moves on via a trade to a contending club. That trade may not happen, but it seems likely and right for all concerned at this point in time that it will.

Whether the Oswalt trade happens or not, whether Roy breaks Joe’s Houston record before he goes or just stays, it’s high time we put the contributions of the late Joe Niekro in perspective and see that the time to retire his Astros uniform #36 is not maybe. Not ten years from now. Not five years down the road. But now. Right Now. 2010 Now. Before this season of so much good time to tend the garden of honoring our ball club’s past slips quietly into history. Now is the time to get it done.

Most of you know the bare bones that support the body of work that qualifies Joe Niekro for the number retirement honor, but let’s cover them briefly for those who don’t know:

(1) 144 Franchise Wins. In his eleven seasons as a Houston Astro (1975-85), Joe Niekro compiled more wins than any other pitcher in Houston MLB franchise history. Now Roy Oswalt stands right behind Joe with 143 wins, If Oswalt ties or breaks the record, he won’t be breaking a record that’s only stood for six months to two years. Joe Niekro has held the wins record for a quarter century – ever since he passed Larry Dierker for the honor in 1985 on his way via a deal that would send him to the New York Yankees that same season.

(2) First Back-to-Back Twenty Win Seasons. Joe Niekro rolled in 1979-80. The crafty right handed knuckleballer, who mixed his signature pitch with an excellent fastball and tough change, became the first pitcher in franchise history to win twenty or more games in consecutive seasons. His 21 wins and 5 shutouts in 1979 both led the National League. His performance got him on the 1979 All Star team and his production won him the The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year for 1979 Award. He also finished second to Bruce Sutter in the Cy Young Award voting.

(3) Joe Pitched Houston to It’s First Division Crown in 1980. After the Astros dropped their last three games of the 1980 season and fell into a tie with the Dodgers for the division lead in the NL West, Joe Niekro got the call from Manager Bill Virdon to pitch a one-game playoff in LA that would decide the division crown and send the winner on to the playoffs. Niekro gave up six hits in pitching the Astros to a 7-1 win and their first playoff appearance. Joe then defeated the Phillies, 1-0, in Game Three of the NLCS that the Astros ultimately lost in five outings.

Phil Niekro, Bill McCurdy, Joe Niekro (2005)

(4) Induction into Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, 2005. Joe Niekro was inducted into the the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, just a little more than a year prior to his sudden death from a brain aneurysm at his home in Florida. This is also around the time I got to know Joe a little personally due to my work at the time as Board President of the TBHOF. He was a fine fellow, as is his brother, Cooperstown Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. – For their careers, the Niekros are the winningest brother pitchers in MLB history. Both men excelled due to the knuckle ball pitch they learned from their father. Phil Niekro knuckled 318 career wins; Joe registered 221. Their Niekro tab of 539 victories is approached only by the 529 wins put together by brothers Gaylord (314) and Jim (215) Perry in their major league careers.

(5) Joe Niekro’s Place Among the Pitching Greats of Baseball History. Here’s where we get into the less obvious reason why the Astros should honor joe Niekro by retiring his number 36. Get this. – When you really look at the pitching record of Joe Niekro, you are looking at a guy who easily could’ve also gotten the nod for the Hall of fame at Cooperstown and joined with his deserving brother Phil. Joe Niekro’s 221 career wins for his entire MLB career (1967-88) are greater in number than the totals for fifteen predominately starting pitchers who did get the nod for induction into the HOF at Cooperstown.

Again, Joe Niekro won 221 major league games – more than the following fifteen Hall of Fame starters: Chief Bender (212), Jack Chesbro (198), Stan Covaleski (215), Dizzy Dean (150), Don Drysdale (209), Lefty Gomez (189), Jesse Haines (210), Addie Joss (160), Sandy Koufax (165) Bob Lemon (207), Rube Marquard (201), Hal Newhouser (207), Dazzy Vance (197), Rube Waddell 193), and Ed Walsh (195).

Will 2010 be Joe Niekro's Next Rainbow Year? This time at Minute Maid Park?

If Joe Niekro were alive today, he would be the first in line to shake the hand of Roy Oswalt for becoming the career leader in pitching wins for the Astros, if that is to be. Joe Niekro was all class. And he was an even greater pitcher than his lifetime acknowledgements reveal.

It would be both fitting and an act of class for the Astros organization to retire # 36 before this season ends. Joe Niekro is not going to be any more deserving if we wait any longer. He’s deserving now – and he has been justly deserving for a very long while. It’s time to recognize him with the kind of honor that would really be noticed at this point in history. It would be a shame to go into the upcoming 2012 50th anniversary of the franchise celebration with #36 not already hanging from the rafters at Minute Maid Park – and waiting until 2012 is an embarrassing thought in itself.

Please, Astros. Do it now. Retire #36 before this 2010 season ends. A lot of devoted Joe Niekro fans would show up for that one. There’s no question in my mind.

While we are building for the future. Let’s stop long enough to honor someone appropriately who was a major part of our first winning taste of victory. His name was Joe Niekro. His number was 36.

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My Choice for Astros’ New Batting Coach

July 12, 2010

"You really want to know what makes me sad, Carlos??? ..."

The causes of bad hitting are not hard to identify. They’re just sometimes hard to pin down and correct in a given situation.

In a general nutshell, the causes of bad hitting are these: (1) good pitching; (2) poor natural hitting ability; (3) bad hitting mechanics; (4) terrible coaching; (5) reflex failure due to injury or aging; (6) eye problems; (7) bad habits off the field that deplete performance ability; and (8) bad mental attitudes at bat that include lack of confidence and everything that falls between trying too hard and not giving a flying-flip what happens at the plate.

Although I like Astros icon Jeff Bagwell, I personally don’t think that the current Mendoza Land Doze of the 2010 Astros has anything to do with the absence of good coaching from Sean Berry. If we were going to fire Berry in the name of “changing something,” I have a guy in mind whom I like better than Baggy for this job. In fact, here’s a link to the fellow whom I think would have been the best new batting coach choice for the problems of the troubled hitters of the current Astros team:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEbzM2FUP9s

Good Luck, Sean Berry, and have a nice Monday, everybody!

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Oswalt Closes on Niekro as All Time Astro Winner

July 11, 2010

One win behind Joe Niekro, Roy Oswalt got to the top in Houston faster than anybody!

As of this day and morning date, Sunday, July 11, 2010, Roy Oswalt has compiled 143 wins pitching only as a Houston Astro from 2001 to 2010. Roy trails knuckleballer Joe Niekro by a single victory  on the list of all time biggest franchise pitching winners. Joe Niekro registered 221 total wins in a 22-season total career (1967-1988) and he bagged 144 of these babies as a Houston Astro hurler in eleven seasons from 1975 to 1985.

The question now is: Which will come first – Roy’s Houston franchise record-breaking win as a pitcher – or his trade for future value to a 2010 title contender in this year of the “Expensive Veterans for Sale As We Build For the Future” campaign down at Minute Maid Park?

Time will tell – and time is short. The trading deadline is coming up on July 31st and, as the Houston Chronicle covers more completely this morning, the Seattle trade of the more affordable Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers has elevated Roy Oswalt to the top rung of most desirable candidates still out there on the vine. Only Roy’s heavy-bucks contract and how much the Astros will have to eat of it to swing a deal stands in the way.

At any rate, if Roy’s going to tie and pass Joe Niekro for the all time lead in franchise pitching wins, he had better get them quickly. In terms of fewest innings pitched to get there, Roy Oswalt already has reached the second rung on the ladder faster than anyone before him.

If we have to give him up, we are going to miss him. As an Astros fan, I will simply hope that the Reds of our own division don’t come up with the best, most workable deal for Roy. His loss to Houston would be greatly compounded if we had to deal with Roy coming back to pitch against us in three home stands each season over the next five to eight years. The only worse trade would be for the Astros to deal Oswalt to the Cardinals. Thank God the Cards are cool on pitching, for now. They are, aren’t they?

For the record, here’s the Top Ten List of Biggest Winners among Houston Pitchers for the entire period of the major league franchise from 1962 through this date in 2010. The list includes the number of innings that each pitcher worked to get there:

(1) Joe Niekro (144 wins in 2270.00 IP)

(2) Roy Oswalt (143 wins in 1923.33 IP)

(3) Larry Dierker (137 wins in 2294.44 IP)

(4) Mike Scott (110 wins in 1704.00 IP)

(5) J.R. Richard (107 wins in in 1606.00 IP)

(6) Nolan Ryan (106 wins in 1854.67 IP)

(7) Don Wilson (104 wins in 1748.33 IP)

(8) Shane Reynolds (103 wins in 1622.33 IP)

(9) Bob Knepper (93 wins in 1738.00 IP)

(10) Ken Forsch (78 wins in 1493.67 IP)

Have a peaceful Sunday, everybody!


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Astros Sign McCurdy

July 7, 2010

Ryan McCurdy is from Duke University. If he makes it all the way to the top, he will become only the second McCurdy in history to reach the major leagues of baseball.

The Houston Astros have signed a McCurdy! No, not this one. In spite of current circumstances, the club isn’t that desperate for playing talent. Their guy is named Ryan McCurdy, a 22-year old catcher out of Duke University. The (BR/TR) 5’10”, 175 pound young man is the same height and about twenty pounds heavier than I was at that age. He was born in Tampa, Florida in a general area of the country where I have a few scattered McCurdy relatives, but no known connection to this young man beyond the facts that we are both baseball guys, both the same height, and three days off from each other on our natal birthday celebrations. Ryan was born on 12/28/87. I was born on  12/31 – just a tad bit earlier in 1937.

If Ryan McCurdy makes it the top, he will become only the second McCurdy to make it to the big leagues. The other was Harry McCurdy, also a catcher, who had some pretty good years with the Houston Buffs (1924-25) and in the majors with the Cardinals, White Sox, Phillies, and Reds. Harry batted .361 in a full season for the 1925 Buffs and .282 over his ten seasons in the bigs (1922-23, 26-28, 30-34). After his retirement, Harry McCurdy made his home in Houston and served for many years as the Principal of Hogg Junior High School in the Heights. We used to get his calls all the time at our house from parents trying to locate Harry for conferences.

Harry McCurdy, Catcher

We weren’t related to Harry McCurdy either, but we did  have one possible relative, also on the McCurdy side, to make it to the big leagues. My late dad always claimed that we were related to Bob Myrick, who went 3-6, 3.48 as a right-handed pitcher for the New York Mets from 1976-78. I never met Bob Myrick nor really tried to determine if we were distant cousins from the family’s earlier days in Mississippi because it just didn’t matter to me, but I do have to admit: I hope the Ryan McCurdy kid makes it, even if he’s no relation. After all, there haven’t been many of our name to get there before Ryan – and that one was a catcher too.

I don’t know much about the player Ryan McCurdy beyond the facts that he enjoyed an outstanding high school hitting career and that he played college ball at Duke University. Like Mr. Castro’s Stanford, Duke s no dumping ground for dummies. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Astros put in a spot where they have to choose between, or else, platoon, two catchers from Stanford and Duke.

Ryan McCurdy, Catcher, Greeneville {TN) Astros

If Ryan McCurdy is going to make it as a serious challenger at catcher for the Houston Astros someday, like all our other young guys, he’s going to need time to develop on the vine. The direction that Ed Wade is taking now is a good one: With enough talent in the minor league orchards, the big club doesn’t have to pick the few good ones too soon for the longtime greater good.

Young McCurdy isn’t exactly off to a blazing start. He’s one single for nine times at bat in his first few games as an Appalachian Rookie Leaguer. At least, they gave him a good uniform digit to wear. The number “3” doesn’t carry with it the burden of too much expectation, does it? Of course, at catcher, I think the expectation load is much heavier if the club assigns number “8” to your back!

Good Luck, Ryan McCurdy! You can bet for sure that I will be pulling for you!

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Jason Castro Looks Like Real Thing

June 26, 2010

Jason Castro, Catcher, Houston Astros

It may take him a while to take over the identity recognition in the general culture from that other “Jason Castro” fall-out musician from American Idol, but our guy should be able to do just fine building an early good name for himself in the big leagues as a first class catcher.

Born June 18, 1987 in Castro Valley, California, near San Francisco, the 6’3″ , 210 pound 23-year old jewel in his club’s minor league prospect crown has joined the Astros playing roster.

He’s only played the three-game San Francisco Giants series at home at this writing, but he has impressed on all levels for a rookie. His first ten at bats have produced three base hits, including his first major league homer; he bagged his first two gunner kills on attempted steals of second; he received “props” from the great Roy Oswalt for calling a near flawless game in their first work together as an Astros battery; he showed a field presence in responding to the media that simply oozes with intelligence and emotional maturity; and he paraded a physical athleticism is his ordinary movements that all add up as further evidence that we are looking at a real ballplayer out there on the field – one who can catch, throw, and hit the ball with any other of his position as one of the sweetest lefty swingers I’ve seen in  a very long time.

We concede the fact that nothing quick is rarely the whole picture on the long trail of one man’s playing career – and that time holds the answers on the final judgment of Jason Castro as a major league catcher, What we can see now, however, is that he seems to have the mental and physical tools for getting there and playing well for a very long time.

The Giants series was especially enjoyable on TV due to the presence of Castro’s parents in the stands at Minute Maid Park for each of his first three games. The Stanford graduate and his Bay Area family got to enjoy breaking into the big time in a series played against the club they all had followed throughout Jason’s childhood years.

There was no doubt about the current placement of the Castro family allegiance. It’s now with the Houston Astros, of course. When Jason Castro hit his first major league home run in Game Two, both parents lept to their feet to cheer uproariously. By the time Castro rounded third, heading for home, his mom had gone through laughter, tears, smiles, and shouts – and she was now busily preparing to snap a photo of her kiddo as he touched home plate in the middle of his Astros teammate reception committee.

Only a mother knows how to give full expression to the word “love” for her own child – no matter how old that kid may be.

Props also need to extend to Astros General Manager Ed Wade and his new scouting crew on this one too. Their first major draft pick, Jason Castro,  looks like a winner at this point, even if any evaluation of him this early appears as meaningful as polishing the apple that already shines. The signs are good that this one will keep on shining.

Intelligence and ability are a great results combination when they work together and not against each other – and Jason Castro has both working in the right direction from the git-go because of his emotional humility and a performance presence that belies his lack of actual big experience.

Now we just have to watch how experience serves him – and how he adjusts to the adjustments that big league pitchers, especially, will make to him over these first couple of years.

My guess is that Castro has the ability to put himself in contention for “Rookie of the Year” honors, but he may have started too late in 2010 to have much chance to do much other than use up his rookie status in a way that makes him ineligible for the honor in 2011.

That’s OK. There are plenty of other honors waiting down the road that this young man is capable of earning on his own over time.

As a Houston Astros fan, I’m just happy that Jason Castro is our heir apparent catcher of the future and that, as of the just concluded Giants series, the future is now.

Go get some more of these guys, Ed Wade!

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Goodbye, Mr. Lima!

May 24, 2010

Jose Lima: He leaves some happy memories and a short record of great accomplishment in baseball..

The news of Jose Lima’s death at age 37 hits all of us who followed his baseball career with equal amounts of shock and sadness. This is one of those times in which the written words of immediate reaction are coming out in all kinds of ways on the mind crank of familiarity.

A fellow who “lived life to the fullest,” Jose Lima walked through each day as a happy man, making everyone around him happy too. At his foremost in the 1999 Astros season, he performed as one of the best starting pitchers in the big leagues, winning 21 games against 10 losses and registering a 3.58 earned run average for his playoff-bound club. He also sold the benefits of delicious Mexican food from Casa Ole restaurants on television commercials with a peppery song, a Latin-moves dance, and a universal happy-face smile thrown in to boot for good measure. It all came together and worked beautifully.

The man had tremendous ability, but like a number of other fine and potentially great pitchers, he also possessed a vulnerable psyche to the prospect of  moving from the spacious Astrodome, the scene of his great 1999 season, to pitching in a new ballpark with a short left field porch with the opening of Enron Field in 2000.

In his last 1999 Astrodome year, Jose Lima (BR/TR) have up 0only 30 home runs in 246.1 innings pitched.In his first 2000 Enron Field year, with the 315-feet away Crawford Boxes looming out there from him down the left field line, Lima surrendered 48 home runs in only 196.1 innings of work.

Now, in fairness, all the homers that Lima gave up in those two season were not hit only at the Astrodome and Enron Field, and all the Enron Field homers were not simply dink-and-drop blows that barely lipped the 315-feet mark. Homers were hit elsewhere – and many of the Enron Field long balls at Enron would have just about cleared the Grand Canyon walls on a north-to-south tim track.

The point was in (or on) Lima’s head. From his first sight of the park that we used to squeeze into as “Enron Field,” Jose Lima was psychologically defeated. He simply could not pitch there. I don’t how many times it happened, but it often worked out that Jose Lima would respond to giving up a critical long ball by surrendering another to the very next man, and sometimes, on the very next pitch.

One time, when the pattern was already established,  my then 15-year old son Neal and I were there for a 2000 Enron Field game when Lima gave up a monster shot to left center. “Just watch out for what happens on the first pitch to the next guy,” I told Neal. “He’s going to hit one out too!”

When it then happened, Neal grabbed me by the arm and asked, “Dad, how did you you know that was going to happen?”

“Just lucky,” I told Neal. Then I went on to explain how many time we had seen Lima just groove a pitch down the middle of the plate after giving up a home run. And that’s what he had done again here. Neal seemed both relieved and distressed to know that one didn’t have to possess psychic abilities to predict a home run off a pitch from Jose Lima during the 2000 season. It happened too often to be wrong a lot – and these weren’t cheap shots either.

By the early part of 2001, as you may recall, Jose Lima was sent dancing back to Detroit, from whence he had come to Houston after the 1996 season. Other than an 8-3 year with the Royals in 2003 and a 13-5 mark with the Dodgers in 2004, Jose Lima would never have another big league season that came even close to his 1999 record year with the Astros.

Somewhere along the way, Jose Lima also organized a Latin rhythm band and installed himself as the lead singer. Unlike Cuba’s Desi Arnaz, however, it wasn’t in the cards for happy Jose Lima of the Dominican Republic to be looking for a Lucille Ball equivalent to help him make the transition to big time success in show business. Besides, as far as we know, Jose had a happy marriage and family life and wasn’t even looking for a Lucy to love. He just loved baseball and he had happy feet for music and dancing,

I met Jose Lima only once at an RBI banquet dinner in 2005. He was as happy that night as I always imagined him to be – and he came dressed in an outfit that seemed to express that upbeat mood. It looked like one of those zoot suits from the 1940s, but what do I know? It probably was just one of those new trendy styles that never reaches the extant attention of people like me.

All I know is that Jose Lima was nice and friendly, with a bright smile, and that he greeted me like a long lost friend. He just made you feel good all over – and right away.

Jose Lima was born on September 30, 1972 in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He died in his sleep in Los Angeles on May 23, 2010 at his home in Los Angeles, California. At the time of his death, Lima was still on board to play winter ball in his native country. He had concluded his 13-season major league career (1994-2006) with a record of 89 wins, 102 losses, and ERA of 5.26 in variable stints with the Tigers, Astros, Royals, Dodgers, and Mets.

The world needs more people like Jose Lima. His death at age 37 comes as a saddening shock and yes, another wake-up-and-smell-the-roses reminder. – Breathe life deep everyday, folks. Nobody has a guarantee on tomorrow. And nobody lives forever.

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