Umm, the Rockets did win two championships about a decade ago. Which Sam so thoughtfully pointed out four minutes before me. I'd also add that five playoff appearances by your MLB team, a well-run NFL organization who appears to be on the brink of a playoff run, and a NBA team that will have Yao Ming and T-Mac for a better part of a decade isn't a horrible thing. Houston fans have nothing to whine about, but it's not surprising that they are.
**** uncle drayton. It's time to sell this team to someone who cares. Matress Mac does. I have no use for cheap owners that think Houston is a small market.
Right now, would I bet that they would make the postseason - no, but the season is less than 1/4 over. Do I reasonably think they CAN make the postseason - yes. I doubt they can win the division, but the wild card contenders all have their weaknesses. Would Justice have written this same column if Kent had his May statistics for April - I seriously doubt it. Would the Astros fans have been in an uproar against McLane if he made a reasonable offer to Beltran and given him a 10 day ultimatum and not signed him - emphatically YES. Had Kent been resigned, this is what most likely would have occurred: Kent - 2B, Berkman RF, Biggio LF Instead, this became the plan: Biggio - 2B, Berkman OF, Lane OF Prior to the start of this season, I think most folks would have considered that a wash. Defensively, Biggio and Kent are roughly the same. Biggio has more range and doesn;t give up on plays like Kent will, Kent has a much better arm.
We have around the 11th or so biggest market among MLB teams. We have around the 11th or so biggest budget among MLB teams. But don't let facts get in the way of your whining. Go root for the Yankees.
Well then wouldn't you agree that the offseason was horrible when you go from outs away from the World Series to 14-23 with no realistic shot at contention?
Where did I say "no realistic shot at contention"? In case you missed it, I wrote: "Do I reasonably think they CAN make the postseason - yes." It depends on your perspective regarding the offseason. It was disappointing they didn't sign Beltran because they made a competitive offer. I think most folks thought Kent was gone anyway. I am certainly glad they did not spend lots of money on Finley or Drew. I am glad to see they locked up Berkman long term. I am glad they signed Oswalt as well as Clemens. The "horrible" things that have happened are the injury to Berkman which (conservatively) has cost them 3-5 wins and the inability of Bagwell to play. Also, the flu/pneumonia bug cost them as well. What they need to do now is acquire an OF or 1B bat and a dependable reliever. While (for the most part) the bullpen has done well enough, Lidge is the only one they can count on game in and game out. They need to add that other arm.
Ok, then why not make the bet with me? I bet the Astros will not make the postseason this season. Will you take the other side, bobrek?
I'm still waiting for someone to tell me who we should've signed had we decided from the beginning that we weren't going to go after Beltran. I've even posted very recently that I thought letting Kent go was a mistake, but I'm not so sure now. Biggio's giving you the same production at a much lower cost. Well, that is Uncle Dreighton's fault for not being a doctor and/or donating all his money to research into how to stop players from idiotically playing in flag football games or how to make your players 100% immune to disease. And based on our history, there is absolutely no reason to believe that they won't do that if there is a good deal out there if we're in contention. I'll make a bet now that we add a fairly high priced free agent bat after the year.
It's hard to make postseason bets in baseball since only 4 teams make it, but I will make the following bet: The Astros will be in contention for a playoff spot on September 1. To that end, they will be within 5 games (5 games or less behind in the loss column) of the division lead or the wild card leader. Loser pays $25.00 to the tip jar.
actually....the conversation would be worse....had we actually won the WS and THEN watched Drayton f-up the offseason, it would have been even harder to deal with.
The bet is on. Looks like you don't have much confidence in the team if these are the betting parameters...
One clarification - the bet will be decided after the games have been played on August 31. I've got confidence, just not money . Also, since it is a long season, continued injuries can severly impact things. Rather than add caveats, I decided to keep it simple.
I'm talking about national respect. Do we get any like NY, LA, and the other big cities do? The Rockets, they are starting to gain respect this season because of T-Mac and Yao. I know the championship years helped, but the Francis years didn't help us much after that. We had some respect last year from the Astros run to the playoffs, but that died this year. The Texans, once we entered the NFL, we were the new team. Now, we're still to the media an expansion team. I'm behind my teams 100%, but I was responding back to msn about national respect.
Well, I don't think that's the owners fault, it's the media's fault. Remember when SI initially decided that they wouldn't have a special cover for the Rockets after the first championship?
Kent was in the middle of a 20 something game hit streak when Justice wrote his article last season. Justice's artcles are all over the place. He can't have it both ways.
The issue isn't Kent vs. Biggio, the issue is we need Kent's production. Biggio could still play left field, hell Kent could be playing first right now. No one is arguing that Biggio isn't producing, the issue is Kent's total production hasn't been replaced. Biggio was here last year, so he isn't a replacement.
