As long as Dierker is in charge, the Astros will never go anywhere.

I have to agree. Dierk has cost us games in this series against the Cubs. The first thing that completely puzzled me was in game 2 when Ausmus, the barely over the mendoza line hitting Ausmus, came up with the bases loaded in the 6th or 7th inning and 2 outs. We have 3 friggin catchers on the team so does he pinch hit for Ausmus? Helllll no, he lets Ausmus swing away and of course he makes an out, inning over. The topper is that he has Ward on deck to hit for the pitcher when he should have had his ass pinch hitting for Ausmus. I mean if Ausmus gets a hit then the game is at least tied and you may have the lead. What the heck do you have Ward up for the pitcher when Ausmus' slot in the lineup is the entire key to the inning and the friggin game. That royally pissed me off. The Villone thing was also a major screw up. Bring in a lefty to face two right handed hitters? More like bring in the righty to face those two guys and then switch to Villone to face the lefty McGriff if necessary. And then tonight against Lieber he sits all the lefty bats when left handed hitters hit .300 against Lieber. So instead of having Berkman to go with Ward, Vizcaino, and even Merced in the lineup to stack the left handed hitters, they're all on the bench and get pinch hitting duty. I really don't think Dierk knows when to do things and when not to.

 

I find that Dierker gets criticized in this town a lot. Especially last year, and some of this year.

 

it isnt dierkers fault we scored 2 runs the last two games of the series, while ill agree villone should not of faced sosa two nights ago the bottom line is we have to score runs, lieber is hittable, yeah hes a good pitcher but his slider is 90 % of the time not a strike, yet we didnt have the mental disclipine to lay off, i agree i think ward or merced shouldve been in left with vizcaino at ss but i dont know how much it wouldve made a difference, 7 hits in 2 days wont cut, plus i dont think hes a bad manager if he was so awful how would we be 15 games over 500 with the young staff weve been using all year, no matter what kind of offense we have

 

Timing I completely agree. That was the best scoring situation we were in all game. You pinch hit Ward there, no doubt. In fact, there aren't too many close games where Ausmus shouldn't be pinch hit for in the late innings. Why are we carrying 3 catchers, otherwise?

Still the majority of the problem lies with the position players on the club. There's no excuse for being shut down on consecutive nights, in Enron field, by a couple of decent pitchers having career years, in the middle of a pennant race. I guarantee you will lose 99% of the games that you only score 1 run, in this park.

 

Get Riddy of Dirky.

 

The hitters lost that game. The Slider was off the plate. And from the 6th inning on every single batter swung at it. How stupid was that. even Bagwell. They know better and the hitters should have been communicating better last night. Maybe Dirk should have said stop swinging at that pitch, but regardless, they are professionals and should have gotten a clue.

Villone was a dumb move, but it didn't cost us the game.

Keep in mind he has used Merced brilliantly. And he seems to handle the pitching staff fairly well this year.

 

IMO, this is Dierker's make or break season. If the Astros make the playoffs, Dierker will be around for another season. If the Astros don't make the playoffs, Dierker will be sent packing.

Who is the minor league Astros manager that has been impressing everyone? I think he gets the job.

 

This is to notivate you that YOU ARE IN FRINGMENT of DUKE's copyright!!! The TERM "Get Riddy of Rudy" is a registirated SERVICE MACK of LHUTZ, DUKE OF TRUTH, and may not be reboardcast, retransmited, reposted, revealed, reanimated, regurgitated, or RE-ANYTHING'D without the EXPRESS writen consort of LHUTZ DUKE OF TRUTH!!!

JEFF BLAC, you gone TOO FAR this time, you think you are BIG STUFF BECAUSE you have gone on the radio. Well you know what DUKE thinks.

Huh?

Right.

YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR DUKE'S legal POWERS. DUKE has had it, I WILL SUE you and your hole site for this!!!!!

Tomorrow.

 

I'm surprised nobody's brought this up. Why the hell was Hidalgo starting against Jon Lieber. Hidalgo has been horrible these last few months, whereas Merced and Ward have been red hot. Lieber is very tough on right handers, so what does Dierk do- load up with righties. Starts Lugo instead of Vizcaino and Doggy instead of Ward/Merced.

And I'm not even going to get into the Ron Villone decision. Bringing in Villone to face a bunch of righties in a close game??? TWO FU*KING NIGHTS IN A ROW. Absolutely ridiculous considering Williams, Dotel, and even Jackson are in the pen. This guy's as bad as Jay Powell and Doug "homerun" Henry. Everyone watching on TV and at the game knew that it was over once Villone came in. He thinks he can throw that horrible fastball by hitters, but gets knocked around everytime. Hell, Joe Girardi hit one off him for crying out loud. RON VILLONE SUCKS.

Sure the Astros' bats were non-existent these last couple of days. Maybe if they learned how to move runners up, bunt and do some situational hitting they would've scored more than two runs these last couple of games. Instead they want to stand around and try to hit homers off a guy who's been dominating them all night long. FIRE DIERKER.

 

You are speaking of Tony Pena who is currently managing the AAA affiliate.

Unfortunately for Dierker, the majority of the Astros problems occur when they don't hit as opposed to his decision making. They lose too many games similar to last night's and Tuesday night's. This team should simply not all choke up at once, yet they tend to do it too often. It is not the manager's fault when they collectively quit hitting.

That being said, you can't fire the players. I agree that Dierker's job is tenuous if the don't make the playoffs AND perform well once they get there. It also would not surprise me to see Pena get the job. Personally, I hope Dierker is still managing this team in 5 years. It will mean they have been doing well.

 

I think Dierker out thinks himself on occasion. Keep in mind that Brad had been hot lately. Villone to Sosa was a big mistake.

Phislammajamma, I'm no baseball player, but you would think that the guys would recognize the movement of the slider after a couple times in the order. They swung at the same damn pitch every time. Tapani didn't even have to work hard. They looked like little leaguers out there.

Another thing, is it me, or does Alou not run the bases at all ? That's kind of ironic considering he reamed out Lance that one time.

 

Don't know about the team, but the fans in WHO?uston sure are coming unglued.

Baylor---MOY Sosa---MVP

 

gr8-1: Bill Worrell said that Alou can barely run the bases because of pain in his leg.

 

It's not just you. Even prior to his recent leg injury Alou doesn't run things out AND he makes base running blunders. It was very aggravating to me to see him chew out Berkman, when he is just as guilty. Don't get me wrong, Alou is a great player and players should continually challenge their teammates, however, there is a time, a place and a way to do it properly. Showing your teammate up on national TV was an extremely shallow thing to do.

 

Nice of you to point out the obvious. We'll still win the division, I would bet you anything.

Run along now, troll........

 

Yeah i was wondering the same thing too but they showed HIdalgo's career numbers vs Lieber and it was .324 with a good number of homers. Still no excuse for Hidalgo to play!! Before game 2 of this series, they had a meeting (larry and richard) and Dierker promised richard he'd play in this game. I feel like the manager's dont have to give out promises. Just play whoever you feel like playin and who deserves it. Hidalgo has been stinking it up since the first 2 weeks of the season. I say give doggie another 2 weeks to turn it around. If not, there's no reason to start him in the playoffs if we make it. He's seems to me like Cato with that fat contract and poor work ethic. If you look at film from last season, Hidalgo was alot fitter and lighter. As for starting righties, we already gave them Cubs a greater chance to win and with these kinda games your gonna get burned.

 

Oh, crap. I'm dead!

 

And based on what would you make this claim? For all their weaknesses, this Cubs team is resiliant first and foremost. Thats enough to carry them a loooooong way...

 

And based on what would you make this claim? For all their weaknesses, this Astros team is gutsy first and foremost. Thats enough to carry them a loooooooooong way...

So, you deride gr8-1's completely subjective appraisal of the team he roots for, and then the only term you can come up with to describe the Cubs, and defend your belief that Chicago will win, is an entirely subjective one.

Nothing builds respect for a person's opinions like consistency.

As for resiliant, the Cubs are perennial losers. The Astros are perenially in the post-season-- they'll probably make it this year, which means they'll bounce back from a losing season to make the playoffs.

I'd say Houston's the resiliant bunch. The Cubs are a flash in the pan, the same as your South Side brethren.