I also heard it on the way to work this morning. Lance was going off on Uncle Drayton and his penny pinching. I'm always in for a good ole fashioned Drayton bash fest, but I thought it was a little weird to be talking about it after last night.
Or after the last 10 years. My favorite was when they were talking about last year and Lance said it was Drayton's fault we didn't shore up the bullpen. Yeah, I'm positive that Hunsicker had a trade ready for a relief pitcher, but Drayton vetoed it due to salary concerns. Those idiots even brought up Alou as if a) he'd be the savior (of a team that is most likely going to the playoffs without him) and b) he would've picked us over his Dad had we made an offer. Idiots. BTW, the only time I hear about Drayton complaining about the money he's lost is when the whiners bring it up. I know he's said it before, but the whiners act like everytime he opens his mouth that's all he's saying. I follow the Astros as closely as almost anyone and I can hardly recall him saying that, even though I acknowledge that he has stated that. ****ing whiners. I'm going to make sure that none of the whiners can enjoy the playoff success we're about to have by reminding them what whiners they are. None of this applies to Granato who sounded like his head was going to explode. Trust me, I know that sound.
again with the alou stuff. enough already. listening to the conversation this morning you'd think we were 15 games under .500....instead of 15 games over and a 2.5 game lead in the WC with 5 to play.
I can't believe all the b****ing that was going on on the radio this morning. Hell, ESPN is giving us more love/respect than our hometown radio.
I'm starting to wonder if this is setup just to create some controversy stir to increase their radio ratings. The Astros just had the perfect day yesterday. Oswalt pitched great, Lidge got his work in. Astros win, Phillies lose. SD winning, making it less dangerous for St Louis to play SD if we get the WC. StL wouldn't have to face SF with their revamped lineup (Bonds makes a world of a difference, but duh). Florida eliminated. What more could you ask for? If Drayton wanted to, we could offer Roger Clemens 12 million dollars this year, and have him laugh us off. If he's all about the money, would he care what we think? He could take that money and run, and keep just either oswalt or berkman and "rebuild" as many people would suggest. We're close to making the playoffs, where ANYTHING could happen. When it coems to the playoffs, pitching matters and we have the best of any rotation in the playoffs if you ask me. Biggio's heading towards a hot streak, Berkman and Ensberg are on the trail back, Everett and Ausmus has been great the past couple weeks, Backe's pitching great the past couple outings, Vizcaino, Palmiero, Bagwell, and Burke's been steady off the bench, Lamb's playing a decent first base to add more offensive punch. The team is starting to gel, let it be. If Wheeler can tough it out and Qualls can regain his postseason form from last year, this team is pretty dangerous! We can scrap for runs and rely on pitching. It just might work?!?
We share a birth date and optimism!! I do have one argument with this post, however. Ausmus had been great since July 1.
YOu guys think there is any chance if we really needed a few runs sometime late in a playoff series that Baggy will play first? Maybe come in as a PH and stay in? Or is he lightyears away from being able to throw again?
Qualls was an enigma... but overall, he pitched great when you needed him to do so in the playoffs. He did give up the 3-run HR in game 3 that let the Braves crawl back within 3 runs, but it didn't leave any lingering damage. Then, he was blooped and bleeded to death in game 1 (or 2?) of the NLCS. He also, however, single-handedly kept us in game 6 (Munro's start), which we eventually tied up and sent to extra innings. When I look back at the tapes of the 2004 playoffs, I cringe for Harville (who was actually above Qualls in the pecking order) and Miceli... but I come away impressed by Qualls.
He can't throw... period. But, that's not a far cry from what he was able to do the last two years before surgery. However, at this point, he still can't drive the ball with power... which would be the only benefit of having him in the lineup. Thus, he's probably just more valuable as a pinch-hitter who has great plate coverage, and can either draw a walk, or hit a ball to the opposite way.
Almost no chance he sees the field in a defensive role this season. He is, however, our #1 option off the bench. His swing is coming back. He has been clutch since returning (3/8 so far with a couple rbi). What a great option to have for you. Huge win last night. Just when you want to get down on Jason Lane again, he homers against STL to give us a 2 1/2 game lead with 5 to play. Oswalt and Lidge were fantastic. It was great to see Biggio homer when anyone else wouldn't be playing. I'm still not counting any magic numbers or looking to purchase my NLDS tickets. Cautious optimisim is the only way I can look at it. If we come out of tonight with a larger lead, I will relax and start making plans for some games.
It is kinda scary, but we only have a few options prior Lidge and Wheeler. With our offense being so inconsistent, it's very unlikely that if our SP has to be taken out, that we won't have to overwork Wheeler and Lidge. Gallo will only get a batter or 2 at most if left handers come up to bat, but without Qualls, we might end up having Lidge pitching 2 innings per outing at this rate. I just don't trust Springer, Burns, etc. half as much as of yet.
Astacio could be great as a reliever, but he does get unglued at times. That and I'm not too happy with the idea that he might try to overthrow and dominate; thereby, leaving a few fastballs up in the zone. Overall, I just forgot about those two when I was thinking of RPs. Good call!
True dat! I also see Astacio with the potential to be a really good reliever. When he pitches smart and doesn't force it he is a good pitcher.
Astacio has wicked stuff, but he grooves 94mph fastballs too often and gives up dingers. I think he has given up the most home runs on the Astros this year, in very limited action. But his stuff is explosive..... DD
I hope we keep Astacio for a while. He seems like the kind of pitcher that could win a big playoff game, but he has to learn to pitch first. I hope he's on the team next year.
