Anyone see this? Doesn't sound like great chemistry.. Rest of article here (it's the game summary) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3823200.html
This just in... even if he says he's not joking, they're all joking. Pettite apparently injured his elbow "swinging" during the first season he was here... that alone is reason enough that he should give up his delusions of being a slugger.
Go to Astros.com and read the game recap by Allison Footer. Same story, totally different take on it, she played it off as the two making fun of one another. Come on, do you really think Pettite and Oswalt are going to care about hitting? Oh, and this just in, Astros are 15-6, Garner is doing a fine job of managing.
This story is bullsh!t. From the very talented Alyson Footer astros.com: Andy Pettitte is the furthest thing from high maintenance as you'll find in a Major Leaguer, which is why the exchange between the lefty and Roy Oswalt during batting practice on Wednesday was so funny. Manager Phil Garner started the "controversy" by suggesting Pettitte was incensed with the manager's choice to use Oswalt as a pinch-hitter in the 13th inning on Tuesday -- after the bench was depleted of position players -- instead of Pettitte. "Andy was very disappointed that I would choose Roy over him," Garner said. "I'm not sure if Andy's going to show up today. I don't know how far he's going to take this, whether there's going to be a lawsuit filed. It's very disappointing." On the field, Oswalt and Petttite exchanged barbs after they took turns hitting in the cage. "Look back and look at the stats over the years," Oswalt said. "Who leads the Major League pitching staff [in hitting] every year?" It's true that Oswalt has the advantage. He's 51-for-324 in his career with a .157 average. Pettitte is hitting .107, logging 13 hits in 121 at-bats. But to compare the two is unfair. Pettitte played his first nine years in the American League, where he batted far fewer times. Hogwash, said Oswalt. "You're either a born athlete or you're not," he said. Pettitte rushed to his own defense. "The manager obviously needed to plead insanity for about an hour and a half last night," he said. Did he attempt to make eye contact in the dugout with Garner, to let him know he was available and willing to pinch-hit? "Didn't need to," Pettitte said. "I was sitting right there, and I was told to leave my tennis shoes on." Reads a little different, no? Ortiz is a pathetic hack.
Are you basing that on the fact that he hit Oswalt instead of Pettitte? Or is it the fact that he is the only manager to lead the Astros to a playoff series victory during his first season and a World Series appearance in his 2nd? Or is it the fact that his current team has the best record in the majors despite the loss of Clemens, a mediocre bullpen thus far, and the only significant acquisition in the offseason is hitting around .230?
Out of Wandy, Andy, and Roy, Andy is the worst hitter. I think Wandy is the best hitter, he gots a pretty good swing and he is a switch hitter so he has to know a little about hitting you would think.
Ortiz has basically admitted in the past (on radio interviews) that he likes to stir **** up. Doesn't surprise me that he took as negative a view of all this as he could.
I've based it on the fact that he has made boneheaded decision after boneheaded decision in the playoffs and periodically throughout the regular season the past 2-3 years. Add that to what I believe is a miss-use/under-use of talent and the results are a subpar manager.
Yea... and who's been more successful? Tony LaRussa? Dusty Baker? Jimy Williams? I wouldn't ever say that Garner is a managerial genius, but much like Rudy T in his days of coaching the Rockets... the guy gets results (Rudy wasn't much of an x's and o's guy either). Garner also instilled a toughness in this team that no other manager before was able to illicit. While Bagwell and Biggio tried to lead by example, Garner took it upon himself to get thru to the younger guys (Berkman, Oswalt, Lidge) while also appeasing to the older ones... and made sure they didn't back down, didn't fear the opponent, and made them all believe in themselves. If the last two years, and so far this year, are the result of a subpar manager... well, hot damn... there are a lot of teams wasting a lot of money on the helm position because you clearly don't need all that much to be a successful team .
I saw where he was a switch hitter last night...but did anyone notice that in the 6th or 7th inning when two men were on (1st and 2nd) and he was trying to bunt them over, he batted righty against a righty? Which is cool if he is more comfortable from that side. That makes sense. But then after the wild pitch and the runners moved up, I really wanted to see Wandy switch to the other side of the plate since he went from bunting to hitting. But he didn't. I had never seen that before and I thought I was going to last night... oh well.
If Garner is a sub-par manager, the who is not. I look at results, and the only manager that fared better than Garner last year was Ozzie Guillen.
It's not about success. I'm sure the talent of the team had nothing to do with that anyway. LaRussa is far and away a superior manager, and has out-managed Garner (despite either teams success) in virtually every head to head. Are you serious? "Instilled a toughness". How do you respond to somthing that is clearly just your imagination? and the Astros have proven that despite a boneheaded manager they were still able to overcome and be successful.
