the continued mclane angst is just flat-out mind-boggling. oswalt and berkman are cy young/mvp-level talent; we drafted them, signed them, and sent them through our system. they are as good as any other pitcher/hitter tandem in baseball, and i say that without any conditions, and they'll likely be the greatest pitcher/hitter in team history when all is said and done. and they will retire astros, following in the footsteps of hall of fame-level talents biggio and bagwell. and that took A LOT OF MONEY to make that happen. that's every bit as imperative to this team's success as signing (fill in the blank free agent) or trading for (fill in the blank), and about 57 billion million times more admirable and impressive. but mclane never gets credit (hometown discoutn, or whatever), and that's on top of clemens, petttite, kent, johnson, beltran, lee... it's unreal.
Don't be so short-sighted. We're lucky to have witnessed Hakeem. Lucky to have Yao and TMac. Lucky to have a Rockets team that has been solid since getting Yao pretty much, and won 2 titles in the 90's. Most teams can't say that about the titles, and there are only a handful with the expectations we have. Astros...have had an amazing run over the last 10-15 years or whatever it is exactly. We got to watch Bidge and Bags, went to a world series, made numerous playoff appearances in a sport where that's not the easiest thing to do, made multiple big-time trades for a mid-market team.. and even with all the success, have really only had 2 down years mixed in. There's no reason to think they aren't gonna be reloading again and in the mix again. Trust that they'll address the pitching deficiency with a lot of offseason remaining and pieces to be dealt! Texans.. I hear ya. But I will take improvement over nothing. From nothing pre-expansion...to expansion crap...to the horrible expansion draft players for different reasons.. to Carr/Domanick Davis with their great potential gone in the crapper.. to a team with a solid defense when healthy, a young and improving offense, and every year..less and less holes to address. They're moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. But still moving up. I'm way too positive, whatever. But I really don't like the thread title. It's hard being a Houston fan? I think it'd be hard being a fan of LA teams! Lakers (don't give me Shaq/Kobe rings cause that's not too far after Hakeem rings, which don't seem to help you in this), Clippers, Dodgers, lack of Rams/Raiders, Angels. Angels have been a little better in that they won the WS in '02...but they didn't make the playoffs between '87 and '01! Or how about Chicago? Bears disappointments and Grossman, Cubs well-documented if you're on that side...if you're on the North (i think?) at least they have the White Sox. Bulls have been a disappointment since the 90's. I don't know. I feel like we don't have a legitimate complaint more than any other city not named New York or Boston.
oh, good god - what are you? 8? things like "flair" are really important to you? then go buy a bunch of buttons and stick 'em on your suspenders. if guys like berkman and oswalt don't have "star power," that's someone else's fault, not ****ing drayton mclane's.
I thought the goal was to win, not have "flair"? What kind of stars do you want here? Perhaps if we loaded up on guys like A-Rod, we could be winning World Series every year like the Yankees...
Dude I love Berkman and Roy O but I wouldn't mind having someone with some attitude like Cabrerra or Jeter that's what the Astros have always lacked someone with a little bit of a bad boy image. The only two seasons in team history where they had postseason success they had a guy who helped make this team a little more head strong with his attitude and that was Clemens. The Texans are young but I think AJ is starting to feel compfortable in being a star and Mario well he was the number 1 pick, I want to see that guy in the first row at the Rockets game acting like a star. Those are the "freaks" that the Texans have and they need a little attitude, look at Ray Lewis back during their title run being a bad ass on and off the field
Of course, the Spurs the last decade, Cardinals in 2006, Colts, Patriots in all their Superbowl runs, etc were all the exact opposite. They were much more in the mold of the Berkman/Oswalt type stars. Focused, didn't talk much, not at all bad asses off the field, etc.
do you realize jeter's "flair" is a product of nothing more than geography? if jeter had the exact same career as an astro, he'd be about known as oswalt and berkman. he's no better than craig biggio.
Tom Brady Albert is scary in the box (a huge name and a star that stands out) Peyton the Spurs are a good arguement but look at Parker dating then getting married to the actress
I think you are underrating Jeter. Career OPS+ 122 Career .388 OBP and .462 SLG. Jeter is a GREAT hitter. Better than Biggio.
I love my guy and I would not trade in watching Biggio for anything but if he were in New York he would still be married with kids. Jeter runs around late at night with a different model every night. He has a little bad-ass streak in him. I agree with having a high-character good group but you also have to have players with mean streaks who like the spotlight. The Rockets will do better this season due to guys like James and Francis giving them attitude
Haha conversation over. You are either kidding or cuckoo when it comes to what matters in baseball. Either way, it's not worth debating.
During the first couple of superbowl runs, Tom Brady was considered the "good guy". Same with Peyton - how is he any different than Oswalt or Berkman? Albert is "scary in the box"? That's what you want now? Oswalt is scary on the mound. I thought you were looking for badasses off the field?
no the guy has got a swagger about him, a little attitude that is what I'm saying. I am very happy with my girlfriend that I have now, my friends all like her so does my family but I remember seven years ago when I dated a Rockets dancer I walked with a little extra hop in my step and had a little extra swagger and thats what happens when you are "the man" like Tony is in that circle. imo, the difference between a superstar and a good player is so small that whatever you can do to "pump" yourself up or help you mentally is a huge boost.
I said Oswalt has the chance to be that kind of guy, he was robbed of 2 cy-youngs so I am thinking if he breaks through his starts will soon lead off sportscenter like a Santana
2004-2006 2004-I guess Clemens deserved it 2005-Roy did not have the record Carpenter had but I thought he was more valuble and the era's were about the same. 2006-throw out the record he was the best in the NL period
