MadMax, My definition has everything to do with expectations. For instance, if we were rebuilding, then I wouldn't be as pissed off at management. But, you cannot tell me that management is innocent in all of this. There are way too many problems with this team!
The Astros will have a severe hangover for the next three years due to the bad personnel moves and tight fisted owner. The laugh I get is missing out on Santana. He was just sitting around in Round Rock for us but when traded the Twins called him directy up and he produced almost instantly. The question I have is why is the best rated player in our farm system (Buchholz) not being called up when we don't even have a 5th starter?
MadMax - I appreciate your honest comments, but I don't appreciate the "this forum sucks" crap. If you are going to defend Hunsicker, tell me what he's done right or how he has bested the other GMs in the league. I do think the straight up trade he pulled for Moises was a coup. But, as I said, from a team building perspective it mistifies me (as it did at the time) why you would let go of Gonzalez (for money reasons) and try to latch on to Alou a year later. I am all ears.
it's not the substantive arguments that bother me. we have those all the time. in the past few weeks or so, this forum has resembled D&D more than ever. more than a few people have made note of that here, lately. that's what sucks. i find myself wanting to use the ignore function for THIS forum. that's just weird, considering i've never used it for anyone, ever before..on much weightier issues than the fate of a baseball team.
Oh c'mon, it's not that bad. Sure, the arguments get a litte heated but there's virtually no name calling, and besides, if everyone here agreed, things would not be as much fun.
I may have missed some of that . . . thankfully. But you are going to have all sorts of types of people on here. And there is a bit of a smarty pants attitude coming from many of the regulars. No big deal, just an observation. I am not surprised that a poster gets upset after having his intelligence questioned over and over when he is simply using a board to express his opinion. It's easy enough to say - hey guy - you're wrong and here is why. But nobody does that on a BB. They say "that's incredibley f'd in the head. only an idiot would agree with you. blah blah blah." Stupid, but I've seen it on most boards unfortunately.
It just seems different than before, but who knows. Maybe MM and I are just disappointed at the season and all the cynicism in here is hitting us harder.
So what does the team pay Hunsicker for? To tell us what everyone already knows by running a stat sheet? I'll tell you what you should pay guys for - delivering results. He's had winning seasons but never put the talent on the field to take it all the way. You can say it's money, but Florida paid less. Arizona paid less. And there results were spectacularly better. And they did it without having guys like Pettitte, Clemens and Kent just fall into their lap. By the way, Florida and Arizona did not get there by just looking at a player and saying - hey that guy has better stats right now. They actually built teams that made sense. Hunsicker grabs players and makes marquee moves but has yet to put together a top-to-bottom quality club capable of making a run deep in the playoffs. Gonzalez vs. Alou is just an example to show my point. You don't agree with me about Hunsicker, that's fine. What I see is a guy who doesn't seem to be able to fit the pieces together even when he gets a chance.
You know what Max? Sometimes what one implies cuts deeper than anything one writes explicitly. I think on the surface, this is about baseball. But, it really goes deeper than that! I have read your posts on other threads and have grown to like you. I believe for the most part, you are fair. I will admit that my writing style tends to be (a little ) in our face, but in my defense, the "clique" does provoke it (at least IMO). I think at this point we know what side you, me, Gunn, RM95, Codell, Bobrek, Refman are on. It doesn't change no matter which thread we rant on. I'm open to change. Suggestions for changes is welcomed as long as they aren't attacks... implicit or explicit! And if you are open to them also.
The season has left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth on many levels, but I think that most of the posters in this forum present their views from a knowledgable standpoint. The arguments, although heated, seem to be more spirited and passionate than they are woven with hate, unlike the GARM, where words like idiot and stupid and dumbass are common place.
i thought our change was that i was coming by your bar, when it opens, to have a drink and talk about everything and anything but astros baseball!!??
