I'm glad Castro isn't showing any ill effects from ACL surgery. Crouching like that for 120+ games on a repaired knee has got to be killer. It's almost been 3 years since I had my knee fixed. Thankfully, no setbacks. But, my knee still gets sore rather easily.
That's a good point, BB. Glad to see you're back and posting more frequently! I think the thing I'm worried about is the culture of losing that has manifested itself in the 'stros dugout the past few years. Even if none of these guys are here when the team turns the corner, they will be around when the next wave comes through and gets their feet wet in the Majors. If all the team has experienced is losing for a 5-6 year period, it is a hard cycle to break. Even in the minors, if we keep getting whopped down there, you have a crop of youngsters who are accustomed to losing coming up. I think Luhnow deserves credit for trying to change that culture from Day 1. We'll see how it goes. I think this is a real cautionary tale for those guys in the GARM section of the BBS who want the Rox to tank. Granted, it is easier to get better quicker in basketball (assuming you land a stud draft pick), but for every Tim Duncan/LBJ/DRose, there's an Olowokandi/Joe Smith/Oden, right? Still love watching baseball though! Will gladly take having a team to root for any day of the week.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Astros start the second half of the season today. They went 32-49 in the first half, putting them on a 64-98 pace.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/220574213529014273" data-datetime="2012-07-04T17:46:05+00:00">July 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Bogusevic replaces Schafer in center field, with Bixler coming in to play right field. Interesting.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/220585745323261953" data-datetime="2012-07-04T18:31:54+00:00">July 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tuning in late; what'd Schafer do? Did you catch Mills on the radio with CP yesterday? Rather uncomfortable interview, IMO. CP was asking about his job security and correcting players when they make mistakes, etc. Atta boy, CP!!
General apathy. And he sucks ass at baseball. Seriously, he misplayed a ball and really didn't give good effort today.
In the post-game press conference Mills was asked if Lee and Lowrie were taken out because of heat related reasons. Mills said "no" and that he could not talk about it any further. Sure, it could mean a number of things, but I find it odd that he didn't just say that Lowrie came out due to a double switch. Another something in the works?
bizarre. maybe if he said lowrie came out because of double-switch that would be too telling what was going on with lee? i don't know. if lowrie was traded, that would be a day after an mlbtr rumor that he was pretty much unavailable. interesting though.
Link God damnit. Keuchel gets send down because Mills can't manage a bullpen worth ****? It doesn't take 3 pitchers to throw 2 innings. F. Rod threw 3 pitches. Mills is quickly managing himself out of job.
@thegreek I most definitely wasn't passing judgment based on just this season. I expressed similar concerns/beliefs in the past in other threads. I think his body type will always limit his mechanics behind the plate, whether that comes to blocking balls or making throws. More importantly, my general point wasn't that Castro has no chance to stick. I mentioned as much in my post. I was just pointing out that given how long I see it taking for this team to turn the corner, there is a high likelihood that few, if any, of the current players will be around when we are contending for the playoffs again. Castro very well may stick but I see a reasonable possibility that with all the drafts and trades looming ahead, a better option will come into play. @xcrunner You're preaching to the choir up to the last paragraph of your post. I've made the same point about the role of a catcher in a number of older threads. I intentionally mentioned my view on his potential behind the plate a sentence before talking about offense. I won't even comment on his game-calling because I don't know how that is going and I think it's way too early to determine but I could certainly see him doing well in that particular area. Once again, though, my overriding point was simply that given how long I think it will take to turn the corner, so many things could happen leading to turnover. Castro may turn out to solidify that position just as you see it, but I don't see anything that defined yet at all in his case. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else is our everyday catcher 4, 5, 6 years from now, with Castro being anything from a solid C for another club to not even in baseball and everything in between. Who knows what will be available in future drafts? Maybe Castro ends up being good but we land someone better, or we find someone similar and use Castro as part of a trade to fill another need. The point is so much can happen over the next several years for so many reasons that I wouldn't worry much about the psyche of current players. btw, one of the times I was stressing the same points about the higher priority of defense/game-calling when it comes to a catcher was in the case of Posey when he was still in the minors. In addition to wanting to start his clock as late as possible, SF wanted him to develop behind the plate. They knew he was going to be a plus hitter well before they knew that he was ready to handle more important catching duties, particularly with that pitching staff. I can't remember who I was debating with but I was trying to emphasize those same points. I totally understand everything you said about Ausmus and couldn't agree with you more.
