Yes you can. This series is the season. There's no use saving Lance for tomorrow if there's the possibilty that tomorrow won't exist. And, at some point, you should trust a player's judgment. At least ask the player how they're feeling. To not give Lance the chance to play without even asking or checking his status is incredibly irresponsible and over conservative managing. Furthermore, while Palmeiro's at-bats have been unlucky thus far this season and he hasn't had the success he had a season ago, you have to consider the sample size. He's still an outstanding situational hitter who gives more quality at-bats than anyone on this team in terms of working counts and understanding the strike zone. I understand that Bray is a lefty, but asking for a contribution from the righties on our bench (Bruntlett and Taveras) is effectively ending the game. If Palmeiro's up, he doesn't stare at those perfect first two strikes from Bray and doesn't get himself in a hole and swinging too late on the pitch Bruntlett weakly popped to center. (imo of course)
no point. once he spends a week in our clubhouse he will forget how to get clutch at bats... sometimes I wish our starters would just flip out and scream at our other players in the locker room
Yes, since that is exactly how it is. Baltimore is just waiting on the Astros to say yes. They're ready to ship Tejada off and the Astros are the only bidder.
In the time I've been watching this team, they have always been about keeping things in-house, leading by example...and not resorting to petty comments in the newspapers. I pretty much respect that approach. You have something to say to a coach, to a player, you say it to their faces. And again, you lead by example. Chris Burke hustling to first base the other game; that's the type of play that can provide a spark (though it didn't). At this point I don't see how Garner or Mclane bashing a team/players when they're already down will do anything but create more friction and frustration in the clubhouse. Perhaps the mistake made is that the Chronicle didn't run a tombstone this year. In any case, I've always found it tactless and petty to go on a public rant of your players. Just look at how much flak Garner took last year for some comments (misinterpreted) he made after game 4. And Cuban, he falls into both categories. Clearly the running of his mouth cost the team in some form during their run (even Nowitski has told him to shut it). And his example filtered down to the players, creating a bunch of floppers who b*** and moan when things don't go their way. I haven't really had any problem with the way the two (Mclane and Garner) have led; they have made moves to try and turn things around (trades and demotions to put players on notice)...the on-field decisions though, yes questionable at times. And as for Mclane, yes I like what he has done the past few years because it's clear he wants this team to win, a point that has been discussed thoroughly.
The Astros have given Roger clemens 0 runs in 7 of his starts...How he has not broken some arms in the locker room I don't know. Garner on Foxsports " I just can't explain it.." What a dumb Ass... Clemens on Foxsports " Its WEIRD.." No Rocket its a bunch of horse ****...thats what it is. Has anyone really stopped and thought about how Clemens really feels ? Yes i know somw of you are going to say " man he got 22 million for a 3rd of a season.." but we are talking about one of the greatest competeters of all time....I mean before we got The Unit we were going to get Clemens and he got MAD at us and whent to New York...I wish he would get mad at his team mates and coach...
Can you imagine Tejadas bat in there instead of Everettes and Berkman batting tonight, we would easily have won....Why can't Wheeler be the closer and we trade Lidge..Wheeler has actually been the closest thing to LIGHTS OUT that we have....
I'd do that but I think Qualls would actually make a better closer. He has closer type stuff. 97 live fastball, and pretty nasty sinker/slider. His ERA has been like 0.59 the last few weeks. He seems to struggle the most when he inherits runners. wagner...dotel...lidge...qualls I actually think Tejada is underrated to Astros fans. He is a former MVP, good for .320 35 and 120 and plays SS, and just turned 30. Berkman..Tejada..healthy Ensberg...Huff. That's tough 3 4 5 6
Minus Berkman and a healthy Ensberg, this is an offense that doesn't scare anyone. Lamb and Burke are good complimentary pieces, but the rest of the lineup to date lacks punch, doesn't get on base, and strikes out far too often.
You do realize they're going to wait until the last minute to see what offers come in right before the deadline, don't you?
Really? We've been shutout plenty of times with Berkman in the lineup. Yet you think adding him and Tejada would guarantee 3 more runs than we scored?
Agreed, but I think if you take out the two best players of most lineups (outside of the Yankees and such), they'd be pretty crappy.
Do you even know what Garner saw? Do you know what the trainers advised? How he was running in pre-game? What Berkman said to Garner? How serious the injury looked post-game on Sunday? Making an assumption about an injury based on a complete lack of information and then criticizing the manager for it is absolutely ridiculous. A healthy Berkman is crucial to the rest of the season, and one game in July simply doesn't make or break the season. A few days ago you were sitting here asking if anyones really expects Cincinnati to be in it at the end. If you don't, then today's game is no different than any of the other 60 we'll play over the next 2 months.
And that worked so well for those teams. They got no farther than the Astros last year, who's manager and owner never publically attacked them when they were 15-30.
