So...what? You have established that maybe there are 5 owners that have faired better overall than Drayton's team? Yeah, he sucks. But let's not put that into perspective and point out that the Braves, Cardinals and Yankees (and maybe the Mariners too, I'm not sure) all have much more revenue than the Astros. No, that would only weaken the point that Drayton sucks. The Astros have had plenty of success over Drayton's tenure. It is not his fault that players that can hit lights out during the season suddenly choke in the playoffs. He puts the team on the field that will get him into the postseason, and if they suddenly have cold streaks, not much can be done about that. He may be a little more tight with money than many owners, but the Astros are still winning, and they are not having to trade off big contracts like Bagwell and Biggio just so they can stay afloat financially.
Originally posted by Raven Lunatic So...what? You have established that maybe there are 5 owners that have faired better overall than Drayton's team? Yeah, he sucks. But let's not put that into perspective and point out that the Braves, Cardinals and Yankees (and maybe the Mariners too, I'm not sure) all have much more revenue than the Astros. No, that would only weaken the point that Drayton sucks. Hey I never said Drayton sucks. The question was posed about who's won as much and I answered it.
Sorry, that wasn't directed at you as much as it was at others who make it their business to bash Drayton every time something goes wrong with the Astros.
he shouldve stayed, but it wasnt goinna happen; jimy williams jus doesnt seem like hes bonded with the team yet. jus wait till next year.....UUUUUGH.....
yea, but in order to win the dance, you first have to get to the dance. imo, the reason we consistently lose in the playoffs is because we have built this team around wannabees. 3 guys that never proven to be clutch performers are wagner, bagwell, and biggio (especially biggio). bags i can excuse because, frankly, he's rarely had any protection behind him. biggio? well, i can offer no excuses. he consistently sucks in the postseason, and - i swear - for the duration of his career has never learned to lay off the slider down and in... we should have traded biggio LOOOOOOOOOONG ago. wags? well he had a couple of dominating years, no doubt. but that flat, 98mpg fastball ain't gonna cut it against the upper echelon of MLB hitters. and that's what you face in the crunch time. as for dierk, i thought it was a terrible move. dierk consistently got us to the playoffs (where his players..ahem..biggio..ahem..bagwell) would consistently forget how to put up more than 2 runs per game.
oh, and for the record, i do think that berkman, oswalt and miller are absolute STUDS. these guys, imo, have the ability to take the team to the next level, as long as mcclane secures some support for them...namely another good, young power hitting 3rd baseman, a consistent leadoff man/centerfielder, and another middle reliever.
i disagree with a lot of what you said...but most of my disagreements with your argument involve me supporting Astros...here i disagree....alou and caminiti should have been enough protection...he didn't go hitless because of the guy behind him...lesser players have hit better in the playoffs with lesser guys hitting behind them. and i say that as a HUGE bagwell fan!!! i disagree with trading biggio a long time ago...biggio did hit well in the clutch during the regular season...it just didn't translate in the playoffs...you have no way of knowing that trend will continue, so you base your personnel moves largely around how guys perform over the 162 game season...and Biggio and Wagner both did quite well in those seasons. as you said, "in order to win the dance, you first have to get to the dance." these guys got us to the dance 4 times in 5 years...hard to argue sticking with your guns. wait...so dierk isn't to blame for them not hitting in the playoffs..but he should get credit for them being there??? huh??? dierk made bad decisions IN the playoffs that didn't help. the most important AB of the season last year was left to Chris Truby, who Dierker used as a pinch hitter in that AB (game 2 of the playoff game we lost 1-0). Dierk completely dropped the ball, in my opinion, in not utilizing Vizcaino in the playoffs...particularly since we got him under the guise of acquiring his playoff experience...instead he started Lugo in game 1 and game 2, who proceeded to boot away crucial plays. no coach in baseball deserves all the blame for a loss or all the praise for a win...but i feel the astros were certainly justified in cutting ties with Larry...and I don't hear lots of rumblings around MLB of teams trying to hire Larry now, either.
hmm. you're probably right about that. alou and cammy probably should have been enough. i disagree. i don't believe he hit well in the clutch during the regular season either (biggio). again, i have no stats or tapes in front of me, but i swear it seems that if it's a big game (regular or postseason), craig disappears in the clutch ABs. sure, he'll bang out a game winning double against the expos or reds or marlins (the run of the mill average to below average teams), but against the upper echelon teams? poof. gone. same for wags...recently. really, i don't dislike biggio. in fact, i love his hard nosed play. i just think that his trade value was at it's absolute peak about 2 years ago. this was also about the time that i accepted that he and bags would never be able to take us past the 1st round. so, i figure you might as well move one of them while their value is high enough to get a comparable piece in return. and, well, i'd rather keep the cornerstone at first than biggio. what i was trying to say (but obviously didn't ) was that i think dierk did as much as he could with what he was given (except for the truby AB...you're right...he blew that one horribly!) he got them there. at some point, though, you're players have to "step up their game". imo, the playoffs are that time. it's that time where the jim lehritzes and mariano riveras step their games up. IOW, i think (and i know this isn't a popular belief) that coaching - in the playoffs - is largely overrated. i think they have the ability to futz up a game (ahem...truby) but other than that they just put the pieces into motion and let them battle it out. whoever steps their game up (kevin brown v hou) or down (biggio v anyteam) is who's gonna determine the winner.
1. biggio was the best clutch hitter in the regular season last year in the NL, as I remember it...i dont have the stats, but i remember reading that 2. agreed...the guys needed to step up...i just don't know that you trade perennial all stars though because they didn't perform in the playoffs in the past...i think the assumption is that they will perform in the future...Jim Leyritz doesn't get a team to the playoffs, no matter how dramatic his playoff HR's have been...he's a pinch hitter...Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio & Billy Wagner DO and DID get their team to the playoffs. i wholeheartedly agree...i just don't think the solution is all that easy to make, despite being seemingly easier with hindsight.
I'll back you up on that. I heard/saw the same thing. The best average in the league with two outs and runners in scoring position this year belongs to..... Brad Ausmus! (at least as of a week ago).
maybe i can start selling "Hindsight 20/20 glasses" on ebay. think it'll sell a few million? time for lunch...thanx for the chat.
Do you and Buck Turgidson share the same brain cell. You two always show up one after the other in shark attack mode. I think you may be alter egos of the same disgruntled and opinionated person.
I think the only things Buck and I share is a common interest in refuting folks who bash McLane as well as continuing support of the Astros. Besides, it is a good thing to educate people as to the proper use of "would have" vs. "would of". It may help those members who are still in high school get better grades.
