hey, Major. . . why do you say Jim Mann sucks? in the Chronicle this morning, they said the following things: "best closer in the PCL" "14-14 in save situations this season" "27 saves last season" ???
OK, saying he sucks was probably unfair -- I didn't know the PCL stuff. I just remembered last year he was up for a couple of weeks, and I thought I remember him being pretty bad. Looking at his stats, he's only pitched 8 innings in his MLB career (5 runs), so I guess he may not be so bad!
I see where you were coming from, though. 5 runs in 8 innings is not great. he's just a guy that I have been hopeful about since last year. back when the Round Rock/New Orleans invasion was beginning, I remember reading Mann's name mentioned along with Oswalt, Redding, Hernandez, Rodriquez, etc. hopefully, he won't be a bust. if nothing else, maybe he'll put the least little bit of pressure on Wagner for him to get his act together.
It's time for a sweep of the Evil Redbirds, led by Roy, El Magnifico. In fact, I'll be at today's game. The cubs got lucky yesterday. They just were on Carlos which is rare for him.
Another loss tonight? I'll be in the Crawford boxes, and I'm not throwing any Cardinal homeruns back. They're mine!
Good for you. I've been going to games for 21 years & have never caught a ball (fair or foul). I'll be damned if I'm gonna throw one back just because of some ridiculous Wrigley Field "tradition". p.s. the Crawford Boxes are sweeeeeet.
I was at the game on Monday, and somebody threw back the dinger that Tino Martinez hit in the 8th. The cool part was I was in the Crawford boxes and Berkman's second bomb landed about 20 feet from me.
My 2 cents: The fans deserve better than the **** Drayton puts on the field. I can't believe Drayton has the nerve to sit in his diamond club seats. If Drayton wants to sellout Enron Field he should put out a winning team. Sure the Astros won last night, but what does that make our record...23-29, 3rd in the Central. I really loved how the parking signs said "$5 after 5:30 PM" but when the attendant comes up to he asks for $10. I know those are private lots but if Drayton wants more fans he needs to make a game more affordable.
How is it Drayton's fault that this group of talented players (picked by many to win the Central) can't hit worth a damn??
He should also get Kim Son to lower their prices for my pre-game meal, & I'm tired of paying $3.25 for a beer at the B.U.S. before games. C'mon Drayton, help a brotha out!
I don't know who actually caught the Martinez HR Monday, but a little kid (around 8) threw it back. That's a shame. In 40 years of going to games I got one foul ball. My brother got a foul ball and I have had a foul line drive hit my hand.
Then he should make changes before its too late. Maybe the shake up should move down from the manager. It's going to be a 2-3 team race with possibly only 1 playoff spot up for grabs. The Astros have already lost the tiebreaker vs. the Cards. What good is it going to be to catch up to first only to lose the tiebreaker? I'm being harsh on Drayton because the voters and fans of this city gave him what he wanted - a new stadium. The new stadium is almost empty every game. The camera loves to pan on Drayton behind home plate, but what about the sections of dark green. When was the last big free agent signing/trade by the Astros? Did we improve from last season?
new stadium is almost empty every game??? are you serious?? granted, it's not selling out like it was in its inaugral season, but even the worst year at Astros Field is better than what we were drawing in the Dome!! They're still on a nice pace with attendance, and school JUST got out. They'll do fine at the gate. Did we improve from last season??? no...would we have improved or stayed the same by keeping alou and castilla??? clearly not. Drayton McLane has trotted out a lineup good enough to win for years now....the fact they can't hit in the playoffs is not his fault.
The tiebreaker ONLY comes into play with two teams that are tied for the division when BOTH would make the playoffs - one as the division winner, one as the wild card (e.g. last year). Assume that the D'backs and Braves win their divisions. The Giants are wild card. If the Astros and Cardinals tie for the division, then there will be a one game playoff to determine the Central winner. The tiebreaker doesn't even determine WHERE the playoff game will be held - a coin flip does that. So the fact the Cardinals won the season series will more than likely not mean anything since it looks doubtful that the wild card will come fromt he Central.
I shouldn't speak for every game, but I am serious last night was dead until the 7th inning. The product on the field has a lot to do with attendance. Drayton is probably thrilled to know he is averaging more fans at Enron than the Dome. My definition of empty is when you have sections with no one to a scattered few. The lower level was filled. According to Dierker, the Astros made a mistake by not re-signing Alou and Castilla. And I agree.
