06 April 2009
More (mis)adventures on the Chron sports pages
No reason Astros can’t have a good year (Jerome Solomon, Houston Chronicle, 04/04/09)
We’re accustomed to the Astros getting off to relatively slow starts and making strong second-half runs to redemption.
That story is getting old. In a way, that story is inaccurate.
Even after a 6-12 start, last year’s squad was 28-22 after the first 50 games and was in second place (only 11/2 games out) with a 30-23 mark on May 27. That isn’t a slow start.
But a 7-20 stretch of a June swoon opened the door for a three-month period throughout which the Astros were always at least 10 games out of first place.
That's a pretty convincing look back at the 2008 results. But apparently not convincing to everyone...
Another slow start will doom the Astros; minor league tidbits (Brian McTaggart, Chron.com, 04/06/09)
The Astros have continued to get off to sluggish starts in the three seasons since their only World Series berth in 2005 and haven't been able to recover. For once, I'd like to see the team have a great first half, even if it means a bad second half. I'm tired of the team stumbling out of the gate, staying around or below .500 and then having a good week in September to sniff the playoffs.
Of course, last year's late-season run wasn't enough. The Astros lost 12 of their first 18 games last year and rallied to get within two games of the playoffs. They won 14 of 15 in September and were on the heels of the Brewers when Hurricane Ike caused them to move their series against the Chicago Cubs to Milwaukee. We all know what happened. The Astros were held to one hit in two games, including being no-hit by Carlos Zambrano. Hey, that's the guy that pitches tonight for the Cubs, and he's owned the Astros. Should be real fun at the ballpark tonight.
The point is had the Astros done anything in April they wouldn't have needed a strong finish to get back in the race. And that's been the same story in years past.
I guess McTaggart didn't bother to read his colleague's column. Or maybe he did, and really can't stand the guy. Seriously -- McTaggart once came to the defense of Jeff Bagwell against accusations he used performance-enhancing drugs, even though Jerome Solomon has reported that Bagwell used andro. McTaggart even went so far as to deny my characterization of it as reporting. So those two may well not be on speaking or reading terms. *shrug*
NL Central preview: Astros picked to finish second (Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle, 04/05/09)
There's no serious statistical analysis anywhere that produces anything like this wild prediction that the Astros will finish in second and win 88 games, but you just knew that Drayton McLane's PR man at the Chronicle wasn't going to rain on the parade at the start of the season. McLane ought to just hire him at some point. Because this sort of cheerleading is embarrassing.
Finally, Tom Kirkendall has documented the latest screwball behavior from another Chronicle star, Richard Justice. Par for the course.
That really is some sports section that has developed under the fine leadership of the Chronicle's diminutive editor Jeff Cohen.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/06/09 22:13 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (1)
01 December 2008
Pylon FAIL
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/01/08 21:48 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (1)
10 September 2008
Unfortunate
Click about 27 seconds into this video.
I've seen poor Lance Berkman floundering in the outfield and throwing his arms over his head to avoid being hit by a fly ball, but this is worse.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/08 00:29 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
07 September 2008
Uh oh
Opener may foretell season for Texans (AP)
Good gawd, let us hope not.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/07/08 20:53 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
27 June 2008
The not-so-definitive word from Chron sports hacks
Chron writers can't seem to decide whether the Astros clubhouse is toxic:
Toxic time for Astros, and that's bad (Jesus Ortiz, Chron Baseball , 06/18/2008)
If you've spent a few minutes in the Astros' clubhouse these days, you'd feel bad for the boys.
"It's real bad in here," a player told me as soon as I got into the clubhouse Tuesday to try to get an unbiased opinion to the comments I read in the paper Monday from Roy Oswalt and Cecil Cooper. "It's not going to get better."
What? I was both stunned and saddened. How did it get this bad, this quick? This toxic?
Afterward, I sent a few close friends and family members who care about the Astros this text message: It's really toxic in here.
Toxic clubhouse environment? Winning will fix everything (Richard Justice, SportsJustice, 06/27/2008)
I've heard that phrase mentioned several times over the last few days. There are people claiming the atmosphere is poisonous, that dramatic changes need to be made.
I don't believe this to be true. I'm not in there enough to really know, but that's my opinion based on what I've seen and heard. It's very difficult for any member of the media to make that kind of assessment. I asked some players I trust and others that are in the clubhouse far more than me about this.
They don't buy it, either.
Justice isn't in there enough to know, except he still knows. Okee!
At least those are two different staff writers with different perspectives. Here's Fran Blinebury, who offers two contradictory perspectives on Joey Dorsey within a few hours:
Au revoir to Batum. Bonjour Greene and Dorsey (Fran Blinebury, Courtside, 06/26/08)
As for Dorsey, when he's good, he can be very, very good. Yes, he's another undersized player on the frontline for a team that already has Landry and Hayes. But Dorsey's bulk and quickness could compensate for his lack of height.
Rockets trade 1st pick Batum for Dorsey, Greene (Fran Blinebury, Houston Chronicle)
"We think Joey Dorsey was the best defensive player on the best defensive team in the country this year at Memphis," Morey said. "We think he plays much bigger than his 6-7 height with the size of his body and his aggressiveness."
The 24-year-old Dorsey was a key member of the Memphis Tigers who finished 38-2 and lost in overtime to Kansas in the NCAA title game. He averaged 6.9 points and 9.4 rebounds.
Dorsey has prototypical size, strength and athleticism for the NBA power forward spot.
6-7 is not prototypical size for an NBA power forward -- it's short! It's something Daryl Morey admits two paragraphs before Fran Blinebury writes that "prototypical size" nonsense. And it's something Blinebury seemed to admit last night, when he called Dorsey "undersized."
Bizarre.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/27/08 21:20 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
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