I have gotten hopelessly behind in game write-ups for a good reason -- between work, life, and the Astros schedule, I haven't had much time for watching live games. With the Astros losing the vast majority of their games, there is really not much incentive to watch the games that I already know were losses after the fact. Some years, I've made a point of trying to watch at least part of each game, staying up late on Saturday nights to watch the Sabbath games I missed, checking out even the losses to find something to like. This season just isn't like that.
I listen to the broadcasters make excuses, how the team is trying hard, bad luck, if only... But the truth is, we're playing a really bad team, which does not appear to be particularly well managed. Having missed going to Spring Training this year, for the first time since 2004, I never developed the kind of connection to the players that you get from seeing the players in person. And being a fan in exile, I won't see the team play a season game until September, when they come to Washington. Two of the three games against the Nationals will be on the Sabbath - so at most I will get to see the Astros just once the whole season.
I don't really have a problem with cheering for the underdog -- that was most of my childhood growing up in Houston. But it is hard to keep up the connection without other fans to commiserate with -- at the ballgame or online through blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Earlier this season, I used to find plenty of people to tweet with during the games, and we could keep each other company while watching the Astros lose. But recently, when I tweet "Hey #ASTROS FANS..." at the start of a game, no one tweets back. I don't think it's anything personal, of course; I just don't think that many of the other fans are bothering to tweet. Maybe they aren't even bothering to watch the games? Hard to tell.
Last night I turned on the computer after the Sabbath, just in time to watch the Astros lose. Today, I got home from work (proposal season doesn't stop for weekends) just in time to watch the bottom of the 9th, with the Astros down 14-10. With 10 runs scored today, there are probably some fun innings to watch, and maybe I'll do that when they post the game to the archive later this evening. On the other hand, with 14 runs allowed, that's some painfully stinky Astros pitching -- from Happless to Melanconly. Maybe it's a night for a glass of wine and Angry Birds instead.
For the record, I am officially giving up my game write-ups for the year. I'll post to the blog when there's something interesting to comment on (like changes of management or swapping out the entire roster and bringing up the whole Oklahoma City team). I'll keep checking for other fans to tweet with during games -- I'm AstrosFanInXile, in case you're not following me yet. Tweet back! It gets lonely out here in exile.
Meanwhile, I'm going to keep considering whether I should just TRY to cheer for the Nats next year. There's something to be said for actually getting to see your team play now and then!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
2011 GAMES 61-66: How to Get the First Draft Pick
GAME 61 - June 7: Cardinals 7, Astros 4
GAME 62 - June 8: Astros 4, Cardinals 1
GAME 63 - June 9: Cardinals 9, Astros 2
GAME 64 - June 10: Braves 11, Astros 4
GAME 65 - June 11: Braves 6, Astros 3
GAME 66 - June 12: Braves 4, Astros 1
In a week that started mid-way through a 4-game losing streak, and ended with a 4-game losing streak, with just 1 win in the middle, it's hard to find a lot to get excited about. Even going through each game and finding just one thing to like starts to seem a bit hysterical. Happily for the Astros, with Pence on a 22-game hitting streak, finding something to like is a cheap thrill. Unhappily for the Astros, Pence sat out Sunday's game due to the lower back spasms that have been hurting him recently, putting the streak on hold and worrying a management team that doesn't have a lot to brag on at the moment.
Looking at the standings -- when I bother to do so -- I see that the Astros are still in the cellar of the combined Major Leagues, accompanied by only one team (the poor Cubs) in the Under .400 category. At 24-42, the Astros are on target to win barely 59 games this season -- by far the worst season in club history. It is true that the Astros tend to be a stronger end-of-season team, and it's possible that the win-loss ratio may improve as we head towards fall. But, really, can anyone out there think of a good reason for that to happen?
My sister Elizabeth (the one who goes to Spring Training with me) does not believe that this year's Astros could possibly worse than the 1962 Colt 45s. She bet me $18 that the Astros will win at least 65 games this season. She's on.
Hard as it is to admit, it's getting hard to work up much excitement for coming home from a long day at the office to watch a ball game.
Having said that, here's what I hope the Astros will do: STAY THE COURSE. Stick with the rebuilding, don't try to sign players who could help win this year, play the kids. Keep around a few veterans to act as player coaches to the youngsters and lose a lot of games.
Meanwhile, I'll stick with the little pleasures, like watching Jordan Lyles try for his first big league win. They're keeping him on, now that Wandy's back from the DL, sending down Fulchino and bumping Aneury-Rod to the pen. And when we just keep losing and losing... just think of what a low draft pick we're going to get next year.
GAME 62 - June 8: Astros 4, Cardinals 1
GAME 63 - June 9: Cardinals 9, Astros 2
GAME 64 - June 10: Braves 11, Astros 4
GAME 65 - June 11: Braves 6, Astros 3
GAME 66 - June 12: Braves 4, Astros 1
In a week that started mid-way through a 4-game losing streak, and ended with a 4-game losing streak, with just 1 win in the middle, it's hard to find a lot to get excited about. Even going through each game and finding just one thing to like starts to seem a bit hysterical. Happily for the Astros, with Pence on a 22-game hitting streak, finding something to like is a cheap thrill. Unhappily for the Astros, Pence sat out Sunday's game due to the lower back spasms that have been hurting him recently, putting the streak on hold and worrying a management team that doesn't have a lot to brag on at the moment.
Looking at the standings -- when I bother to do so -- I see that the Astros are still in the cellar of the combined Major Leagues, accompanied by only one team (the poor Cubs) in the Under .400 category. At 24-42, the Astros are on target to win barely 59 games this season -- by far the worst season in club history. It is true that the Astros tend to be a stronger end-of-season team, and it's possible that the win-loss ratio may improve as we head towards fall. But, really, can anyone out there think of a good reason for that to happen?
My sister Elizabeth (the one who goes to Spring Training with me) does not believe that this year's Astros could possibly worse than the 1962 Colt 45s. She bet me $18 that the Astros will win at least 65 games this season. She's on.
Hard as it is to admit, it's getting hard to work up much excitement for coming home from a long day at the office to watch a ball game.
Having said that, here's what I hope the Astros will do: STAY THE COURSE. Stick with the rebuilding, don't try to sign players who could help win this year, play the kids. Keep around a few veterans to act as player coaches to the youngsters and lose a lot of games.
Meanwhile, I'll stick with the little pleasures, like watching Jordan Lyles try for his first big league win. They're keeping him on, now that Wandy's back from the DL, sending down Fulchino and bumping Aneury-Rod to the pen. And when we just keep losing and losing... just think of what a low draft pick we're going to get next year.
Monday, June 6, 2011
2011 GAMES 54-60: Win a Few, Lose a Few
GAME 54 - May 30: Astros 12, Cubs 7
GAME 55 - May 31: Astros 7, Cubs 3
GAME 56 - June 1: Astros 3, Cubs 1
GAME 57 - June 2: Astros 7, Padres 4
GAME 58 - June 3: Padres 3, Astros 1
GAME 59 - June 4: Padres 6, Astros 3
GAME 60 - June 5: Padres 7, Astros 2
So here's how a team like the Astros can SWEEP a series: Play a team whose combined ERA is even worse than ours. That would be the Cubs, whose sloppy play and pitching woes combined to give the Astros their first (and possibly only) 3-game sweep of the season. And the start to a FOUR GAME WINNING STREAK! Almost unimaginable.
It was all down hill from there over the weekend, as the Astros went on to lost the rest of the series in San Diego. The usual good news in bad times: They didn't get shut out. But just barely -- the Astros only scored a total of 6 runs all weekend. After scoring 29 runs in the previous 4 games, that's a painful indictment of Cubs pitching.
The big news of the week had relatively little to do with game outcomes, and much more to do with the future hopes of the team. With Wandy still on the DL, Jordan Lyles came up to the Bigs for his much anticipated debut. Tuesday night, in his first game, he was just about everything that fans had hoped for -- economical with his pitches (lasting into the 8th inning), calm (even with runners on third base), and relatively nasty. He even got his first major league hit. The worst thing he did all evening was a poor fielding play that cost him a couple of runs. The worst thing the Astros did was to fail to score runs for him, leaving him vulnerable for the loss. However, in a nearly miraculous turnaround, once Lyles was out, the Astros came back for a huge 9th inning comeback, putting 6 runs on the board against the Cubs closer Marmol. So Lyles got a no-D, and gained the affection of those of us who are hoping for a brighter future. As it turned out, a different Astros player got his first big league win that night -- reliever Fernando Rodriguez (one of the 3 Rodriguez pitchers on the team).
Just in case anyone was inclined to believe that Lyles would be the Savior of the Universe (as SB Nation facetiously claimed), his second big league start on Sunday night was a lot less exciting: He gave up 3 runs in the first inning, and only made it through 4 innings on 96 pitches, earning the loss. A bit of a reminder that the kid is just 20 years old, and that he could be heading back down to Triple A when Wandy gets back in a week or so. But still nice to see some energy from the fans and sportscasters.
In other youngster news, the Astros have named an outfielder (not a big arm!) for their first-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft tonight. The player is UConn's George Springer, considered a five-tool prospect. Maybe another future Pence-type player? Only time will tell...
Meanwhile we have to slog our way through this season for a few more months.
GAME 55 - May 31: Astros 7, Cubs 3
GAME 56 - June 1: Astros 3, Cubs 1
GAME 57 - June 2: Astros 7, Padres 4
GAME 58 - June 3: Padres 3, Astros 1
GAME 59 - June 4: Padres 6, Astros 3
GAME 60 - June 5: Padres 7, Astros 2
So here's how a team like the Astros can SWEEP a series: Play a team whose combined ERA is even worse than ours. That would be the Cubs, whose sloppy play and pitching woes combined to give the Astros their first (and possibly only) 3-game sweep of the season. And the start to a FOUR GAME WINNING STREAK! Almost unimaginable.
It was all down hill from there over the weekend, as the Astros went on to lost the rest of the series in San Diego. The usual good news in bad times: They didn't get shut out. But just barely -- the Astros only scored a total of 6 runs all weekend. After scoring 29 runs in the previous 4 games, that's a painful indictment of Cubs pitching.
The big news of the week had relatively little to do with game outcomes, and much more to do with the future hopes of the team. With Wandy still on the DL, Jordan Lyles came up to the Bigs for his much anticipated debut. Tuesday night, in his first game, he was just about everything that fans had hoped for -- economical with his pitches (lasting into the 8th inning), calm (even with runners on third base), and relatively nasty. He even got his first major league hit. The worst thing he did all evening was a poor fielding play that cost him a couple of runs. The worst thing the Astros did was to fail to score runs for him, leaving him vulnerable for the loss. However, in a nearly miraculous turnaround, once Lyles was out, the Astros came back for a huge 9th inning comeback, putting 6 runs on the board against the Cubs closer Marmol. So Lyles got a no-D, and gained the affection of those of us who are hoping for a brighter future. As it turned out, a different Astros player got his first big league win that night -- reliever Fernando Rodriguez (one of the 3 Rodriguez pitchers on the team).
Just in case anyone was inclined to believe that Lyles would be the Savior of the Universe (as SB Nation facetiously claimed), his second big league start on Sunday night was a lot less exciting: He gave up 3 runs in the first inning, and only made it through 4 innings on 96 pitches, earning the loss. A bit of a reminder that the kid is just 20 years old, and that he could be heading back down to Triple A when Wandy gets back in a week or so. But still nice to see some energy from the fans and sportscasters.
In other youngster news, the Astros have named an outfielder (not a big arm!) for their first-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft tonight. The player is UConn's George Springer, considered a five-tool prospect. Maybe another future Pence-type player? Only time will tell...
Meanwhile we have to slog our way through this season for a few more months.
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