Sunday, October 9, 2011

What to do in the Astros Off Season - Part 1

The Astros were eliminated in August. Now the team I was cheering for in the playoffs (Phillies, for Pence and Roy O) are out. I don't really care about the outcome of the playoffs. And, given the remaining teams, the TV advertisers are probably less than celebratory also. The Yankees are so great for business.

So what to do, now that Astros baseball is over but the hot stove hasn't started heating up? Well, there's Real Life to attend to. Now that Yom Kippur has passed, it's time to build our sukkah! If you don't know what that is - it's a little temporary branch-covered dwelling we build to live in (or at least eat our meal in) for the weeklong Jewish holiday Sukkot. (If you really want to know more, check out Wikipedia.) Here's your Fan in Exile in the sukkah - walls are up, but no schach (branches on top) yet. The holiday starts Wednesday evening.


Another, less joyous thing to do in the off-season: Read about the trouble that the Astros' youngsters get into when they aren't busy playing baseball. Two in the past week, one tragic and one just stupid, and both probably avoidable: The Astros' 34th pick prospect, 18 year old Dustin Kellogg, was killed in a late night traffic accident, after cutting across 4 lanes to hit an 18-wheeler head on. The reports didn't give a reason for why the accident occurred, but it's hard to keep from wondering what might be behind this driver error. Very sad anyway, whether it was vehicle malfunction or impaired judgement. The second incident was definitely impaired judgement: Our young center fielder, Jordan Schafer got arrested for felony possession of marijuana, while puffing away and driving his car. He's lucky that it was an arrest and not an accident that resulted. It's also idiotic -- with the field wide open for young players on a team that's rebuilding, this doesn't exactly help his chances.

I'll figure out some more things to do in the Astros Off Season and post them in future blogs. Meanwhile, reply to this blog to give me YOUR ideas for how to pass the time until Spring Training!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

There's Always Next Year (with Photos)



I have a confession to make: I bet against the Astros this year. I bet my sister Elizabeth (the one who came with me to Spring Training) $18 that the Astros wouldn't win 60 games this year. She was willing to make the bet at 64 games, but I was pretty certain that 60 would be unattainable. As it turned out, there was plenty of room to spare, as the Astros finished the season with only 56 wins and a whopping 106 losses. One for the record books -- time to start thinking about what to do with that first pick in next year's draft! I'm saving the $18 to take Elizabeth out for a vegetarian Indian dinner at Woodlands in Orlando, when we go to Spring Training to check out the upcoming crop of baby Astros. We'll be rebuilding for a while...

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures that I took at the Astros vs Nationals game here in Washington on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The Nats fans went home happy, having seen Strasburg pitch, and the Nats win 8-2. I went home happy, just having seen the Astros for the first and only time this season. Given the outcome of the standings, it really didn't matter whether we won the game. It was just a great day to celebrate our national pasttime!
Fan in Exile happy to see the Astros for the first time this season
Me with my friend (normally a Twins Fan) Ann 
Altuve takes batting practice, but (alas!) had the day off


Schafer and Bogusevic miss the catch
Martinez makes a good throw from the outfield 
Downs blows bubbles - got the start at second
Schafer waiting for a can of corn to drop into his glove

Corporan behind the plate 
Sosa in trouble after giving up 3 homers in a row 
Not an Astro - but who could pass up wanting to take pictures of Stephen Strasburg?
Wallace and Bogusevic during BP

Martinez batting, Lee on deck


Can you find the BALL?
No Caption required...

The Nat in the Hat?

Unfortunate end to Lance Pendleton's Astro's debut:
He struck out 2, then hit 2, then gave up a RBI hit

Melancon throws - NOT a save situation
Goodbye and good riddance, Astros Season 2011! I don't have a real favorite for the playoffs so don't look for much blogging on that subject. I guess I'll cheer for the Phillies, for Oswalt and Pence. (After all, Pence was the Astros' MVP this year! How sad is that?) I'll be back in the off-season to talk about trades, rebuilding, and plans for going to Kissimmee. There's always next year, you know!