Category Archives: Houston Astros

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball

Matthew McConaughey’s Cannot Miss Ballpark Accessory

Actor Matthew McConaughey recently visited Fenway Park with his son to watch a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros.

Normally a Matthew McConaughey Ballpark sighting would not be a big deal. Celebrities of all shapes and sizes often take in baseball games with their families; the only difference being they usually have better seats than the rest of us.

But during a television interview with the local Houston affiliate, the Academy Award winner dropped some serious rationale for bringing back an often ridiculed fashion accessory.

That accessory is the fanny pack.

Mark my words, before now no one has ever made the fanny pack look like anything other than a human kangaroo pouch.

I am sure if we are all honest with ourselves, there was a time when each of us wore a fanny pack.

Then, when we spotted a vacation photo of us wearing the fanny pack, we suddenly realized just how silly they looked. At that point, the fanny pack was moved to the back of the closet never to be heard from again.

Actor Matthew McConaughey recently visited Fenway Park with his son to watch a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros and may have started a new fashion trend in the process. Photo R. Anderson.
Actor Matthew McConaughey recently visited Fenway Park with his son to watch a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros and may have started a new fashion trend in the process.
Photo R. Anderson.

While the fanny pack certainly will not be part of any fashion shows, the accomplished actor made a very good point regarding their practicality during his in-game interview.

“I’m not afraid of the fanny pack, instead of stuffing your pockets,” McConaughey said. “You’ve got to kind of put it on the side to make it look a little not as nerdy, but still, practicality wins out. I’ve got so much gear in here that I don’t want in my pockets.

“How many times are you around somebody and they’re like, ‘I forgot my so and so, I got to go back to the car?’ And you’re like, ‘I got mine right here.’”

With many Ballparks employing a no reentry policy, one can certainly be in bad shape if they find that they have forgotten their “so and so” after reaching their seats.

Back when I covered games as a sports editor, I had a large bag that contained 20 to 25 pounds of everything I thought that I would possibly need to cover that particular game from pens and paper to snacks and rain gear.

Of course, when going to games as a normal fan, a 25 pound attaché case complete with an Associated Press Style Guide, Dictionary and Thesaurus is not really practical.

So, instead of a bag to carry my Ballpark essentials, I have worn cargo shorts for many years on game day as a way to ensure enough room for my tickets, phone, camera, sunglasses, and other must haves, including my “so and so.”

I thought that my cargo short solution was the perfect Ballpark accessory for the busy fan on the go.

However, with one in-game interview, Matthew McConaughey has made me question everything I thought I knew about Ballpark preparedness, as well as Ballpark fashion.

Thanks to Matthew McConaughey, my Denver Broncos fanny pack may get dusted off and replace Cargo shorts as my latest Ballpark accessory.
Photo R. Anderson

I mean if a fanny pack is cool enough for a former People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, it has got to be cool enough for the rest of us. Right?

While reality is probably not nearly as cool as conjecture, I have the following scenario in mind when I picture a Ballpark bound Matthew McConaughey.

“Going to the Ballpark to see a game. Need my tickets and my camera. All right, all right. Need my phone in case my agent calls with a movie offer. All right. Need some righteous snacks, since I don’t want to pay those inflated Ballpark prices. Into the fanny back they go and away we go. All right, all right, all right.”

In complete fairness, it is hard to know exactly how many “all rights” are enough when it comes to Matthew McConaughey and his Ballpark fanny pack stuffing ritual.

Who knows, as a big-time Hollywood star he may even have a dedicated fanny pack stuffer on staff.

Let that sink in for a minute, it is entirely possible that somewhere in the world someone has on their resume that they stuff Matthew McConaughey’s fanny pack.

Although, something tells me that Matthew McConaughey stuffs his own fanny pack.

While only Matthew McConaughey and the person at the bag check station know for sure what all is in the fanny pack, personally I hope it includes a miniature Oscar statue just for fun.

A few years back, the term the McConaissance was coined as a way to honor the second act of Matthew McConaughey’s career. That second act McConaissance has seen the actor take on more challenging roles and even earned him that aforementioned Academy Award.

For his efforts in freeing our pockets at the Ballpark, and in the spirit of the McConaissance, I say we honor Matthew McConaughey by renaming fanny packs to something worthy of their second act.

The McConaughey pack as a nice ring to it, don’t you think? I mean can I get an all right, all right, all right?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to see if I can dig up my old fanny pack before my next trip to the Ballpark.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Washington Nationals

Bo Porter Era in Houston Ends on Labor Day

Today, September 1 is Labor Day.

While originally established in the 19th Century as a way to honor workers, through the years, the first Monday of September celebration has turned into a time of barbecues, beach getaways and appliance sales.

In fact, Labor Day weekend is often called the last weekend of the summer, even though fall does not officially arrive until September 22.

For fans of the Houston Astros, Labor Day will forever be known as the day that the manager and bench coach were asked to turn in their uniforms and leave the building.

Earlier today, the Astros announced that Manager Bo Porter and bench coach Dave Trembley had been relieved of their duties. Tom Lawless will serve as interim manager through the remainder of the 2014 season.

Last Labor Day Bo Porter was managing the Houston Astros in a day game against the Minnesota Twins. Fast forward a year and Porter was fired by the Astros during an off day. Photo R. Anderson
Last Labor Day Bo Porter was managing the Houston Astros in a day game against the Minnesota Twins. Fast forward a year and Porter was fired by the Astros during an off day.
Photo R. Anderson

While no one ever likes to be fired, part of me thinks that Porter and Trembley are relieved to be let go from the tire fire of a team that is the Astros.

Plus, by being let go now, Porter and Trembley have more time to line up jobs for next season.

Neither Porter nor Trembley should be blamed for the performance of the Astros under their tenure. One can only manage with what they are given, and few can argue that the front office has been very stingy in what they are giving the field staff to work with.

The company line for the Astros continues to be, “just wait we are getting better every day and are bolstering the farm system for continued success.”

While there has been slight improvement in the on field performance of the team this season, there also has been a marked increase in stories about player discontent and mismanagement by the front office.

There was also the whole situation regarding failing to sign the first pick in this year’s draft along with the release of confidential front office communications regarding trade negotiations.

Also, who can forget the absolute disaster centering on the team’s broadcast rights that has prevented much of the Houston area from being able to watch the games on television?

Of course, with such spotty on field performance the last couple of years, not being able to watch on television might be a blessing in disguise for those fans who do not get the games.

By many accounts the Astros front office did not give Bo Porter much to work with during his nearly two seasons at the helm. The team will now look for a manager to share in the slow rebuilding process. Photo R. Anderson
By many accounts the Astros front office did not give Bo Porter much to work with during his nearly two seasons at the helm. The team will now look for a manager to share in the slow rebuilding process.
Photo R. Anderson

Granted, no team is perfect. However, with each story that comes out, it seems more and more like the Astros front office does not seem to have much of a clue on how to run a Major League Baseball team.

As Fox Mulder would say, “I want to believe” that things will get better in the not too distant future and that the Astros will once again be a playoff contender. Despite wanting to believe, each day I fell more like they will be a Major League pretender.

Earlier this season, it was announced that the Astros were going to raise ticket prices to help cover expenses. Asking fans to pay more to see a less competitive team does not seem like a sound business strategy.

Of course, through their dynamic pricing model, the Astros charge even more when the marquee franchises like the Yankees and Red Sox are in town to help cover the losses on the other games.

I do understand that there is a business side to baseball, but continuing to fleece the fans will end up biting them in the end.

With the arrival of football season, it is likely that even fewer people will pay attention to the Astros as they limp to the finish line of the 2014 season. While it is likely that they can avoid their fourth consecutive 100 loss season, in the grand scheme of things it might be too little too late.

More and more I hear people say that Houston is a football town and not a baseball town.

While I do not yet believe that baseball will fail in Houston in the same way that Arena League Football, minor league hockey and Indy Car did, it is certainly a possibility under the current management team based on the recent track record of activities.

Thankfully, there are the Sugar Land Skeeters to watch for a reasonably priced baseball fix. With the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball planning additional teams in the Houston area over the next few years there very well could come a time where fans grow tired of paying for the Astros antics.

While this is an entirely unlikely scenario, the people of Houston could watch the Astros leave the fourth largest city in America and find themselves with two large empty sports complexes.

The fact that Houston is the fourth largest city in America is often brought up when people question how the Astros could be so bad. And while it is best saved for another column on another day, I believe that a city’s size does not guarantee success in sports.

One need only look at the Los Angeles area and their inability to get a NFL team after 20 years as proof of that. Sometimes sports work better in a smaller market where there are less options for the fans to spend their money on.

Prior to coming to Houston Bo Porter was the third base coach for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals are having a much better year than the Astros and could reach their first World Series. Photo R. Anderson
Prior to coming to Houston Bo Porter was the third base coach for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals are having a much better year than the Astros and could reach their first World Series.
Photo R. Anderson

As for the next antics for the Astros front office, they will in the words of general manager Jeff Luhnow seek “a consistent and united message throughout the entire organization.”

If one was to read between the lines of that statement they could surmise the Astros are seeking a yes man manager who does whatever the front office asks of them and does not have an opinion of their own.

Rarely does that sort of micro managing create a good working environment.

As for Porter and Trembley’s former teams, the Nationals and Orioles respectively, things could not be looking better as each team holds a commanding lead in their respective divisions and seems poised for deep postseason runs.

A beltway series between the Nationals and the Orioles would be a very nice thing. The way the teams are playing, it very well could be a reality. There are still several teams that could prevent that from occurring, but one thing is clear, it should be a very fun postseason with the inclusion of some teams that have not been there in a while.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Skeeters tickets to buy and a beltway World Series to prepare for.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Grapefruit League, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Spring Training

Three Constants in Life are Death, Taxes and Baseball

It has been said time and time again, since at least the the mid-18th Century or so, that the only certainties in life are death and taxes.

To that duo of death and taxes, I would add a third certainty in life; baseball which came to the scene in the mid-19th Century.

With the exception of strike shortened seasons, the game of baseball provides nearly eight months of distraction a year through the ups and downs of taxes and death and all of the other parts of life.

And while the income tax deadline is still several months away, baseball continues to chug along as part of the summer tapestry before giving way to football in the fall.

In terms of the third side of the constants of life triangle, death, I have felt its impacts firsthand with two funeral home visits in the past couple of weeks.

Although two funerals in the past few weeks may seem excessive, it stands to reason that the older we get, the more likely we are to witness the passing of friends and family.

Last night during a funeral home visitation, I spoke with a man who has attended 14 funerals so far this year. While I figured that he would be depressed from attending so many funerals in such a short time span, his words put it into perspective when he stated that as long as he was able to leave a funeral on his feet, and not in a casket, he figured he was doing all right.

Sometimes it seems that the ones in the caskets, the dearly departed, have it the easiest as they have reached the end of their pain and suffering, while the living are left to work through the pain and suffering being experienced as a result of their loss.

For me, the latest loss came with the passing of a friend whom I had spent many hours talking baseball with over the past 14 years or so.

While we certainly discussed other topics, inevitably our conversations would always turn towards observations about the Houston Astros and how we would run the team if ever given the chance.

In honor of our mutual love of the team, I wore my Astros tie to my friend’s funeral even though I am sure she would have been just as happy with something far less formal.

Recently I had the chance to wear my Astros tie in memory of a departed friend who never missed an opportunity to ask me how "our boys" were doing. Photo R. Anderson
Recently I had the chance to wear my Astros tie in memory of a departed friend who never missed an opportunity to ask me how “our boys” were doing.
Photo R. Anderson

I can almost picture her saying that there was no need to get all dressed up on her account. However, there are certain times when formal baseball attire is warranted, and this was one such occasion.

As for our conversations about the Astros, they would often start with her asking me what I thought about how “our boys” were doing.

And for most of the last decade the answer was that “our boys” were doing badly but hopefully more victories were just around the corner.

With a team that last visited the postseason in 2005, and is currently on track for a fourth straight season of losing over 100 games, it might be easy to lose faith in “our boys” but the belief that a turnaround would occur for the Astros never wavered.

In addition to talking about regular season baseball, each spring the topic of conversation would turn to trips to Florida for Spring Training.

While it had been years since my friend had seen Spring Training in person, her stories of past visits to the Ballparks of central Florida showed the timelessness of baseball and how one never really loses the spark once it gets under their skin.

Each year when I would return from a Spring Training trip I would give a report on how “our boys” looked and we would agree that this very well could be the year that they turned things around.

The next time I visit Osceola County Stadium, Spring training home of the Houston Astros, will feel a little different following the death of a friend and partner in Astros commiseration. Photo R. Anderson
The next time I visit Osceola County Stadium, Spring training home of the Houston Astros, will feel a little different following the death of a friend and partner in Astros commiseration.
Photo R. Anderson

The turnaround has yet to gain significant traction, but through my stories of trips to Florida, I was allowing my friend to experience the joys of Spring Training once more as she recalled days spent under the Florida sun watching the Astros warm up for the season.

Much as my friend kept the faith through the dark times, and even thought of us attending a baseball game when she left the hospital, I also know that the Astros will turn it around some day and once again play the type of winning baseball that they once enjoyed during those years when my friend and her husband traveled to Florida to see them.

Hopefully, I will make other trips to Spring Training Ballparks in the coming years. I am especially looking forward to a milestone birthday spent under the Spring Training sky next season with visits to several Ballparks I have yet to visit.

I do not know how many trips I will get to make to Spring Training through the remainder of my life. I do know that each trip will allow me to build memories to cherish for a lifetime and hopefully not return too sunburned.

Something tells me that my friend will still be keeping tabs on the Astros from her sky box in the clouds. Photo R. Anderson
Something tells me that my friend will still be keeping tabs on the Astros from her sky box in the clouds.
Photo R. Anderson

The next time I do come back from Spring Training it will seem a little different without being able to share the stories from the experience with my friend.

Perhaps next year at Spring Training, I will purchase an extra ticket in honor of my friend although I know her view of “our boys” from the sky box in the clouds, sitting next to her husband once again, will be even better.

I will miss my friend and our talks about baseball. However, I firmly believe there will come a time when we get to discuss “our boys” once more. I only hope we have a few winning seasons to discuss by then.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to watch the Astros in honor of my friend.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Tampa Bay Rays

Rays Win Series at Minute Maid Park but Get Little Time to Celebrate

After winning a weekend series against the Houston Astros, the Tampa Bay Rays could be finally heading in the right direction.

While still possessing the worst record in baseball, the Rays can be encouraged somewhat by winning two out of three games against the Astros, who many predicted would have the worst record in baseball for the fourth straight year.

The Tampa Bay Rays took two out of three games against the Houston Astros over the past weekend. Photo R. Anderson
The Tampa Bay Rays took two out of three games against the Houston Astros over the past weekend.
Photo R. Anderson

The thrill of victory will be short lived though. Fresh off of the series win, the Rays return home to Tropicana Field tonight to host their American East Division foes the Baltimore Orioles.

Tonight will mark the sixth time that the Maryland based team and the Florida based teams have met this season, with the Orioles winning all five of the previous match ups.

Back during their Devil Rays days, the Orioles and Rays would often be battling each year for the second to last spot in the division and bragging rights over the team that finished last.

In recent years, the Rays and Orioles have both been among the top teams in the division making this season a bit of a historical mix up.

After the death of Don Zimmer, Desmond Jennings and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays are playing with heavy hearts and patches honoring Zim. Photo R. Anderson
After the death of Don Zimmer, Desmond Jennings and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays are playing with heavy hearts and patches honoring Zim.
Photo R. Anderson

While the Orioles currently sit in second place within the division a mere 4.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rays are 13.5 games back and in last place.

As often noted, I am always torn whenever the Rays and the Orioles play each other since I have deep rooting ties to both franchises.

In the past, I have tended to root for the home team during head to head match ups, or I will often find myself pulling for the team with the best chance of representing the division in the playoffs.

Using that formula, it should be a no brainer that I would root for the Orioles to sweep the Rays over the next couple of games since the Orioles stand the best chance of making the playoffs this season. However, I just can’t seem to discount the Rays yet.

I guess there is part of me that does not want to believe that the Rays, who many people felt had the roster to propel them to the World Series, are finished in mid-June.

The Tampa Bay Rays started a series with the Baltimore Orioles tonight and will look to keep the winning ways going. Photo R. Anderson
The Tampa Bay Rays started a series with the Baltimore Orioles tonight and will look to keep the winning ways going.
Photo R. Anderson

That is not to take anything away from the success of the Orioles, or to suggest that I do not bleed Orange and Black. But, I really am finding it hard to believe that the Rays are struggling as mightily as they are.

Granted, the Rays have had to deal with the death of Don Zimmer and a string of injuries that have exposed their lack of depth in certain areas. Then again, many teams deal with injuries and tragedies each year and still manage to win games.

In a way, my struggles with the unexpected fall of the Rays is similar to what many fans of the Miami Heat might be feeling following the five game series loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last night.

The Spurs dominated the Heat throughout the series and posted the highest per game margin of victory in NBA Finals history. So, it was not a close series and even fell two points shy of ending in a sweep.

Prior to the series, many Heat fans likely thought that the series would go to seven games like it did last year.

The Spurs and Heat are two of the best teams in the NBA and have been accounted for eight titles since 1999, with three for the Heat (2006, 2012, 2013) and five for the Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014).

Each team made it to the finals in years where they did not win the title as well. So, one could make the case that the Heat and the Spurs have been the teams to beat for much of the 21st Century.

Despite those years of success, there will be those that look at the “collapse” of the Heat as a sign that the roster needs to be ripped apart and rebuilt from scratch. What that approach fails to consider is despite the Ricky Bobby mantra of “If you ain’t first you’re last” there are second place finishers each year that in many cases were just as talented as the ultimate winners but fell short in the end for whatever reason.

Just as there will be calls from some fans to implode the Heat roster and rebuild following the finals loss, there will be those who feel that the Rays will need to go back to the drawing board following the below expectations season they seem likely to finish with.

The Rays are known for late series miracles. Therefore, I am not discounting that they can’t finish strong. However, I do think it is safe to say that a World Series game at the Trop is unlikely this year.

Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays will need an offensive spark and a miracle to live up to the expectations for the season and avoid a player purge at the trade deadline in July. Photo R. Anderson
Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays will need an offensive spark and a miracle to live up to the expectations for the season and avoid a player purge at the trade deadline in July.
Photo R. Anderson

Personally, I do not subscribe to the theory of imploding rosters after a single bad year and prefer to look at the bigger picture and a team’s entire catalog of work.

The Rays can and will win again with the bulk of the players that they currently have on the roster just as the Heat can likely be a threat for the NBA title again next year with a few tweaks here and there.

Time will tell what those changes will be. Management of both clubs should take a scalpel to the roster to make fine adjustments versus performing roster surgery with a chain saw.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to flip a coin to decide whether I am wearing my Orioles hat or my Rays hat tonight.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays are Either in the Midst of an Epic Meltdown or on the Verge of a Historic Comeback

For the first decade of their existence the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were bad, really bad.

How bad?

So bad that if the Devil Rays early years were put to music they could easily include the lyrics stink, stank, stunk.

So bad that in those first 10 seasons of play, from 1998 to 2007, the team failed to end a single season with a winning record.

In fact the most victories came in 2004 when they won 70 games.

Although the stingray tank at Tropicana Field remains the Tampa Bay Rays showed that the devil is in the details when they switched from being called the Devil Rays to just the Rays after 10 losing seasons. The result of the name change was a trip to the World Series in 2008. Photo R. Anderson
Although the stingray tank at Tropicana Field remains the Tampa Bay Rays showed that the devil is in the details when they switched from being called the Devil Rays to just the Rays after 10 losing seasons. The result of the name change was a trip to the World Series in 2008.
Photo R. Anderson

But in a musical about face worthy of a Kenny Rogers song, the Devil Rays became the Rays in 2008 and they turned it around by not only posting the team’s first ever winning record but also managing to win the American League Pennant and earning a trip to the World Series in the process.

Since that turning around in 2008, the Rays have posted winning records in every season that followed and have made some more playoff runs to boot.

While they have yet to match the World Series run of 2008, the Rays have remained a threat to win the ultra-competitive American League East Division or Wild Card for the past six years.

That brings us to this year and a bit of history repeating as the Rays, who were predicated as World Series favorites by many experts, have taken an Olympic sized nose dive due to injuries and spotty offense that have them looking less like a perennial playoff threat, and more like the Devil Rays of old.

With some key players lost for the season, and others going on and off of the disabled list with unusual frequency, the Rays have had their share of setbacks to overcome during the first quarter of the season.

In addition to injuries, the Rays have had to battle through offensive slumps that have rendered many of the bats in the lineup silent.

Instead of being on track for the playoffs, the Rays currently possess the worst record in all of baseball heading into a three game series against the Houston Astros.

It should be noted that the Astros started getting really bad around the same time that the Rays got really good.

The Tampa Bay Rays, holders of the worst record in baseball, will look to turn their season around starting tonight when they begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros. Photo R. Anderson
The Tampa Bay Rays, holders of the worst record in baseball, will look to turn their season around starting tonight when they begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros.
Photo R. Anderson

After losing over 100 games for the past three years, the Astros are on pace to break even this season, and possibly even post a winning record for the first time in years.

When the schedules were announced for the season, few people would have believed that the Astros would have won five more games than the Rays heading into their weekend series.

After spending more on payroll than the frugal Rays had previously done, there were great expectations for this season. While the Rays could yet right the sinking ship that has become their 2014 season with each mounting loss the calls to trade away players grow louder as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

While the Rays are faced with calls to trade away players in return for prospects each season, it is likely that a failure to return to competitive play could result in several current players being sent to new surroundings in July.

It is of course unfair to surmise that the Rays current rough season marks a return to the years of losing records. Teams have bad years now and then for a variety of reasons and usually bounce back within a year or two so there is no need to dust off those old Devil Rays jerseys just yet.

One need only look at the Boston Red Sox who won a World Series after suffering through an abysmal season the year before to see that one rough season is no cause to think that the sky is falling on a franchise.

The Rays still have time to turn the season around this year and have been known for late season heroics that have propelled them to victory in the past however the time to make that turnaround is decreasing.

A sweep by the Astros this weekend would likely be a huge blow for the Rays and would continue the downward spiral. Conversely,  a sweep by the Rays would be just the thing to move the season forward.

Time will tell which direction the weekend goes for the Rays, but with each passing game the sense of urgency grows a bit more to return to a culture of winning.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a game to get to.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson