Tag Archives: Astros

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball

Castro the Astro Named All-Star Cuz Someone Had to Be

Saturday night Major League Baseball announced the starters and reserves for this year’s All-Star Game.

With the exception of a final fan’s choice vote for each league, and some players to be named later by the managers, the rosters are pretty much set.

For the most part the rosters seem sound and despite the ill conceived notion of fan voting, the bulk of the players seem to have gotten on the team through merit.

Of course since the introduction of the “all teams have to be represented by at least one player rule” some of the reserve players would not be on the team were it not required for someone from their team to be there.

Jason Castro was named to his first All-Star game Saturday. Photo R. Anderson
Jason Castro was named to his first All-Star game Saturday.
Photo R. Anderson

This brings us to Jason Castro, catcher for the Houston Astros. Castro was named to the All-Star game as the sole representative of the Astros.

To think that his level of play reaches the level of an All-Star leads one to have to make a quantum leap of reasoning.

Even given the notion that someone from the Astros has to be selected as an All-Star, Castro does not even lead any offensive categories on the team. Which means that he is not even the best of the worst team in baseball.

Castro ranks second in batting average behind Jose Altuve (last year’s Astros All-Star representative) and also ranks second on the team in runs scored and home runs.

Granted Castro had a “see I belong in the game” moment Saturday night when he hit a three-run home run against the Rangers as part of a shocking upset in Arlington but the case remains puzzling as to why he is heading to the All-Star game as a reserve catcher.

To be fair I have nothing against Jason Castro despite the Astros seeming to have a man crush on him since drafting him with the 10th pick of the 2008 draft and repeatedly shoving him down the throats of the fans despite the presence of better catchers on the roster.

While there have been some catchers through the years that have swung the bat well those are usually few and far between. And in the case of former Astros catcher turned second baseman Craig Biggio catchers that can hit are usually moved to other positions to prolong their careers. Had Craig Biggio remained a catcher it is very probable that he would not have had the long career that allowed him to obtain over 3,000 hits.

So to me the job of catcher first and foremost is that of a defensive player that works well with the pitchers and can throw runners out at second base. Through the years prior to Jason Castro arriving at the Astros there were a string of such players who while not known for consistently driving in runs they definitely minimized opposing teams scoring through their work behind the plate.

Future Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriquez spent only part of a season with the Astros before being traded to the Rangers. Photo R. Anderson
Future Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez spent only part of a season with the Astros before being traded to the Rangers.
Photo R. Anderson

To me the best catcher to ever wear an Astros uniform was Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. With a young team and a future Hall of Famer behind the plate, it seemed like a no brainer to keep Pudge in the Astro pinstripes for as long as possible to allow him to mentor the pitching staff and provide veteran leadership in the clubhouse.

Sadly the Astros traded Rodriguez to the Rangers midway though the 2009 season. But during his time there he was definitely fun to watch and showed Astros players and fans what a real catcher looks like.

J.R. Towles was another catcher who called a good game but fell short at the plate. Towles and Castro were both competing for the starting job at the same time. Towles beat out the injury prone Castro twice in spring training for the job and received high praise from many of the Astros pitchers for his presense behind the plate.

For my money former Astro J.R. Towles was twice the player Jason Castro is where it counts most, defensively. Unfortunately for Towles the Astros disagreed and kept sticking with the error prone Jason Castro behind the plate. Photo R. Anderson
For my money former Astro J.R. Towles was twice the player Jason Castro is where it counts most, defensively. Unfortunately for Towles the Astros disagreed and kept sticking with the error prone Jason Castro behind the plate.
Photo R. Anderson

Unfortunately Towles struggled mightily at the plate generating far more outs than hits. After a few seasons of battling between the Majors and Minors, and with Castro still the anointed catcher of the future, Towles was finally let go paving the way for the Jason Castro era to begin.

Still even after Castro was anointed the starter he still faced injury issues and actually missed the entire 2011 season with a knee injury received during Spring Training.

It seems that he is finally showing the offensive spark that they had hoped was there but there are still glaring defensive issues visible in his game in the amount of passed balls that get by him. His ability to call games and be in sync with his battery mates is also an area that is still in work.

I certainly hope that I am wrong and Jason Castro can become a successful every day catcher for years to come and help the team with both his bat and his glove. I just have not seen enough evidence of that to date to give me confidence in his ability to be that player down the road.

Granted, as a reserve there is no guarantee that Castro will take the field at any point in the game. The rules say a member from every team has to make the roster but it does not say that the managers are forced to use every player like some Little League pay to play situation.

I truly hope that both fan voting and guarantee representation from all teams are removed from the All-Star Game landscape in the coming years to return the game to its roots where the best players, regardless of team affiliation, are battling each other for bragging rights and home field World Series advantage.

Until that day comes the All-Star Game will carry a virtual asterisk next to it meaning that the accomplishments made within it should not be judged the same way as the the pre fan vote era.

Now if you’ll excuse me I need to start planning my All-Star Game menu.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

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

A Tale of Two Cities in Four Days Following a Black and Orange Bird

I have been a baseball fan for a long time but last Thursday I did something that I hadn’t done in three decades of fandom and also did a few things that I had never done before.

As mentioned before the first Major League Baseball game I ever attended was a Baltimore Orioles home game at Memorial Stadium in 1983.

Since then I have seen numerous Orioles Spring Training games over the years in ballparks all across Florida. But for 30 years I had not seen the Orioles play in a game that counted in the regular season standings. I had also never seen them play in a regular season game outside of Charm City.

The Baltimore Orioles came to Minute Maid Park and a 30-year drought was ended. Photo R. Anderson
The Baltimore Orioles came to Minute Maid Park and a 30-year drought was ended.
Photo R. Anderson

When this year’s MLB schedule was released and I saw that the Orioles were coming to Houston to play the Astros, it was a no brainer that I would circle one of those games on my must watch list for the season.

That lucky three decade drought ending game was Thursday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Of course, I did not just end the 30 year drought with one game in one city.

No, no. I went one step further in true go big or go home fashion and saw the Orioles in St. Petersburg, FL as well when they wrapped up a series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

So in the course of four days I ended a 30-year drought with not one, but two, games in two different cities in two different states.

So let us compare and contrast the two ballpark experiences starting first with the Orioles and their visit to Minute Maid Park.

Four days after seeing the Orioles in Houston it was time to travel south and see them in Florida but unlike previous times watching the team in Florida this game counted. Photo R. Anderson
Four days after seeing the Orioles in Houston it was time to travel south and see them in Florida but unlike previous times watching the team in Florida this game counted.
Photo R. Anderson

Selecting a day game to see the Orioles was an easy choice to make as I try to attend one day game a season. Thursday was this year’s selection for that honor.

I enjoy day games for multiple reasons, but two in particular rise above the others. The first reason of course is that it just seems down right fun to be sitting at a ballpark watching a game while the majority of the world is working.

The second thing that makes day games so much fun is that they have smaller crowds on average (see reason one as a probable cause) which tends to mean better odds to catch a ball during batting practice.

For the past three years I have caught a ball at all of the day games I have attended. So it was that experience that had me feeling fairly confident that my luck would continue this year when I went to see the Orioles visit the Astros.

I arrived at the gate shortly after it opened and made it to my seat in front of the short right field porch. Sadly when I surveyed the field I noticed that batting practice was not going on.

At first I thought that it was just starting later than usual but then I realized that none of the tell tale signs of batting practice were on the field. I would not get to continue my streak of catching batting practice balls. I know I can always add another day game later in the season but I thought that it would have been nice to catch a ball from one of the Orioles.

The game itself was nice once the disappointment of no batting practice subsided. The Orioles ended up with the victory and although I did not go home with a ball I could be consoled by the fact that I saw a victory by the first team I ever rooted for.

The Ted Williams Museum inside Tropicana Field is well worth checking out. Photo R. Anderson.
The Ted Williams Museum inside Tropicana Field is well worth checking out.
Photo R. Anderson.

My Orioles karma continued Sunday at Tropicana Field, as did my string of missing out on batting practice.

As was the case earlier in the week the Orioles were victorious although the Rays definitely went down swinging.

In both instances I was conflicted somewhat regarding who to root for since all three teams are in my stable of teams that I follow.

But in most case during head to head match ups I will tend to pull for the Orioles. So in that sense I saw two Orioles victories in four days and was happy.

Tropicana Field is also home to a Ted Williams museum which is a must stop for any visitor to the ballpark. Admission to the museum is included as part of admission to the game and allows fans to see various artifacts from both Ted Williams as well as artifacts from the earliest Rays season.

Now if you’ll excuse me I need to think of some other long droughts to end while I am one such a roll.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball

Houston Astros and Keanu Reeves Have a Lot in Common

It occurred to me the other day that watching this year’s version of the Houston Astros is a lot like watching the Keanu Reeves cinematic classic The Replacements.

Granted aside from the Matrix Trilogy the words “Keanu Reeves cinematic classic” are rarely used but stay with me here.

In The Replacements, which came out in 2000, Reeves plays a “replacement” player who crosses the picket lines and leads a rag tag group of washed up players on the Washington Sentinels to victory during a NFL strike.

Jose Altuve, the current face of the franchise, is likely the only current Astros player with a chance to see the rebuilding effort all the way through. Photo R. Anderson
Jose Altuve, the current face of the franchise, is likely the only current Astros player with a chance to see the rebuilding effort all the way through.
Photo R. Anderson

The movie is based on what occurred during the 1987 NFL season when the regular players walked out and replacement players were used for around a quarter of the regular season.

During the strike games the Washington Redskins, portrayed as the Washington Sentinels in the movie due to the NFL rarely giving permission to use real team names in movies, had a 3-1 record.

The Redskins would ultimately win the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos. As a show of thanks and support for allowing them to get there each of the replacement players was given a Super Bowl ring by the Redskins along with the regular players.

So what does a movie based on actual events that occurred on a football field over 25 years ago have to do with the Astros today? I am glad you asked.

While there is not a strike in Major League Baseball this year the parallels to the movie ring especially true for the men in orange and blue. Much like the “replacement” players of old, the current Astros for the most part of serving as placeholders keeping roster spots warm until the real players return.

It is no secret that when the magic rebuilding project that the Astros have started is completed in 5-10 years very few, if any, of the current players will still be with the team. This is not to say that there are not some good ballplayers on the team but is more of a reflection on the focus on building prospects through the draft and building for the long term.

After tasting the World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays Carlos Pena is among the handful of "replacement" players being used by the Astros while their future players season in the minors. Photo R. Anderson
After tasting the World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays Carlos Pena is among the handful of “replacement” players being used by the Astros while their future players season in the minors.
Photo R. Anderson

Of course, no team can just take 5-10 years off while it rebuilds so a roster of players was constructed to be just competitive enough to not embarrass the team while coming at a fraction of the cost of most other Major League rosters.

This is not to say that the team is incapable of winning.

Much like the 1987 Redskins and their replacement players, the chips will fall in the right spots and the ball will tend to bounce favorably now and then for the Astros.

In fact the team has already won more games this year than many thought they would despite racking up serious frequent flyer miles between Houston and the Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City with nearly daily roster moves.

Sections of empty seats are likly to be a sign at Minute Maid Park for many years to come as the Astros work on a total tear-down and rebuild philosophy. Photo R. Anderson
Sections of empty seats are likly to be a sign at Minute Maid Park for many years to come as the Astros work on a total tear-down and rebuild philosophy.
Photo R. Anderson

And contrasting the preseaon predictions that the Astros would be the worst team in baseball this year the Miami Marlins actually have a worse record than the Astros despite having more so called Major Leaguers on the roster. At the time of this posting the Astros have two more victories than the Marlins. Time will tell who really gets crowned worst team in baseball at the end of the season.

Of course if the goal really is to stock the farm teams with the most draft picks the Astros best not get too good too soon and risk missing out on that number one draft pick.

That is not to say that the Astros, or any other team, would ever throw a game but only the team with the fewest wins gets to pick first. This year that battle will definitely be between the Marlins and the Astros with no other teams in the same zip code of futility.

It just goes to show that one can never truly be sure what will happen despite what all of the so called experts predict. There is still time for a flurry of roster moves between now and the end of the season and Bo Porter doing his best Gene Hackman impersonation could manage to field a competitive team but remember that these are not the players that the franchise is building the future on; they are just the replacements.

Of course that doesn’t mean that the Astros and the Marlins for that matter are playing any less hard than the players on the other 28 teams. It just means that the deck is stacked against them and they are swimming against a strong current.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think it might be time to stage a mini Keanu Reeves film festival. Or as Bill and Ted would say, “most excellent” (cue air guitar moves).

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball

Bathroom Incident Flushes Away Team’s Successful Week

The Houston Astros won two out of their last three games this week and truth be told, aside from an epic collapse by the bullpen, they should have won all three games against the Kansas City Royals.

That is not however what is making the national news as a so called “citizen journalist” broke open a scandal that led to the firing of one man and a collective community wondering whether the event was one that was isolated, or one that had been more wide spread and put them at risk.

I am of course talking about Operation Snow Cone at Minute Maid Park where a food vendor was literally caught with his pants down with a partial tray of snow cones in harm’s way while he took care of the call of nature in one of the facilities at the Ballpark.

A bathroom at Minute Maid Park. Note the lack of snow cones as it should be. Photo R. Anderson
A bathroom at Minute Maid Park. Note the lack of snow cones as it should be.
Photo R. Anderson

Go ahead and get all of the juvenile clichés about not eating the yellow snow and the team not having a snowball’s chance this year out of the way, I will wait.

Okay, now that we have all gotten that out of our systems let us focus on the real issues here.

There is no excuse for a food service vendor taking product into the bathroom and placing it on the floor while they go to the bathroom a few feet away. The amount of germs and the risk of exposure to those germs by the innocent purchasers of the product is certainly not something anyone wants to be exposed to.

But let us say for the sake of argument that the three remaining snow cones in the tray were on their way back to the vending area to be destroyed at the end of the shift and were not going to be offered up for sale. We just don’t know what the plans for the snow cones were after the flush heard round the internet was completed.

Another factor that cannot be ignored here is what in the world was the person doing taking video and providing running commentary inside the restroom in the first place?

A vendor sells cotton candy and kettle corn at Minute Maid Park. Photo R. Anderson
A vendor sells cotton candy and kettle corn at Minute Maid Park.
Photo R. Anderson

People who take video of people under bathroom stalls in most cases are called predators and/or creeps. These people usually end up getting arrested on peeping tom charges or at the very least they get visited by that To Catch a Predator guy.

Granted, the intentions of this phone camera wielding justice seeking individual seem noble but I really don’t want to encourage a whole slew of restroom rangers to enter with cameras blazing looking for something amiss. What next hidden cameras in the urinal cakes?

With all of the camera phones and security cameras out in the world today it is safe to assume that at any given moment whatever you are doing is being filmed by someone. In fact, someone very well could be taking video of me writing this column.

That is just the new reality that we are faced with as a society and I see little chance of that genie ever getting put back in the bottle. I just don’t want to think that it now includes the possibility of being filmed in restrooms as well.

There have to be some areas where a person can still have a little privacy. That is a line that simply must not be crossed. Or as Patrick Stewart would say, “The line must be drawn here. This far, no further.”

Instead of filming under the stall door, which just sounds creepy no matter how you slice it, the concerned fan could have just located a team employee to alert them about what was going on. According to the video of the incident a stadium employee does appear to get involved and the tainted snow cones do not make it back out on the floor.

As part of the damage control afterwards it was announced that the vendor in question, who worked for a third party contractor, was fired. I am sure the remaining employees will be reminded of the importance of not taking food into the restrooms as well.

Various vendors in bright yellow shirts work the crowd before a game. Photo R. Anderson
Various vendors in bright yellow shirts work the crowd before a game.
Photo R. Anderson

I have said time and time again that I never wanted to work in the food industry since I enjoy eating out too much and wanted to remain blissfully ignorant regarding what was happening to my food behind the curtain.

But I am fairly sure that they cover don’t take the food with you into the bathroom stall with you during orientation.

In the spirit of full disclosure I should reveal that over the years I have had many snow cones at many ballparks, including quite a few at Minute Maid Park. And despite this lapse in judgment by a former employee I am no less likely to continue enjoying them at the ballpark.

Of course, I will continue my habit of only ordering the snow cones from full trays that have just left the backroom where they have been made. Once the tray has taken a few trips around the ballpark it is no longer considered appetizing in my eyes and is considered unclean.

The image of a tray of snow cones on the filthy bathroom floor of a Major League ballpark is certainly disgusting but I have to believe it was an isolated incident.

When in doubt cupcakes make a lovely food choice. Photo R. Anderson
When in doubt cupcakes make a lovely food choice.
Photo R. Anderson

And while we are on the topic of phones in bathrooms can we finally put an end to people taking calls while they are relieving themselves in public restrooms?

No one is that busy, or that important that they have to take calls in the stall. Checking your e-mail, surfing the web and texting while in the bathroom is perfectly acceptable and really is no different than reading a newspaper or a book to pass the time.

But for the love of Pete do not answer the phone to discuss business while doing your business in public. If I am on the other end of that call and I hear the telltale signs of where they are while making the call I am going to be even less likely to employ their services.

Keep the phones outside the stalls people. To paraphrase the anti-texting while driving campaign, it can wait.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all of this talk about snow cones has me craving something cold and refreshing.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, Sugar Land Skeeters

Astros Hire Ryan, Just Not the Ryan Most Fans Wanted

In one of the worst kept secrets since the invention of the secret, the Houston Astros are set to officially announce today that they have hired Reid Ryan, son of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, to be their next team president/CEO following the sudden resignation of the last team president earlier this week.

Nolan, the Ryan most fans would have loved to welcome back to the Astros fold, currently serves as president of the Texas Rangers and owner of the two Minor League teams that son Reid oversees.

So, the Astros will hope that Reid can weave some of the same success that he has had with the Triple A Round Rock Express (Rangers affiliate) and the Double A team Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros affiliate) with his call up to the Majors.

Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi is one of two Minor League teams run by incoming Astros president Reid Ryan. Photo R. Anderson
Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi is home to the Hooks which is one of two Minor League teams run by incoming Astros president Reid Ryan and his father Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
Photo R. Anderson

I have attended games in both Round Rock and Corpus Christi and did enjoy the overall experience. How much of that was related to the influence of the father and how much of it was based on the son is up for debate but few can argue the quality of product being put on the field. And with years of running a pair of successful franchises behind him it seems some of that knowledge will translate to running a dysfunctional franchise like the Astros that seems to take more steps backward than forward.

Of course, in all honesty I much prefer the Ballpark experience that the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Frisco Roughriders provide over my experience at Reid Ryan’s Ballparks in Corpus Christi and Round Rock.

But if one truly buys into the Astros public relations campaign of this being a time to strip the team down to the foundation and rebuild, than the move to hire Reid Ryan fits right into that plan.

With the team being 5-10 years away from being competitive by most estimates that gives Reid Ryan time to learn how to be a Major League Baseball team President.

The Dell Diamond is home to the Round Rock Express. Incoming Astros president Reid Ryan ran the Express with his father Nolan. Photo R. Anderson
The Dell Diamond is home to the Round Rock Express. Incoming Astros president Reid Ryan ran the Express with his father Nolan.
Photo R. Anderson

To be fair, I am not alone in assessing the talent on the Astros roster and calling it Triple A level. With mandates to minimize costs coming down from the top the baseball side of the house tried to put out a quality roster on the field but with the amount of money they were given to work with it is not going to be the same level of competition of the other 29 teams when you are spending less for the whole team than many other teams pay single players.

That is not to say that the Astros won’t get lucky here and there and manage to put a win together. In fact a quarter into the season they have managed 10 such victories. After all even a broken clock is right twice a day.

So with a roster that is a moving target full of players that would still be in the minors on any other roster, and expectations for winning being as low as they are, the pressure for Reid Ryan to succeed right away would be rather low in theory allowing him the chance to proceed slower than someone taking a job at a team that was expected to win right away.

It is more likely that he will be given marching orders to try to press the flesh as it were and to mend broken fences and ill will in the community while the baseball product catches up to the Major League level.

And of course with expectations set so low in the event that he can’t right the ship few would hold that against him when he applied for other jobs. So, it really is the perfect opportunity to try some things out without committing career sabotage. Of course the famous last name also provides some protection that others would not have in terms of career protection. And having a famous father in a similar position four hours up the road that can be called for advice doesn’t hurt either.

I do hope that the rebuilding effort works out for Ryan and the Astros. The process to date has been painful to watch on several fronts.

If I ran the Astros the eyesore billboards in the outfield would go away. Here's to hoping new team President Reid Ryan shares that view and restores the skyline view in Minute Maid Park. Photo R. Anderson
If I ran the Astros the eyesore billboards in the outfield would go away. Here’s to hoping new team President Reid Ryan shares that view and restores the skyline view in Minute Maid Park.
Photo R. Anderson

The Public Relations major in me cringes at every misstep that the team makes. And for goodness sake find somewhere else in the ballpark to put those gaudy community partner billboards that block out the train and the skyline.

You have a stadium that offers great views of the night sky and then you go and block them with signs. Seriously?

And the whole charging fans excessive amounts of money for seats while failing to field a product worth seeing at those prices should be declared a crime.

Then there is that whole television debacle with only 40 percent of the Houston market getting to watch the games on the new Astros channel. The channel is supposed to be a revenue source for the team to allow them to spend money on players but so far that has not come to pass.

There are several other challenges that will face Reid Ryan when he takes the helm but those are certainly some of the more challenging ones that come to mind.

Skeeters
Of course when one gets tired of waiting on the Astros to get competitive again they can always catch the Sugar Land Skeeters in action. The Skeeters currently hold the best winning percentage in all of professional baseball.
Photo R. Anderson

Did the ownership of the team under estimate what it takes to own a Major League Baseball team? Perhaps.

Can all of the missteps and public relations faux pas be fixed to allow the disenfranchised fans to return to Minute Maid Park to once again watch competitive baseball being played by the home team on a consistent basis? Time will tell.

Until then, there is a team in Sugar Land called the Skeeters to watch. I am also one of the lucky 40 percent who has the new cable channel so I can watch the Astros from the comfort of my own home without paying Major League prices to watch Minor League talent. I can also watch the Texas Rangers each night so I am thankfully not going through baseball withdrawal during the epic Astros slump.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all of this talk about Minor League Baseball teams, and teams playing like Minor League teams has given me a sudden urge to go up to Frisco to catch the Roughriders.

Copyright 2013 R Anderson