Why now Drayton?

I really don't get why Drayton pulled the trigger on kicking Garner and Purpura to the curb now as opposed to back in June or early July when it was clear the team was going nowhere. If you're serious about giving Cecil Cooper a real audition as manager, he needs more than just over a month.

I'm traveling today in San Francisco and trying to digest all the Astros' news of the day but unfortunately I am once again dealing with a very slow hotel Internet connection. An example of this slow connection is the fact that I have been trying to send a 4 MB file via email to a colleague in Germany for more than three hours. This proves my theory once again that if you have to pay more than ten dollars for an Internet connection, you can pretty much guarantee it will be brutally slow. Take note of this if you're ever staying at the Westin Market St. in SF.

I will probably have more to say on the Astros latest moves later this week but for now, I'll say good luck Cecil.

Word to Drayton, please don't let Tal Smith talk you into hiring his kid as GM.

Erickson - Koetter comparisons starting to come out

When there is a transition in coaches and coaching staff, players who played for the previous regime are naturally asked to compare the differences between the two coaches. I've started to notice it's happening more frequently with the Sun Devils as they continue with practices and draw closer to the first game on Sept. 1. Here's the most recent example from from Zach Krula in today's AZ Republic:

The 23-year-old said of the new staff: "There's nothing they're doing that I don't like. They're able to separate work from play a lot better. "I just felt I was never able to let my guard down (with some on former coach Dirk Koetter's staff). If I was going to talk to some person, it had to be about football. I couldn't just talk to them about the movie I saw - or really insert anything here. There is a certain time when you can't talk to these guys about that, because it's business. But there's always that time when you can talk to them about anything else. More than anything, that's what I appreciate from this staff the most. They're not really trying to be a parent at all points in time."
Well Zach, I'm glad you have some new buddies, now let's see if you can stay healthy for a full season. He continued on to say:
The Sun Devils' practices are shorter under Erickson. The point is to be fast and physical without getting pounded. "I feel we get more out of them, and I also feel they're almost easier somehow, which really doesn't make sense to me," Krula said.

I do hope this one is true. One of the complaints you continually heard from Koetter and some of the players last year were about bad practices. Clearly this was reflected in their gameday play if last year is any indication.

Keller gets nod at Nebraska

Following up to my post earlier this week, Sam Keller was indeed named starting QB at Nebraska, a year after having the same position given to him then taken away at ASU.

Bob Young of the AZ Republic has an interesting take on the comments Sam made after he was named the starter for the Huskers.

"So if we were in Ganz's cleats, we wouldn't do anything hasty. Stick by the phone for a couple of days. And if Callahan doesn't pull a Dirk, you can always call Mike Stoops in Tucson or something."

Back in the days of the Sam and Rudy lovefest

Sam and Rudy; One year later

It struck me today that we're a few days away from the one-year anniversary of when former ASU football coach Dirk Koetter made what would ultimately be a season-defining decision for his 2006 squad when he took the starting QB role away from senior Sam Keller and handed the reins to sophomore Rudy Carpenter. This of course after he had named Keller the starting QB just a day earlier. As everyone who follows ASU football knows, this decision would be the beginning of the end for Koetter who was given his walking papers after the season ended.

It is interesting that the AZ Republic has not come out with a story on what really drove DK's decision. Perhaps we'll see something in a few days or next weekend before the first game on Sept. 1.

I also plan to do a little reading on whether or not Keller is being challenged at all for the starting spot at Nebraska. Had heard initially that he wasn't a clear-cut favorite.

If you're ever hungry in Boston...

... I recommend Tavern on the Water, particularly if you're looking for a low-key, casual place to eat . Great food and great views.

I don't however recommend the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Bad Internet connectivity and customer service. Only redeeming feature was the nice view of the Charles River I had from my room.

And so begins the "Astros are back in it" chatter...

Never mind the fact that they are 12 games under .500, the Astros completed a sweep of the Cubs and Astro-killer Carlos Zambrano tonight with an 8-2 win. They are now 8.5 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central with with 48 games to play.

I'll go on record now as saying they have NO shot. I don't care what has happened the last 3 years and the incredible runs they made, this is a different team with a very mediocre pitching staff and inconsistent offense. Last three seasons we had Clemens, Pettite and Oswalt at the top of the rotation and a much stronger bullpen. Now it's Oswalt, Woody and Wanda at the top of the rotation with erratic pitching from Qualls and Lidge in the pen.

But hey, at minimum I'd love to see them build on something for 2008.

Devils in pads; Astros win first two against Cubs

ASU football training has swung into gear with their first practice in pads yesterday. I feel for you boys, two-a-days in pads in Tempe. I often wonder if these practices help build up their stamina or wear them down and catch up with them as the season goes on. It would be nice to see them build an indoor practice facility to find out if it does have a long-term effect.

I'm still not sure what to think about this year's squad. The vibe from the players and Erickson is positive right now. However, the vibe from DK was positive a couple of days into training camp last year as well. We will know a lot more about this team after their first two games against San Jose State (coached by former U of Tucson coach Dick Tomey,) winners of the New Mexico Bowl last season, and an improved Colorado squad.

On the baseball front, Wandy "I only throw strikes at Minute Maid" Rodriguez and free agent bust of the year Woody Williams pitched the Astros past the Soriano-less Cubs to win a landmark two games in a row.

Roy O goes up against Carlos Zambrano who owns the Astros with his arm and his bat. I'm pretty sure the guy is hitting something like .400 against us with a couple of dingers for his career. Oh well, it's always nice to win 2 out of 3.

Eric Bruntlett hates Round Rock

Or at least never wants to visit there again as a member of the Express. It is going to be real interesting to see what the team does when Pence comes back from his injury in a few weeks. My guess is that you don't see Pence back until September anyhow and at that point rosters will have expanded. However, if Pence is back before the end of August, Bruntlett or Lane will be the obvious choices.

It shouldn't be EB as he is playing some of the best ball I have ever seen him play. Sparkling defensive plays in the field and now some clutch hitting. Last night he robs one of the many obscure Marlin hitters of an HR with a leaping catching at the centerfield wall. Oh by the way, it was only his second time in CF this year. The night before he comes up with a clutch tw0-run double in the sixth inning to put the Astros up for good in the game.

Now you have Lane hitting the ball hard again like he did in 2005 which muddies the Astros OF picture even more. There's not enough ABs for these guys right now. It's clear Purpura needs to try and get something for Lamb and Loretta so they can start opening up playing time for guys like Lane and Luke Scott and begin building something going into 2008.

51 runs allowed in 4 games

Watching the Braves-Astros game right now and it is 9-9 going into the bottom of the 9th. The Astros were up 5-1 early in the game and then found themselves down 9-5 four innings later. So what do these masterful pitching performances in recent days equate to; 51 runs (or more pending outcome of tonight's game) allowed in 4 games. That's about 13.50 ERA over the last 34 inings for Astros pitching. All courtesy of Wanda, Sampson, Woody, the Texaco bullpen and of course Jennings' now epic 11 runs in the first 2/3rds of an inning on Sunday against the Padres ... at home no less.

Since I haven't posted in a while, here are some other random Astros' observations:

• Given the way the Astros have pitched since he was traded, I'm guessing that Dan Wheeler is actually happy to be a Devil Ray
• Could this be the beginning of some kind of Wheeler-Ensberg curse? They've lost all three games since trading Wheeler and waiving Ensberg.
  
• Ensberg has two HRs for the Padres since joining them, Wheeler has thrown 2 scoreless for the D-Rays.
  
• Purpura is apparently trying to trade every Astro to their respective hometowns this season.
  
• Biggio should announce his retirement every day.
  
• Cody Ransom has 22 HRs for Round Rock. We have two third sackers now, why not three?
• How the heck could Purpura not have found anyone to take Mike Lamb? Oh wait, I forgot, Purpura is the worst GM in baseball.
  
• If not for the Carlos Lee signing, this past off-season would probably go down as their worst ever; had the rug pulled out from them in the Jon Garland deal with the White Sox (that's what happens when you try and do a trade with a team that swept you in the World Series,) lost Pettite which in turn led to Clemens leaving, let Russ Springer and his bullpen leadership go to a division rival, signed Woody Williams and then of course there was the Jennings trade.
  
• Another reason why the Atlanta Braves remain one of the classiest organizations in baseball; they just showed a 2+ minute video highlight tribute to Craig Biggio. They showed Bidge in the dugout after it was over and you could tell he was extremely touched by it.
  
• Why is Brian Moehler still on this team? Oh wait, he's from North Carolina. No MLB team there. Guess he's stuck in H-town until he moves somewhere else.