Opening Day blog 2010: Bitter, party of one, your aging and overpaid team is ready

Before I go into my Astros' opening day rant, I do have to briefly lavish praise on to the Sun Devil baseball squad. They lost their first game of the season Friday night, 6-5 at Oregon after starting 24-0. All this despite having its coach shown the door just a few months before the season started. They rebounded from the initial loss and are now 25-1. Will the overachieving squad be able to keep this pace up? Since I don't follow NCAA baseball closely enough until post season, I wont try and guess. I sure hope however that there's a role for interim coach Tim Esmay after the season is over.

Moving on to the Astros, the unbridled optimism I generally have going into opening day is non-existent this season. Really, I'm trying to muster some type of positive outlook about this year's version of the former Rainbow Warriors, but this is best I can do:

Phil's glass-half full outlook:

• Roy Oswalt is back in his 2005 form and gets a promise from owner Drayton McLane for a new backhoe if he wins the Cy Young.


• Lance Berkman is suddenly tearing up the plate from the right side and successfully gets his option for 2011 picked up with a clause that says he can open up a Cracker Barrel franchise in Minute Maid Park if he steals 5 bases in 2010.


• Kaz Matsui in his walk year is playing through his litany of nagging injuries. There will be a heroic moment at the end of game where he comes in to hit a game-winning bloop single despite the fact that his anal fissures have returned with a vengeance.


• Carlos Lee, gets in-season Lipo surgery in May and successfully lobbies management to move to Centerfield and arm wrestles the rights away from Berkman for the "Big Puma" nick name.


• Team goes on a bit of a run in June, solidly in 3rd place by all-star break and 8 games behind first place Cardinals. Because of this mid-season success, the Astros feel like they are one bat away from winning it all. The struggling Dodgers are able to unload Manny Ramirez on to the Astros and it only cost them five prospects and a promise to bench Manny when the Astros and Dodgers meet in September. Rush order put in on Astros' doo-rags for Manny's debut.


• Team within two games of the first place Cards, until: Carlos Lee takes Manny to Houston staple James Coney Island. World Hot dog eating champ Kobiyashi happens to be there and challenges both players to an eating contest. Both players go missing for 3 days and wind up on DL with undisclosed dietary issues.


• Oswalt sensing he is on a sinking ship demands a trade to the Atlanta Braves. McLane reluctantly agrees but only if the Braves will give him the rights to Dale Murphy and Biff Pocoroba.


• Berkman steals his 5th base and opens his Cracker Barrel at MMP. Enough said.
  Astros go on to lose 17 of 18 to finish the season. Despite the final day of the season being "Dale Murphy day" the team sees a record-low home attendance of 4287. Dale Murphy wasn’t able to make it.


• Team finishes 71-91.

Reflections on the decade - part one

The last time I posted anything on my blog, I was on the 5th week of my six week sabbatical. That was more than four months ago. I could use the proverbial “I’ve been too busy” as my excuse but frankly it’s just been more about being lazy and uninspired.

Last night I didn't sleep very well and as I was trying to get back to sleep, I started reflecting on the past decade for some reason. Lots of random memories started popping in my head and I soon realized getting back to sleep would be a futile effort.

So with the ‘inspiration’ back, I just have to overcome the laziness and be consistent about posting between now and the end of the year.

Even though this first reflection is sports-related, there wont be many reflections about sports. Given the mediocre teams that I root for, that obviously shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

October 20, 2005 - The Houston Astros win their first (and only) NL pennant

Here it was the night of game 6 of the National League Championship Series, perhaps the biggest and best moment ever for Astros’ fans and I’m at a dinner in San Francisco with a dozen reporters talking about AMD’s latest channel strategy. Normally I enjoy being at these type of work activities but I have to say, as the dinner went on, I found myself looking at my blackberry more and more.

I did go into the evening with the mindset that I wasn’t going to get distracted by the game. I was still so distraught over what had happened in game 5, that I was convinced the Astros were a cursed franchise and had no shot at winning the series. In case folks don’t remember, the Astros were up three games to one in the best of seven series and it appeared the Astros would clinch the NL pennant at Minute Maid Park in Houston with a game 5 victory. However, a 3-run homerun by Albert Pujols in the top of the ninth on a hanging slider from Brad Lidge gave the Cardinals a come from behind win. It also sent the series back to St. Louis with the Astros still up 3-2 in the series but the momentum was now in favor of the Cardinals.

That game I was able to watch on TV and sat there in stunned silence when Pujols hit his bomb. It was very similar to the feelings I had after a certain Houston Oilers playoff game in Buffalo back in 1993 or the 1997 Rose Bowl. To say it felt like a kick in the gut was an understatement.

I felt like there was no chance, even with Roy Oswalt on the mound, that the Astros were going to get a game 6 win. I obviously underestimated the mental fortitude of the team. When I saw the final score (6-1) come across my blackberry (Tricia was sending me pitch by pitch notes over that last inning) I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. It was a day I never thought would happen and here I was working and needing to restrain my emotions.

I was ultimately able to watch the game thanks to the DVR but it was a moment I desperately wanted to see live, one I had waited my whole life to see. The fact that I wasn’t able to enjoy the moment live was compounded by the fact that the Astros got swept in the World Series. No live moments of euphoria to enjoy there, that’s for sure.

Now as I think back to that evening, it was further reinforcement that I was at a point in my life that required me to be a responsible adult. It helped me realize that no moment as a sports fan could replace the joy and satisfaction of being a provider for my family.

A Tale of Two Cities

Interesting night for me as a fan. I have lived most of my life in two cities - Phoenix and Houston. I grew up an Astros fan and while I lived in Phoenix, there was no pro baseball team so my passion for Astros baseball continued to grow after I moved there, along with the associated misery (see 1986 NLCS) that goes with rooting for the Astros. When I moved to Phoenix, I was not much of an NBA fan but slowly became a Suns fan thanks to Walter Davis, Kevin Johnson, Tom Chambers and Sir Charles.

So tonight I spent the evening catching up on email and writing press releases while watching the Suns implode in the final two minutes against Spurs to lose in game 5 of their FIRST ROUND series, ending the Phoenix season. Then I flipped over to the Astros game and watched them close out a 6-4 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The irony for me personally continues to be that the one Houston sports team (yes, I was a die-hard Oilers fan) I was not much of a fan of, the Houston Rockets, were the ones who eliminated the Suns two years in a row in the mid-90s. Those Rocket teams would go onto win back-t0-back championships.

Anyhow, a rough night for Phoenix sports fans who root for the home teams. While in Houston, their basketball team gets to live another day after silencing the Jazz and the Astros snapped their three-game skid. A rare good day for Houston sports fans. Basketball season is officially over for me now. Houston, you have my full attention once again.

Kaz and Kevin's common bond

One of the newest Astros, second baseman Kaz Matsui will miss two weeks this spring as he undergoes a surgical procedure you can read about here.

As I was reading that story, I couldn't stop thinking about the episode from the first season of The Office (American version) entitled "Health Care," where Dwight was tasked with selecting the office's new health benefits plan. When reviewing a list of ailments that were to be covered under the new plan, Kevin the accountant confirmed that Kaz's condition is a truly a real one.

Dwight: Who wrote this, this hysterical one? Anal fissures.

Kevin: That's a real thing

Dwight: Yeah, but no one here has it

Kevin: (under his breath) Someone has it

Yes Kevin, someone surely does have it. Between this, a pending indictment for our new shortstop and the brilliant pitching we've had thus far in the spring, it's shaping up to be quite a battle for fourth place between us and the Reds.

Devils SHOULD be dancing; Astros pitchers are happy

The Sun Devils hoops squad closed out the 2007-08 regular season tonight in Corvallis, OR against the Oregon State Beavers with a 77-64 victory. Congrats Beavers on being the first team to go 0-18 in Pac-10 history. I'm sure A.C. Green, Gary Payton and all of your alums are beaming with pride over your season. That will teach you to hire one of Lute's assistants as your head coach. Ok, I'll stop kicking now Beaver fans.

Back to the Devils. Frankly, last year's Devils looked pretty similar to this year's Beaver squad and only a couple of late-season wins kept the Devils out of the conference history books. The Devils made such an impression on everyone last season that the pundits really went out on a limb and picked the Devils to finish 9th in the conference before the season started. Well I hope those same pundits go ahead and eat their proverbial crow by casting their vote for Herb Sendek as Pac-10 2008 Coach of the Year.

All indications say that the Devils should get into the NCAA Tournament. The Devils finished 9-9 in what many have labeled as the best conference in the nation. That ties them for 5th place with Oregon and puts them ahead of the 8-10 University of Tucson who will likely need to win the Pac-10 tourney outright to get into the NCAAs. Enjoy your first NIT appearance since the 1980s kitty fans.

On to the Astros. Really the only thing I have been able to observe this spring is that their pitchers seemed to be "happy" about getting shelled. Twice in the last week, I have seen stories by the Houston Chronicle's kiss-up beat reporters that characterize Astros' pitchers as being "pleased" or "happy" with their lackluster outings. Here are a couple of examples of what I'm referring to:

"Although he would have liked better results, Woody Williams was pleased with the way he felt after giving up five runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings today against the Cleveland Indians."

"Overall today was what I was looking for," Chacon said. He apparently was "looking" to give up two runs in three innings.

Really glad to see these guys setting the bar so high and having tremendous confidence that our offense can put up a 10-spot or more every game.

Speaking of the offense, Miggy Tejada is batting .200 with one RBI this spring. Nice. I guess that potential indictment isn't weighing heavily on him at all.

Ed Wade Appears to Have a Plan

Whether or not the trading of Brad Lidge for some unproven players works out, I commend Ed Wade for having the guts to do what his predecessor never did. Brad Lidge was never going to be a successful closer in Houston. Everyone around baseball knew he still had killer stuff but just needed a change of scenery. Unfortunately Wade's predecessor had hang ups about trading homegrown Astros players while they still had some trade value (see Morgan Ensberg.)

What I like most about this deal is Wade appears to have a plan and vision for how this team should look next season. He knew there was a hole in CF and he addressed it. He apparently feels like Chris Burke is not the solution at 2B and is making overtures toward free-agents who he think can be. With Pupura there never seemed to be any plan for how to address needs on the team. He stuck with his homegrown boys such as Ensberg and Lane and they let him down.

The next logical move would seem to be a package of Burke and possibly Luke Scott for some pitching. Both players are young and still have trade value. Keep taking risks Ed, this team needs to change. Good luck to you Lidge, I truly do admire heart and the way you never shied away from the challenge of taking the ball night after night when things were going bad.

We were the lucky ones

Craig Biggio played his last major league baseball game on Sunday. While the Astros won the game, it was the emotion of Bidge's 20-year career ending, all as a member of the Astros' organization, that will be remembered most about the day.

As expected, Richard Justice penned a great column in Sunday's Houston Chronicle to celebrate and reflect on the significance of Bidge being an Astro his entire career. In the lead paragraph he wrote:
Craig Biggio once said he was fortunate to be able to play his entire major league career with one team. Truth be told, we were the lucky ones.

Amen. I know I was lucky to have spent half of my Astro rooting life being able to follow this guy's career. While watching the game on Sunday, I interrupted Clancy's current Star Wars' adventure and picked him up into my arms and had him watch Bidge's final at-bat of his career with me. I was shocked that my four year old son actually paid attention and listened to me tell him about how Bidge was the best player ever to put on an Astros' uniform and how if he continues his little league career he should always pretend to be Bidge.

Bidge ended up grounding out at to Chipper Jones in his last AB, but trust me when I say it was the most emotional groundout you will ever see when you look at Bidge's face and constant ovation he was given by the Astros' fans. For me personally, watching that moment unfold with my son is one I'll never forget.

In what was considered an awful season from a standings and results standpoint, the Astros still managed to draw more than 3 million fans. Drayton can personally thank Bidge and his quest for 3000 and eventual retirement announcement for those numbers. Frankly, credit must be given to the Astros' marketing department which milked the Bidge retirement tour for everything they could.

I will miss you Bidge and so will baseball for that matter, not just the Astros. I truly hope you are involved with the Astros in some way, shape or form moving forward.

See images from the day here.