Things That Could Have Happened
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 7:13 PM CDT
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PrintInspired by Only_A_Lad's comments from today's game thread that if we hadn't gotten swept by the Pirates or the O's earlier this season, we'd still be in this thing, I wanted to have a post that functioned as peoples opportunity to vent about things that we screwed up prior to August of this year.
I'll start:
- If the Astros hadn't let Oscar Villareal touch the baseball.
- If Drayton McLane wouldn't have begged Bud Selig to have the Yankees play at MMP to make more money on inflated seat prices, we'd be down a 3 game sweep too.
- If Coop wouldn't have gone to Dave Borkowski in this game.
These should be good, I'm looking forward to them.
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I'll start with the most recent if..
- if only Ike would have turned.
- if only Lee had not gotten hurt
- if only the Astros had won 1 more game each moth
I could go on for days…
Go 'Stros!
Please do.
I could go on for days…
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 8:35 PM CDT up reply actions
If...
1) JR Towles hadn’t been given so long of a rope
2) the Astros didnt have to give Hernandez and Cassel as many starts as they did
3) if Pence had figured his swing out in July instead of late August
I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit, just to play baseball. - Pete Rose
by Evan Hochschild on Sep 21, 2008 7:18 PM CDT reply actions
If only...
…we’d never traded away Joe Morgan. What the hell were we thinking?
…Hunsicker picked up Jeff Kent’s option after 2004.
…Purpura had pulled the trigger on the 2005 Dunn trade.
…Pettitte had never gotten injured in ’04.
…The Killer B’s didn’t suddenly quit hitting in ’98 playoffs.
Oh, you mean this season! Not simply a chronicle of the organizational failures of the Astros and the poor luck that have condemned Houstonians to decades of misery. Because if you want that list, I’ve got it in my head, and it gets longer every year. I can even give you the football and Rockets lists, if you like.
In that case:
1) JR Towles had remembered how to hit.
2) Chacon had turned out to be any good, and if there had been any other good options for Wade to sign.
3) Bourn could get on base. Or, alternatively, if Coop and the other coaches hadn’t instructed him to swing away instead of drawing the walk. Or if they had just moved him down in the order and put Wiggy in the leadoff slot (even before he went on his tear, Wigginton was the #3 OBP Astro).
4) Kazuo Matsui could stay healthy / eat less fiber / take some stool softener.
5) Bogusevic had spent the last several years as a hitting prospect.
6) Brocail hadn’t been ridden like a Thai prostitute before the ASB. He just went dead in June and July.
In response to HLP’s point about Towles being allowed to stick around so long:
I don’t know if we can really blame the Astros for leaving him up there for that long. Ausmus’ bat wasn’t that much better, nor is Q’s. The fact is that the Astros just don’t have a decent hitting catcher in the system.
i realized
after i wrote that, brad wouldnt have been better. quintero wasnt anything decent, and was hurt this year too, i believe. he was just so bad. he wouldnt even make contact in a lot of ABs. im just glad he hit in AAA. i was scared his confidence wouldve been destroyed
I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit, just to play baseball. - Pete Rose
by Evan Hochschild on Sep 21, 2008 8:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I love the chronological history of failures
Add to that not resigning Pettitte in ’07 which actually spills over into this year. Also, holding out for Roger to come back in 2007, which hog tied us throughout that offseason.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 8:34 PM CDT up reply actions
OK, I got some laughs out of your post....
particularly the one about Brocail.
Of course we could drive ourselves crazy thinking about how things might have been different in the past. But I’ll add a few for the hell of it.
What if the Astros had signed Kyle Lohse in the off-season?
What if Valverde hadn’t been nursing an injury in spring training which put a glitch in his mechanics and made him look like the season’s worst bust for almost a month? (If that’s changed, we probably add 4 – 5 wins.)
What if the Astros hadn’t finished dead last in walks on offense?
What if Cooper hadn’t taken so long to realize that his “run at all costs” philosophy was running the team out of games?
Especially the last point
Jesus Christ that was frustrating to watch.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 8:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Me too
Me too
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 9:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Also has to be explicated, though you hinted at it
Not allowing a 40+ guy who has a history of heart problems to lead the league in appearances for a large part of the season. That gets rid of a few blown saves right there.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 8:43 PM CDT up reply actions
I have to add to my list
Not forcing Roy Oswalt to take a start or two off in May or June to allow him to get 100% healthy and return to dominance. That’s easily three or four wins right there.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
Also
Not professing my man crush for Lance Berkman, thus inspiring ’Stros Bros to create my profile image, which I think directly correlates (assume any correlation is also causal) with the Astros late season surge.
Why couldn’t I have come out of the closet about that sooner?!?! Sorry guys.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
More
- if only we hadn’t forced Hunsicker out
- Brad Lidge would have been the Brad Lidge he is this year, the past 2 or 3 years
- I would have put 1000 dollars on the Rays to make the playoffs—- Oops, not Astros related, sorry
Go 'Stros!
Side note
HLP and I actually thought about doing that after they traded for Garza. We both purchased Rays hats in an effort to get on their fan wagon before we were band wagoners.
That would be such stupid money now…if only I had more balls…and money.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 9:41 PM CDT up reply actions
On a positive note
If our good friends, the Chicago Cubs, win their next seven games (4 against the Mets and 3 against the Brewers) AND the Astros win all (or maybe even 6) of their remaining home games (Reds and Braves and Cubs), the Astros sneak into the playoffs.
Note Mets finish against the Cubs and the Marlins – two teams capable of sweeping the Mets.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 21, 2008 9:12 PM CDT reply actions
So the Astros screw up bad, but the playoffs fall into our laps
At this point in my life as an Astros fan, I figure that the universe owes us that much. After what happened with the 2006 Cardinals, we deserve a free playoff appearance, at least.
The universe does owe us that much.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 9:41 PM CDT up reply actions
I think it was on the radio this morning
somebody was talking about the Cubs not having any motivation coming down the stretch. i wonder if they’ll take their standing and give some off-days to some of their stars or otherwise not put their best team on the field. i certainly would hope that’s the case if we have to play them next Monday, but with 7 games left and the need to stay sharp for the playoffs, I wonder how much that will affect these two series.
by littlevisigoth on Sep 22, 2008 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions
Can we mention
if Astros had not traded Luke Scott
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 21, 2008 9:15 PM CDT reply actions
Add to that
“if Tejada had turned out to be anything but a disappointment.” Christ, the man’s on pace to break the NL GIDP record, he’s walked less than ever before in his career, and he turned out to be several years older than we all thought. Damn.
Now, with Luke Scott, you get into issues about where he would play. But you figure that he could have been put in right and Hunter could have shifted back to center.
Actually, an Astros club that never made the Lidge trade would look pretty good. And if Luke Scott were replaced with one of the players we sent to Arizona to get Valverde, we could have Tejada AND Scott. So, when Lee went down, we could just put Reggie in center, move Pence to right, and play Scott in left. That’s a hell of a lot better than what we’ve got now.
But, to be fair, we all assumed that Tejada wouldn’t suck. And even Bill James predicted much better things from Bourn.
If - oh only If --
I had not left work four or five times when the Astros were winning only to find them behind on their way to losing a game by the time I got home (and I’m not even going to mention that I was on vacation the week the Astros hosted the Yankees) . I apologize to one and all.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 21, 2008 9:19 PM CDT reply actions
I'll forgive you
But next season you have to stay at the office…no matter what. I stripped naked in a room full of guys for the NLDS in ’05…so another few nights at the office…actually the office is worse. No one blames you for that.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 9:43 PM CDT up reply actions
If only
Angel Hernandez never umpired an Astros game.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 21, 2008 9:21 PM CDT reply actions
Angel Hernandez
Suck my octagon (think Anchorman).
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 9:43 PM CDT up reply actions
I couldn't get through Anchorman
I lasted about 15 minutes and turned it off… lasted about the same for his recent basketball movie as well(can’t remember the name, too lazy to look it up).
Go 'Stros!
"Semi-Pro"
I believe. It was probably his most historically accurate work, about the end of the ABA. I get the impression that’s what some of those teams may have been like. Don’t care for them casting the Spurs as the bad guys though (although it wasn’t too bad).
I haven't seen it
But the Spurs are the bad guys…always. Actually either them or the Utah Jazz…or the Rockets’ incompetence.
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 21, 2008 11:38 PM CDT up reply actions
A poem.
Received a timely e-mail from my old literature professor and semi-professional poet, Samuel J. Bones-Twaddle:
Regrets in Black, Brick and Sand
by Samuel J. Bones-Twaddle
If only Kazuo hadn’t a rotten bum,
And Chacon hadn’t been so dumb.
If only Carlos’s pinky were harder,
And Coop took less time to get more smarter.
If only Towles had kept last year’s stroke,
And Bourn had flourished instead of choked.
If only Ike had been a squall,
We might yet be poised to take it all.
These things and more I’ll rue with reason,
And again cry in hope, "Wait till next season!"
Hi, my name is Rich and I'm an Astroholic.
by Austin Astroholic on Sep 22, 2008 12:45 PM CDT reply actions
That was beautiful
If Kaz hadn’t a rotten bum…brilliant
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 22, 2008 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Marlins lost to Reds today (Monday)
Marlins now thave two more losses than the Astros. Mets host the Cubs tonight.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 22, 2008 4:32 PM CDT reply actions
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