Thursday Morning Astros, etc Round Up

If you believe Richard Justice, expect some fireworks today. P.T. McLane wants to fill his big top the last sixteen games of the season, and some explosions may emanate from the firing of manager Cecil Cooper. More than the poor play, more than the loses, I think this is what actually makes me sad about this team:

Once upon a time, there'd be a flurry of posts on this blog when the Astros played badly. Now it seems people don't care. They don't watch the Astros. They don't care.

High expectations for the Texans, a strong playoff run by the Rockets and the beginning of college football. The Astros are not all that interesting, and slipping in the city's consciousness as a result.

The Astros were once a good team, and if nothing else have been consistent in the past decade. Our boys rank a respectable 12th in terms of wins since the year 2000, good for second in the NL Central during that time period. Just looking at wins per season, Philadelphia looks to be the most similar to us- lots of seasons in the mid 80s. Oakland is near the top by virtue of a Moneyball fueled early 2000s run.

Joe Posnanski and Bill James watch a ball game and weigh in on what makes bad teams bad. One of the reasons? Professionalism, apparently. On a related note, Fangraphs asks Royal fans if there aren't better options out there, as far as a team to root for.

Alex Rodriguez as an after school special.

The ultimate food for any Texan: a taco burger. As I've grown older and experienced more in life, my opportunities to sample a wide variety of food has grown tremendously. That being said, when I'm hungry I crave the same things I did when I was 10.

I'd like to close with this link, and then nominate it as the greatest link ever shared on TCB. Between the shirtless photos of Roy fishing, or the ads for his hunting ranch, this is another reason to let Facebook take up even more of your life. Here is Roy's mission statement:

Roy Oswalt pitches with a purpose every fifth day. That purpose is to win. He takes the mound with an intimidating presence. But behind this determined and fiery glare on the mound lies the poise of a confident man who knows no fear because of a stro