How Are You Preparing For The Baseball Season?
by Timothy De Block on Feb 10, 2012 8:00 AM CST
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PrintNext month my things to do list include:
- Sleep
- Plant the seeds of baseball obsession in my daughter
- Prepare for my trip to Kissimmee, Florida.
- Beat Mass Effect 3
Baseball season tends to get a bit chaotic for me. I watch 150+ games via MLB.TV and try to get to Atlanta for a live game or two when the Astros are in town. I tend to schedule stuff around my baseball obsession, especially day games, so typically my nights are shot and the grass will grow a little bit longer than I'd like. That doesn't mean I don't attend family functions or even go out anymore, it just means all my friends have gotten married and typically decline any sort of male interaction.
I consider myself lucky that I found one who has supported my baseball obsession and put up with my gaming addiction (see: Mass Effect 3). She also doesn't boss me around or guilty me into staying put at the house. Which really isn't a bad thing considering she's the one that wanted to get the pool table, but I digress.
I live on the East Coast which means a majority of the games I watch typically start at 8:05PM EST and end some where around 11:00 PM EST. If the game goes into extra's or I have game recap duties that night I'm pushing midnight before I get to bed. With a 6 AM wake up call in my future, doing that four nights a week tends to wear on me. Sure I could catch up on the weekends but my toddler typically has other ideas.
But it's all good, because we make sacrifices for the things we love.
Speaking of my daughter I found this wonderful game on the internet. She turns three next month and is starting to pick up more and more things. Meaning it's the time in every kids life when their parents begin to push their own obsessions on them. I'd like to think I'm better than this, but I'm not.
My final "to do" in preparing for the season is making a trip down to Florida to see the Astros play. Due to the schedule we'll actually be in Kissimmee for one game, but we picked a weekend in which they'd be playing no more than two hours away from the ball park. I'm excited as it would be the first time I've ever gone to Spring Training. If anyone has any suggested dinning venues and/or regular tips I'd love to hear them.
What are some of the things you're doing to prepare for the season? For college students are you trying to get ahead of your school work? Are you trying to build up some good rapport with your significant other so that you can stay up way past your bed time? Are you trying to get more rest like me? Or going to Spring Training?
Or am I flying solo on this one.
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I'm trying to figure out how to catch games in the UK.
It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.
"In the biographies of men and nations, success often arrives in a mask of failure"
AstroBrit might have some insight into that.
Follow my ramblings on Twitter .
by Timothy De Block on Feb 10, 2012 8:21 AM CST up reply actions
I'll have to see what he has to say.
I guess I’ll be able to work it out somehow. I really feel like this is going to be a good year to watch some Astros baseball.
"In the biographies of men and nations, success often arrives in a mask of failure"
by hunterpencefan on Feb 11, 2012 7:24 AM CST up reply actions
Can you get MLB.com?
They broadcast virtually every game from radio and television in real time
If the games are too late for you, MLB.com allows you to watch on tape delay.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Feb 11, 2012 11:21 AM CST up reply actions
I had MLB TV last season
But I didn’t know that you could watch the games on delay. Thanks!
"In the biographies of men and nations, success often arrives in a mask of failure"
by hunterpencefan on Feb 11, 2012 3:34 PM CST up reply actions
Hardest part for me is staying up late.
I really appreciate the occasional day games.
"Hats for bats, keep bats warm."
by El Speverino on Feb 10, 2012 3:23 PM CST up reply actions
I’ve printed out the schedule, laminated and framed it on my wall (the wife’s decree) and I’m preparing to purchase MLB TV so I can watch every Astro game from NY.
I’ve come up with about a dozen lineups for this year, with and without certain pieces (Lee for one) and I’m anxious to see who wins the starting gigs.
Getting ready for an epic season
I was around when the Mets “Marv Throneberry” teams were the loveable losers, so epically bad that they became a national sensation. By all accounts, the 2012 Astros look to be even worse — maybe the worst team in recent memory, at least on paper. So how does a hopeless fan approach the season?
First, I must surrender the ego gratification that comes with “identifying with a winner”. For me, the big win has always been a bonus, but I know for others it will be hard to stick with a team that doesn’t have a chance of making the playoffs. I’ll have to get my vicarious victories elsewhere (and I’m not too proud to also root for the Rangers).
Second, I must be able to accept a string of losses and the negativity that will bring. As others abandon my team, I get to know the real, hardcore fans because they are the ones looking for ways to make the team better instead of tearing it down. And in the losses, I need to look closer at the development of the players and the chemistry of the team, so I can feel encouraged when the team improves.
Third, I can’t forget that I just love the game of baseball. Life is better when there’s a game on and in baseball anything can happen. Having played a little back in the day, I am astounded at the ability of major league players and I’ll watch just to see these amazing athletes perform.
Fourth, I need to see the team as a work in progress — the beginning of something new. We have a new roster, a new league, and new management. As an expansion team, a hundred losses is not shameful and that’s about where we are. Those loser Mets started like that, but went on to win the Series. Who knows if the Astros can do the same, but it will be fun to watch.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
If you want to save some brain cells, don’t read the comments on Chron.com articles about the Astros. Every article so far brings tons of whining about the Astros, and I can only imagine what will happen when the losses pile up.
Oh man, the Chronicle is horrible. Always making my head pound, every.single.comment.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 10, 2012 9:59 PM CST via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
The death spiral of print media
As a former freelancer for this now miserable Hearst Corp publication it pains me greatly that the quality has plummeted so far, so fast. I still pull up the Astros page because they will sometimes have some news in print before we do here, but reading the comments makes you wonder about humanity. I guess that they have cut staff so much that there is just no attempt to screen or moderate beyond the cursory. Then again, that may be the only market available to them. I just wish that they had followed the NYTimes.com model and figured out a way to charge for the electronic edition so they could maintain standards.
I enjoyed how
The Chronicle had page hit counters and got rid of them because the numbers were pitifully low (or so I guess).
I hate to rag on Levine and Campbell, but the coverage really has dried up in the offseason. It seems like I can remember more Goff stories off the top of my head than any memorable chron stories (ignoring the piece on Randy Hennis last week).
I’m going to Orlando for a wedding the last weekend in march, and I have Thursday the 29th free. Imagine how PO’ed I was to found out that the ‘stros will be in St. Lucie playing hte Mets that day. FML. Astros’ ST in Kissimmee was something I REALLY looked forward to, but I guess it’s just something that will have to wait, unless some miraculous schedule change occurs where the Wednesday game gets pushed back or the Friday game pushed up.
I’m just hoping to see as many games as I can on FSSW in Austin. I am going to Houston for 1 game in August. And I’ve already purchased tickets for all the games OKC plays in Round ROck.
I will be traveling from Mississippi to Kissimmee the same weekend to pick up my son,
but being old and retired, I just decided to stay a few extra days and catch the games against the Yankees and Pirates.
I don't do anything...
My nights are shortened, I screw up in school, I lose sleep and everything is centered around the Astros: school, work, other ppl, family(jk), food, shopping, news aaand sleep. So pretty much, I’m unbelievably sellfish when the games start. no matter the team or record, NOTHING.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 10, 2012 11:17 AM CST via mobile reply actions
Man my year has been streesfull as hell.
So many college apps, basketball, school, and more school. I am just waiting to here back from colleges and happy baseball is around the corner!
Improving my tolerance to alcohol. :) Cheaper beer here I come!
by Its Gonna Happen on Feb 10, 2012 3:45 PM CST via mobile reply actions
I just want to say that Jon Heyman is an idiot
that is all.
by Uncle Chris on Feb 10, 2012 7:56 PM CST reply actions 2 recs
I can’t believe I “followed” him for six days on twitter. What was I thinking? It was the off-season. I guess I was desperate.
by va que va on Feb 10, 2012 11:56 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
We need to prepare for the inlfux of hipsters who will root for the Astros "ironically"
Official hype-man of the Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon team
"Puns are the highest form of literature." - Alfred Hitchcock
by thebluffrat on Feb 10, 2012 11:41 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
They'll brag about how they root for some independent league team we probably never heard of.
But can you imagine how the demand for classic Rainbow jerseys will increase? Hipsters love over-spending on anything considered “retro”
Official hype-man of the Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon team
"Puns are the highest form of literature." - Alfred Hitchcock
by thebluffrat on Feb 11, 2012 12:14 AM CST up reply actions
I laughed
When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.
by orangeblood kid on Feb 11, 2012 12:27 AM CST up reply actions
I bet there’s at least one hipster wearing an old Colt .45s hat, and he doesn’t know a thing about Houston baseball, he just thinks it’s a great way to show everyone that he really likes listening to his music on vinyl.
I liked Hunter Pence
before he sold out to the Phillies and became “mainstream”
Official hype-man of the Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon team
"Puns are the highest form of literature." - Alfred Hitchcock
by thebluffrat on Feb 11, 2012 8:22 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
It'll be a year of mourning for me
I’m worried sick about losing the cable coverage after 2012 is up. (I live in TX, but not near Houston.) After reading that article a few months ago about Nolan Ryan as the Antichrist (I can’t remember anything else about it—it was linked here, in like November), I realize there’s no way Time Warner is going to carry the Astros-Rockets network when FSSW will have the Rangers and the Spurs…and especially since both baseball teams will be in the AL by then. (I mean, the Longhorn Network isn’t even on here, and every 3rd ballcap in my town is burnt orange.)
I know all this sounds tragicomic to fans here who live in other time zones around the globe. So I guess I’ve got about a calendar year to talk the old lady into letting “us” buy the MLB Season Package. It will have to be done.
Maybe by then MLB will have decided if the As can move to San Jose.
Hahahaha, in Corpus Time Warner has blacked out NBC since they want somethimg lim
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 11, 2012 6:50 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Hahahaha, in Corpus Time Warner has blacked out NBC since they want somethimg like a 300-400% from KRIS-TV to broadcast NBC.
I’ve come to find out that Direct-TV is awesome, plus NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB network, and you can subscribe to every regional network.
Corpus and NYC are the only two cities that have NBC blacked out by TW.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 11, 2012 6:55 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
What's up with that?
Dish and DirecTV have no problems whatsoever with KRIS
Official hype-man of the Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon team
"Puns are the highest form of literature." - Alfred Hitchcock
Idk, I think it's ridiculous. They're always fueding with each other (kris and TW), this time TW has taken it to a different level.
I like Direct TV because if I move out of region, all I gotta do subscribe to Fox Sports SW, which comes with Fox Sports Houston. Hopefully they’ll carry Comcast.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 12:01 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
I can’t believe I’m gonna ask this question in the year AD 2012, but here goes (pardon my staggering ignorance):
Does it work well, cc? What happens when you lose the pic. for whatever technical reason? Do you spend time on your roof playing with the antenna? Does rain on the dish present any problems?
Even if I wasn’t a baseball fan, I’m getting fed up with TW. The picture feed freezes up sometimes and you have to reboot the box; there’s serious Picasso-like Cubist pixelation exercises happenin’ with the picture from time to time, etc.
If the technical issues are no WORSE for DirectTV than what I am describing above, then I figure I gotta make the move. It’s time, to say the least.
I know a lot of people who swear by Direct, but I guess I’ve never actually ASKED anyone these sorts of questions before. Feedback appreciated (once you quit cracking up).
Rip van Winkle effect
Funny how sometimes it seems like you just woke up in a very different world. If you don’t pay close attention to technology that can happen in a hurry. I have had satellite technology since the days of dishes the size of your house and even at their most frustrating satellite has always been better than cable. Currently I have Direct but I’m about to dump that technology for streaming. Internet based content is exploding while cable and dish are stagnating. In the short term, say the next 2 years, a dish will still probably be the best option but the advantage gap is shrinking very quickly.
Don’t feel too bad about being in the dark on dishes. If what you had did what you needed there is no reason to change. On the other hand, don’t be caught using a film camera. That would make you a dinosaur for sure.
Thanks, Dirtshirt.
Part of my “problem” is that I work a lot at night, so I don’t really watch TV much, and I’m not a big fan of hockey or the NFL. So I haven’t had need to look into the dish angle (and dish sports packages) so far.
My first thought was to get a tablet and stream the games in ’13—but that brings everything back to Time-Warner, because they and other cable companies have the fastest connections, and those are like $40 more a month, as I understand it.
I tried watching a college hoops game on espn3 over the holidays, but with the DSL wireless I have at home, it just wasn’t satisfactory; that “experience” was a real eye-opener. Not good. At work we have a nice T1 (or is it L1?) connection, so streaming wouldn’t be a problem…but then I wouldn’t get anything done, either.
So I’m not sure what I’ll do. If games can be replayed, as someone upthread noted, then maybe getting a dish would be worthwhile…I could watch a few games on replay during the week (luckily I don’t have to get up early for work), plus weekends, and that would seem justifiable in my mind as an expense.
One thing I will keep is my $15/season radio deal with mlb. That’s a great value. I end up listening a lot to the Stros on my computer at work. I find I can still get work done with the radio feed on (although Milo is getting…a little wearying to listen to as the years drag on…IMO; guys like him with foghorn voices are GREAT if you’re in the middle of nowhere with a car radio and you’re a long ways from Houston—he cuts through the interference—but with a decent feed, or if he’s on TV, as he was for awhile in the 90s, as I recall, guys like Milo come across as the broadcasting version of an ALL-CAPS POSTER).
Following up on your musings about technology, it seems that for people of a certain age or younger, listening on the radio would seem really limiting, and I get that—sort of the opposite line of logic to your empathy above. But I’m old enough to be able to say that I was raised more on listening to, rather than watching baseball (there was only one TV game a week in those days). Had the transistor radio on under my pillow in 3d grade, etc., blah, blah. Baseball in particular works better on radio than most sports, I think.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Weeell...
So far we haven’t had any problems. Last weekend it was storming, lightning and thundering all night and we had no problems at all. If you lose the pic it’ll say something “please wait a moment”. Ours has,been wonderful, I never realized how awesome Direct was to Time Warner. We had the same problems with what you’re having, then they blacked out NBC and the other three channels associated with them. We’ve nsver spent time playing on the roof, yet(jk). We haven’t lost the pic fod technical reasons, so I’m not to sure about that one.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 10:33 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
you're welcome.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 13, 2012 8:35 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
my wife HATES baseball season
for 6 months I am useless. my entire life revolves around the stros. I don’t go anywhere unless they will have the game on. I live in SA, so this will be my last year with time warner. might be mistaken, but I think even with the mlb package the stros will be blacked out. I think satellite will be the only option.
by HTown80 on Feb 11, 2012 12:26 AM CST via Android app reply actions
I think even with the mlb package the stros will be blacked out.
I’m pretty sure they won’t/can’t do that in SA. I read over the fine print, and I couldn’t construe anything from it like that. But maybe you read it too, and caught something I didn’t.
I think he is correct. If you live in the Astros’ market area, Astros games are blacked out on Extra Innings and MLB.TV.
SA is in the stros' market.
will be blacked out unless them not being on fox changes the market area. which I doubt.
by HTown80 on Feb 12, 2012 1:21 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
SA Stros fan!
I live in SA as well and I am a HUGE Stros fan we should get together to watch some games.
Hell yeah
would love to watch a game with a true fan. not some “oh, i’ve been a rangers fan my whole life, but I can’t name their starting 9” idiot.
by HTown80 on Feb 12, 2012 1:15 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
Oyy, I've been burnt out on them.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 10:37 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
You better believe it.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 1:30 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Can't wait!
in the Bart Scott manner.
When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.
by orangeblood kid on Feb 11, 2012 12:29 AM CST reply actions
it's like I'm a new fan.
I haven’t watched an astro game since 2006 when I moved to Kentucky. Now that I’m back in Texas I need to reacquaint myself with the Astros. My son turned 1 yr old last week so I’m already planning his sports future. I plan to take him to an SA missions game a few times and hopefully to Houston in August. For now I just have to relearn baseball and all the players
by LordGav1n on Feb 11, 2012 8:23 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
welcome back
the missions play the hooks like 2 series a month. that’s one of the only times I pay to watch a sa team. the other being the rockets.
by HTown80 on Feb 12, 2012 1:19 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
Speaking of the Rockets. How's The Dream Shake?
Are they cool over there?
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 10:35 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
I love the community
same with battle red blog, dynamo theory, and of course TCB.
by HTown80 on Feb 12, 2012 11:48 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
don't tell me you're a rockets fan from CC.
isn’t it mostly spurs fans?
by HTown80 on Feb 12, 2012 11:50 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
I LOVE the Rockets.
I can actually watch every game now that I have Direct-TV.
All Spurs fans, a cpl Mavs’ that I know are actual fans. To tell you the truth, I haven’t met a Rockets fan in at least 2 or 3 years.
Also, I’ve followed nothing but Houston sports my whole life, starting with the Astros, then the Rockets, then the Texans half way through David Carrs second to last year.
I LOVE THE ASTROS. Now lets win something!
by ccislanders on Feb 12, 2012 1:35 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Well i did live in Lexington, KY
so i got to see the Legends play on a regular basis but no astros on tv unless it was against Cincinnati
I bought the Moneyball DVD
I haven’t seen the movie yet so i thought it’d be a good kickouf to baseball season for me.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Feb 12, 2012 10:56 AM CST reply actions
Ya I plan on watching Major League and doing a post on it, because there a lot of similarities between this team and the Astros.
Follow my ramblings on Twitter .
by Timothy De Block on Feb 12, 2012 1:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
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Current Series
4 game series vs Rockies @ Coors Field
|
Houston Astros
Monday, May 28, 2012, 2:10 PM CDT Wandy Rodriguez vs Juan Nicasio Sunny. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70. |
||
| Mon 05/28 | 7:10 PM CDT | |
| Wed 05/30 | 7:40 PM CDT | |
| Thu 05/31 | 7:40 PM CDT | |
NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati
|
27 | 20 | .574 | 0 | Won 2 |
|
St. Louis
|
26 | 22 | .541 | 1.5 | Won 1 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
23 | 24 | .489 | 4 | Won 3 |
|
Houston
|
22 | 25 | .468 | 5 | Lost 2 |
|
Milwaukee
|
19 | 28 | .404 | 8 | Lost 2 |
|
Chicago
|
15 | 32 | .319 | 12 | Lost 12 |
(updated 5.28.2012 at 12:18 AM CDT)
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