bball was fun to watch until the 2 most recent games. what a disaster

redline248 said:

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bball was fun to watch until the 2 most recent games. what a disaster

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Worst possible match up imaginable...a team that shoots lights out from 3 and doesn't commit fouls. Plus we played right into their hands by settling for jumpers and 3's.

Oh well...this isn't premium or the basketball boards so GO STROS!!!! Can't wait for opening day!!!

Astros continue to be the only team that I can depend on.

Only one of those is believable…

This is my safe space.

I still have game 6 on my DVR...I'm going to go watch Yordan's homer after I delete the A&M basketball recording.

BayAg_14 said:

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This is my safe space.

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Boobs and Astros. The only two things I can have complete confidence in.
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Remember - if you're complaining about the WBC, you're on the same side as Keith Olbermann and need to rethink your priorities

To everyone hating on the WBC because of the Edwin Diaz injury, just know that you’re on the old man yelling at a cloud side of the fence on this one. pic.twitter.com/AjTyPvPVku

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) March 16, 2023

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Jeremy Peña: "A lot of people are saying (the WBC) is meaningless. To us, it's an honor to represent our country. It means a lot to us. (Díaz's injury is) unfortunate, but for me, if I get the opportunity to do it again, I'll definitely do it again"

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 17, 2023

Wrap them in bubble wrap and send them off to play in the WBC.

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How is this any different that Spring Training? The pitchers are truly the only concern, since they may pitch longer than they are ready for this time of the year. The other players would be playing ST games anyway.

Mariano Rivera tore his ACL and Meniscus shagging fly balls in the outfield during BP. Freak accidents happen all the time. It's not just a WBC thing.

As much as I support guys going all out for the WBC. I am thankful that guys like Yordan and Bregman aren't in it. They would 100% get injured

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Roster cuts in Astros camp today: Enoli Paredes was optioned; Matt Ruppenthal, Austin Hansen, Ross Adolph, Grae Kessinger and Luke Berryhill were reassigned.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 17, 2023

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2020 Enoli was fun while it lasted

Yordan Alvarez is scheduled to take on-field batting practice today, Dusty Baker said. Would be his first time doing that this spring.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 17, 2023

13 Days until spring training brings us to #13 on the countdown, a number that was lucky for some, unlucky for others.



The Astros' first All-Star , Turk Farrell, wore the # from 1963-1967. A party boy, Farrell was selected in the expansion draft and went 10-20 with a 3.02 ERA. Despite that he made the All-Star team. He made the squad again in 1984 and 1965, despite only winning 11 games both years. He moved to England immediately after retiring in 1969 and bizarrely worked on an off-shore oil rig there, dying in a car crash in England in 1977 at the young age of 43.



After some random wear, including by future MLB manager Bruce Bochy, #13 found its way onto the back of a fire-ball throwing 5-10 lefty named Billy Wagner in 1995. Wagner was the Astros first-round pick in the 1993 amateur draft- arguably one of the best in MLB history, producing A-Rod, Darren Dreifort, Trot Nixon, Wagner, Derek Lee, Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, and Jason Varitek. And ironically, three SWC talents that didn't go far in MLB - Granger, Wunsch, and Kieschnick

#13 debuted on September 13 of that year. The game was as ugly as you get, the Astros lost to the Mets 10-5 and made 4 errors, but Wagner got his man, getting a flyball off the bat of Rico Brogna to end the sixth inning.

For the rest of his career, other than a horrific 2000 season, Wagner was the best closer in Astros history. He was a late-inning specialists in 1996, going 2-2 with 9 saves and a 2.44 ERA. He took over as the closer the next year, and from 1997-1999 racked up 92 saves as the Astros won 3 straight division titles. His 39 saves in 1999 broke Dave Smith's team record of 33 set in 1986. In 1999, he averaged 14.94 strikeouts per 9 innings with a 1.57 ERA and a 4-1 record.

From 2001-2003, he recorded 39, 35, and 44 saves. His 2003 season was also great with 44 saves, 67 games finished, a 1.78 ERA, and 105 strikeouts in 86 innings (10.988 / 9 innings). He had 3 All-Star game appearances, finished 4th in the Cy Young Race in 1999, was Rolaids Relief man of the year that season, finished his career 6th in saves, 6th in games finished, and 39th in games pitched (853).

But like most Astros of that era, he was plagued by the post-season. Despite a win in the 1998 NLDS, his ERA in his first two playoff series was 18. He gave up 5 earned runs in 4-2/3 playoff appearances with the team.

In 2003, the Astros didn't make the playoffs but had the best bullpen in baseball, trotting Brad Lidge out for the 7th, Octavio Dotel for the 8th, and Wagner for the 9th. The trio combined for 299 strikeouts in 258 innings, emboldening Gerry Hunsicker to trade Wagner to the Phillies for a trio of highly-touted minor-league prospects.

And minor leaguers they were, making for one of the worst trades in franchise history.
Ezequiel Astacio pitched 45 games for the team over 2 years with a 5-6 record and a 6.02 ERA. He never made the majors again and left baseball in 2009.
Brandon Duckworth went 1-3 with an 8.08 ERA in 2 years with the Astros and was released.
Taylor Buckholz went 6-10 with the Astros with a 5.89 ERA in one year and was shipped to the Rockies in the Willy Taveras for Jason Jennings deal.

Despite being one of only six players with 400 career saves, Wagner has missed the Hall of Fame in his first 8 of 10 years of eligibility. He hit 68.1% in 2023, needing 75% to get in. His lack of post-season success and having never led the league in saves are probably holding him back the most.




Wagner's leaving set up for the jersey to be worn by the greatest of all Astros, Tyler White, who donned it from 2016-2019 after the Jersey had been expanded from medium to 4XL. The pride of Forest City, North Carolina, he was a 33rd round draft pick by the Astros in 2013. In his first six games as an Astro, he hit .556 with a 1.167 slugging percentage, prompting Peter Gammons to declare, "There goes Tyler White, the best who ever lived."

He became known as Big Puddin when he hit a walk off home run against the A's in 2018 and was so dubbed by Steve Sparks. Yet despite alll his grandeur, White struggled to replicate his early success due to numerous factors including:

• El Nino
• Shifting demographics
• Office politics
• Too much pollen in the air
• Being listed at 238 pounds despite being 5 ft 11
• The Man and the Man's desire to keep him down
• Voodoo economics
• The Dot.Com Bubble bursting
• Curse by a witch on his family
• Drinking barbecue sauce instead of water to stay hydrated
• Being a modern-day Icarus and flying too close to the sun

He hit .241 in 4 years for the team, with 204 strikeouts vs. 178 hits.

Parades is trade bait.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Yordan Alvarez is scheduled to take on-field batting practice today, Dusty Baker said. Would be his first time doing that this spring.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 17, 2023

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I'm watching him hit right now. Ha ha

Yet when I take blurry pictures behind a batting cage I'm called creepy. .

redline248 said:

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gotta put the lens all the way up on the fence to get the focus in the right place

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Or man up and walk out on the field like you own the place.

wangus12 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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redline248 said:

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gotta put the lens all the way up on the fence to get the focus in the right place

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Or man up and walk out on the field like you own the place.

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Confidence is power

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My brother and I walked out on the field of the Dome in 1993 pretending we were there for an open tryout one Sunday morning. We made it about 20 minutes into the tryouts before we were asked to leave.