texasaggie2015 said:
He better get more than what I got
texasaggie2015 said:
And the mods still haven't responded to me and told me what rule I broke
The Porkchop Express said:
At least someone use some pig latin to tell us who the poster is!
I'm going to need to use another lifeline, Regis.superaggie73 said:The Porkchop Express said:
At least someone use some pig latin to tell us who the poster is!
Let's just say he likes the weed
The Porkchop Express said:I'm going to need to use another lifeline, Regis.superaggie73 said:The Porkchop Express said:
At least someone use some pig latin to tell us who the poster is!
Let's just say he likes the weed
Mathguy64 said:The Porkchop Express said:I'm going to need to use another lifeline, Regis.superaggie73 said:The Porkchop Express said:
At least someone use some pig latin to tell us who the poster is!
Let's just say he likes the weed
I didn't see it but I'll guess he likes grape soda.
I'm sick of this ***** Unless he posted something later that I did not see, Grape posted nothing worthy of being removed from this thread nor should he be put into time out for it. I thought we were better than the Arlington fans about this BS.bearkatag15 said:
The fact that he's not banned for posting here is all you need to know about the moderation on these threads. ****ing hypocrites
I think this is about more than what was posted and that it was even done. There is still a lot of people upset at the way it was all handled from the beginning and this is just fuel on their fire.jkag89 said:I'm sick of this ***** Unless he posted something later that I did not see, Grape posted nothing worthy of being removed from this thread nor should he be put into time out for it. I thought we were better than the Arlington fans about this BS.bearkatag15 said:
The fact that he's not banned for posting here is all you need to know about the moderation on these threads. ****ing hypocrites
jkag89 said:I'm sick of this ***** Unless he posted something later that I did not see, Grape posted nothing worthy of being removed from this thread nor should he be put into time out for it. I thought we were better than the Arlington fans about this BS.bearkatag15 said:
The fact that he's not banned for posting here is all you need to know about the moderation on these threads. ****ing hypocrites
texasaggie2015 said:
He better get more than what I got
Astros highlights……not very many stand out but pretty good qualityThe Porkchop Express said:
My Astros game highlights
1980 - Nolan Ryan's first game as an Astro (and first home run!)
1988 - Mike Scott throws a 1-hitter, loses it with 2 out in the 9th to friggin' Ken Oberkfell
1994 - Astros 15, Cardinals 12 - Overcame an 11-0 deficit
1994 - Jeff Bagwell 3 HR game vs. the candy ass Dodgers, including 2 in one inning
1998 - Billy Spiers wins Game 2 of the NLDS with a walkoff single in extras
1999 - Last regular season game at the Astrodome
2005 - NLCS Game 4 - Everett/Bruntlett legendary double play
2007 - Craig Biggio's last home game, lots of water works that night!
Every home opener from 1986-1999
Non Astros Superlatives
1994 - Ags 34, sips 10 in Austin
1997 WCF - Eddie Johnson wins game 4 vs the Jazz with a 3 pointer at the buzzer
1997 WCSF -Rockets beat Sonics in Game 7
2001 5A state semifinals - Austin Westlake (Chad Schroeder) def. Houston Madison (Vince) 48-42. Schroder had an 80-yard TD run to clinch it.
2003 5A D2 state title game - Katy beats SLC 16-15 in the best pure game of football ever
2004 Texas state track meet - Cinco Ranch's Scott Sellers breaks the national high jump high school record by clearing 7 feet 5 inches. To this day the greatest athletic feat I've laid eyes on.
Hall of Shame answers
1987 - Sonics 136, Rockets 80 (worst loss in team history)
1995 - Colorado 29, Ags 21
1995 - Sips 16, Ags 6 (last game of the SWC)
1997 - WCF - Stockton hits a 3 pointer to end the Rockets' season
1998 - Game 1 NLDS, Jim Leyritz hits a walkoff in extra innings and Kevin Brown strikes out 73 batters in a row (I think)
2004 - Tennessee 38-7 over the Ags in the rainy Cotton Bowl
2005 - Cal over the Ags 45-10 in the Holiday Bowl, a game that convinced me that college sports are fixed
From a winter meetings phone call to Jake Meyers to a blunt conversation with Yordan Alvarez about hitting second to being an almost constant presence in the clubhouse before workouts, Joe Espada is drawing rave reviews for his emphasis on communication - https://t.co/n9G6vvUEYx
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 29, 2024
From a winter meetings phone call to Jake Meyers to a blunt conversation with Yordan Alvarez about hitting second to being an almost constant presence in the clubhouse before workouts, Joe Espada is drawing rave reviews for his emphasis on communication - https://t.co/n9G6vvUEYx
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 29, 2024
Quote:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Jake Meyers learned of his job security on social media. Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown delivered the news during the Winter Meetings in December, sparking a slew of posts Meyers scrolled while at home in Omaha, Neb.
Brown is nothing if not candid, so his comments came as no surprise to manager Joe Espada. The two men discussed Houston's direction in center field throughout the winter but had not communicated it with Meyers.
Espada stopped a whirlwind Winter Meetings schedule to make sure he did. The phone call between player and manager reinforced what Brown told reporters a few hours earlier, putting Meyers more at ease while making the team's expectations for him transparent.
"The player hearing from the manager carries more weight and more reassurance when he hears it from the manager 100 percent," Espada said. "I said, 'Listen, what you (saw), I just want you to know, you're going to come to camp and you're going to get an opportunity to play. I don't want you looking over your shoulder. We know the type of player you are and you can be, come to camp to be that type of person.'"
Espada explained his emphasis on communication after Brown promoted him in November. Espada prioritized it in conversations and meetings before spring training, where players have raved about their first-year manager's forthright nature.
"He's been awesome at that and I think that also contributes to the feel in camp this year so far," Meyers said. "Guys have commented on it to me and I'm starting to realize how great of a feel it is in the clubhouse. Everyone can share everything and he's done a great job of doing that so far."
Meyers plays better with a clear mind. The pre-spring training phone call helped to give him one. His plight is one most fellow players share. Ballplayers are creatures of habit who tailor their entire days around routines. Interrupting or altering a routine without advance notice can be detrimental.
Jake Meyers is 2-for-5 with a stolen base through three spring training games. (Mike Watters / USA Today)
Espada is not introducing anything foreign to the Astros' standard operating procedure. Players insist that communication was a priority under A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker. Starting lineups for the next day's game have been texted to the team a night before "for probably the past six or seven years," third baseman Alex Bregman said this week.
"I always like knowing when I'm showing up to the ballpark if I'm in there that day obviously I expect to be in there but I like our team knowing everybody who is going to be playing that day," Bregman said.
Espada served under both Hinch and Baker, so it's unsurprising the precedence he places on being straightforward with his players. Hinch often shared most of those messages publicly, while Baker preferred to keep them within the clubhouse walls.
"Each manager does stuff a little differently and kind of just go with whatever their setup is," outfielder Kyle Tucker said. "It's not like we had no communication. Joe is pretty much just doing what he's done in years past. He's always run a lot of the meetings beforehand anyway and helping out on the field and everything. It's the same Joe with communication."
Espada is trending more toward Hinch's methods. During his first media availability in spring training, Espada announced Josh Hader as the team's primary closer after a meeting in his office with Hader and incumbent Ryan Pressly.
"I want us to all be on the same page," Espada said. "For us to sustain and continue to win and maintain this culture, we have to communicate. Transparency is important and that's something that we have done really good as coaches here for many years and I want to make sure that culture remains."
Defining roles is important for Espada, who believes players perform better with a predetermined understanding of how they'll be deployed. During winter workouts in Houston, the manager informed slugger Yordan Alvarez he would hit second in the batting order higher than he's ever hit in his professional life.
"I thought he was joking. I'd never hit there before, so whenever he said it, I would just chuckle and laugh," Alvarez said through an interpreter. "The closer we got to spring training, he kept mentioning it and I asked him, 'Are you being serious?' and he said, 'Yes, I'm being serious.'"
Alvarez's ascension up the batting order will move shortstop Jeremy Peña further down. Last season, Peña started at least 20 games at four different spots in Baker's lineups, a byproduct of the team's injuries and Peña's plummeting power. This spring, Espada promised more consistency or at least a more direct understanding of where Peña will bat in the order.
"I think that type of communication is good. As a player, you want to see that the coach wants to know where you're at mentally and you kind of want to know where he's at mentally," Peña said. "We like consistency. … Joe has been doing a great job of letting us know what's expected of us and where he's thinking of taking the team."
Either Espada or bench coach Omar Lopez is constantly present in the clubhouse before spring training workouts. Sometimes they review the day's schedule with specific players to set expectations. Lopez said he's used the time to review plays from Grapefruit League games or stress certain aspects of that day's defensive or base running work.
"I don't know the stats or the data about people getting divorced, the reasons for that, but in my country where I'm coming from, one of the biggest issues you hear from different families is communication," said Lopez, a man with 12 years of minor-league managerial experience.
"When a family doesn't communicate well, they aren't on the same page. That's one of the main reasons you can (have) issues or problems here, if you don't communicate well or if you feel communication is not clear or transparent. Our goal is to have the best communication with the players because we are here for them they're not here for us. We have to make their job every day easier and effective."
Their communication doesn't always involve a serious sit-down or some profound message. Earlier this week, when both Meyers and Chas McCormick started a game together in the outfield, Espada assured McCormick in passing it was designed for the duo "to get on the same page in the outfield." McCormick didn't necessarily need the clarification but appreciated the extra care Espada applied to the situation.
"You know what you're going to get from Joe every day," McCormick said. "You know his plan and you know there's a method behind it and it's nice. It's nice to know what's going on all the time and Joe is very clear with our schedule, how we're playing. … I knew that, from the jump, Joe was going to bring that kind of atmosphere in there and it's been really nice."
I understand most that is posted was just a good natured jab at Arlingtonites, I've done it myself on other boards, but somebody here had to notify STAFF to the Grape's post to get it removed. All it was was a fun tweet about the historical connections of The Game but somehow this is not allowed on this thread only because he is a Rangers fan. No baseball fan should should have to fear a time out or perma ban because a few childish thin skinned fans feel the need to defend imaginary internet turf. Note I'm not blaming Astros fans, I've had Rangers fans flat out tell me on their thread I was not welcome even though what I posted on their thread was in no way a trolling or trash talking but either posts like Grape's or information posts that at least a few Rangers fans appreciated but one or two had to throw .. It is just flat out inane that baseball fans have to be careful where they interact on this board because of a handful of idiots.Farmer1906 said:jkag89 said:I'm sick of this ***** Unless he posted something later that I did not see, Grape posted nothing worthy of being removed from this thread nor should he be put into time out for it. I thought we were better than the Arlington fans about this BS.bearkatag15 said:
The fact that he's not banned for posting here is all you need to know about the moderation on these threads. ****ing hypocrites
I agree. I was mostly being sarcastic and over the top because of how each thread reacts. We should be able to post innocuous simple baseball stuff or questions in each others thread. Too many people go too far or troll. Or one side gets sensitive over nothing. Like when someone asks for food recommendation in each others city.
from what i saw, you edited it and noted it was an accidental post as soon as you realized ittexasaggie2015 said:
They're complaining about the post being deleted over here. He didn't even get a ban.
But my erroneous post got a ban and a threat of a 12 month ban????? Make it make sense.
Yeah, that just might be the nail in the coffin. Couldn't be more clear I was targeted and it was personal. I still haven't gotten an answer as to what rule I broke and why it warranted a 12 month ban if I do it again.
I heard a few times last year that communication (or lack thereof) was a big issue and something a couple of the vets weren't happy with. I'm glad that's a priority.EastCoastAgNc said:From a winter meetings phone call to Jake Meyers to a blunt conversation with Yordan Alvarez about hitting second to being an almost constant presence in the clubhouse before workouts, Joe Espada is drawing rave reviews for his emphasis on communication - https://t.co/n9G6vvUEYx
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 29, 2024