Rest of baseball thread

[CSD]

Did anyone see Ichiro's catch last night?

Amazing.

[Mad-Lad]

As for Astacio, he's 25 years old with two power pitches and a changeup that's a work in progress. In his major-league debut, he was overpowering at times, shaky at others.

He allowed four runs in six innings, and if he settles down and keeps the ball down in the strike zone, he's got a chance to solidify the starting rotation.

"There's just something special about this kid," Purpura said. "He's got a great makeup. He's a competitor. I don't think he's going to get rattled. He's not the type who'll let stuff bother him."

The Astros have the National League's third-best staff ERA at 3.53 and a starting rotation that entered Tuesday's game with a 3.93 ERA.

At least the kid the Astros got from the Phillies in the Billy Wagner trade looks promising.  If only he could make the Houston offense play less like a little league team.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Yeah, I saw Zeke's highlights last night. He's got good stuff. I sure hope we re-sign Wags so trading a talent like Astacio isn't all for naught.

But since we have dopey Ed as the GM, I am not holding my breath.

BTW -- What are your thoughts on Hunsicker? I want the Phils to go after him.

[Mad-Lad]

BTW -- What are your thoughts on Hunsicker? I want the Phils to go after him.

Here's the article just after Hunsicker stepped down from the Houston Chronicle

Score this an error on ownership
Nov. 2nd 2004
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle


He gave the Astros credibility. He gave them a conscience. He contributed more to their success than any of us may ever really know.

He didn't cry Monday when he announced his resignation, but he came close a couple of times.

If you love the Astros, you're the one who should be crying. Your favorite baseball team is far worse off than it was before Gerry Hunsicker stepped to a microphone on Monday morning at Minute Maid Park.

But don't cry for Hunsicker.

He won't be out of work long. This was a resignation, not a retirement.

I thought it was odd that Drayton McLane didn't seem the least bit worried or embarrassed. He should have been both.

Relationship had eroded
Hunsicker is no longer general manager of the Astros because he had finally had enough of McLane.

He resigned because their relationship had run its course and because he was worn down by the constant budget battles and by dealing with an owner who wanted a hand in virtually every decision.

Yes, they disagreed over McLane's decision to bring back Craig Biggio for 2005. That wasn't the reason he quit.

It wasn't even about McLane's latest slashing of the player-development budget. McLane has asked his baseball people to do more and more with less and less for so long that cutting the budget became the norm.

It was all those things and more. It was a desire for more freedom, to maybe answer to someone who trusted him a bit more and who understood that building a team is more art than science.

This is no knock on his replacement, either.

Tim Purpura is competent, personable and more than deserving. He has waited patiently while other franchises have hired less-qualified men.

In evaluating players and executing acquisitions, he may be every bit as good as Gerry Hunsicker.

He'll also be so excited to have the job that he may be able to overlook some of the things that gnawed at Hunsicker.

And yet ...

The ripple effect
Hunsicker's departure leaves an unimaginably large hole in an organization that had been one of baseball's most successful since he arrived in late 1995. He drafted wisely, made shrewd trades and was one of the game's best talent evaluators.

He was also much more than that, and the Astros may not understand the magnitude of his departure for weeks, maybe months. Sports franchises change slowly, almost imperceptibly even in the best of times.

The Astros will understand, though, when there's no one to push McLane in the right direction, when there's no one to go to bat for the lower-paid employees, when there's no way to tell his overbearing bean counters to take a hike.

He convinced McLane to start a 401K retirement plan. He pleaded with McLane to close the team's offices between Christmas and New Year's Day as a way to give employees who routinely work 70-hour weeks a break.

At Union Station, most employees understood that if they had a problem, Hunsicker was the one person would really listen.

This morning, those people are just beginning to realize what they lost. Now when they've got a problem they can look for one of the managers who consider sarcasm a motivational tool.

In sports, we tend to measure everything by the numbers. We'll remember Hunsicker as the guy who constructed five playoff teams in nine years and who built one of the best and most efficient baseball operations on earth.

He never got the Astros into a World Series, but he got them close.

He was the guy who ordered Brad Lidge to emphasize his slider, the pitch that may now be the best in the game.

He was the guy who saw potential in Brandon Backe when the Devil Rays didn't.

He was the guy who understood that things had to fit and that while a Lance Berkman had value, so did a Jose Vizcaino.

He's as competitive and as tightly wrapped as any man I've known. He's also a man of uncommon decency, a man who always tries to do the right thing.

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, he was talking excitedly about the 2005 Astros. He knew that every move would have to be cleared by McLane, and sometime last week, he tired of the fight.

Health became an issue
At midseason when the Astros appeared to be going nowhere, Hunsicker began having heart palpitations.

At times, his heart beat so quickly that he thought he might be dying. If you ever saw him after some of those ugly losses, you'd understand better than any doctor what he was going through.

He took every defeat personally. They gnawed at him and angered him and brought him down. Unlike McLane, he didn't hide what he was feeling. There were times when he spoke too frankly.

McLane resented his GM's frankness. He resented how much credit Hunsicker got.

Hunsicker believes he was almost fired after last season. They decided to give it one more try and then re-evaluate.

Last Thursday, Hunsicker told McLane he'd had enough. McLane apparently didn't attempt to talk him out of it.

Had he tried, I'm guessing he could have.

Another owner might have realized what he was about to lose and tried to change. He'd have promised to turn baseball decisions over to him or to allow him to mold the roster any way he saw fit.

McLane wouldn't do that because he believes organizations are more important than any single person. He may find out there are people so valuable they're worth bending for.

Kind words all around
At Monday's news conference, they all played nice. Hunsicker said all the right things about taking a break, and McLane couldn't have been more gracious.

But don't believe all that half-baked stuff about Hunsicker serving as a consultant and holding Purpura's hand through his first months on the job.

Hunsicker will clean out his desk and have the place in his rearview mirror by the
end of the week. He said something about taking his wife, Irene, fishing and maybe doing some chores around the house.

Uh, right. He's 54, not 84. I'm guessing he'll be running another team by Christmas.

Whether it's the Texas Rangers or Philadelphia Phillies or some other club, he's going to be the best present some owner could ever give himself.

What an awful day for the Astros.

[PhillyGirl]

Bonds has 3rd knee surgery

[PhillyPhreak54]

Thanks for posting that, Mad.

I enjoy reading and listening to Justice. One of the better baseball writers out there...

Hunsicker is a Philly guy and I hope that Monty and his cronies have the balls to fire Ed and bring Gerry into the fold.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Tony Pena quit on the Royals last night...

Larry Bowa is going to call them for the job.


How long until MDS buy a KC hat and L-Bo Royals jersey?

[MDS]

Gimme two days. Max.

[BigEd76]

And Bowa thought the garbage he had the last 2 years was bad?  Wait until he gets to KC... 

[BigEd76]

Surprised no one mentioned this one... 

Baseball version of the World Cup in March 2006


China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan

Cuba, Italy, Panama, Puerto Rico

Canada, Mexico, South Africa, USA

Australia, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela

Projected lineups for each country

[PhillyPhreak54]

I'd hate to be the announcer who draws the Far East bracket. Talk about tongue twister names!

[BigEd76]

I like Taiwan's lineup... 

C—Chun-chang Ye
1B—Chia-hsien Hsieh
2B—Chung-yi Huang
3B—Tai-shan Chang
SS—Ching-lung Hu (Dodgers)
LF—Chin-feng Chen (Dodgers)
CF—Chih-yuan Chen
RF—Kan-lin Huang
DH—Cheng-min Peng
SP—Chien-ming Wang (Yankees)
SP—Chi-Hung Cheng (Blue Jays)
SP—Chih-chia Chang
SP—Ming-chieh Hsu
RP— Chin-hui Tsao (Rockies)
Manager: Sheng-ming Hsu

[PhillyPhreak54]

Tai, Kan, Ming and Sheng must feel like outcasts...

[Dillen]

BTW -- What are your thoughts on Hunsicker? I want the Phils to go after him.

I liked him when he was in Houston, he's willing to go out for a great player and doesnt make many stupid mistakes...he got Beltran last year which was a great trade but I heard one reason he stepped down was just because he didnt think he could get Beltran back and people would rip him for it

[PhillyGirl]

Breaking news...Bonds in deep shtein with serious infection from latest knee surgery