Results tagged ‘ Ortiz ’
Glory Days
….they’ll pass you by, glory days…in the wink of a young girl’s eye, glory days…
I feel like this team is moving in the right direction to getting younger. As long as they don’t go after players like Jamie Moyer or Randy Johnson (again) this off season we’re good. Ortiz is gone; Hampton is trying the therapeutic route on his shoulder which isn’t going to work, so he’s done. Broke-ail is doing the same type of therapy but I give him a 10% chance of making it back successfully, simply because I’m not sure he’s 100% human. Tejada is a concern, but I could see signing him as a part-timer at 3rd base. That way the chances of him being productive for the entire year increase, and we won’t watch him fade off into the sunset like we’re doing now. Carlos Lee needs to realize he’s not as fast as he once was, and stop stretching singles into outs. The years of him having double digit steals in a season are over, and I hope he comes to terms with that. I, personally, would like to makes jokes about the clubhouse being a romper room full of rug rats and baby wipe dispensers. Not full of old cronies with their geritol dispensers discussing arthritis, geriatrics, and who will be the first member of AARP.
I’m liking this dialogue….
I wonder what game Bazardo will bring to the mound today, he’s got me guessing just like Bud Norris. Will Bud trip them up with his A-GAME, or will it be another 5-6 earned runs like the last couple of outings? It’s time to put up the teletubbies (please no comments on tinky winky) and let’s play ball.
I apologize if I offended anyone who is on the backside of 40 (like me)
Slaughter House (a.k.a MMP)
The Chick-Fil-A cows were present for the slaughter on Saturday.
I sure can pick’em. Back in May this matchup looked pretty good. The Mets vs. Astros sounded like fun. It is rare I get a good pitching matchup, and I was right in line with that this time. Ortiz vs. Niese does not get you all jacked up that’s for sure. Originally it was going to be Ortiz vs. Nieve, which was more intriguing, but Nieve was put on the shelf earlier in the week. The current DL list for the Mets is frightful, so you would think that we had a decent chance. I saw Ortiz pitch back in 2000 I believe, and he definitely had his AGAME back then. I have to say that watching Russ Ortiz pitch now reminds me of this song “I ain’t as good as I once was…” Niese, on the other hand, had to be feeling pretty good about himself after the game. I still can’t believe Frenchy is the player that really put this game out of reach. Are you kidding me?? Frenchy?? Ugh.
I did get the pleasure of sitting by a cheerleader. The guy plopped down by us, and immediately asked what we paid for our tickets. I didn’t know, my wife got them, and she couldn’t remember. The dude had a set of lungs on him, I will tell you that. He had the rally cap and the rally cry going until the bitter end. It was amazing. He kept us entertained for the most part, but I started to drift a little after the 7th inning stretch. No more beer, people were bailing out, and then this guy noticed that someone left some peanuts, so he grabbed them. I just shook my head. Then I pointed at the bottle and said ”Hey, check to see if there’s any more beer in there.” He laughed and I said “I guess you do have to draw the line somewhere.” Consider the line drawn. He moved down closer for the 9th inning, but made sure he turned around to get us involved in the “Let’s go Astros” chant once again.
Pence had a nice homer near the end of the game and my photographer/wife got a decent shot of it. Heads up everybody!
You, too, can take pictures like this one (a spoof on Aly’s blog) if you zoom in close enough that is. 
You don’t have to pay 75 bucks is all I’m saying.
Winning Streak
The Bulldog sunk his teeth into those pesky Pirates and didn’t let up for 6 innings. 100 pitches, and that 100th pitch? Almost went out of there. Carlos was stretching ALL of that meaty frame to glove it. Do not underestimate the power of Ryan Doumit. That’s all I’m saying. He is an up and coming catcher that has some serious pop. It was nice to see the hits coming, but they didn’t manage one hit against the bullpen in 3 innings. Of course I’m glad that we didn’t need any.
Another win in today’s early game. Ortiz couldn’t quite squeak out 5 innings to qualify for a win, and it would have been his since Berkman hit a 3 run homer in the 6th. Oh well. Ortiz wasn’t real sharp. He gave up a walk to the pitcher and the following triple brought the pitcher home. I’m still pulling for Ortiz to put all the pieces together and soon.
You have to hand it to the Astros, they swing and miss together, and they hit together. That’s playing as a team right there. Let’s put a long winning streak and put the past behind us.
HAPPY OPENING DAY!!
Do you smell that? Love is in the air. Dig it, love it, live it. BASEBALL is here, and it counts. Albeit, there is only one game today. Oh well, it gets even better tomorrow. We’re kicking off the season today and I’m ready. It’s a clean slate for the Astros, and it’s common knowledge that their success is contingent upon the rotation. Will Hampton and Ortiz pull their weight? They’ve had terrific springs. Will Pence turn the corner and be a 30 homer guy? Will Bourn still be starting in June? Will Keppinger make Wade look like a genius? Will Roy have another slow start? We are on our way to finding out. BRING ON THE CRACK OF THE BATS! The PEANUTS (no, I’ll pass) but I’ll take a PRETZEL though.
THE MONKEY IS OFF
Ok, everybody give me a ”HELL YEAH!” We can all relax now.
Normally I don’t care much about Spring Training wins, but this one was much needed. I’m really psyched about Russ Ortiz. An awesome performance with 6 innings pitched and only 1 hit allowed. Between him and Hampton, I’m feeling a lot better about the pitching rotation that follows the Wizard. Berkman received a scouting report from a fan yelling from the stands that the wind was blowing out to right, and that’s where he drove his first homer of Spring Training.
Excitement about Hampton and Ortiz
I am excited about these guys. The dueling bangos from yesteryear. Can they still bring it? I saw Ortiz pitch back in Candlestick Park back in the late 90′s against the Astros. This is when he had his best stuff and I knew we didn’t have much of a chance to win that day against Ortiz, but I sat there with my Astros jersey on and a sweater under the seat (you never knew what weather to expect at Candlestick) and hoped for the best. I can’t even remember who was pitching for us, but it was a reach to think we would win and we didn’t. A few Giants fans razzed me, but it wasn’t disrepectful, just honest. With Hampton, he comes across to me as a lost soul trying to recapture the magic he once had. I guess they both are, and as an Astros fan I hope they find it.
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