Displaying items by tag: Houston Astros

Until last Sunday night, I was still an agnostic World Series fan.

I have had connections with the Kansas City Royals and the Anaheim Angels over the years I have owned radio stations and I grew up between the Cubs and the Cards.

I have absolutely zero connections with either the Washington Nationals or the Houston Astros.  When they both got into the series, I looked forward to a “may the best team win” kind of series.

But when the President attended Game 5 in Washington’s taxpayer-built stadium, he was introduced.  And booed.

Those self-entitled Washington dumbasses weren’t actually booing the President as much as they were booing the 63,000,000 of us in real America who elected him.

Washington is a town which is packed with people who want things one way.  Their way.  They don’t want us interrupting their making a fine living at our expense.  Even if it comes down to a baseball game.

Now the President took it very well.  He wasn’t the first President to be booed and certainly won’t be the last.

But I’m still more than a little bit pissed off.

Not for the disrespect to the office, which I would have resented for any President.

But for the disrespect to America.  That America which is called “flyover country” by those who were doing the booing.

Who, exactly, do these idiots think they are?  It looked to me like Washington, D.C. giving the rest of America—at least that part west of the Hudson River, East of the LA County line and South of the Cook County line—an upraised middle finger.

Now, if it were simply about baseball, well, where I grew up, you had to choose up sides between the Cubs and the Cards.  I could take it.  But we all know it’s not.  It’s about the swamp.  It’s about people who make a lot of money on our backs both in and out of government but almost always with money which comes from the very people they were booing.

These are the people who—like fired FBI Agent Peter Strzok—say things like “Just went to a Southern Virginia Walmart. I could smell the Trump support.” Which he texted on an FBI cell phone, which we paid for, to his illicit lover, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, prior to the 2016 election.

Truth be told, they think that Houston is flyover country.  Just another place where you could “smell” the Trump support.

Baseball is thought of as our national pastime.  Apparently everywhere but Washington DC, where politics is a blood sport and anything which advances those politics goes.  In my media life—which started as a sportswriter—I have only seen umpires booed at a baseball game.

And I would have a hard time enumerating the baseball games I have seen save to say it is a very large number. Into five figures.

It’s just not a sport which lends itself to that sort of behavior.

Which makes what happened enough to want to see the Nationals move—perhaps to Las Vegas.  D.C. doesn’t deserve a team.

As this is being written, the Nationals have forced a game seven and the series will be won or lost in Houston.

Understand that the players were not booing the President or us.  Baseball players can be traded, sent down to the minors or cut at the whim of a General Manager.  Indeed, some Washington players GREW UP in Houston.

That said, the Nationals would perform just as well if not better with Las Vegas or any other city except the swamp emblazoned on their jerseys.

And any more stupidity from the so-called “fans” of the Nationals should tell Major League Baseball that such a move would probably not offend the 63,000,000 people who voted for this President.

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Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission. 

In a season that took 2,468 games to decide a champion, it might seem foolish to base any conclusions on the result of one game. But no game is more important and, therefore, more revealing, than a World Series Game 7. So here’s what we learned from the Astros’ World Series win.

1) Veterans and small ball still win championships

The Astros took the lead in the first inning of Game 7 with a leadoff double followed by an error by 22-year-old, first baseman Cody Bellinger, who also struck out thrice in the game and finished the series with a .565 OPS. Alex Bregman then stole third base on Darvish, who seemed to forget about him, which resulted in a second run when the likely American League Most Value Player, Jose Altuve, did exactly what he needed to do -- hit a ground ball past the pitcher. That was enough to win the game.

2) Yu Darvish is a nice, reserved person, but not a reliable ace

Darvish’s thoughtful, Twitter reaction to Yuli Gurriel’s insensitive, racially-charged gesture following a home run in Game 3 was a pleasant surprise in what’s been a year defined by racial divisiveness. But Darvish’s World Series performance might leave some MLB general managers reluctant to sign the starter to a big-money, long-term deal in free agency this offseason. As the moments got bigger, Darvish got worse. He allowed eight runs over three-and-a-third innings in the World Series while allowing just two runs in 11-and-a-third innings in his other two postseason starts. He was responsible for two of the Astros’ four wins.

More importantly to his free agent value, Darvish was either really good or really bad in 2017. In his 10 wins during the regular season, Darvish averaged just 1.6 earned runs allowed. In his 12 losses during the regular season, Darvish averaged 4.17 earned runs allowed. He allowed five or more earned runs five times during the regular season. Including the postseason, Darvish allowed four or more earned runs eight times.

3) Clayton Kershaw still isn’t a pressure player

Kershaw tossed four innings of scoreless ball in Game 7 but blew his chance to shake his bad postseason reputation in Game 5 -- the most important game of the series. He allowed six earned runs over four-and-two-thirds innings pitched, and like Darvish, performed better earlier in the postseason. Kershaw actually lowered his postseason ERA from 4.44 to 4.35. His regular season ERA of 2.31 led the majors. Unlike Darvish, I doubt Kershaw’s postseason struggles will scare away any general managers looking to sign him next offseason if he declines his player option with Los Angeles. He’s still the best regular season starter in baseball.

4) The Astros are going to be good for a really long time

The Astros will likely return their entire roster next season, but the team is built for long-term success thanks to home-grown talent. Altuve won’t be a free agent for another two years, and Carlos Correa won’t hit free agency until 2022, which is the final year of Bregman’s arbitration eligibility. And now Houston has Justin Verlander signed through 2020, so look for the Astros to be perennial contenders for the next three to five years.

5) The Dodgers’ window of opportunity closes next season

Regardless of what happens with Kershaw after next season, the Dodgers aren’t built for sustainable, long-term success. While the Dodgers could have up to $96 million coming off their books after 2018, they would like to stay under the $195 million luxury tax threshold to avoid paying the 50-percent tax reserved for teams exceeding the threshold for three consecutive seasons. So paying Kershaw $40 million annually might not be feasible. The Dodgers will also have to consider signing 25-year-old, center fielder Joc Pederson long-term, who was their best player in the World Series with a 1.344 OPS. He’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason.

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