http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bb/2630188 Well, here's Richie's latest column... I'm not going to post the whole thing, cause i'm lazy, but here's a highlight (he's talking about how we should just break up the team and start rebuilding): "This reconstruction does not have to take years. The Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers are the best examples of teams that tore down their rosters, rushed kids to the big leagues and got better in a hurry." GOT BETTER?!?!? Based on 2 freaking months?!?!? Hell... why not follow the Royals example of a year ago, or the Pirates example of the first couple of weeks of the season. Hell... I heard Detroit's been doing better recently. Somebody find the 15 year old who's now writing Richie's columns, and get him out of there... To basically come out and say that this franchise should be more like the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers is as close to blasphemy as one can get. I thought yesterday's column was idiotic... this one reaches a brand new low.
June 16, 2004, 1:44AM This defeat comes with a message By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Sometimes, baseball teams suffer ugly defeats that mean virtually nothing. At other times, defeats come with important messages attached. That's what the Astros suffered Tuesday when Dotel blew his third save, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 4-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. Watch the Astros closely the next few days as they evaluate this flawed team. How they react will speak volumes about their judgment and willingness to admit mistakes. Problems run deep They can no longer hope that Andy Pettitte's return to the rotation will save the season. Too much else is wrong. They shouldn't even begin with Dotel. Sure, they made a monumentally stupid move in trading closer Billy Wagner after last season. Problem is, that trade can't be undone. What they must now focus on is everything else. They are old and slow. They lack athleticism. They are in fifth place. They must not think small. They must admit that they can't win with this current mix of players. They must start making changes. They probably can't get everything fixed on the fly this season. They may not get everything fixed in one offseason, either, because some of the older players still have long-term contracts. Simply admitting there's a fundamental problem would be a start. Instead of focusing on getting rid of veterans such as Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus, they ought to surround those veterans with kids. Support the veterans Bagwell and Ausmus showed their value in calling a team meeting and speaking forcefully after Tuesday's game, the team's 19th loss in 31 games, the one that dropped them into fifth place in the National League Central. This reconstruction does not have to take years. The Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers are the best examples of teams that tore down their rosters, rushed kids to the big leagues and got better in a hurry. If I'm Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker, I'd come up with the name of every minor-leaguer who seems within a year of being ready to play in the big leagues. And then I'd start opening spots for them. What the Astros need more than anything is a dose of youthful energy and enthusiasm. They certainly need better starting pitching and more arms in the bullpen and all that, but their overhaul must begin with an attitude. During the next few months, I'd do everything possible to create room for second baseman Chris Burke, outfielder Willy Taveras and one or two others. The Astros are already shopping right fielder Richard Hidalgo, but he has been on the block most of the last three years. They also should ask second baseman Jeff Kent to waive his no-trade clause. The Astros weren't going to re-sign him in the first place, so why not see if some team is interested in acquiring one of the National League's best hitters? Some have said it's silly to even consider trading Kent because he's productive and because Burke can't possibly be better. That thinking is correct. But it might be the right thing to do anyway. The Astros need Burke, and they need Jason Lane and they need every kid they can fit a uniform for. They need to change the mix, and maybe by doing that, the whole would be greater than the sum of the parts. Lane has gone 6-for-15 since being inserted into the lineup and deserves to be the everyday right fielder whether Hidalgo can be traded or not. Maybe Lane and Burke alone would give the Astros a dramatically different feel. Maybe they'd make Bagwell and Lance Berkman and Adam Everett better. There's more help on the way. In the next 15 months, catcher John Buck and others will arrive at Minute Maid Park. Why are you ignoring the elephant in the living room? What about manager Jimy Williams? Evaluating him will be the toughest decision of all. He's a good and decent man, he's one of the game's best in terms of preparation. At the same time, he's got such a quick hook with the starting pitchers that he either has to change or be replaced. Dotel may have been charged with his third blown save on Tuesday, but Williams gets an assist. He rushed to get Pete Munro out of Sunday's game after four innings and was forced to use Brad Lidge and Dotel for two innings apiece. Both pitchers got themselves into trouble and ended up throwing too many pitches. Dotel's 46 pitches was more than he'd thrown in more than 200 big-league appearances, and despite a day off on Monday, he clearly lacked his usual pop when the Cubs scored three runs off him in the ninth. Afterward, the veterans called a team meeting to encourage one another to keep going. That's an absolute necessity. The front office should do the same.
The suggestions he conjured are not illogical, outrageous or unreasonable. It is obvious he reached a little at times but his general premise is not inconceivable.
Yeah, let's model our team after the Brewers. Maybe the Rockets will draft Duhon and Justice will request to cover the Rockets/Duhon solely. We can only hope.
I'm frustrated with this team too, but this guy is writing like the Astros are 10 games out. I checked the standings this morning and it showed the Astros 3.5 out. Then I looked at the calender and it says today is June 16. Now certainly, the Astros need to get things moving in the right direction pretty soon, but to suggest trading Kent is ludicrous. That's a total give-up move, and even if it isn't, that's the way it will look to not only the fans, but also the rest of the team. All it's going to take is one or two weeks of 6-1, 5-2 baseball and this team is right back at the top of the division. Yeah, things don't look great right now, but the sky isn't falling like Justice believes it to be.
ridiculous. did anyone hear him this morning on the radio? completely illogical. grantato killed him. this team had it's greatest april in franchise history it had a so-so May it's had an awful mid-May to mid-June teams go through ups and downs. at this point last season, the marlins didn't look much like champions, if i remember right. the idea of blowing up a team before the halfway point in a "win now" season is among the stupidest things i've ever read in a chronicle sports column. and curiously it comes from a guy who has probably been my favorite writer there for a while. the kent/burke thing is so silly it's laughable. modeling the royals and the rangers, who don't have "win now" mentalities and are playing with little to no pressure is ridiculous.
Yeah I generally have liked Justice in the past, but he has just gone off the deep-end in his last two columns about dismantling the team and tearing it apart right now in the middle of a pennant race. I don't know what the heck is going on, but he is losing credibility fast in my book. He's seems worst than some posters on here after a Rockets loss right now.
He is just stirring up the pot a little bit which is good for the Astros right now. We can't afford to go down 8-10 games and be behind 3 teams in our own division. We have a great thing going Marketing wise with the Rocket, All-Star Game, etc... Drayton needs to continue to think big, THIS YEAR... Time to add a few different pieces to the puzzle that will fit with our needs of moving to the top of the National League. Not a mediocre team in the Central Division race.
stirring the pot is fine...but make sense when you do it. making illogical connections between the goals of the Rangers and the goals of the Astros coming into this season...advocating sitting the best 2b in the league for a guy who's still in the minors...these things are illogical. they're not wise moves. particularly in a "win now" season.
Well it’s apparent that Justice loves Bagwell and hates Kent. I hope he is not letting his personal feelings and relationships with these guys interfere with how he does his job…
He is a Sports Writer, not a MLB GM. Of course his ideas will not make sense to real Astros followers. Justice is just using the huge media attention the Stros received at the beginning of the season to either push an agenda that none of us knows about; or he is just thinking about how he can lead the pack within the Sports Media World by forcing more accountability & lighting a spark within the ballclub that will hopefully lead to some fire (confidence) within the players...
If he seeks credibility, he needs to make sense. Otherwise, it is, as Jim Rome puts it, a fish wrap...and nothing more. His readers are sports fans...and in particular, Houston sports fans. If he doesn't make sense to those readers...then he's missing the mark...and he's worthless.
Alot of things Astros related does not make sense at the moment... Just add his columns over the last few days to the list. Hopefully things will pick up over the coming days, weeks, months. But then we can always hope for better results next year.
Burke is going to be nice player, but it's debatable if he will ever be as good as Kent is. He's not going to get there this year for sure. Kent hasn't been holding him back at all. Burke has taken a while to develop. Next year Kent will be gone and Burke will start at second, I think Justice has it in for Kent. The Astros would severely miss Kent's bat and Burke's speed and defensive ability aren't going to make up for it as he struggles to adjust to the majors. Calling up Taveras also makes no sense. He's having a great year in Round Rock, but skipping AAA could prove very detrimental to someone the Astros hope is going to become their cf for the next dozen years. He's fast and is a very good slap hitter. He has shown almost no ability to hit for power. His slg % isn't even 50 points higher than his average. He also hasn't walked a lot up to this point and has a 2:1 k/bb ratio. I don't see him helping the Astros this year. Replacing Kent and Biggio, 2 vets who are hitting .300, with 2 rookies and expecting an increase or even the same level of production is insane. Justice thinks that new blood will somehow rejuvenate the Astros and make them start playing better. That's not going to happen when you're replacing starters with rookies that are incapable of producing at the same level right now.
Replacing 2 of your 3 consistently good/great offensive performers, Biggio & Kent, with a guy having his 1st great year in AAA and a guy having his 1st great year in AA, in the hopes that "[m]aybe they'd make Bagwell and Lance Berkman and Adam Everett better," is very, very much 100% illogical, outrageous and unreasonable. I hope he is not letting his personal feelings and relationships with these guys interfere with how he does his job… Re-read the article, that's exactly what he's doing. Sit or trade Kent/Biggio so you can surround Bagwell/Ausmus with the "kids". Makes perfect sense to me.
Buck I understand where you are coming from but I fear this team needs lots of work....maybe a little. Something is missing. Something is awry. I am afraid we may also lose Kent for nothing or get less in return for him if we do not move sooner rather than later. Kent has not be been lights out this season....though he has done very well - I will be willing to see him go now for much good iun return. We look uninspired, unexiting and stagnant. The things he suggested may sound foolish but they are ridiculous, irrational or inconceivable. I hate to confess this but I don't see us making much impact if we do not make another change albeit subtle. We are too predicted .....not as in predictably good but otherwise. But I fear the status quo mentality may keep us from taking risks. At this tate we are going, we may be a victim of double jeopardy.
