Feels Like '89 Back In The Dome

The Lastros are back and in a big way. As the losing streak reaches double digits, disgruntled fans everywhere claim to hold the magic wand to fix the team.

Well, folks, that wand does not exist. Nothing can really fix the team. However, I do believe it's not as bad as this streak indicates. With the sad state of the NL Central, the Astros are still in the mix. Who could believe that with a 10 game losing streak a team could be within 7 games of first place?

But back to the streak. Manager Phil Garner has been juggling his lineup way too much. Players cannot get a comfortable rhythm and there is a lot of criticism in the locker room about them not knowing their roles. While I think their role should be to simply hit the ball, I do understand their concerns. Garner needs to commit to a group of players and play them. Play them everyday. The streak will eventually end and you will gain a fair assessment of what they can and cannot do. You can make wholesale changes in the offseason.

The easy decisions are to keep Lee in LF, Berkman at 1B, Pence in CF. Beyond that there are question marks. My thinking is to stay with what got you here. Plug in Ausmus at C, Biggio at 2B, Everett at SS and Ensberg at 3B. RF has been a cancer this year. Lane and Scott both started well but Phil has seemingly flipped a coin when deciding whom to start. As a result, both now suck. They need to figure out which player they think has more potential and play him consistently until the All Star break. I really don't care which one it is.

After the break come the decisions. Biggio should be close to reaching 3,000. Once it comes and goes he will understand that he is reduced to a bench player. Chris Burke will be the starter with Biggio getting spot starts at home only.

Ensberg will likely continue to change his stance at the plate so his production will probably continue to mirror Everett's. I'd play Loretta there and hope for the best. Lamb is still a liability despite the yearly "Lamb's made defensive improvements" spring training article the Chronicle runs. He needs to stay on the bench.

I'm a big believer in defense up the middle. As a result, Adam Everett continues to start at SS. Also because there is no other viable option. No one else can field the position.

The Lane/Scott debate really doesn't matter. I've never thought much of either. I'd continue to give solid playing time to one and simply ride it out.

Finally, Brad Ausmus continues to get older and his defense continues to get worse. He's not much better but at least Humberto Quintero can throw out a base runner. Giving Ausmus more days off will keep him fresher for the end of the year.

I predict the Astros will again make the second half push. But they won't have quite enough in the tank and will finish a handful of games behind the Brewers.

I'll post an offseason plan for the team next.

The Vick Saga Takes a Turn

So I haven't really kept up with the Mike Vick situation. I knew he had some dogs at one of his houses and they were bred to fight but that was it. So today I finally get back in touch with the sports world after the holiday weekend and what do I hear? I hear even more interesting events in the Vick case.

Apparently, Vick, aka Ron Mexico, would hold Friday Night Fights at the crib. But instead of turning on ESPN, the boys would roll to the backyard and drop a couple dogs in the octagon. Imagine the scene with me. A couple dozen guys (you may call them thugs) huddled together with Swisher sweets in one hand and a Bud in the other (lean if it were Texas) and a wad of cash on the wager table. They probably take this in for an hour or so, at which point they become a bit tired of all this and call in an order of wings and a side of call girls to occupy their hands and mouths (and possibly other extremities).

But that's not it. You see, Mr. Mexico and his boys aren't the brightest of men. They catch wind of the impending investigation and immediately kill off the remaining living dogs. This way the cops can't catch them red handed with injured dogs from the fighting. So his boys then bury them in the same backyard with the other dead dogs that met their match in the ring. Reports are that there are upwards of 30 dog graves in Vick's yard.

I myself think that the initial idea was pretty sweet. Take some dogs and put em in the ring together. Call up your boys and make it an event. But Mike can't be the one to organize it all. Then the heats on him. But like the decisions of his brother and the decisions he makes each Sunday in the passing game, Mike threw a pick. And it looks like the Feds may be running it the other way for a TD.

Looks like Atlanta traded the wrong QB after all.

Slow Day

So I'm reading the headlines on a prominent sports website today. These are the 3 big stories that jump out.

Jerome Mathis is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Dare I say shocker?

Ex-Bachelor star has retired from the CFL to pursue a broadcasting career. Sorry the marriage didn't work out buddy.

And finally, Upper Deck is in negotiations to buy Topps and earn a stronghold on the trading card industry. Great move Upper Deck....if this were oh, say, 1992.

What a day to be a sports columnist.

The Right Choice......

The Houston Rockets are going to announce tomorrow that Rick Adelman is their new head coach. You can click below to see a picture of him.

http://www.themightymjd.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/adelmanheadscratch.jpg

hmmm.......he seems to bear a striking resemblence to a certain Bob Slydell.

http://www.tvsquad.com/media/2006/05/bob1a.jpg

Personally, I'm against the hire. I say if you're going to pick someone from Office Space. You can't go wrong with Bill Lumbergh. The guy has amazing motivational skills and he would be a perfect fit with today's black athlete.

All Together Now

Yeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!

Steve Nash

The great white hope did not lose the game for the Suns yesterday. The 2 time MVP (and God to all white fans, yours included) was forced to sit out the final few possessions of Game 1 vs. San Antonio. Because of Magic "HIV" Johnson and the rule that players with open cuts cannot play, Nash could only sit and watch his team lose all focus.

He originally cut his nose in a collision with Tony Parker. After a brief timeout to patch himself up, Nash came back and drained a couple quick buckets. All this time blood drained down the sides of his nose. Finally, the refs insisted he close the cut before he play more. Of course, this was with just under a minute left to go. A very opportune time to make the call.

Suns trainers furiously worked on his nose but were unable to close the wound. And that capped the evening for the Suns as their offense too worked feverishly hard to run an offense. But, like Nash, they could only watch as the Spurs ran off with the game.

Boxing

Chances are if you have a TV or read any magazines or newspapers lately you have heard that there is a big boxing event soon. Chances are good that it also may be the last big boxing event you will ever hear about.

The De La Hoya/Mayweather fight could be the greatest fight but with the Golden Boy getting old there may never be a rematch. Furthermore, people may not even care.

Why?

The UFC

Most boxing fans have turned their attention to the UFC and have left the boxing world. With no big fights, boxing has done little to woo them back. But now, they are trying. And it may be too little too late.

UFC started gaining steam a few years back. The craze has now equaled that of wrestling back in the late 90's. For one, UFC is total no holds barred. Anything goes. And that has drawn fans like Mexicans to chicken fights. But more importantly, there are good fights all the time, with the major players fighting much more often than the boxers of old did. In addition, the good fighters want to (and do) fight each other. Whereas in boxing, it takes years before the dream matchups ever occur.

Other reasons for the upswing are boxing's fault. Boxing is corrupt. Rumors of fights being staged and fixed are rampant. Fighters duck each other. And the last good, marquee heavyweight fight was what-10 years ago?!?!

UFC has capitalized on this in major part because they are united. They have a commissioner who is able to organize the fights that the public wants to see. He controls the money and what everyone makes. This has taken the biggest two problem areas of boxing's and made them into a strength for UFC. That has led to the creation of stars each year. Another thing that boxing now lacks.

But now boxing is fighting back. They know time is running out on their sport and this could very well be their last chance at keeping it. The advertising has been heavy and I predict it's a case of too little too late. Potential fans have moved on and no longer care as much. More importantly, future boxers are now interested in MMA and choosing this route.

So fight fans cherish this fight. It could be the last of the big marquee fights. But make sure you aren't too drunk. You'll have to explain to your kids what boxing was. It could very well happen.