Sometimes there’s no place like away from home. At least that’s what many Astros fans thought after the team followed a 6-1 road trip with a 1-5 homestand. The can’t-win-at-Enron-Field explanation of what’s ailing the Astros was punctured, though, by a sweep at Los Angeles last weekend. The ineptitude against the Dodgers suggests that the problem isn’t the ballpark, but the ballclub.
Archive for May, 2001
MLB 2001: A Baseball Odyssey
On May - 25 - 2001
By Waldo
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on May 25, 2001.
When a team gets off to a bad start, its fans will generally say “It’s still early, we can still turn it around.” I, for one, was guilty of that with the Astros last season. I’m not quite sure how long I allowed myself to use that excuse before I finally realized how much the team actually sucked. The expectations one has for a team can often make him/her blind to the cold, hard truth, and I’m fairly certain that I wasn’t the only victim of that last season (at least, for a little while). Read the rest of this entry »
First Things First
On May - 24 - 2001
By Breedlove
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on May 24, 2001.
“Leading off for the Houston Astros… Number 7… Second-baseman… Craig… Biggio.”
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard those familiar words. They’re warm and fuzzy and they feel like home… and it will help the Astros win if we hear them again. Read the rest of this entry »
When Opportunity Knocks, So Does Alou
On May - 23 - 2001
The Astros are among the top clubs in the National League at getting runners on base. Their 13.84 baserunners per game trail only Colorado’s 14.41 and San Diego’s 14.11. With so many ducks on the pond, Astros sluggers have had ample chances to build their RBI totals.
The Tepid Corner
On May - 17 - 2001
By Breedlove
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on May 17, 2001.
With a fifth of the schedule complete and no real production from third base since the early weeks of the season, the Astros began to examine ways to solidify the starting eight. Despite his maturity, great attitude, and a healthy homerun binge to start the year, at .217/.289/.450 with an error every five starts, Chris Truby just was not getting it done. Read the rest of this entry »
New Strike Zone Helping to Sustain Power Surge
On May - 15 - 2001
In The Baseball Book 1991, Bill James, examining the question of whether Nolan Ryan’s strikeout record would ever be broken, wrote, “Because more batters are using whip-handled bats, strikeout rates are still going up. They went down for several years, in the mid-seventies, but they’re going back up now, have been for several years.”