Remember when Houston had a major league franchise?

I had a whole blog post written in my head for when the Astros beat the Diamondbacks tonight.

It was about the final 44 games and how the Giants and Diamondbacks are basically playing an abbreviated season.



You will forgive me for almost jumping the gun. I mean the lowly Astros had a 5-1 lead going into the 8th inning. I mean even HOUSTON could hold onto a 4 run lead over 2 innings.



They even had a 2 run lead with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the bottom of the 9th.

So forgive me for thinking the Astros had a shot to win.



I didn't expect a 2 out game tying homer from Paul Goldschmidt who was in AA about an hour ago,



And I didn't think slumping Chris Young would get a walk off shot.

Sorry that the idea of the Diamondbacks getting 7 unanswered runs in the last 3 innings hadn't crossed my mind.



So the minor league franchise in Houston is on pace for 110 losses. The franchise has never had a 100 loss team. This one is all but assured that.

The Astros would have to go 25-19 the rest of the way to avoid a 100 loss season.



If tonight is any indication, that is an impossibility.



But the worst crime they committed? They prevented me from using a blog post that I all but wrote in my head.



The bastards.

A Christmas gift for Padres fan: Optimism

This Christmas, some baseball fans should already be pessimistic about their teams chances in 2011.

The Pirates are obviously not going to be good and their losing season streak will no doubt reach a shameful 19. The Royals waved the white flag with the Greinke trade. The Mets and Cubs are a year away from a massive relief of bad contracts expiring. The Diamondbacks should have another year wandering in the desert. And the Nationals will probably stink again even though they seem to think they are on the verge of contending.

You would think that I would throw the Padres onto the scrap heap of hopeless teams, especially after dealing Adrian Gonzalez and inevitably sending Heath Bell packing before Opening Day.

But I can’t. I think there are too many reasons to be optimistic in PetCo Park, and I don’t just mean the ability to get a decent seat.

First of all, they are still LOADED with pitching talent. Mat Latos looks like he will be an All Star for a while. Clayton Richard looks like a steal from the White Sox. And even though Jon Garland has skedaddled and taken his 200 innings with him, there are other options. Aaron Harang has come to town and while he has been kind of lousy the last few years, he is moving from the hitters haven of Great America Ballpark to the pitcher paradise of PetCo Park.

Also Tim Stauffer, Cory Luebke or even young Simon Castro could step in and fill out the back of the rotation.

And their 2010 bullpen was a never ending parade of effective arms. Whenever I saw the Padres play (and as a West Coast resident I saw them A LOT) they always pulled out some reliever that I hadn’t heard of before but had some sickeningly good numbers.

Seriously, besides the biggest baseball fans or residents of the Gaslamp District, who the hell heard of Ernesto Frieri, Luke Gregerson, Edward Mujica, Joe Thatcher or Ryan Webb? If Heath Bell is dealt, ONE of those guys could step in and pitch the 9th.

And if Bell is dealt, Padres GM Jed Hoyer seems to be pretty good at actually getting useful players in return. Clayton Richard came over in a deal for a broken down Jake Peavy. Casey Kelly, brought over in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, could be in the pitching staff this year. Gonzalez also yielded Anthony Rizzo who could fill in at first base and Raymond Fuentes who could be in the outfield by 2012.

Take note Pittsburgh. Just because you trade expensive players doesn’t mean you have to dump them for no value in return.

And I think some of the moves they have made have made the team better. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson are a terrific middle of the infield and should be an improvement defensively. And Brad Hawpe is just a season removed from being an All Star. The Padres don’t need All Star production from him… just hit well enough to not have first base be a hole.

And in the light of what happened in 2010, many of the young Padres experienced meaningful games in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. If they went 2-8 between August 26th and September 5th instead of 0-10, they would have been playing in the playoffs. As it were, they won 90 games and lost the Division to the eventual World Champions.

And the Giants will inevitably take a slight step back in the wake of their World Series title, the Diamondbacks are rebuilding, the Dodgers are a mess and who knows what will happen in Colorado. The NL West isn’t the AL East with super powers gobbling up super stars.

And what else did the Giants championship teach us? With a good pitching staff, you don’t need to be an offensive powerhouse to win. The Giants upgraded their offense from “A FEMA level disaster” to merely “terrible” and look where they ended up.

If Bell could fill in a hole or two in the line up and the young pitching takes advantage of the ballpark and the improved defense, they could have a winning season. And in the NL West, a winning season could mean contention in September.

And what else can you ask for in September than meaningful games. So be optimistic this Christmas morning, Padres fan. You may not have the sexiest team, but you do have reason to look forward to 2011.

Go ahead and have images of National League West titles dancing in your head.

I can’t call the Padres chokers

I know it would be easy to call the Padres choke artists… heck you might even have the numbers to back it up.

On August 25th, the Padres looked like a team of destiny. They improved their record to 76-49. They were up by 8 games in the loss column over San Francisco with 37 games to play.

The Padres had a better record than anyone else in the National League by 5 games in the loss column and were on a run where they won 12 of 15 games.

And then it happened.
The 10 game losing streak.
Squandering a 6 ½ game lead in 16 days.

Finishing the season 14-23.

And now out of the playoff picture. The playoffs start this week and the Padres are playing golf.

On the surface it looks like a huge face plant.

But let’s call Doc Brown and go back in time.
Going into this season, the Padres (with the NL’s second lowest payroll) look like they would be sitting with the Nationals, Pirates and Mets as the few National League teams with no hope.

The only questions going into 2010 were “Where is Adrian Gonzalez going to be traded?” and “Should the Padres deal Heath Bell as well?”

What if I told you a Padres team that EVERYONE seemed to have picked for 90 losses would actually be a 90 WIN team?

That they would be in contention for the entire season with arguably the deepest bullpen in baseball and make it all the way to the last day of the season before being eliminated?

That they would play 3 “lose and your season is over” games on the road and win the first 2?

You’d think I was crazy and demand to know the physics of time travel.

But I think the season should be judged based upon expectations and outcomes. A team whose payroll is less than what the Red Sox paid for Tim Wakefield, J. D. Drew, Mike Lowell, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett this year, is not expected to win more games than the Red Sox.

But they did.

A team with a no name rotation and line up (save for Gonzalez) is expected to contend.

But they did.

They didn’t choke. They destroyed all expectations. If they started off horribly and then caught fire and made it to 90 wins, they’d be considered a triumph.

This isn’t going to look pretty for San Diego’s underrated tortured history. But this wasn’t a choke.

If the METS did this, it would be a choke. But then again the Mets didn’t even contend despite paying $95 million more for their players.

But that is another post.

Hey Bochy, stick with this line up

In the last 13 games, as I wrote last night, the Giants have scored a total of 38 runs... a little less than 3 a game.

The way they are hitting tonight, they could score 38 runs before the 7th inning.
I'm not kidding. 11 runs in 3 innings?

The Giants?

Take this line up, Bochy and keep starting it.
After tonight, there are only 9 regular season Giants games left.

The number of games left is the same as the number of runs they scored in the 2nd inning.

What does that tell you?
That tells ME that it is worth it...

How could it be WORSE than the offense you've been sending out there?

Hey Bochy, stick with this line up

In the last 13 games, as I wrote last night, the Giants have scored a total of 38 runs... a little less than 3 a game.

The way they are hitting tonight, they could score 38 runs before the 7th inning.
I'm not kidding. 11 runs in 3 innings?

The Giants?

Take this line up, Bochy and keep starting it.
After tonight, there are only 9 regular season Giants games left.

The number of games left is the same as the number of runs they scored in the 2nd inning.

What does that tell you?
That tells ME that it is worth it...

How could it be WORSE than the offense you've been sending out there?

NL West race is going to top ROCKY II

It is appropriate that one of the teams involved in the NL West race are called The Rockies, because I am reminded of one of the Rocky films when I look at how the division is winding down.

Each team, the Rockies, Giants and Padres, get a breather today.

That’s bad news for the Rockies (who have an extra day to mull how they blew a 6 run lead and a chance to force a 3 way tie in the loss column.)

That’s good news for the Padres (who could use a day to regroup after a lousy series in St. Louis.

And indifferent for San Francisco (who probably wouldn’t mind another calendar day in first place.)

Then back to slugging it out… which is what reminds me of Rocky II.

(Spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen a 31 year old movie.)

That was the one where Apollo and Rocky were fighting and in what looks like the 438th round, they both took a punch (like you do in a boxing match) and both fell to the ground.

So both guys fell down and both were scrambling to stand up… holding onto the ropes in the process.

The heavyweight title was going to go to whomever managed to stand up. It had nothing to do with records, training, how they fought up until that point…

Just stand up and you’ll win.

We’re at this point with the NL West. It doesn’t matter who is on the roster… how well you played… if you had slumped or gone on a tear… it doesn’t matter how well the GM made trades or who is in the farm… it doesn’t matter who has the higher payroll.

There is about a dozen games left. Great teams can have a lousy 12 some odd games. Terrible teams can have a terrific 12 some odd games.

It is all thrown out the window.

The NL West will go to whomever is left standing.

And this race will be even better because there are THREE. It would be like Clubber Lang jumping into the ring at the last minute.

Grab the ropes, Giants.

I don’t want my dad to yell like Apollo.
Go catch that chicken and win that Division!

(If you needed to have that reference explained, then you haven’t seen Rocky II!)

NL West race is going to top ROCKY II

It is appropriate that one of the teams involved in the NL West race are called The Rockies, because I am reminded of one of the Rocky films when I look at how the division is winding down.

Each team, the Rockies, Giants and Padres, get a breather today.

That’s bad news for the Rockies (who have an extra day to mull how they blew a 6 run lead and a chance to force a 3 way tie in the loss column.)

That’s good news for the Padres (who could use a day to regroup after a lousy series in St. Louis.

And indifferent for San Francisco (who probably wouldn’t mind another calendar day in first place.)

Then back to slugging it out… which is what reminds me of Rocky II.

(Spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen a 31 year old movie.)

That was the one where Apollo and Rocky were fighting and in what looks like the 438th round, they both took a punch (like you do in a boxing match) and both fell to the ground.

So both guys fell down and both were scrambling to stand up… holding onto the ropes in the process.

The heavyweight title was going to go to whomever managed to stand up. It had nothing to do with records, training, how they fought up until that point…

Just stand up and you’ll win.

We’re at this point with the NL West. It doesn’t matter who is on the roster… how well you played… if you had slumped or gone on a tear… it doesn’t matter how well the GM made trades or who is in the farm… it doesn’t matter who has the higher payroll.

There is about a dozen games left. Great teams can have a lousy 12 some odd games. Terrible teams can have a terrific 12 some odd games.

It is all thrown out the window.

The NL West will go to whomever is left standing.

And this race will be even better because there are THREE. It would be like Clubber Lang jumping into the ring at the last minute.

Grab the ropes, Giants.

I don’t want my dad to yell like Apollo.
Go catch that chicken and win that Division!

(If you needed to have that reference explained, then you haven’t seen Rocky II!)

GET UP GIANTS! THERE'S A DIVISION TO WIN!

This is no time to be lying around, Giants... there's an amazing thing that is happening:

The Padres are falling apart.
Worse than falling apart.

They've dropped a WEEK of games down the stretch.
Sure the Giants are only 2 games back of the Phillies for the Wild Card... but the Phillies are suddenly healthy and looking more and more like the 2 time defending NL Champs.

And the Phillies are chasing the Braves who are also showing no signs of letting up.

But there's San Diego.
Remember all season long it looked like they were winning with a big bag of luck and a no name line up (besides Adrian Gonzalez)?

Remember when the season began the Padres looked like a team destined to lose 100 games?

Well what if I told you at the beginning of the year they would win 88-90 games?
You'd probably award Bud Black for manager of the year!

What if the law of averages are catching up to the Padres?
What if this wonderful story of the second lowest payroll in the National League taking control of the division and storming into the playoffs WAS too good to be true?

The Giants play the Padres seven (count em SEVEN) more times.

Of course the Padres have the Giants number this year, winning 9 out of 11 games so far.
But what if the law of averages catches up with the head to head match up as well?

The Giants can't worry about teeth grinding losses and blown opportunities.

Forget the 9th inning triple the other day or blowing the comeback to the Reds last week.

They actually can take control of their own destiny, and with Lincecum back in the win column finally, maybe they can string together some wins!

I'm telling you, the West can be won.

GET UP GIANTS! THERE'S A DIVISION TO WIN!

This is no time to be lying around, Giants... there's an amazing thing that is happening:

The Padres are falling apart.
Worse than falling apart.

They've dropped a WEEK of games down the stretch.
Sure the Giants are only 2 games back of the Phillies for the Wild Card... but the Phillies are suddenly healthy and looking more and more like the 2 time defending NL Champs.

And the Phillies are chasing the Braves who are also showing no signs of letting up.

But there's San Diego.
Remember all season long it looked like they were winning with a big bag of luck and a no name line up (besides Adrian Gonzalez)?

Remember when the season began the Padres looked like a team destined to lose 100 games?

Well what if I told you at the beginning of the year they would win 88-90 games?
You'd probably award Bud Black for manager of the year!

What if the law of averages are catching up to the Padres?
What if this wonderful story of the second lowest payroll in the National League taking control of the division and storming into the playoffs WAS too good to be true?

The Giants play the Padres seven (count em SEVEN) more times.

Of course the Padres have the Giants number this year, winning 9 out of 11 games so far.
But what if the law of averages catches up with the head to head match up as well?

The Giants can't worry about teeth grinding losses and blown opportunities.

Forget the 9th inning triple the other day or blowing the comeback to the Reds last week.

They actually can take control of their own destiny, and with Lincecum back in the win column finally, maybe they can string together some wins!

I'm telling you, the West can be won.

No NL Team has more wins than the Giants

It looks strange when you see that sentence typed out, doesn't it?

I mean the Giants were supposed to be better this year... but here we are in August and the Giants have as many wins as any NL team (and that team they are tied with is the Padres, which is even stranger.)

I mean weren't the Phillies supposed to be the powerhouse of the NL?

Even with the divorce woes, weren't the Dodgers supposed to be in this?

How about the Rockies or Cardinals? They were destined for 90+ wins this year.

Nope... Los Gigantes are better than all of them.

And it brings up a very interesting scenario for the many Giant fans who read Sully Baseball. If the Giants pass the Padres in the standings (and they are only 2 back in the loss column) and finish the season with the best record in the NL... then they would have home field advantage in the Division Series... in the NLCS... and the World Series.

That's what is at stake in the NL. For the first time since 2001, the National League team will host Game 1 of the World Series (and potentially a Game 7.)

Let's take a look at each American League team since 2001 who finished the season with the best record and how they did in the post season:

2002 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2003 - Yankees (Lost in World Series)

2004 - Yankees (Lost in ALCS)

2005 - White Sox (Won World Series)

2006 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2007 - Red Sox (Won World Series)

2008 - Angels (Lost in Dvision Series)

2009 - Yankees (Won World Series.)

OK, it isn't a lock for anything... but in those 8 years there were 4 pennant winners and 3 World Series winners.

It's a small sample, but half of the teams that home field advantage since the All Star Game determined which league would host the World Series opener went on to win the pennant.

Can you picture it Giants fans?

Can you imagine how 2002 could have been different if Games 6 and 7 were by China Basin?

The Giants have the pitching, the hitting is coming around and the Padres have lost 3 of their last 4 games.

Could this be the year the Giants fans have been waiting for?

Just keep winning and it is there for the taking.

No NL Team has more wins than the Giants

It looks strange when you see that sentence typed out, doesn't it?

I mean the Giants were supposed to be better this year... but here we are in August and the Giants have as many wins as any NL team (and that team they are tied with is the Padres, which is even stranger.)

I mean weren't the Phillies supposed to be the powerhouse of the NL?

Even with the divorce woes, weren't the Dodgers supposed to be in this?

How about the Rockies or Cardinals? They were destined for 90+ wins this year.

Nope... Los Gigantes are better than all of them.

And it brings up a very interesting scenario for the many Giant fans who read Sully Baseball. If the Giants pass the Padres in the standings (and they are only 2 back in the loss column) and finish the season with the best record in the NL... then they would have home field advantage in the Division Series... in the NLCS... and the World Series.

That's what is at stake in the NL. For the first time since 2001, the National League team will host Game 1 of the World Series (and potentially a Game 7.)

Let's take a look at each American League team since 2001 who finished the season with the best record and how they did in the post season:

2002 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2003 - Yankees (Lost in World Series)

2004 - Yankees (Lost in ALCS)

2005 - White Sox (Won World Series)

2006 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2007 - Red Sox (Won World Series)

2008 - Angels (Lost in Dvision Series)

2009 - Yankees (Won World Series.)

OK, it isn't a lock for anything... but in those 8 years there were 4 pennant winners and 3 World Series winners.

It's a small sample, but half of the teams that home field advantage since the All Star Game determined which league would host the World Series opener went on to win the pennant.

Can you picture it Giants fans?

Can you imagine how 2002 could have been different if Games 6 and 7 were by China Basin?

The Giants have the pitching, the hitting is coming around and the Padres have lost 3 of their last 4 games.

Could this be the year the Giants fans have been waiting for?

Just keep winning and it is there for the taking.

No longer sleeping Giants

Did you notice the Giants are 9-2 since the All Star Break?

Chances are if you said "Yes" to that, you are my dad.
But for the rest of you... the Giants are suddenly for real and if the playoffs started today, they would be playing the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.

Now they could probably use another bat, but with Buster Posey making his own case for Rookie of the Year, it might not have to be a huge impact bat.

That being said, as the unpredictable Marlins come to San Francisco, Giants fans need to do something unpleasant:

You need to root for the Dodgers this week.

I know it is hard for you all, but trust me it is for the best.

The Giants are 4 back in the loss column of San Diego and they've been winning with smoke and mirrors all season. A nice losing streak by the Friars could land the Giants in first place and the possibility of being on top of the standings is worth a few Dodger wins.

Trust me on this one.

No longer sleeping Giants

Did you notice the Giants are 9-2 since the All Star Break?

Chances are if you said "Yes" to that, you are my dad.
But for the rest of you... the Giants are suddenly for real and if the playoffs started today, they would be playing the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.

Now they could probably use another bat, but with Buster Posey making his own case for Rookie of the Year, it might not have to be a huge impact bat.

That being said, as the unpredictable Marlins come to San Francisco, Giants fans need to do something unpleasant:

You need to root for the Dodgers this week.

I know it is hard for you all, but trust me it is for the best.

The Giants are 4 back in the loss column of San Diego and they've been winning with smoke and mirrors all season. A nice losing streak by the Friars could land the Giants in first place and the possibility of being on top of the standings is worth a few Dodger wins.

Trust me on this one.

Congrats Dodgers... I think

The Dodgers won the NL West last night as they took their first lead since blowing that 3 run to Pittsburgh.

They are the NL West champs with homefield throughout the National League playoffs.

That's great, right?

That also means they will play a rested and ready St. Louis Cardinals team with two aces and the MVP.

And the Rockies will play a Phillies team with a decimated bullpen.

That's a reward?

Nice Job Diamondbacks

The Dodgers tied you guys for first place with their 11th inning win.
But worst of all it insures that the leader of the NL West will have a losing record in late July.

Come on! Make a run!
SOMEONE!

NL West... you should be ashamed of yourself

You couldn't field a single .500 team at the All Star break?
Really?
REALLY?

The Division that had nearly a 3 way tie for best team in the NL last year now can't even field a mediocre team?

And to say this is the first half of the season is misleading.
The league leading sub .500 Diamondbacks have played 95 games!

After the break, I want to see some big trades and some team in the NL West make a move.

83 wins might be enough...

Way to go NL West

The whole division is going into the games on July 3rd under .500.

Nice product.

Seriously, some team better go on a spending spree and put a decent product on the field.

Come on! promise your fan base mediocrity!!!

Hey NL West...

Nice division!

It's July 2nd and you don't have a single team over .500?
The Rockies and Padres who played a one game, winner makes the playoff last year are now playing sub .400 ball... and yet are not out of it.

The Dodgers can't get a hit, are 5 game sunder .500 and within striking distance of first place!

The GIANTS are still in it!
Any team that is 10 games under .500 going into July should not be saying the sentence "Who should we pick up at the trade deadline?"

But why not?
Hey, in a year where .500 might get you a ticket to the dance, why not push your chips to the center of the table?

Seriously, I expect to see some wild trades from the NL West at the end of this month.
Start adding up your prospects and see if they equal C. C. Sabathia or Ken Griffey Jr!

Wouldn't it be something if the Giants win 83 games, make the playoffs and pull a 2006 Cardinals and win it all with a subpar team, all in the year after Barry left?

So come on NL West.
Aim for the middle! That should be enough