Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown: Houston Astros
Houston Astros
Every Thursday Sports Grind Entertainment will present you with the Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown. The recipient of this honor goes to the Houston Astros who have opened the Major League Baseball season 0-8.
The Astros are off to their worst start since 1983, when they opened that season 0-9, and are currently they only winless team left in the MLB. Looking at some of Houston stats they can help explain why they have gotten off to such a horrible start. Houston has 6 position players batting under .120 and without the hits the Astros should look at other ways to get on base but they are just as bad with taking base on balls. They currently have five positions players: J.R. Towles, Pedro Feliz, Kazuo Matsui,Tommy Manzella, and Hunter Pence who have have yet to draw a walk, while the team as a whole as only 8 overall and Jeff Keppinger accounts for half of them. This helps explains why the have an MLB worse .239 on-base percentage, a full 65 points behind the next team.
The Astros however have had to face some of the games elite pitching in its first eight games like opening the season with back to back starts against two former Cy Young Award winners in San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. The letup hasn’t been any easier facing All Star Giants pitcher Matt Cain, last years rookie of the year runner up Philadelphia Phillies J.A. Happ, 259 game winner Jamie Moyer, Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, top 5 Cy Young Award finishers St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright and Brad Penny.
The pitching of the Astros when compared to their hitting seems to be a breathe of fresh air. They still rank with the worst in the National League when it comes to walking hitters, giving up home runs and allowing earned runs. Then comes the ability to strike hitters out where Houston ranks 15 out of 16 in the National League with only 48 in its first eight games.
The sub-par pitching and horrendous hitting has caused the Astros to only lead for four of 72 innings through their first eight games, scoring just 14 runs. Houston hopes to avoid matching its 1983 0-9 season when it faces the Cardinals at noon but have struggled in recent years at Busch Stadium, losing 13 of its last 17 games since 2008.
Houston still has a chance to earn its first win before Thursday is over with however since this is posted at 6:30 am the Astros have earned this week Mama Margies Major Meltdown.
San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum Keeps Winning With 1st Cap
The Freak
A rare Tim Lincecum superstition has emerged, and it resides atop his head. When a new season starts off usually new things appear all around the diamond except for recently when Lincecum took to mound with the same ratty-looking cap he has worn since his first major league game.
Lincecum won two Cy Youngs with that cap. He earned a $23 million contract with the cap. The cap is going nowhere.
“It’s just something I always did,” Lincecum said. “In high school, I got a cap and I stuck with it all year. In college, I wore the same hat until I had to change hats because they changed brands. I like keeping the old hat. I like the worn look. Plus, it means something to me. I don’t want to throw it away.”
The hat does not stink even though it has not been washed as he Febreze’s the hell out of it. Plus I’m hungry, just wanted to see if your reading. Lincecum does draw the line since he wears new spikes and insisted he would not refuse to wash his uniform even during a long winning streak.
“I might be crazy,” he said, “but not that crazy.”
San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum Wins National League Cy Young Award
"The Freak"
Tim Lincecum the right-handed stoner of the of the San Francisco Giants repeated as the National League Cy Young Award winner, besting St. Louis right-handers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in the vote conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“The Freak” became the first pitcher ever to win the Cy Young in his first two full seasons in the big leagues and the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson who won four in a row for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1999-2002. Lincecum (15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 strikeouts) received 11 first-place votes and 100 points. Carpenter (17-4, 2.24 ERA, 144 strikeouts) finished second with nine first-place votes and 94 points, followed by Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA, 212 strikeouts), who had 12 first-place votes and 90 points.
The six-point margin between Lincecum and Carpenter equaled the third-closest NL Cy Young election since the ballot was expanded from one to three pitchers in 1970. The closest vote occurred in 1987, when the Phillies’ Steve Bedrosian beat the Cubs’ Rick Sutcliffe, 57-55.
Although “The Freak” was fourth in wins he clearly improved overall. The 25-year-old trimmed his ERA by 0.14. Opponents hit .206 off him this season, compared to .221 in 2008. After walking 84 in 227 innings a year ago, he improved to 68 walks in 225 1/3 innings this season as well as leading the NL in strikeouts for the second year in a row, the first Giant to do so since Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson (1907-08). Lincecum also ranked second in ERA and tied teammate Matt Cain for the league lead with four complete games.
“The Freak’s” season was highlighted by four complete games, two shutouts and eight double-digit strikeout performances, due in large part to that ridiculous curve-ball and near unhittable changeup and a mid-90s fastball isn’t too bad either. July 27 also highlighted his season by striking out 15 against Pittsburgh.
Lincecum topped Wainwright and Carpenter in several other statistical categories, including opponents’ batting average, strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Tim Lincecum Is A Space Cowboy
Is It The Freak Or Maurice?
I’ll say it, are you surprise that Tim “The Freak” Lincecum smokes weed? Am I guilty of judging a book by its cover in this case, yes, I don’t need pictures Michael Phelps to tell me he is a midnight smoker.
In an update the pot charge has been dropped by the prosecutors in Clark County, Washington, and an agreement has been made in which the pitcher will pay a $250 fine relating to his possession of a marijuana pipe with the drug possession charge being dropped. “The Freak” also must pay a $122 fine for speeding.
A prosecuting attorney for the county, said “The Freak” will not have to go to court as long as he sends in the fine. The prosecutor said Lincecum’s celebrity had nothing to do with this disposition, which is standard for a first-time offender for misdemeanor pot possession who cooperates with police.
“Any Joe Blow would get (this deal),” Hansen said. “The way we see it, we can do something to him or we can do something for him. If we can give him a little leniency the first time, in my opinion, it goes further for being law-compliant in the future than if we kick him in the teeth.”
“The Freak” was cited by the Washington State Patrol for possessing 3.3 grams of marijuana and the pipe, both misdemeanors, during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 going 74 mph where the speed limit is 60.
No one is perfect cause we all have the tendency to make bad judgments in our lives, I’m guilty of doing so, but your decision making needs to be a little clearer when you are the role model to thousands of Little Leaguers out the there.
I’m more surprised that the template apology has yet to be read in front of a podium.
