SB Nation User Blog: HighLeveragePerformer

Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants, Jul 4, 2009 3:05 PM CDT

HighLeveragePerformer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:35:22 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Houston Astros pitcher Russ Ortiz throws in the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, April 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Current Series

3 game series vs Giants @ AT&T Park

Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes @ San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles Saturday, Jul 4, 2009, 3:05 PM CDT AT&T Park Russ Ortiz vs Tim Lincecum Complete Coverage >
Sat 07/04		3:05 PM CDT
Sun 07/05		3:05 PM CDT

Russ Ortiz

#23 / Pitcher / Houston Astros

Height: 6-1

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 05, 1974

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Russ Ortiz	3-3	20	8	0	0	0	0	64.1	61	27	24	6	32	47	3.36	1.45

Tim Lincecum

#55 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-11

Weight: 170

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Jun 15, 1984

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Tim Lincecum	8-2	16	16	3	2	0	0	114.0	94	34	30	4	28	132	2.37	1.07

The Giants' starter last night, Ryan Sadowski, needed to be introduced. Tim Lincecum needs no introduction. Last season's Cy Young winner has pitched as well, if not better in 2009. He is 1-0 against the Astros in his career, compiling a 2.13 ERA in four starts. Russ Ortiz did good work against both Edwin Jackson and Zack Grienke in his last two starts so he definitely doesn't get intimidated by the opposing starter.

Saturday Links, Thoughts and Other Fun-ness

HighLeveragePerformer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:41:00 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Please employ me.

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Save the bees!

That's probably more than I ever wanted to know about bees, bee colonies, queen bees, etc.

In defense of the Padres' groundskeepers/maintenance people, I have to say that they did well to alleviate the difficult situation in a timely fashion, without any injuries...to people, at least. Yes, I suppose there is a more humane way to do just about anything, but it was the end of a game- a long, somewhat boring game. The beekeeper got there in less than an hour and got the players back on the field. What's more, everyone got to make their own "Killer B's" joke.

Honey bees, as the article indicates, are dying off at an alarming rate. So much of our food supply depends on the pollination that these bees provide that this could get pretty ugly, and quick. This got me to thinking about the Fourth of July, and the tasty treats that are enjoyed on this day. Be sure to vote in the poll, and let your favorite be known.

I love today. That's no exaggeration. The Fourth of July is about pride, being with family and friends, and enjoying the liberties that we as Americans enjoy every single day of our lives. I don't want to get on a soapbox, but as a proud American, no day on the calendar beats 7/4. There is one aspect about today that I do not enjoy: Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

In theory, it seems that I would. I like food, and I don't necessarily employ moderation when eating. I like hot dogs. I enjoyed Nathan's hot dogs the only time I ate them. Something about eating them until you can barely move grosses me out to the max though. Oh well. I guess that whole "liberties" thing I wrote about earlier means respecting the liberties of others, as well.

Oh, wait. This is a BASEBALL blog?

The Astros claimed German Duran off of waivers on Wednesday. He will be put on the DL after having his appendix removed recently.

Meanwhile, the obvious is stated.

JJO asks if the bullpen is on "empty".

Man-Ram returned last night. At Petco Park. In left-field. Where the bees were. Could the baseball gods have meant to send a plague tonight to chastise Manny for his steroid usage, and just sent it a day early?

While making dinner last night, I had Sportscenter on TV, and Manny's face popped up on the screen. My sister asked me, "Is that Manny? Or should I say, Woman-y?" Hilarious. Just like her brother...

In honor of Independence Day, I had to post this link of Benjamin Franklin at a Phllies game.

Poll

Speaking of food, which is your favorite Fourth of July treat?

Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants, Jul 3, 2009 9:15 PM CDT

HighLeveragePerformer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:16:08 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Paulino's on the bump tonight, folks.

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Current Series

3 game series vs Giants @ AT&T Park

Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes @ San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles Friday, Jul 3, 2009, 9:15 PM CDT AT&T Park Felipe Paulino vs Ryan Sadowski Mostly clear. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage >
Sat 07/04		3:05 PM CDT
Sun 07/05		3:05 PM CDT

Felipe Paulino

#52 / Houston Astros

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 05, 1983

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Felipe Paulino	2-4	12	9	0	0	0	1	50.2	61	34	31	8	17	46	5.51	1.54

Ryan Sadowski

#56 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 04, 1982

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ryan Sadowski	1-0	1	1	0	0	0	0	6.0	4	0	0	0	3	2	0.00	1.17

McCovey Chronicles

Here's a picture of the Giants' starting pitcher tonight, Ryan Sadowski:

Looks like your average, ordinary youngster who has made one career major league start, and a fine one at that.

Nope. First of all, Sadowski is a lucky man. Not only to be a professional baseball player, but to be alive, after having brain surgery in 2003. At 26, I'm sure that he appreciates his time in the bigs more than most guys his age.

This is a nice story, and obviously it's awesome that Sadowski recoupperated to the point where he is healthy enough not only to resume a normal life, but to be able to pitch.

For three hours tonight though, the Astros are going to do everything they can to make his life miserable. I guess it's all relative- someone who's gone through what Sadowski has probably has a different perspective on "miserable".

Our own youngster, Felipe Paulino, will take the hill tonight. Backing him will be this lineup (per Alyson Footer's Twitter page):

Bourn

Tejada

Berkman

Lee

Blum

Pence

Matsui

Quintero

Paulino

How many times this season have the Astros been at/above .500? If you answered once, grab a gold star/piece of chocolate/handfull of goldfish crackers.

I wanted to give props to Joe in Birmingham for coming through with a gamethread yesterday. DQ wasn't able to post one, and I was not near a computer, nor was my cell phone with me so I could respond to DQ's text asking for help posting one. My bad, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get a win tonight! - Evan

Friday Astros Discussion Thread

HighLeveragePerformer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:08:02 -0000

The Astros are moving up the California coastline today and making a stop in San Francisco for three games with the Wild Card leading Giants.

Last season we won three of four in San Fran, ending a seemingly never ending trend of losing a ton of games in northern Califormia. Darin Erstad hit a three run homer! Things were going good last May, that's for sure.

Youth faces off tonight, as Felipe Paulino and Ryan Sadowski take the mound. Multiple Cy Youngs stare the Astros in the face on Saturday and Sunday with Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson pitching for the Giants.

What do the cities of Houston and San Franciso have in common? Disspointment, that's what:

David Carr, First Pick of the 2002 NFL Draft

First Selection of the 2004 NFL Draft, Alex Smith

Carlos Lee goes from sushi in SD, to heaping helpings of garlic fries in SF. Does Minute Maid Park have a signature food?

The last season that Astro batters and pitchers' average ages were both under 30? 2000. Overall, the team has gotten a year and a half older on both sides since 2004. We're getting to be so grown up!

A Series by Series Breakdown of the Astros month of July, pre All Star Break

HighLeveragePerformer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:11:26 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

It's not a stretch to think the Astros can go into the All Star Break on a roll.

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Winning the month of June was nice but it's going to take more than that to remain relevant in the NL Central and the NL Wild Card Races. The Astros have predominantly been a second half team which is both fun and exciting for those of us who follow the team closely. This season we don't know if Drayton will be willing to take on anymore payroll, or if players like LaTroy Hawkins or Jose Valverde will even make it past the trade deadline. In order to give Ed Wade an idea of where his team stands, and whether or not it would even be worth trading for a player at the deadline (and conversely not trading away a player from our current team), a strong July push is a must.

I wanted to do a quick run series by series rundown of the teams we'll be playing, as well as rating the components of each team. I'll assess the strength of our opponent's hitters, starting rotation, and closer. Here is a link to our July schedule. It's pretty much a tale of two halves, as I see it. Let's get to the analysis.

July 3-5, @ San Francisco Giants

The Giants are a pitching heavy, light hitting team that is currently leading the Wild Card in the NL. Tim Lincecum is once again a Cy Young candidate, and will most likely pitch for the Giants on Saturday, with the Big Unit, Randy Johnson, toeing the rubber on Sunday. Rookie Ryan Sadowski gets the ball in the opener against fellow youngster Felipe Paulino. Offensively, Pablo Sandoval is by far their best player, with Aaron Rowand supplying a fairly potent bat in center field. After that, every other player in the starting lineup is below average offensively (in terms of OPS+). Closer Brian Wilson is above average and doesn't do much to beat himself. It will be tough to score runs on the Giants, from their starters to the back end of their 'pen.

Starting Rotation rating (1-10 scale): 8

Offense: 3

Closer: 9

July 6-8, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh's rotation will Ian Snell-less for the immediate future, as he was granted the demotion to AAA that he sought. Zach Duke is the titular ace of this staff, but he doesn't really do anything that wows you. Low strikeout numbers, and only average control leads me to believe that this is a staff that can be taken advantage of. Then again, we haven't done that yet, but July is a new month!...Ok, these games will probably be tougher than we'd like. Offensively, their biggest bat, Nate McLouth, was sent packing to Atlanta. Adam LaRoche is their power threat, but as a whole, the Pirates do get on base well. Closer Matt Capps is sort of like the Pirates' starting pitchers: low strikeout numbers, a few walks, substantial WHIP, 1.51 to be exact. He does have 17 saves, so there's that.

Starting Rotation: 4

Offense: 4

Closer: 6

July 9-12, Washington Nationals

The first half of 2009 ends against the same team the 2008 fist half did: the Nationals. Their starting rotation is young, young, young. Sort of the Anti-Astros. John Lannan is the mainstay, and grits his way to having a nice ERA. Jordan Zimmerman may at some point be the best starter in the NL East, but as of now, he's a youngster with good stuff trying to find his way. Ross Detwiler is a 2008 draftee who is already on the big league club. Scott Olsen was traded for in the offseason along with Josh Willingham.

Washington's offense has a lot of tough outs. Adam Dunn's reputation precedes him, and Ryan Zimmerman has put it all together. Nick Johnson constantly battles injury, but has been in lineup consistently this season. Cristian Guzman used to play for Minnesota, so he does things the "right way". Probably. I dunno really. Josh Willingham is OPS'ing .948 in limited action this seaon. Who knew?

When it comes to converting saves, the Nationals are 12/29. Anyone who wants to fill in the blanks even more, may do so. I feel that a sub 50% conversion rate says enough.

Starting Rotation: 3

Offense: 6

Closer: 1

The Astros on July 1st: Winning the Arms Race

HighLeveragePerformer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:41:49 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Houston Astros' Russ Ortiz delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals in a baseball game Tuesday, June 23, 2009, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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With nearly three full months in the books, the Astros are trying their hardest to no longer merely tread water. This post is being made during the day on Tuesday, so I obviously don't know what will happen tonight in San Diego, but the Astros have at least guaranteed themselves of making up at least four games in the NL Central Race, from when they were nine games out on May 31st. Here's a rundown of their per month results:

Month	W	L	RS	RA	%
April	9	13	78	92	.409
May	11	15	127	149	.423
June	16	10	105	97	.615

Unless the Padres absolutely go off tonight against Mike Hampton and Co., the Astros will have held their opponents to approximately fifty less runs in June as compared to May. Run down the "W" column for our pitchers, and you will see eight wins were earned by the Astros starters, and eight by relievers. Roy Oswalt has three wins, Wandy Rodriguez a scant one win for the month. That means twelve wins were credited to guys like Ortiz, Moehler, Hampton, Wright, Fulchino, Paulino, Arias, Byrdak and Sampson. Jump in the time machine and set the date to March 1, 2009. If someone had told you that the Astros would have a winning percentage of above .600 in June, a June where Wandy struggled to just one victory, would you believe them? I'd hope not. I mean, optimism is great, but let's not be foolish.

Still, these pitchers have stepped up tremendously in June, more than I, or probably anyone could have hoped for. Let's not leave out LaTroy Hawkins either. The Yankee castoff has ten saves this season, and did great work to hold down the backend of our bullpen until Jose Valverde was able to return from the DL. His numbers are among some of the best of his career, and will be either a crucial bridge to Valverde for the reaminder of the season, or a potential trade chip if the opportunity presents itself.

Since being made a starting pitcher, Russ Ortiz has done as much as he can do at this point in his career, to justify being part of a rotation. On June 11th, his K/BB rate as a reliever was 28/26. In his four games as a starter, Russ has found himself a nice groove- walking only six, while striking out nineteen. Poor run support (ten runs scored total in those four starts) have prevented Russ from getting the credit that he deserves.

Wandy though, probably can't wait for June to be over. Heading into the month, he was on top of his game, and was among the best pitchers in baseball. Since June 1, his ERA has risen more than a run, due in no small part to HR rate finally adjusting. Eleven home runs allowed in just twenty nine innings pitched did much to retrun Wandy to the reality of where his talent level indicates he should remain for the rest of 2009. It's not just the homers that are troubling, his strikeout and walk totals are shifting in the wrong directions. I find myself marveling at his performances when good, but am left scratching my head when he pitches poorly. Wandy is thirty years old, and still seems to battle the sort of wildness, inconsistency, and youthful bouts of frustration that should rarely arise with a veteran starter. Still, if the Astros are to compete in earnest this season we need Wandy perhaps more than any other pitcher, to perform as well as they possibly can.

In terms of depth, Brandon Backe and Fernando Nieve are no longer with the Astros organization, and Jose Capellan has battled both injury and poor performance for AAA Round Rock. Instead, Felipe Paulino has shown flashes of brilliance that leave you wanting more. A blistering 97 MPH fastball and off spead/breaking pitches that leave hitters flailing- what more can you ask out of a 25 year old who has as little ML experience as Paulino? On the farm, Yorman Bazardo, Bud Norris and Polin Trinidad give the Astros something they've lacked in the recent past: options in the minor leagues. If one of our starters were to injure themselves, Bud Norris now seems ready to take on major league hitters. Yorman Bazardo has bounced around, but is putting together a nice AAA season. He may never be a top of the rotation starter, but he has a future with this team. Trinidad has made the leap from AA to AAA. Now we can see if arguably the most difficult leap will be too much, or if Trinidad too will be a major leaguer before too long.

Whatever scenarios play out, I can't say that I'm dissapointed with any one pitcher on our 25 man roster. Based on how much we know about their individual talent ceilings and pre season expectations, each has done what they can while healthy to help the Astros. If our offense can follow their lead, the Central is ripe for the taking. Time to get greedy.

Roy Oswalt's HR Allowed if he were a San Diego Padre

HighLeveragePerformer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:58:44 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Roy makes his "HR Allowed" face.

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Roy Oswalt gives up home runs. All pitchers do, but it's been well chronicled 'round these parts that Roy does so a little more frequently than Astros fans would like. It's not like he's a fly ball pitcher, either. On the contrary, he has a history of being adept at getting ground balls much more often than not. Maybe it's because he has the reputation of being an aggressive strike throwing (a reputation that is probably well deserved)?

Well, whatever it is, Minute Maid Park tends to hurt a pitcher's cause more than it helps him, in regard to allowing the long ball. Head on down to the bottom of that list though, and you'll find the San Diego Padres home ballpark, Petco Park. Petco suppresses home runs more than any other park in the majors, save one.

Here is a chart displaying Roy's thirteen home runs allowed in 2009. In terms of standard distance, the jacks against him have ranged from the modest (Andre Ethier's 351 ft home run) to the gargantuan (Manny Ramirez' 449 ft blast earlier that same inning as Ethier's).

This got me to thinking: if Roy's home park were Petco Park instead of the Juice Box, would his home run total go down in 2009? To start, I looked up the dimensions of the park, and a visual representation of the stadium and where the home runs have actually been hit.

Factors such as time of day, temperature and wind strength/direction notwithstanding, it looks as though Roy would defnitely have allowed at least one fewer home run- the 351 ft shot to Ethier would have fallen somewhere in the field of play. Todd Helton's 372 ft. home run, most likely leaves the park in Petco Park as well.

While his "at home" home run total would have only decreased by one, it's still interesting to ponder these type of things. The information that all of us have at our fingertips makes it all possible to play these sort of scenarios out.

Good Valverde, Bad Luck; Ozzie rips Cubsfan

HighLeveragePerformer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:30:53 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

You're too big to hide in your jersey, Jose.

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For those of you keeping score at home, the Astros are now 19/34 in save opportunities. Their fifteen blown saves ties them, surprisingly, with the Dodgers for second worst in baseball. Defending NL saves leader Jose Valverde is only 6/10 in converting save opportunities this season. He has blown those four saves, yes, but he hasn't pitched poorly this season. His rate stats and ERA indicate as much. Sample size, as much as anything, may be factoring in here. Regardless, a win yesterday would have pushed the Astros a half game ahead of the Cubs, and left the team only one half game back of the Cincinnati Reds for third place in the NL Central. St. Louis and Milwaukee both lost yesterday. Division races often times come down to one or two games, and games in June are worth just as much as games in September.

Brandon Inge's 2 out home run cost the Astros one such game yesterday. Hopefully it won't come down to one game like that, but the Astros have had two losses like this last week. A game over .500 is where the Astros should be right now, if not for blown saves. Cincinnati is a team that isn't playing superb baseball, but they're outproducing their pythagorean record by a game, due in no small part to the fact that as a team they've blown only four save opportunities.

On a happier note, as the Astros just missed sweeping a team, the Cubs lost a series against the cross town rival White Sox. Lost a series to a team with Scott Podsednik as a starting outfielder. That should take some of the bitter taste of our Sunday loss out of your mouth. If it doesn't, this quote from White Sox manager Ozzie may help. When asked by a reporter why attendance was so low at Comiskey Park for the White Sox series against the LA Dodgers, but rebounded over the weekend in their series against the Cubs, Guillen quipped:

Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans, Guillen said. They know we're [expletive]...Wrigley Field is just a bar.

It's been said before, but Ozzie was a bit more comedic in his way of stating that Cubs' fans would still come out to watch their team no matter how disfunctional/bad/cursed their club may be.

Padres up next...for what it's worth, San Diego closer Heath Bell has converted 21/22 save opps.

Crawfish Boxes book review: Bottom of the Ninth

HighLeveragePerformer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:39:03 -0000

One of the many cool things about being a blog manager here at SBN is that sometimes DQ and I are offered free items. An example of one of these perks is that a publisher in New York City sent me an advance copy of the book, Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball from Itself, by Michael Shapiro. I was enthusiastic to receive the gift, but was admittedly ignorant as to the importance of both these men in the history of the game that I care so much about. After reading this book, however, I realize that Rickey and Stengel will forever be inextricably linked to baseball in the United States. The history of our Astros also eminates from the time period this book is set in, which was an added benefit to reading this book.

(I don't want to write a book report for you all to read, but I will do my best to give you all as good an analysis as I can muster.)

Essentially, Bottom of the Ninth begins in the Fall of 1958, during the World Series between Casey Stengel's New York Yankees and the defending champion Milwaukee Braves. Shapiro paints the reader a picture of man who to a modern day baseball fan would be altogether unfamiliar: an egotistical, me-first, outspoken manager. Very quickly you begin to realize that these are different days, days where the manager was the star and the players were mere cogs in the machine. Stengel considered himself to be the main attraction, a genius in pinstripes. His players existed not to perform for themselves or their organization, but for Stengel. From the book's beginning point, eventually winning the 1958 World Series, to its endpoint, Bill Mazeroski's walkoff home run in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, Stengel's season to season progression as a manager in his waning years in baseball is portrayed quite well. Writers, players and fans alike had opinions on this Napolean of the diamond. Shapiro is able to illustrate the prolific nature of Stengel's career in major league baseball, both as a player and manager, and of his decline, and eventual retirement from the game he loved.

While the Yankees were winning yet another World Series in 1958, the winds of change were blowing MLB westward. Upset at their living arrangements in New York City, the Giants and Dodgers made a choice that would forever alter the sport. In moving to California, these teams epitomized a nation that was changing along with its national pastime. One man perhaps more than anyone else saw this occurrence coming and wanted to involve himself in the best interests of baseball. Enter Branch Rickey, the same person who expanded the minor leagues and signed Jackie Robinson, would spearhead both the biggest threat and greatest opportunity MLB had ever known.

As the nation grew so too did its newly burgeoning cities. Along with this staggering growth came a desire for major league baseball. As has often been the case, MLB lagged behind this trend. Its owners were content to count their money and maintain the status quo, even as its sporting competion, specifically football, was making steady inroads into its market share. When neither the NL or AL was willing to expand, Branch Rickey, along with men such as Bill Shea, Bob Howsam and Houston's own George Kirksey, decided to take matters into their own hands and create a third major league, known as the Continental League. Even in his late seventies, Rickey displayed the sort of tenacity and fervor in organizing and galvanizing people that one would expect from a man half his age. Securing stadiums, players for the league, and fighting tooth and nail with major league owners were three main areas that this book chronicles quite well.

The most interesting aspect of Bottom of the Ninth, in my opinion, is that many of the key tenets of this proposed league: revenue sharing, a TV deal that would benefit all teams equally- were issues that Baseball struggles with to this day. Rickey identified these pratfalls and attempted to make amends and basically save baseball from itself. With attendance flagging, baseball needed to do make changes to reinvigorate itself. Baseball's owners saw to it that change may happen, but it would happen at the pace that they, and not an upstart league, chose.

Branch Rickey saved much of his correspondence with his Continental League cronies, major league owners, and MLB commissioner Ford Frick. Once you begin this book, you're transported to the meeting rooms and hotel lobbies where the future of professional baseball hung in the balance. Our own city of Houston was highly coveted by the Continentals, and eventually both the NL and AL. The aforementioned Kirksey, Craig Cullinan and Roy Hofeinz, Jr. were instrumental in bringing professional baseball to Houston. All three men owed a great deal to Branch Rickey, who brought attention and legitimacy to the idea of expanding Baseball in one way or another. As we know, the Colt .45s were brought in under the National League's expansion plan in 1962, along with New York's new franchise, the Metropolitans. Houston would have it's first major professional team.

Ironically, as Branch Rickey was the man who instigated much of the fervor behind expanding baseball, the NL and AL's expansion destroyed any possibility of the Continental League becoming a viable entity. Cities such as Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis wanted to have a major league team to call their own. They would accept being a part of the Continental League, but when MLB made its siren song the upstart league was powerless to stop its own disbandment. Rickey did everything he could to ensure the further success and prominence of baseball on a national level. Sadly, his fellow baseball men were not as forward thinking as he and the next thirty years saw baseball slip in popularity and relevance in the United States.

Though the sport is as strong now as its ever been, that upstart sport in the 1960s, professional football, has far surpassed MLB in terms of franchise value and importance in the national consciousness. Ironically, it was many of the same propositions that Rickey made that would build professional football into the success we know today. The AFL was what the Continental League aspired to be: a successful alternative to the established professional league (in football's case, the NFL). Success eventually led to a consolidation of the two leagues into the modern day NFL. Football benefitted a great deal from this partnership, while baseball was never able to appreciate at least the ideas that the Continental League promoted.

Casey Stengel and Branch Rickey were both headstrong men who were singleminded in seeking success within their own spheres of influence. Michael Shapiro introduces each man, and goes on to fill in the details about each in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening. If you are someone who is at all interested in the history of baseball, and want to learn more about one of its most crucial time periods, then Bottom of the Ninth is a must read.

Interview with Astros' Reliever Wesley Wright

HighLeveragePerformer — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:59:41 -0000

Interview with Astros' Reliever Wesley Wright

David Nuño, of 1560 The Game, passed this interview along to me yesterday. Pretty good stuff. Wesley seems like an engaging guy.