RMJ 178 August 12
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12 ● Houston, vs Florida
By the time I got home, it was four a.m. I slept fitfully, waking up at 7 and 8 and finally getting up at 9:30. I don’t think any of us would trade for a 12-month 9-to-5 job, but this schedule can create some dissonant biorhythms.
I managed to pull my tax receipts together and total them today. We may meet the August deadline this year; last year we finally filed in October.
In case you are thinking I am on to something, forget it. If you file late and owe them money, they charge interest. If they owe you money, you do not get the same consideration.
Cubby said he would come by at 2:30, but he couldn’t wait. He arrived about 2:15, raring to go.
The big story tonight was my lineup. I decided to give Gonzo a day off, and play Mouton. I inserted him into the cleanup spot, sporting a .217 batting average.
Everyone was dumbfounded. What the heck was I thinking of?
The truth is: we don’t have many options, now that Derek is hitting second. I really don’t have any power hitters to chose from, after Bagwell hits third.
Should I hit Ricky fourth? How about Brad, Bogey, or Chuckie? They don’t have 20 home runs among them.
But guess what? Bogey and Chuckie hit homers tonight, and James drove in three runs. We won the game 13-2, which made us all happy — and may have made someone else an Astros fan.
You see, there is a long-standing gamblers game called The 13 Run Pool. Here’s how it works:
A group of 28 people draws from a hat. Each gets a team. A sum of money – say, a dollar apiece — goes into the pool. At the end of the week, another dollar is added. If someone’s team scores 13 runs, he or she wins the money, and everyone antes up again.
I don’t know when a team last scored 13 runs, but it is safe to say that someone, somewhere, made some money off us last night.
Mike Hampton had a stake in it, as well. He pitched a strong game, and he won for the tenth time. Fifteen wins doesn’t seem out of the question. When I told him he could still win fifteen back in May, he looked at me like I was crazy. But this is a long season, and just about anything can happen.
There was some sentiment that I rest Biggio and Bagwell when we beat the Mets 8-2. Tonight, I gave Bidge two innings off, and Bagwell one. This isn’t much rest, but at least it gives the bench guys an at-bat or a play in the field.
I was asked about the lineup again after the game. The reporters seem to think that I came up with some sort of inspiration. If we had lost, they would have proclaimed me crazy.
One advantage I have is that I don’t care what they write. I must say, however, that I am in a favorable position here in Houston.
Two years ago, longtime beat writer Neil Hohlfeld was reassigned to hockey. Now Alan Truex and Carlton Thompson share the beat. These guys don’t know half as much about baseball, and they don’t have a network of connections like Neil.
Truex seems obsessed with injuries. I think I could pinch-hit Mike Magnante for Bagwell, and Truex would come in afterward and ask for an injury update.
The point is, I seldom have to answer tough questions about my strategies, because the new guys are not expert-enough to second-guess.
The word at the Chronicle was that Neil was too close with the players. This can be a problem if the writer tries to protect his friends. I did not find this to be the case with Neil; he probably criticized players and management more than Alan and Carlton. But he did have close relationships — no doubt about that.
Now that hockey is over, he comes out to the Dome occasionally to write a sidebar. Biggio, Bagwell, Gonzo, D.K., and some of the other veterans are always happy to see him.
The newspaper business is in the advanced stages of decline, all over the country. Here in Houston, we lost the Post several years ago; now we have only one paper. For this reason, we don’t get late scores from the West Coast. We don’t get many scoops, either, because there is no incentive to be first one to have a story when you are the only one who can tell it. Likewise, it doesn’t matter who covers a team when there is no competition.
I think Carlton and Alan could be good, solid beat writers, but it will take time. By the time they get the experience and the contacts to do the job well, they may be assigned to a different beat.
This is the way it is on the field, as well. Many players are eligible for arbitration each winter; most teams tender contracts only to the best of them. This floods the free-agent market. The teams then pick from this pool of players, and sign them for less.
The bad thing about this approach is that you have so many new players each season that it is hard to develop any continuity. It’s like starting from scratch each year. People wonder why players don’t seem as well-schooled these days. Think about it: If you were an army brat, and you attended nine different schools while you were growing up, what kind of education would you get?
We only drew 19,000 fans tonight. I saw a lot of kids in the crowd. Next week, school will be back in session, and the crowds may get smaller.
The only way we are going to draw for midweek games is to get the business crowd. I don’t think most executives feel that taking customers or employees to the Dome is fashionable, even when we are in first place. They can go home and watch most of the games on TV. If they want to entertain, they will choose a trendy restaurant or nightclub.
When we get our new stadium, we will be trendy. If we win in our new stadium, Drayton may recoup some of his losses. In the meantime, he’s at the crossroads of despair. If he spends enough to win, he loses money. If he doesn’t, he loses money.
It is difficult to know which road will be best financially, but the winning way is certainly more scenic. Drayton has taken the compromise route: not too high, not too low. I’m know he’s not happy about the attendance, but at least we’re still in first place.
The Pirates continue to keep it interesting, however. They came up with four runs in the ninth tonight to beat the Braves 5-2.