• Yes, the Astros have actually won 13 of their past 14 games, and they've actually jumped back into the playoff picture. So what an odd time for a catastrophic weather event with Friday's and Saturday's games against the Cubs already canceled …
Baseball officials also were anticipating that Sunday's series finale also might be postponed. One of the scenarios under consideration was to play a doubleheader Monday, and make up the third game on Sept. 29 if it's needed to decide a playoff berth. The Cubs and Astros have no common off days after Monday.
This makes a great deal of sense, as Houston will probably be navigable -- at least by
Urban Assault Vehicle -- on Monday, and the day after the regular season is designed precisely for such eventualities.
Elsewhere, I read that MLB was considering canceling the entire series and playing three games after the season. Which would make not so much sense.
In all seriousness, I have friends in Houston who are sticking around this weekend, hoping the water doesn't get too high. I'll be thinking of them and -- if you're there, you. Be safe and stay dry.
(Dramatically speaking, though, wouldn't a hurricane only make an Astros miracle all the better?)
• Yes, folks: Going forward,
Michael
Young's contract is
one of the very worst. And
when he signed for $80 million back in March of 2007, Keith Law was
all over it.
• When it comes to clutch hitting, there's nothing like
a good dose of common sense to warm your cockles.
• Speaking of common sense, would you believe that K-Rod has been (roughly speaking) the
fifth most valuable reliever in the majors? It's true! (Or roughly true!)
• I know it's irrelevant. I know it was forgotten as soon as it happened (if not before). Still, I have to say something …
Tuesday night in the eighth inning, the Mariners were down 7-1. But they scored a couple of runs, and still had a couple of guys on base with two outs. Catcher
Rob
Johnson was up next. Johnson bats right-handed. Ron Washington summoned right-hander
Warner
Madrigal from the bullpen. Jim Riggleman, reasonably enough, called on a pinch-hitter.
Riggleman's canny choice?
Miguel
Cairo, of course. Granted, Cairo hadn't hit a home run in more than three years. Riggleman probably figured he was due for one.
Unfortunately, as much sense as that might have made, in this case Cairo merely dribbled a grounder that the catcher handled. Also, the next day, Cairo started at first base and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Oh, and in other news? Seattle first basemen now sport a .348 slugging percentage, the lowest in the majors.
• Riggleman might soon be forgotten, too, as I don't expect him to be in the Mariners' dugout on Opening Day next year. And the situation won't be hopeless for his replacement. While it's not at all clear how the M's will score any runs in 2009, they have the makings of a solid rotation, thanks to
Felix
Hernandez,
Erik
Bedard, and
Brandon
Morrow. Which I bring up mostly as an excuse to link to Driveline Mechanics' cool
video analysis of Morrow.
• Wednesday afternoon, after watching the Angels
back into a division
title [jk], I had to get back to Portland in a hurry, so I spent a few extra bucks for a
quicker trip. Bonus: On the way to the runway, we taxied past the Rangers boarding their
deluxe team plane (great photo
here).
• This is way late, but I'm still posting Uni Watch's account of Paul Lukas'
visit to Portland (and my neighborhood) last month. And though Lukas says we're both "small-ish," I'm pretty sure I've got 30 pounds on him. It's just that I'm small from the ribcage up.
Rob Neyer
