On Astros
Commentary got this tweet message on my Going Negative take yesterday:
No white man should be Mayor of Harris County.
Sounds kind of racist to me. Also, Harris County government doesn’t have a mayor. The City of Houston has a mayor.
On a related note, Channel 11 news has a story on Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee going negative on State Sen, John Whitmire. Go check it out.
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The Chron E-Board endorsed Proposition B. If passed, Proposition B would require the City of H-Town to negotiate for more representation on the Houston-Galveston Area Council or exit if we don’t get more representation.
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This came out yesterday in the Chron:
“Frontline”, the investigative journalism show on PBS, is known for its in-depth, weighty documentaries. In the show’s nearly 800 episodes that spans 40 seasons, the critically acclaimed docuseries has focused on a sports topic just 12 times.
The Astros will be No. 13.
“Frontline” will air a 57-minute episode focused on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that resulted in the team’s first World Series title in 2017. “The Astros Edge: Triumph and Scandal in Major League Baseball” will air at 9 p.m. Oct. 3. It also will be available on the PBS website beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 3.
The PBS summary of the show reads, “The Houston Astros cheating scandal and what it says about baseball today. With reporter Ben Reiter, the making of one of the best teams and worst scandals in modern MLB history, the limited accountability and how Astros baseball changed the sport.”
Reiter is a former Sports Illustrated writer who penned the magazine’s 2014 cover story that accurately predicted the Astros would win the 2017 World Series. He went on to publish the book “Astroball” in 2018 that detailed the franchise’s rebuild under owner Jim Crane and general manager Jeff Luhnow. He later wrote and hosted “The Edge,” a 2020 podcast series detailing the team’s cheating scandal.
Here is the entire read: Astros cheating scandal to be featured on PBS’s ‘Frontline’ episode (houstonchronicle.com).
This is old news. Only the Astros haters will be looking forward to seeing this. It is certainly not on my watch list.
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This is the kind of story involving a former Astro that we like to see. Here is from the Chron:
That Aledmys Díaz has played on baseball’s biggest stages did not preclude the former Astros utilityman from some nerves preceding a recent off-the-field test.
Díaz, now with the Oakland A’s, left the team briefly last week to fly to West Palm Beach, Fla., where he makes his offseason home, and take the U.S. citizenship exam. The exam — which requires applicants to answer at least six of 10 questions correctly — is a final step in a path to citizenship that can take years.
Díaz, the 33-year-old who defected from Cuba in 2012, said he began the citizenship application process eight months ago after years of permanent residency. He spent the weeks leading up to his test studying during A’s travel and sat for the interview and exam last Wednesday.
“I was a little nervous,” Díaz said Tuesday, before the A’s played the Astros at Minute Maid Park. “But I got the first six ones right, so I was good. I studied a lot. I was prepared.”
It marked a significant moment for Díaz, who said he was sworn in immediately after passing the exam. He posed for a photo afterward, holding a certificate and a miniature U.S. flag.
Here is the entire story from the Chron: Ex-Astro Aledmys Díaz returns as a proud American citizen (houstonchronicle.com).
Congratulations and go vote, please.
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This is also in the Chron yesterday:
The Astros and Royals will pay tribute to the Negro Leagues during Saturday’s game in Kansas City by wearing throwback uniforms from the Negro League teams that represented their cities.
The Astros will wear the road uniforms donned by the Houston Eagles in 1950, while the Royals will sport 1945 Kansas City Monarchs home uniforms. Jerseys and equipment from the game will be auctioned online with proceeds benefiting Kansas City’s Negro League Baseball Museum.
The Astros last wore Houston Eagles uniforms in 2014 as part of Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Game, which was played annually from 2009 to 2014.
Although Black professional and semi-pro teams were common in Houston from post-Civil War days, the city was a late entrant into the Negro Leagues, which were winding down after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947. Two years after Robinson’s MLB debut, the Eagles moved to Houston from Newark, N.J., to become the first Texas team in the Negro Leagues. The Eagles lasted less than two seasons in Houston, splitting the 1950 season between Houston and Nashville, Tenn., before playing a final season in New Orleans in 1951.
Now that’s cool.
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A couple of days ago, I thought we might be a lock for the playoffs. After the last couple of days, I don’t know.
