09 October 2001

The Latest Playoff Collapse

Mr. Baseball (or, the Mack Brown of MLB)

I just listened to head ASStro Larry Dierker's press conference following the latest playoff collapse, and I dislike the jackass even more than I did a few days ago. His curt one and two-word answers to legitimate questions were unprofessional and petulant, and for some reason the Houston media let him get away with it (i.e. New York or Boston baseball writers would not have put up with that bs). And he dismissed the most important question -- where was Octavio Dotel (who has been the regular setup man since going back to the pen) -- with a non-answer. There is no excuse for ANY major-league manager to behave that way after a playoff game to the tame media that is Houston's, and in my years of following baseball I can't recall ever seeing/hearing such a thing in a similar circumstance (i.e. entirely unprovoked by the media).

The good news is, once the Astros complete their latest playoff collapse (they've never won a playoff series), Dierker is likely to be fired by Gerry Hunsicker. It's too much to hope for, but I can think of no better off-season investment than the two Alous -- Moises in the outfield, Felipe as manager. I fear that owner Drayton McLane will go the cheap route, however (i.e. Alou will not be resigned, and Tony Pena will be named manager).

[Posted @ 03:41 PM CST]