Every-Thing Sports
An open letter to Trevor Bauer and Astros trolls
Jul 7, 2020, 9:54 am
Every-Thing Sports
The 2020 MLB season is about to get started (*provided the 'rona doesn't ruin it) on July 23. The schedule was announced on July 6 for the 60-game schedule for each team. The schedule was developed by region in order to make travel easier on teams. With all that worked out, you knew it wouldn't be long before the trolls came calling. I've decided to pen this letter to all the trolls out there.
Baseball is back everyone!! Intake testing done, lots of really high tech stuff goin on here but anything to help us win is in, right?! pic.twitter.com/9smfaui36r
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) July 3, 2020
Dear Astros trolls:
The obvious
We all know the Astros were caught cheating in their run to the 2017 World Series title. They stole signs using means banned by MLB. Guess what? So did a lot of other teams! It's been going on since the invention of the game! The Yankees and MLB actually collaborated to get a sealed document suppressed because MLB couldn't have their Golden Goose outed as one of the cheaters. This is despite them already being fined, along with the Red Sox (the Silver Goose), prior to the 2017 season for using Apple Watches to steal signs. Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. There's a glass house in every MLB city.
Astros accepted their fate
This team didn't do the best job accepting their fate initially. Owner Jim Crane went scorched Earth firing GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch. The initial statements by players were awkward. Crane didn't make it better by being awkward himself. However, they managed to get it together and rallied around one another. Carlos Correa's interview with Ken Rosenthal on February 15 of this year was the best piece of rebuttal from the Astros because it was heartfelt, unscripted, and was out of character for a guy who's normally very buttoned up or calculated (go to the 13:05 mark for the buildup to the STFU comment).
Snitches get stitches
The only reason this got out was because Mike Fiers (a pitcher on the 2017 Astros) decided to spill the beans in November 2019. He acted like a scorned lover because the Astros refused to pay him what he wanted after the 2017 season. He had to take $6 million from the Tigers to play in 2018, then got traded to Oakland where he signed a two-year deal. He had no reason to snitch other than being bitter after two years. In sports, what happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room. Seeing as how he violated this law, I don't know how his teammates can trust him.
Clowns
Guys like "Tyler" Bauer, which he was once called by Alex Bregman, are clowns. (So let's continue to have some fun with his name throughout this article). They could never get the job done when it counts, so they troll as hard as they can. He's never won anything of any significance. He's only been an All-Star once (2018), and has never won any other team or individual awards. I gave him credit for going after Curt Schilling on Twitter for his outrageous views, but realize he's only pandering for an audience and reaction, therefore, rendering anything he does irrelevant. The tweet above is typical of failure culture: you cling to anything that prevented you from the successes you failed at and make fun of them because you couldn't beat them. "Timmy" Bauer should concentrate on being a better pitcher instead of catering to social media. You make more money when you're actually good at your job than when you're a social media troll.
In conclusion
"Travis" Bauer should probably work on getting onto a team that may actually have a chance at winning something instead of the Reds who haven't won anything in 30 years. Maybe the trolls should be concentrating on why their team sucks as bad as they do, instead of why they can't hit breaking balls or field balls hit into the gaps sharply. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a columnist for a Houston website that happens to be an Astros fan. "Timothy" Bauer is a decent pitcher, but his trolling of the Astros for kicking his and everyone else's ass in 2017 has grown to pitiful levels. This is looking like a group of kids upset that the new kid has figured out how to pass the new math testing standard better than the rest, so they're pissed! "Theodore" Bauer and company should chill and STFU like Carlos Correa suggested. Trying to throw stones from a glass house doesn't work well. The 2017 World Series win will stand for the same reasons Correa listed in that interview with Rosenthal. Bauer and his band of trolls need to recognize that won't change. Say what you may, print shirts, tweet, post on IG and whatever else, but it won't change the fact that the Astros are the 2017 World Series champs and that's something you can suck on for the rest of your miserable lives!
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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