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Every year around this time, people are busy searching for plans and/or gifts for their special someone/s. Valentine's Day has been dubbed the unofficial holiday of love. From the pictures of Cupid with his bow and arrow, to the many versions of hearts, Valentine's Day has turned into another commercially charged day of consumer spending.
Part of that spending is the planning of dates and buying of gifts. While it has been geared more towards women being on the receiving end of the dates and gifts, men have experienced their share of gifts as well. The ratio of which sex receives gifts is about 87,963:1, and I'm being generous.
With all that being said, I was sitting back contemplating what to get the wife for Valentine's Day. There are the traditional candies, cards, and flowers; but there's also jewelry, really nice dinners at upscale restaurants, new houses and/or cars. Some of this stuff she already has or won't want. As I was thinking of what to get her, it crossed my mind: if sports were a significant other, what would I get them for Valentine's Day? Since I asked, and I don't mind talking to myself, here's what I'd get them for Valentine's Day:
Football: a nice piece of jewelry
Football is the one sport I had to work hard at playing when I was younger. The fact that I couldn't master it with little to no effort intrigued me. Now that I've done all the necessary watching, networking, and intense studying, I feel like our relationship has been taken to a new level and I'm ready to commit.
Basketball: a new car
This has been my ride or die since day one. She's always been there for me and has never left my side. She was there for me before the Sports Map fame, before the radio guest spots, and even before I was an intern at 1560. For her always being there and being my go-to move, she deserves a nice new car.
Baseball: a nice card and candy
Baseball was always the one that played hard to get. I'd invest hours on end into baseball, only to get rejected. Especially in the 90s when I moved to Atlanta. The Braves went from worst to first and appeared in several World Series. They finally pulled through and won in 1995. However, they haven't won since. I waited 22 years until 2017 when the Astros won a title before a team I rooted for won it all. This is all baseball gets from me for now.
Soccer: upscale dinner date
Every once in a while, you come across that one that makes you want to change your ways. There's a person in your life that comes along that makes you want to change. You feel the need to impress this person and their family. So, you do what you can to impress her and her family because you feel this could be "the next one." This is how I feel about soccer. It's the sport that I've grown to truly appreciate over the last few years and have spent more quality time investing in.
I'd love to hear from you guys on which sports you'd buy gifts for, and if so, what gifts you'd buy for which gifts for. Sometimes, you can't help yourself. There's enough talent there so you can't help but make a leap of faith. This list is fluid and could change on a day to day basis depending on how I feel about the different sports.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.