There is no hesitation in Houston

Tyler Lauletta, Business Insider:

In June 2014, the prestigious spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated went to the Houston Astros, who were then coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 105 losses and had a 36-48 record that season.

The cover boldly predicted that the Astros would be World Series champions in 2017, and it was backed up by a story from Ben Reiter titled "Astro-Matic Baseball: Houston's Grand Experiment," which took readers through the Astros' rebuilding process with an in-depth look at the team's front office as it prepared for the draft and planned the team's future. George Springer would be 28.

With the Astros' Game 7 win Wednesday night, Reiter's bold prediction came to fruition.It was one of those slow-developing ideas. The Astros were so bad. Losing 105 games three seasons in a row, Alex Trebek is making fun of them on "Jeopardy," they're putting up 0.0 local television ratings — it just seemed from afar like a total disaster. So we were thinking, "What is going on down here? What's the plan?" And this was before the Sixers started "The Process" — this hadn't really happened in sports to this degree.

The question that should precede the sardonic answer is, "What is a blowout preventer?"

Stutter -to speak in such a way that the rhythm is interrupted by repetitions, blocks or spasms, or prolongations of sounds or syllables, sometimes accompanied by contortions of the face and body.

Early in high school, George Springer was 5-foot-2. By his senior year, a growth spurt added nearly a foot. Even as he flourished on the field, he had to contend with a stutter that was evident at a young age. Self-conscious of it, he became withdrawn and avoided speaking in school or other public situations. Kids can be mean so the best way to avoid ridicule was "to not speak at all."

Springer was called up to the big leagues in April 2014, adopted new techniques to help with his speech, and later became a spokesman and fund-raiser for the Stuttering Association for the Young.

“It took a lot of courage,” his father said, adding: “This didn’t happen overnight. It was hard work, most of which, quite frankly, George did. We were there to guide, assist, coach and support, but he was the one that had to be comfortable in his own skin. He was the one that had to adopt all the techniques. I give him all the credit.”

“I can’t spread a message to kids and adults if I’m not willing to put myself out there,” said Springer.

Sports Illustrated got it right when they put George Springer on the cover three years ago. The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres are possible choices to win the World Series in 2020. Alex Trebek is working on questions for these two perennial losers.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Bough doesn't break, Barry and Roger fall short of Hall

The basic idea is that a process is changed when we are able to see it. This comes into play next year when the secret balloting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America for the Hall of Fame becomes public. On the next ballot, every voter's choices will be revealed and open to scrutiny. Out of 442 votes and with 332 (75 percent) needed, Clemens got 239 (54.1 percent) and Bonds got 238 (53.8 percent). Each, in his fifth year, is up almost 10 percent. Of 14 new voters we know about, 13 picked both.

Limping to the finish line in 1996, Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens compiled a 10 win 13 loss record. This was the fourth consecutive year that Clemens did not win more than 11 games. This followed seven years where he had averaged 19 wins per season. It was time to go see the doctor about that Vitamin B12 deficiency.

After seven years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Barry Bonds joined the San Francisco Giants at age 29. With the Pirates, he had slugged 25 home runs per season. In the next 11 years with the Giants, Bonds hit 527 homers for an average of 48. In 2004, he received 232 bases on balls. "If they'd've pitched to him, he'd've hit a 100." - New York Yankees slugger, Reggie Jackson. A visit to Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative(BALCO) for: human growth hormone and testosterone cream was all it took.

Bernie Madoff managed to fly under the radar for so long because Madoff was a well-versed and active member of the financial industry. He started his own market maker firm in 1960 and helped launch the Nasdaq stock market. He sat on the board of National Association of Securities Dealers and advised the Securities and Exchange Commission on trading securities. It was easy to believe this 70-year-old industry veteran knew exactly what he was doing.

Madoff used a so-called Ponzi scheme, which lures investors in by guaranteeing unusually high returns. The name originated with Charles Ponzi, who promised 50% returns on investments in only 90 days.

Calia Kane did it for love and money, a former bank teller told a federal judge Monday before he sentenced her to seven years in prison for her role as the inside woman in a pair of Philadelphia-area bank robberies. She advised the robbers on the best ways to enter and exit the bank, and texted from her work station to let them know when the coast was clear. In their second robbery, she cased Wells Fargo branches and helped them pick their target. "I knew it was wrong," she told U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis at her sentencing hearing. "There's no amount of times I can apologize."

The two employees were model citizens before venturing to the dark side. The two ballplayers were Hall of Fame candidates before going to where "the grass is always greener."

The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do their stretch. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times. Bonds and Clemens have five more years on the ballot. Let us allow them the scenic view of the Bay Area.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy