Climbing Tal's Hill » Prince Fielder http://climbingtalshill.com A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Fri, 24 May 2013 03:11:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Astros Catcher Situation http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/05/26/astros-catcher-situation/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/05/26/astros-catcher-situation/#comments Sat, 26 May 2012 14:35:44 +0000 Brian Hamilton http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=3822 When Ed Wade was hired as Astros GM in late 2007, the first thing he did was trade closer, Brad Lidge to the Philadelphia Phillies for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Michael Costanzo. One of the next moves he made, was to completely revamp our scouting department. This move was a very unsung move and [...]

Astros Catcher Situation - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> When Ed Wade was hired as Astros GM in late 2007, the first thing he did was trade closer, Brad Lidge to the Philadelphia Phillies for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Michael Costanzo. One of the next moves he made, was to completely revamp our scouting department. This move was a very unsung move and one that was long overdue. He brought in Bobby Heck as our director of amateur scouting and a year later Heck was promoted to assistant General Manager/Director of Scouting. Before joining the Astros, Heck served for eight seasons as the Milwaukee Brewers Eastern Scouting Supervisor, and was involved with the drafts of 2000-2007 which included drafting some of the Brewers core players such as Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and former Brewer, current Detroit Tiger, Prince Fielder. Needless to say, Heck has an eye for talent and a successful track record.  His first draft pick as scouting director for the Astros came in 2008 as the Astros selected Jason Castro, a catcher from Stanford, with the tenth overall pick in the first round.

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]]> http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/05/26/astros-catcher-situation/feed/ 0 The N.L. Central Farewell Tour: Milwaukee Brewers Edition http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/02/10/the-n-l-central-farewell-tour-milwaukee-brewers-edition/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/02/10/the-n-l-central-farewell-tour-milwaukee-brewers-edition/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:45:13 +0000 Greg Thurston http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=3101 The next stop for our virtual tour bus is America’s dairy land. Milwaukee Wisconsin is home to the sausage races and some of the most dedicated baseball fans in the country. In 2007 scores of Brewers “bucket heads” pledged to pee their pants if the Brewers ended a 25 year drought by making the playoffs. [...]

The N.L. Central Farewell Tour: Milwaukee Brewers Edition - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> The next stop for our virtual tour bus is America’s dairy land. Milwaukee Wisconsin is home to the sausage races and some of the most dedicated baseball fans in the country. In 2007 scores of Brewers “bucket heads” pledged to pee their pants if the Brewers ended a 25 year drought by making the playoffs. The Brew Crew came up short that year but won the wildcard in 2008. Last year Milwaukee won their first ever N.L. Central Division title. The Brewers moved from the American League East back in 1998. No team has switched leagues since, but the 2013 Astros will end that streak.

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

In the late nineties Bud Selig (owner of the Brewers at that time) got taxpayers to chip in more than $300 million to construct a state-of-the-art baseball facility. Miller Park opened in 2001 and also served as the Astros home away from home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. That is a sore subject and I refuse to elaborate any further. Former Astro Wade Miller must have thought the park was named after him. Miller compiled a 6-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in eight starts there.

 

Brad White is our special guest this time around. Brad is the newest staff writer at Reviewing the Brew, a great site for comprehensive Brewers infotainment. Brad has agreed to climb the hill  with us and answer a few questions about the 2012 Brew Crew. In an attempt to properly initiate Brad, we tried to come up with some hard-hitting questions that only a real Brewers fan could handle.

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]]> http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/02/10/the-n-l-central-farewell-tour-milwaukee-brewers-edition/feed/ 3 The time is right for the Astros and Cubs to talk trade http://climbingtalshill.com/2011/11/18/the-time-is-right-for-the-astros-and-cubs-to-talk-trade/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2011/11/18/the-time-is-right-for-the-astros-and-cubs-to-talk-trade/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 04:10:11 +0000 Alex Sandoval http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=2622 Both the Astros and Cubs are going through similar situations as each organization has faltered a great deal over the past few years. Their downturns have caused massive changes and in the Astros’ case, a complete overhaul starting from the top. Both franchises have adopted new philosophies and will look to trim payroll making this a perfect [...]

The time is right for the Astros and Cubs to talk trade - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> Both the Astros and Cubs are going through similar situations as each organization has faltered a great deal over the past few years. Their downturns have caused massive changes and in the Astros’ case, a complete overhaul starting from the top. Both franchises have adopted new philosophies and will look to trim payroll making this a perfect time to rid themselves of Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Lee, two of the main reasons for the mess they are currently in. Big Z and Caballo have massive contracts that have handcuffed their respective front offices however each fits a need for the other club and would help both move on from a dark period that has lasted far too long.

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