Mike Elias Named Houston Astros Scouting Director

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 11 August 2012 09:01:27 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

HOUSTON, TX - JUNE 26: Infieler Nolan Fontana of the Houston Texans, who was selected by Houston in the second round of the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft, is introduced during a press conference at Minute Maid Park on June 26, 2012 in Houston, Texas. Fontana is flanked by Bobby Heck, Asst. General Manager, left, and Jeff Luhnow, Houston Astros General Manager. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

This was unexpected.

Per the Astros team release:

The Astros have named Mike Elias as scouting director, General Manager Jeff Luhnow announced today.
In his newly-appointed role, Elias, 29, will oversee amateur scouting and the draft. Elias joined the Astros in January as a special assistant to the general manager/scouting. Prior to joining Houston, Elias had been in the Cardinals organization since 2007 where he served as a scout before being promoted to manager of amateur scouting, which was a role that included crosschecking responsibilities.
"Mike has a keen eye for talent and a unique ability to blend scouting opinions with other valuable information like the players’ makeup, performance history or medical risk," Luhnow commented. "I’ve worked with Mike for many years now and believe his leadership and evaluation skills will help us maximize the output of our drafts for years to come."

Bobby Heck's contract was not renewed, and he will be leaving the organization, apparently. The reason this comes as a surprise is it seemed like Heck has done a good job of molding this farm system. He has shown a knack for drafting and finding young arms who may not have a high profile, but who have developed into good players.

But, at the same time, this WAS expected. Luhnow came in at a time where he didn't have the opportunity to structure his front office the way he might have wanted. He brought in Elias but had to give him a different title at the time. Heck still probably helped out quite a bit, but I imagine Elias had plenty of input on this year's draft.

What will also be interesting to see is if this is the first move in a series of moves, including with the Director of Player Development position merging into the Scouting Director position. That's how Luhnow had it in St. Louis, right? And he's professed a liking for it since he's been in Houston, right? Certainly, Fred Nelson isn't one of Luhnow's guys, as he was already with the organization when Luhnow was hired.

Between now and October, I'd expect to see some more shifts in this front office as Houston gets set for the offseason. But, they won't all be easy moves. Some will require some guts, like this one, letting a successful scouting director like Heck go.

More importantly, what will "What The Heck, Bobby?" be called now? I'd nominate "Elias Scouting Bureau."

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outing-director

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Jim Palmer 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic
Game-Used Jersey Card

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 11 August 2012 08:46:22 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Jim Palmer 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic Game-Used Jersey Card It has been more than four months since I have added a game-used relic card of Jim Palmer to my collection. I need to fix that; there are some … Continue reading →

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classic-game-used-jersey-card/

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Regular 2012 strikes back against Bizarro 2012 as
strange road trip continues.

post from Purple Row on 11 August 2012 08:01:07 PM. © Purple Row

August 11, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu (9) makes the out at second base but is unable to make the double play against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

And we're back to reality.

The Rockies have ridden excellent pitching and just enough offense to three wins on this West coast road trip that's seemed more of a trip to Fantasy Island than one to Dodger Stadium and AT&T Park, but the Giants reminded the team and its fans of what life's been like in the real world with a 9-3 win on Saturday. Drew Pomeranz struggled and got rattled by mistakes (both his own and his defense's,) giving up four runs on six hits in just four innings, and then Josh Roenicke gave up four more in the next two, as the pitchers failed to put the brakes on any Giants rally.

The Rockies offense, meanwhile, was probably about as close to optimal as the team usually gets against Matt Cain, rapping out seven hits and a walk against the ace right hander, but scored only a pair of runs off of him, plus one more off of Brad Penny in the ninth. DJ LeMahieu scored both of the runs charged to Cain, and had a pair of hits off him, including an eighth inning home run. Eric Young Jr. also had two hits for the Rockies.

The two teams will play the rubber game in the series tomorrow, and should the magical leprechauns governing this trip grant the Rockies another win, we will see the first winning Rockies road trip since April 22-26, 2011, breaking a streak of 18 straight trips with a .500 or worse record.

41 - 70

Games Back: 19.5

Streak: Lost 1

Games Left: 51

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rro-2012-as-strange-road-trip

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Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros, Aug 11, 2012
6:05 PM CDT

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 11 August 2012 08:01:05 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

Current Series

Nationals win the series 3-0

Mon 08/06 WP: Craig Stammen (5 - 1)
LP: Wilton Lopez (3 - 1)
4 - 5 lossTue 08/07 WP: Drew Storen (1 - 0)
SV: Tyler Clippard
LP: Mickey Storey (0 - 1)
2 - 3 lossWed 08/08 WP: Gio Gonzalez (14 - 6)
LP: Armando Galarraga (0 - 2)
3 - 4 loss

Milwaukee Brewers Brew Crew Ball
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Friday, Aug 10, 2012, 7:05 PM CDT
Minute Maid Park

Mark Rogers vs Bud Norris

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90.

Complete Coverage >

Dallas Keuchel

#60 / Pitcher / Houston Astros

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jan 01, 1988

Marco Estrada

#41 / Pitcher / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 05, 1983

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s-aug-11-2012-6-05-pm-cdt

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Jones and McCann return to Braves lineup (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 11 August 2012 07:13:01 PM. © MLB News Blog

NEW YORK (AP) — Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are back in the Atlanta Braves’ lineup.

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hoo-sports/

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Posey leads Giants past Rockies, 9-3 (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 11 August 2012 07:06:04 PM. © MLB News Blog

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buster Posey hit a home run and drove in two runs to back Matt Cain’s seven solid innings and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 Saturday.

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ports/

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CC to the DL..... Yanks Sign Derek Lowe

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 11 August 2012 07:02:35 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

So apparently a lot happened while I was eating an early dinner....

First, the Yankees announced that CC Sabathia is going on the 15-day DL with left elbow soreness.

?As for our concern, it?s pretty low-level,? Joe Girardi said.

Sabathia had his left arm iced before today?s game, which is not overly unusual for a pitcher. Girardi said pregame that it was a non-issue ? ?preventative stuff,? he said ? and Girardi defended that comment postgame, saying the Yankees really were trying to prevent Sabathia from missing Monday?s scheduled start. The decision to DL him wasn?t made until after today?s game, when Sabathia fought the decision, saying he was healthy enough to pitch Monday.

To add a little depth to the pitching staff, the Yankees then signed Derek Lowe, who was released by the Indians earlier in the week. Joel Sherman is reporting that he has also agreed to pitch out of the bullpen.

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-derek-lowe.html

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Game 113 Open Thread - Kansas City Royals (48-64)
vs. Baltimore Orioles (61-52)

Are there any upcoming new TV shows that look good? Every preview I've seen thus far looks terrible. Why do the people in the show "Revolution" use swords and crossbows as their weapons of choice? Do guns run on electricity and I just don't know it? I'm not sure there is an actor less likeable than Matthew Perry. How does he keep finding work? Oh wait, there is one - Dane Cook. And he also stars in a show as a sports talk radio host. Do TV producers think sports talk radio is really cutting-edge now? Is this 1994? And seriously, how is "Whitney" still on the air?

What I'm saying is, remember "The Wire"? That was good. And it was set in Baltimore. Its Royals baseball in August, this is what we talk about.