Sports
The Battalion
Page 3 • Wednesday, July 28, 2004
or major league Texas teams it's hit or miss
I!
SHAWN MILLENDER
SPORTS COLUMNIST
f one has been keeping track of the
Major League Baseball season locally,
.he would have to be deaf to miss the
rumblings. The Houston Astros — or the
Dis-Astros, or the LeAstros, or the Last-
ros — depending on your favorite moniker
for them — have given new meaning to the
term “underachieving.”
The season had a promising start.
Arguably the best starting pitcher rotation
in the big leagues complemented a lineup
that had some decent pop from No. 1
Hugh No. 8. When the Astros raced out to a 24-15 record and
he livision rival Chicago Cubs stumbled out of the gate, it seemed
ill the Astros had to do was outlast the usual suspects like the
1 dinals and Reds to bring a title home to Houston.
ut then the injuries hit, and the flow of runs was choked to a
le. The non-contenders turned out to be legitimately better than
ected. The Astros were facing reality: This team is too old and inju-
ry )rone to contend seriously for the National League central division.
■When 36-year-old first baseman Jeff Bagwell’s arthritic shoul-
|e|turned him into a $16 million doorstop with no throwing arm,
thJrest of the lineup was dragged down with him.
iflHSuddenly, Adam Everett was exposed for the bush-league
HBfHker he is. No one was on base to set the table for power hitters
^ lild Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent. Richard Hidalgo, after a torrid
o HamcHth 0 f cratered so dramatically he was traded to the Mets
foja bucket of baseballs and an extra batting practice cage.
sandfe-Bwnh
pitchers Wade Miller, Tim Redding, Andy Pettite and Roy
)een (Mwalt all spending time out of the rotation, a once-promising
Hamas LLp of seasoned veterans was turned into a loose confederation
sainst of spares who are captained by the only Astro carrying his own
Hamas.L jjght, an increasingly frustrated Roger Clemens.
Is list :■Even the addition of Kansas City center fielder Carlos Beltran
ations Tailed to light a fire under the Astros. The only hope left for their
encetoifai is that new manager “Scrap Iron” Phil Garner can somehow get
stiniansihem to do the little things right and eventually play to their potential.
■ Currently the Astros sit a game under .500 and 5 1/2 games out of
Dll tO u wild card race, with the recent dubious and embarrassing distinc-
I for In of helping snap the crummy Arizona Diamondbacks’ 14-game
, Ring skid Monday night, a feat on par with being the only team in
^HNFL to lose to the Cowboys when they went 1-15 in 1989.
-Ml Fortunately for Texas baseball fans, one team in the state is
meed wking them proud. The Texas Rangers are the opposite of almost
dican e\ rything about the Astros: They’re young, overachieving and on
:tors, th: rise after years of floundering under the weight of huge super-
Matt Sayles • THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pat Sullivan • THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
While the Texas Rangers have been unexpectedly successful this season, the Houston Astros haven't quite experienced the same success due to prob
lems on and off the field. Left: Gary Matthews, right, is congratulated by teammate Mark Teixeria after hitting a three-run home run Monday
night. Right: Andy Pettitte stands on the mound as the Diamondbacks' Scott Hairston rounds the bases after a home run on Monday.
star contracts. They’re what the Astros want to be, which is a dra
matic role reversal from as recently as last season.
The Rangers have done it mainly with offense, just like they
have to. Their starting rotation is suspect at best; atrocious is prob
ably the best word to describe it. They’ve managed, however, to
squeeze another all-star quality year out of unfrozen caveman
Kenny Rogers and received unexpected quality performances from
young pitchers like Ryan Drese who is 6-0 at Ameriquest Field and
Francisco Cordero who has 30 saves.
Mark Teixeria proved to be the talent everyone thought he’d be.
Teixeria, along with proven all-star Hank Blalock and newcomer
Alfonso Soriano have teamed with role players like David Delucci,
Laynce Nix and Kevin Mench to keep the Rangers in first place far
longer than even the most ardent fan could have hoped.
The Rangers could go 0-66 from here on out and manager Buck
Showalter would be able to call it a successful season with the 18th big
gest payroll in the majors. Conversely, for the Astros and the 12th high
est payroll to redeem their season, they may just have to run the table.
bem
r,^
atoi i t
mdlMc
ipent St|
prescii
md
jpos
ige
to gelt
, some!
rather t|
wgel
oted ail
Is. “0«J
)low if|
linale
.gentViiJ
i r
ed.
oration]
is injj
that fj
ictsfij
r
SPORTS IN BRIEF
fexans sign Anderson
HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Texans
signed sixth-round draft choice Charlie
\nderson on Tuesday, meaning only two of
[their nine selections remained unsigned.
Anderson, a defensive end at Mississippi, will
compete for a roster spot at outside linebacker.
3ne of the Texans’ two first-round picks, Jason
Babin, is making a similar transition.
As a senior last season, Anderson led Ole
/liss with 5 1/2 sacks and had a career-high
54 tackles. He played in every game of his
four-year collegiate career.
Terms of Anderson’s deal were not imme
diately available. Only safety Glenn Earl and
bornerback Vontez Duff remained unsigned.
lowboys cut Hutchinson
IRVING (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys waived
Bhad Hutchinson on Tuesday, ending their
Experiment of trying to turn the former big-
feague pitcher into a starting quarterback.
Hutchinson’s release has been expected all
offseason, especially after an unimpressive
performance in NFL Europe. The Cowboys
have four other quarterbacks on the roster
and coach Bill Parcells said he didn’t plan
|o take five to training camp, which opens
[Friday in Oxnard, Calif.
Dallas’ other quarterbacks are Carter,
i/inny Testaverde, Tony Romo and rookie
[Drew Henson, another former college star
vho is trying to make it big in football after
{giving up on pro baseball.
Athens bolsters security; no-fly zone planned
By Derek Gatopoulos
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Athens will impose a no-fly zone over the city a
week before the Olympics and has drawn up contin
gency plans to shoot down hijacked planes that could
be used in a Sept. 11-style attack, a senior Greek air
defense official said Tuesday, as authorities received
U.S. scanners to check cars and trucks.
Thanassis Stavrakis • THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Greek air force radar operator inspects a missle launcer near Athens on Tuesday.
“The threats we’re considering include renegade
aircraft, missiles ... gliders, kites, remote-controlled
planes, unmanned craft and others,” Air Force Brig.
Gen. Dimitris Mandilis told The Associated Press.
“Any order to engage and shoot these down rests
with the government and a committee headed by
the prime minister.”
Air defense systems have been placed around the
Athens area, including U.S. Patriot missile batteries,
together with French
and Russian systems,
defense officials told
AP. The Patriot sites,
three around Athens,
two in the northern city
of Thessaloniki and
one on the Aegean Sea
island of Skyros were
placed on alert July
1; the status will not
change until Oct. 5.
With less than three
weeks before the Aug.
13 opening ceremony,
the most costly securi
ty plan in Olympic his
tory is gradually taking
shape with some police
spyware going into
full-time operation.
More than 290
street cameras, three
helicopters and a 200-
foot blimp, mounted
with cameras, began Olympic patrols to monitor
major roads and areas near venues.
Images and sound from the cameras and a
dozen surveillance vans are fed into a command
center, under a $312 million system developed by
San Diego-based Science Applications International
Corp., or SAIC.
The two mobile X-ray scanners, on loan from
U.S. Customs, will be used to check for possible
explosives in cars, trucks and cargo. The equipment
is part of a bilateral agreement reached last month to
strengthen seaport protection.
Security is costing Athens a record $1.5 billion
and will involve 70,000 police and soldiers. The
truck scanners, each worth $7 million, were loaned
to Athens because technology procured by Greece
will not be ready in time for the games.
“This is an important interagency effort,” said
Scott Blackball of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security’s Customs and Border Protection. “It ends
a weeklong intensive training program using the
mobile X-ray technology.”
Trucks headed to the Olympic Village and venues
will be scanned by the vehicles based at a new facil
ity at Aspropyrgos, a town west of the city center.
The scanners, with an extending arm mounted on
a command vehicle, are designed to detect guns,
explosives, drugs and people. Trucks can be checked
in about three minutes, officials said.
“Truck safety is a crucial issue,” said Vassilis
Stavrinos, secretary general of the Finance Ministry
in charge of Greece’s customs. “This provides a
shield against illegal and terrorist actions and speeds
up the inspection process.”
o a yes'
e polic ( [
il
;c
osives'l
ament j
in’t ^
year a
MarcJ
le coil
01
lisp®
5-201
Bodega
Breakfast
7 DAYS A WEEK!!!
Monday-Friday 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Saturday 6c Sunday 8 a.m. - noon
Starting August 9 th
DotVt forget: you can get your favorite breakfast
TOGO!!
Buy 1 get 1 Free breakFast entree
Church Avenue, College Station
691-8226
]^)oes Your-
Aggie 5t u dent [\Jeed
/\ Yjorne ]n (College
Station?
Introducing Krenek Crossing in College Station. Homes
starting at $115,000! These homes are designed exclu
sively for college students and feature choices of great 3
and 4 bedroom floorplans. Located on the corner of
Dartmouth and Krenek Tap Roads, Krenek Crossing is
2.5 miles from Texas A&M University on the Texas
A&M Shuttle bus route. Call Eric, Dan or Jane today!
MECRflFI
BUILDERS, INC.
J
James Hardie*
Siding products - „
LENOCR REALTOR™
Charming exteriors featuring durable, low
maintenance James Hardie Siding.
KQUAI. HOOSIMG
MODEL HOME OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 979-764-9900