It Takes Two To Make a Thing Go Right!

The second week of Houston Astros Spring Training down at the Ballparks of the Palm Beaches is already well underway. With a couple of minor exceptions that involve wisdom teeth recovery for Carlos Correa, and in the case of a minor league pitcher some travel delays, everything seems to be going swimmingly. Which is perfect, because the team is around enough ocean and pool water to take some dips in, even though they won't actually have any time to enjoy such ventures.

One player that is on the mend nicely is your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis! He has now progressed to doing soft throwing back to the pitchers in bullpen drills. There has been no aggravation in the right shoulder that has been giving him some soreness lately. So how soon will he be back to full throttle?

Well, why not let El Oso Blanco tell you for himself?:

As usual, the Big White Bear always keeps a level head about things. He's not quick to rush anything in recovery and development. Even though the first preseason game is on Saturday, Gattis and the team both feel incredibly confident that he will be ready in time. He will certainly be needed in backing up BMac! (Brian McCann)

Speaking of this catching duo, a new article came out today from Climbing Tal's Hill, courtesy of my brother writer, Eric Huysman. In it, he shows exactly what the tandem of McCann and Gattis are capable of doing. If all goes right, Astros fans have the potential to see the greatest catching duo in the history of the franchise.

Of course, I already believed this about the two of them. So much so, in fact, that I even ran a recent poll on Twitter to all of the Astros fans out there as to a new nickname that we can call them while they play for Houston. Quite fitting, considering it's President's Day. So, without further ado and gratitude to the 30 fans that voted, here are the results of the nickname poll!:

4th Place - BMac & The Bear (13% of the Vote)

I'll admit that I sort of had some bias for this one in particular. Mainly because you can follow up this nickname with the caption: BASEBALL'S NEWEST CRIME FIGHTING BACKSTOP DUO. Which, to be honest, is what this specific nickname would have sounded like. Very reminiscent of a Franklin and Bash type of combo. So, understandably, I can see how it would get the fewest votes. Only 4, to be precise.

3rd Place - Oso Doublé (20% of the vote)

Translated from Spanish, it means "Double Bear." It would have been a nice upgrade from the solitary, but incredibly awesome and unique, nickname of just Gattis alone. And since they both are practically twins separated at birth, this one would have also made sense. But alas, fans weren't exactly feeling this one.

2nd Place - The Bearded Bash Brothers (27% of the vote)

I came up with this one as a play off of the two characters from "The Mighty Ducks" Disney films. While Colby Rasmus looks more like the long-haired Fulton Reed, and good luck to him in Tampa Bay this year by the way, I still think the same nickname could be applied to Brian McCann and Evan Gattis. Unfortunately, most of the fans did not feel the same way. But that's alright, they still made a great choice.

And the winner of the dual nickname poll for McCann and Gattis is....Bear², or Bear Squared!!!!

Getting 40% of the vote was this clever name with a mathematical & formulaic twist to it. You fans satisfied the math geek inside of me. And for that, I don my cap to you all! Again, a big thank you to all of you that participated in this poll.

You really could use any of these nicknames. However, the people have spoken! And Bear to the second power, or Bear Squared, sounds pretty good to me!

So, there you have it! An exciting name to go with an exciting pair of players and gents. Not to mention, how much these two are going to impact an already stellar lineup for this 2017 season. One that, I truly believe like all other fans, will be a very glorious one!

Original Photo Credit: Karen Warren of the Houston Chronicle

Ladies and Gentlemen, your first look at Bear², or Bear Squared! These field generals are ready to do battle for a minimum of the next three seasons for the Houston Astros, Mr. Lunhow!