A Momentary Lapse of Reason
30 years ago this September, Pink Floyd released their 13th studio album, and first without bassist and front man, Roger Waters. A series of legal battles and scheduling conflicts nearly made the record not even happen. However, David Gilmour, along with other band mates, drummer Nick Mason and late keyboardist, Richard Wright, were determined to get something going. What resulted was a record that has gone quadruple platinum and has one of the highest selling U.S. tours to date.
It wasn't without it's critics, of course. Waters would blast the album saying, "it is not a true Pink Floyd release." However, it's not every day that a space crew takes your record with them on a mission, as an article from ultimateclassicrock.com so eloquently points out. To this day, it is still one of my favorite albums of all time for many reasons. The first being that it was not only my first exposure to the band, but also to rock n roll itself. Secondly, it's spacey conception and themes of poverty, oppression and coming of age have stuck with me all of these years. You readers can feel free to listen to a YouTube playlist of the album here.
It's title, that I have used for my post today, also reflects what is currently going on with the Houston Astros. After sweeping the Miami Marlins for 3 games on the road, they returned to H-town to face the reigning American League Champions, the Cleveland Indians. The tribe was quick and relentless in spoiling the homecoming party, being the first team in 2017 to both sweep, and otherwise dominate, the Astros. Tried as the spacemen did, they just could not stand up to the Indians' pitching. Additionally, the back end of the rotation got roughed up by their almost equally potent offense. Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers had their ERA's balloon up over 5.00 on the season because of it.
To add literal injury to the insult, both Dallas Keuchel and Brian McCann are on the disabled list. While both could be eligible as early as Saturday to be activated, only Keuchel appears to be progressing, while BMac still remains a mystery. To foster these developments, the team has called up Jordan Jankowski to round out the pitching staff, and Juan Centeno to backup your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis. El Oso Blanco now figures to get the lion's share of catching duties while his #BearSquared brother rehabs from concussion symptoms. Realistically, it's the only silver lining in an otherwise dark injury cloud hanging over the head of the team right now.
As the Astros try to seek "reasons" for why the Tribe was so dominant, they now welcome in the Detroit Tigers for 4 games. Fans need not hit the panic switch just yet. They only need remember that the spacemen still have the best record in all of baseball, and have a 5.5 game lead over the second place, Texas Rangers. Certainly, more skids will happen as the season goes on. But as their 2017 slogan implies, every win they get will have to be ones in which they "EARN IT!"
Trust me, readers. They are more than doing so right now. That's the beauty of having a deep lineup. Even when the injury bug hits, you have enough players that can step in at a moment's notice. In doing so, said players also possess enough talent to produce very well while stepping into those starting roles. Gatty Daddy is a big part of that, and getting more playing time will not only help this team win more games, but improve his individual stats as well.
While on the subject, I'd like to address some of the folks that have reached out to me since the announcement of McCann going on the concussion DL. Many were quick to tell me things like, "now your boy can get more playing time," or "I told you Evan would get his AB's." Seeing messages like this were another reason why I titled my post the way I did. Though I express my passions frequently, I never at all condone or give credence to a situation of other's misfortunes. These sorts of comments lead me to believe that the public at large have their own lapses of reason in why they would conclude such things. Or maybe, they were just trying to provide some sense of hope to me.
I can't be sure what other people's "reasons" are for these said actions. But what I can say is I always make the effort to backup my passions with empirical evidence. Even in my last piece on utilizing Carlos Beltran in other ways, at no point did I call for him to be benched. I merely postured that playing time can be better divided up than it was before the injuries. To that end, and in much the same way, I would never be happy that another player is injured.
Most especially McCann, since I've been following his career well before Gattis even came onto the scene. BMac has been perennial in leading this pitching staff to a number of wins, and has a powerful bat of his own. He and the Big White Bear compliment each other so well. Not just in their looks, but in their respective talents. Gattis still has a ways to go in this league but I can easily see him get to McCann levels of play on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, McCann will easily make it to Cooperstown soon.
There are a lot of things that need to be figured out or resolved for the team as quickly as possible. But I still have faith that the spacemen will get things done. The late inning magic will return, and the pitching will morph back into form. There's still a lot of season left. And as time goes on, we will see the spacemen soar well above the stars. That World Series title is within reach, and the team is nearly there. All we have to do as fans is to keep believing in them!
It wasn't without it's critics, of course. Waters would blast the album saying, "it is not a true Pink Floyd release." However, it's not every day that a space crew takes your record with them on a mission, as an article from ultimateclassicrock.com so eloquently points out. To this day, it is still one of my favorite albums of all time for many reasons. The first being that it was not only my first exposure to the band, but also to rock n roll itself. Secondly, it's spacey conception and themes of poverty, oppression and coming of age have stuck with me all of these years. You readers can feel free to listen to a YouTube playlist of the album here.
It's title, that I have used for my post today, also reflects what is currently going on with the Houston Astros. After sweeping the Miami Marlins for 3 games on the road, they returned to H-town to face the reigning American League Champions, the Cleveland Indians. The tribe was quick and relentless in spoiling the homecoming party, being the first team in 2017 to both sweep, and otherwise dominate, the Astros. Tried as the spacemen did, they just could not stand up to the Indians' pitching. Additionally, the back end of the rotation got roughed up by their almost equally potent offense. Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers had their ERA's balloon up over 5.00 on the season because of it.
To add literal injury to the insult, both Dallas Keuchel and Brian McCann are on the disabled list. While both could be eligible as early as Saturday to be activated, only Keuchel appears to be progressing, while BMac still remains a mystery. To foster these developments, the team has called up Jordan Jankowski to round out the pitching staff, and Juan Centeno to backup your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis. El Oso Blanco now figures to get the lion's share of catching duties while his #BearSquared brother rehabs from concussion symptoms. Realistically, it's the only silver lining in an otherwise dark injury cloud hanging over the head of the team right now.
As the Astros try to seek "reasons" for why the Tribe was so dominant, they now welcome in the Detroit Tigers for 4 games. Fans need not hit the panic switch just yet. They only need remember that the spacemen still have the best record in all of baseball, and have a 5.5 game lead over the second place, Texas Rangers. Certainly, more skids will happen as the season goes on. But as their 2017 slogan implies, every win they get will have to be ones in which they "EARN IT!"
Trust me, readers. They are more than doing so right now. That's the beauty of having a deep lineup. Even when the injury bug hits, you have enough players that can step in at a moment's notice. In doing so, said players also possess enough talent to produce very well while stepping into those starting roles. Gatty Daddy is a big part of that, and getting more playing time will not only help this team win more games, but improve his individual stats as well.
While on the subject, I'd like to address some of the folks that have reached out to me since the announcement of McCann going on the concussion DL. Many were quick to tell me things like, "now your boy can get more playing time," or "I told you Evan would get his AB's." Seeing messages like this were another reason why I titled my post the way I did. Though I express my passions frequently, I never at all condone or give credence to a situation of other's misfortunes. These sorts of comments lead me to believe that the public at large have their own lapses of reason in why they would conclude such things. Or maybe, they were just trying to provide some sense of hope to me.
I can't be sure what other people's "reasons" are for these said actions. But what I can say is I always make the effort to backup my passions with empirical evidence. Even in my last piece on utilizing Carlos Beltran in other ways, at no point did I call for him to be benched. I merely postured that playing time can be better divided up than it was before the injuries. To that end, and in much the same way, I would never be happy that another player is injured.
Most especially McCann, since I've been following his career well before Gattis even came onto the scene. BMac has been perennial in leading this pitching staff to a number of wins, and has a powerful bat of his own. He and the Big White Bear compliment each other so well. Not just in their looks, but in their respective talents. Gattis still has a ways to go in this league but I can easily see him get to McCann levels of play on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, McCann will easily make it to Cooperstown soon.
There are a lot of things that need to be figured out or resolved for the team as quickly as possible. But I still have faith that the spacemen will get things done. The late inning magic will return, and the pitching will morph back into form. There's still a lot of season left. And as time goes on, we will see the spacemen soar well above the stars. That World Series title is within reach, and the team is nearly there. All we have to do as fans is to keep believing in them!
Original Photos Credit: Karen Warren of the Houston Chronicle
While BMac nurses back to health, El Oso Blanco will get the job done behind the plate!!!!
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