The Chron has a story today on Baggy and the 1998 ‘Stros, arguably our best team ever. We finished 102-56 that season. Was our 1998 record the best in MLB that season?
The H-Town Mayor said on the flat screen yesterday that she wants to continue to be an elected official. Here is a line or two from Teddy Schleifer’s piece in the Chron:
Houston’s departing mayor also said she was likely to run for higher office, hinting at a potential statewide bid in 2016 or 2018.
And:
“I hope to be able to continue to serve the citizens of this city or this state, but a lot about politics is timing,” she said, noting that many statewide officials were just elected in 2014. “I’m going to need some work to do.”
Either she has not read Burkablog’s latest or doesn’t agree with him. Here is again is what he said last week:
I was surprised to read that Wendy Davis intends to make another run at public office, as yet unspecified. Among other things, she has retracted her support for open carry. But it is hard to see what kind of future Davis has, particularly when Battleground Texas proved to be as much of a disaster as the rest of the Davis organization. If Battleground has no future, what is the point of Davis running?
The governor’s race proved that there is no constituency for Democrats here. It is going to take years, perhaps decades, before there is likely to be any significant change in Texas politics. The margin of Abbott’s victory in the governor’s race is all anyone needs to know about the course of Texas politics going forward: more of same. Texas is a red state, arguably the reddest of red states, and it’s hard to see how the Democrats can change the course of Texas politics.
Then I said this:
I am not going to argue with Burkablog on his take. I will note that we are not seeing any articles these days about potential Dems that could be running statewide in the next election cycles. That is our new reality. I mentioned a few weeks ago that Dems ought to focus on small ball. We have to go local and recognize that we have to build and that starts at home. I have said before that if we are ever going to compete on a statewide level, it starts here in Harris County.
And here again is my small ball take from a few weeks ago:
It is time for small ball instead of the big inning.
In baseball, small ball is a strategy where you manufacture runs by utilizing the bunt, stealing bases, the hit and run, walks, hitting behind the runner, and contact hitting. You have to use this strategy if your offense is short of bashers. The big inning is a strategy where you rely heavily on the extra base hit, the walks, dingers, and have the capability of scoring a lot of runs in an inning. You need to have a lineup that includes a few power hitters and fence swingers.
Moving forward, Dems in the Lone Star State should consider utilizing the small ball strategy. We need to look at where we can pick up a run here and there. Let’s look at the map and see here we have a shot at a legislative seat, a county commissioner, county judgeship, district judgeship, county clerk, JP, constable – you get the picture. In a state with 254 counties, don’t tell me there are not any opportunities.
We are not ready for big inning play and I am not talking about a lack of quality statewide candidates. We had a good slate this past go-around. We just didn’t have the weapons to swing for the fences – a solid, organized, and energetic base. We build the base by playing small ball and picking up a run here and there. That’s how you manufacture some Ws.
Maybe the Mayor is thinking the statewide political environment will dramatically be altered in two or four years. Maybe she thinks the GOP in charge of our state government will run our state into the ground and the voters will be ready for the Mayor’s leadership. Of course, the GOP has been running the state for ten years now and they have only gotten more votes. Or maybe she has the confidence she can put together a big inning style campaign. I don’t know about that. Maybe she just wants to make sure that her name stays out there in the mix along with all the other politicos that have gotten previous statewide potential mention.
All I can say is get on out to places like Lufkin, Brownwood, Raymondville, Sherman, and Odessa and see if folks are interested.
In 1998, the Yankees finished at 114-48 and The ATL at 106-56 of course.
The MLB Hall of Fame inductees will be announced tomorrow.
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