GAME 16 - April 23: Astros 4, Pirates 3
GAME 17 - April 24: Astros 5, Pirates 2
GAME 18 - April 25: Astros 10, Pirates 3
You could say "It was just the Pirates," and you'd probably be right to downplay the Astros sweep this weekend. It was just the Pirates. The same Pirates that were just coming off of being swept at home by the Brewers, who had outscored them 36-1, with a 20-0 shutout to make sure that the insult was complete.
On the other hand, the Pirates might have come to Houston hoping to lick their wounds and regain the Pride and Passion that's advertised on their MLB website. After all, they did arrive with a better win-loss record (7-8) than the Astros' (5-10). So which is the better team? Or which is just worse?
With the Pirates' pitching staff exhausted from the drubbing by the Brewers, facing the top of the Astros rotation, you might have guessed (or at least hoped for) the outcome: The Astros swept them away.
In Game 1, the Pirates were up against Ray Oswalt, who is night and day different this April than last year this time. He held Pittsburgh scoreless through six innings, before giving up 3 runs in the seventh on a pair of home runs. Only 2 of the runs were earned, but it was his own fielding error that was responsible for the third one. But don't beat him up too much for that - it was his first error since 2006. Happily, the Astros managed to score their 4 runs on Oswalt's watch, earning him his second win on his fourth quality start of the season. More happy news from the bullpen as Lyon and Lindstrom combined for two perfect innings to save Oswalt's win. What does the Astros' Wiz have in common with the Wizard of Oz? Both of them had to deal with the aftermath of a tornado. In Oswalt's case, he had to run down to Mississippi over the weekend, after his parents' home was damaged by a deadly tornado. Luckily no one in the house was injured. I watched this Friday night game after the Saturday night game ended.
In Game 2, Wandy finally earned a win with an excellent start. He pitched into the eighth, giving up 2 runs (only 1 of them earned on a solo homer) on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts. Competing with the other Astros starting pitchers for the best BA on the team, Wandy hit a single batting right handed in the sixth. (He's batting .375 so far this season.)
But Wandy wasn't the most notable pitcher in this game. Pirates starter Chris Jakabauskas got the most attention - and I bet he wished that he didn't. In the first inning, with 2 Astros on base and 2 outs, he was beaned by a hard line drive off Berkman's bat, and fell to the ground holding his head and kicking his legs. It was a pretty terrifying sight. After about 10 minutes, he was helped off the field, and was taken to the hospital to be checked out. But to add insult to injury, both the runners scored off the relief pitcher and Jakabauskas was tagged for the loss. The poor guy wasn't even supposed to be there - he was called up from the Pirates Triple A team to fill in their depleted pitching staff. Happily, news reports the next day indicated that his injuries were scary, but not serious - a concussion and contusion, but not a fractured skull. Berkman appeared to be horrified by the whole thing. He ran to the mound and was patting Jakabauskas, and looked like he was nearly in tears. According to reports he went to visit Jakabauskas in the hospital, and the Pirates players were very complementary about what a mentch Berkman is. Well, they didn't actually say "mentch."
Other things to like in Game 2: Pence is starting to hit - he went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs in this game, pushing his batting average up towards .200. That's puny, but a whole lot better than where it was a week ago. Feliz also went 2 for 4 with a homer (his first) and 2 RBIs. Bourn kept the Pirates' score down with great defense - another outfield assist to throw out a runner at the plate. I also really like hearing Bagwell's voice from the broadcast booth for Saturday games.
Game 3 on Sunday was just what the Astros needed - a big blowout, low stress win to seal the deal for the sweep. By the end of the fourth inning, they were sitting on a 8-1 lead. The Astros earned their 10 runs (season's first double digits) on only 10 hits - 5 singles, 2 doubles, a triple and a homer. But they got a lot of freebies in this game, including 8 walks! The runners were dashing around the base paths with impunity - the Astros had six steals, 3 of them by Bourn. It was hard to keep Bourn off base - he got a single and walked 3 times. Unfortunately, walking Bourn is kind of like giving up a double. He's turning into a dream leadoff man, with his .435 OBP and 8 stolen bases.
Other than Myers (the Astros pitcher who isn't hitting well), all of the starting lineup participated in the double-digit offensive frenzy. Everyone except Kepp got a hit (but Kepp did manage to get an RBI and to score a run). Berkman only had one hit but it was a big one - his first homer of the year. Carlos Lee (AKA El Slackero, El Cabernet, and other less-than-flattering nicknames) was good for a pair of hits, including a triple, scored twice, added 2 RBIs to the other 3 he's collected in the last 3 weeks, and even stole a base. No kidding. The catcher was apparently so shocked he forgot to throw to second. Feliz and Pence had 2 hits and a steal each. Pence finally pushed his batting average over .200. (Next stop .300.)
While the Astros were collecting give-away bases right and left, the Pirates actually were hitting pretty well off starter Myers - and wasting nearly every opportunity. Myers gave up 11 hits (all singles) in 6 innings, but the Pirates only managed to score twice off of him. Reportedly, he was a bit miffed at being taken out of the game with only 91 pitches, but Mills told him that it was all he needed him to do. With a big lead, he gave the bullpen some exercise. Sampson pitched a scoreless seventh - his ERA is only 1.04 after 8 appearances this year. Byrdak gave up a run in the eighth. Fulchino pitched a perfect ninth in a far-from-save situation.
Fine with me. I love an exciting walk-off homer win, or a come from behind surge - as long as the Astros are on the high-fiving, butt-patting end of it. But it sure is nice, once in a while, to just kick back and not worry while the guys are looking like baseball is FUN again. And, hey, by the way, the Astros are just 2 games under .500, have won 8 of their last 10, and are just 3 games behind the division-leading Cards. Not bad for a team that was 0-8 not long ago.
Next stop: A day off before the Reds come to town. The Pirates just swept the Reds before dropping 6 games in row. But that's no reason to relax.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
GAMES 13-15: Astros Catch Some Fish for Second Series Win
GAME 13 - April 20: Astros 7, Marlins 5
GAME 14 - April 21: Astros 5, Marlins 4
GAME 15 - April 22: Marlins 5, Astros 1
It's funny how getting a couple of wins changes your world view: You get greedy. After that dismal 8-loss start, the Astros went on to win 5 of their next 6 games - a series win against the Cubs, and then the first two games of the Marlins series. So was it any surprise that we are all wanting (no, expecting!) to see them sweep the Fish? Maybe even go on and win all the rest of the games of the season?
They didn't sweep, and they won't win all the rest of the games of the season. For the first two games of the series, the Astros played some good, come-from-behind, clutch-hit baseball. They scored some runs at the right moment - especially by our surprisingly good bench. They won a series from a team that hadn't lost a series yet this year. They started to look like winners. And then they finished up by looking sort of helpless in Game 3, kind of like the first 8 games of the season.
But it's totally different. With a few wins behind them, this loss just becomes a case of "you can't win them all." Even the best team loses a third of the time.
The big news for this series was the return of Lance Berkman. In his first game back he hit a double and a pair of RBI ground-outs. Second game he went 0 for 4, but managed to get another RBI. In the third game he hit a pair of singles. With a .250 BA, no homers, it's not like we suddenly have a monster power hitter in the line up -- yet -- but it changes the dynamics of the line up. After running different lineups in every game at the start of the season, Mills may be getting a bit more stability soon.
Most of the Astros starters are getting a slow start at collecting wins this season, and the two wins in this series were no exception. In both games the Astros came from behind, earning wins for the bullpen and more saves for Lindstrom. The starting pitchers for this series weren't bad. It was the bottom end of Houston's rotation - Myers, Norris, and Paulino -- and in general they pitched solid but not newsworthy starts. But the bullpen was terrific - giving up only one run in 9 innings in relief. The bullpen has been a wonderful surprise this year, as I started to point out back in Spring Training. They have been much better than their ERAs might indicate, since a single meltdown this early in the season has devastating effects on the numbers.
Next up: The Pirates are coming to town, fresh off a 20-0 loss against the Brewers. One might think that this would be the time to rack up some wins against the hapless Pirates, but the Astros have had some bad luck against Pittsburgh in the past. Roy's on the mound tonight. I'm greedy - how about a no hitter? I will be hurrying to turn on my computer when the Sabbath ends tomorrow night to find out how it went.
The big news for this series was the return of Lance Berkman. In his first game back he hit a double and a pair of RBI ground-outs. Second game he went 0 for 4, but managed to get another RBI. In the third game he hit a pair of singles. With a .250 BA, no homers, it's not like we suddenly have a monster power hitter in the line up -- yet -- but it changes the dynamics of the line up. After running different lineups in every game at the start of the season, Mills may be getting a bit more stability soon.
Most of the Astros starters are getting a slow start at collecting wins this season, and the two wins in this series were no exception. In both games the Astros came from behind, earning wins for the bullpen and more saves for Lindstrom. The starting pitchers for this series weren't bad. It was the bottom end of Houston's rotation - Myers, Norris, and Paulino -- and in general they pitched solid but not newsworthy starts. But the bullpen was terrific - giving up only one run in 9 innings in relief. The bullpen has been a wonderful surprise this year, as I started to point out back in Spring Training. They have been much better than their ERAs might indicate, since a single meltdown this early in the season has devastating effects on the numbers.
Next up: The Pirates are coming to town, fresh off a 20-0 loss against the Brewers. One might think that this would be the time to rack up some wins against the hapless Pirates, but the Astros have had some bad luck against Pittsburgh in the past. Roy's on the mound tonight. I'm greedy - how about a no hitter? I will be hurrying to turn on my computer when the Sabbath ends tomorrow night to find out how it went.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
GAME 12: Astros Win First Series!
GAME 12 - April 18: Astros 3, Cubs 2
WHAT A GREAT GAME! My heart's still going pitter-pat, I'm juiced on excitement and a bit of excellent Israeli fume blanc. The Astros won the game today, earning their first series win, and extending their winning streak to TWO GAMES! That may sound puny to Yankee fans, but considering where we're coming from, it's HUGE to us.
Between afternoon games while I'm at work and Sabbath games while I'm not online, I hadn't actually seen a winning game live before today. For both of the previous wins, I already knew the outcome when I watched the game. But I watched this one live, and experienced real heart-pounding excitement for the first time this season. The Astros came from behind, tied it up, went into extra innings, took the lead, and didn't screw it up -- all in one game! What more could a Fan in Exile (or any Astros fan) ask for?
Not to be too critical, but we might have wished that they'd done their heroics just a teensy bit earlier, while Wandy was still the pitcher of record. Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'm just kind of sorry for Wandy, who pitched his best game of the season and didn't get the win. Seven innings, two runs on 6 hits and 1 walk, 3 Ks. But the Astros didn't score their first run until the eighth. They even threatened to tie it up or better - there were two runners on base when Feliz struck out looking to end the inning.
But Wandy's probably not complaining either - the Astros were shut out in his first two starts, and he was still on the hook for the loss right up until the ninth inning today. But with Cubs closer Marmol on the mound, Pence singled and stole second. The Blum hit a double to score Pence, tying the game 2-2. That got Wandy out of the running for a loss.
Wandy had terrific support today from the bullpen, which kept the Cubs from adding on to the two runs they had scored back in the third inning. Moehler, who hadn't seen action in more than a week, pitched a perfect eighth, giving the Astros space to catch up. Byrdak got two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, then walked two batters. Pitter pat, pitter pat, went my heart. That's about when I poured my first glass of wine. The next batter flied out to end the inning still tied, and the game went into extra innings.
Extra innings! To get into extra innings, you have to NOT be losing hideously after nine! We were tied.
Top of the tenth: It was the perfect opportunity to score, with the pitcher's spot leading off and our two most consistent hitters, Bourn and Kepp, to follow. Jason Michaels' pinch hit double started us off perfectly. He advanced to third on Bourn's sac bunt. Thinking that the Astros were going for the squeeze, the Cubs threw a couple of pitchouts, then intentional walked Keppinger to set up for a double play. But Feliz - who had popped out, grounded out twice, and struck out looking in his previous at bats - managed to bop the first pitch into center field. Redemption! JMike scored to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. That brought up Carlos Lee. In a fairy tale ending, El Caballo would finally find his swing and launch a powerful blast into the bleachers, despite the wind blowing in. In the actual game, Lee flied out to right field, this last activity of a 0 for 5 day. Mills did a double swap to bring in Matt Lindstrom in Lee's spot and JMike moved to left field for the bottom of the inning.
Happily, today Lindstrom looked a whole lot like a closer protecting a one-run lead. The first batter, pinch hitter Mike Fontenot, struck out on 3 pitches, just gawking at the curve ball that was called strike 3. Then back to the top of the Cubs lineup. Theriot got 2 strikes, then 3 balls, a foul, and then watched a fastball go by for called strike 3. Two down, with heavy hitter Marlon Byrd at the plate. Byrd, who was credited with the 2 Cubs runs, singled to bring up a very dangerous Derreck Lee - 0 for 4 and hungry. Two balls (no, no, no, don't give him anything good to hit!), then three strikes... and you're out! Striking out the side is such a closerly thing to do. Nice work, Lindstrom!
Nice work, Astros! I don't think that Wandy is actually complaining. At least he didn't get stuck with another loss for his good start this time. The person who was really cheated was Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, who pitched into the 8th inning, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 8, then watched his closer blow the save. But hey, tough luck. I'm certainly not complaining.
Day off tomorrow. Tuesday, back in Houston, to continue The Streak against the Fish.
WHAT A GREAT GAME! My heart's still going pitter-pat, I'm juiced on excitement and a bit of excellent Israeli fume blanc. The Astros won the game today, earning their first series win, and extending their winning streak to TWO GAMES! That may sound puny to Yankee fans, but considering where we're coming from, it's HUGE to us.
Between afternoon games while I'm at work and Sabbath games while I'm not online, I hadn't actually seen a winning game live before today. For both of the previous wins, I already knew the outcome when I watched the game. But I watched this one live, and experienced real heart-pounding excitement for the first time this season. The Astros came from behind, tied it up, went into extra innings, took the lead, and didn't screw it up -- all in one game! What more could a Fan in Exile (or any Astros fan) ask for?
Not to be too critical, but we might have wished that they'd done their heroics just a teensy bit earlier, while Wandy was still the pitcher of record. Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'm just kind of sorry for Wandy, who pitched his best game of the season and didn't get the win. Seven innings, two runs on 6 hits and 1 walk, 3 Ks. But the Astros didn't score their first run until the eighth. They even threatened to tie it up or better - there were two runners on base when Feliz struck out looking to end the inning.
But Wandy's probably not complaining either - the Astros were shut out in his first two starts, and he was still on the hook for the loss right up until the ninth inning today. But with Cubs closer Marmol on the mound, Pence singled and stole second. The Blum hit a double to score Pence, tying the game 2-2. That got Wandy out of the running for a loss.
Wandy had terrific support today from the bullpen, which kept the Cubs from adding on to the two runs they had scored back in the third inning. Moehler, who hadn't seen action in more than a week, pitched a perfect eighth, giving the Astros space to catch up. Byrdak got two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, then walked two batters. Pitter pat, pitter pat, went my heart. That's about when I poured my first glass of wine. The next batter flied out to end the inning still tied, and the game went into extra innings.
Extra innings! To get into extra innings, you have to NOT be losing hideously after nine! We were tied.
Top of the tenth: It was the perfect opportunity to score, with the pitcher's spot leading off and our two most consistent hitters, Bourn and Kepp, to follow. Jason Michaels' pinch hit double started us off perfectly. He advanced to third on Bourn's sac bunt. Thinking that the Astros were going for the squeeze, the Cubs threw a couple of pitchouts, then intentional walked Keppinger to set up for a double play. But Feliz - who had popped out, grounded out twice, and struck out looking in his previous at bats - managed to bop the first pitch into center field. Redemption! JMike scored to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. That brought up Carlos Lee. In a fairy tale ending, El Caballo would finally find his swing and launch a powerful blast into the bleachers, despite the wind blowing in. In the actual game, Lee flied out to right field, this last activity of a 0 for 5 day. Mills did a double swap to bring in Matt Lindstrom in Lee's spot and JMike moved to left field for the bottom of the inning.
Happily, today Lindstrom looked a whole lot like a closer protecting a one-run lead. The first batter, pinch hitter Mike Fontenot, struck out on 3 pitches, just gawking at the curve ball that was called strike 3. Then back to the top of the Cubs lineup. Theriot got 2 strikes, then 3 balls, a foul, and then watched a fastball go by for called strike 3. Two down, with heavy hitter Marlon Byrd at the plate. Byrd, who was credited with the 2 Cubs runs, singled to bring up a very dangerous Derreck Lee - 0 for 4 and hungry. Two balls (no, no, no, don't give him anything good to hit!), then three strikes... and you're out! Striking out the side is such a closerly thing to do. Nice work, Lindstrom!
Nice work, Astros! I don't think that Wandy is actually complaining. At least he didn't get stuck with another loss for his good start this time. The person who was really cheated was Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, who pitched into the 8th inning, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 8, then watched his closer blow the save. But hey, tough luck. I'm certainly not complaining.
Day off tomorrow. Tuesday, back in Houston, to continue The Streak against the Fish.
GAME 11: Roy O Gets his W
GAME 11 - April 17: Astros 4, Cubs 3
I read afterwards that Roy Oswalt hid in the bathroom during the ninth inning, he was so nervous that the Cubs would score and he'd lose his change for a win. He had his reasons. Remember his 2009 record-setting 16 no decisions? Remember Oswalt's first win last season - on May 10th? Remember his two solid starts this season - resulting in a pair of losses when his teammates didn't score even a single run on his watch? You can bet that Oswalt remembers. So there he was, according to the media reports, hiding in the bathroom when Matt Lindstrom got the last out of the game and the Wiz got his W.
Oswalt certainly earned the win - he pitched 7 shutout innings, gave up 5 hits (4 singles and a double), not a single walk, and struck out 6. He threw a lot of 92-94 MPH fastballs/sinkers and sliders in the early innings, adding in his wicked curveball (as low as 63 MPH) starting in the third inning. Oswalt's win put him at 138 career, taking over second place from Larry Dierker (137 from '64-'76) on the Astros all-time winningest pitcher list. Joe Niekro's first place position -- 144 ('75-'85) -- is definitely within range for Oswalt this year, assuming he stays healthy and the team backs him up. In this game, the Wiz looked like the classic Roy that we didn't get to see much of this time last year. This is one of the factors that makes me think that, despite the current standings, there's reason to hope for the Astros this season. Before the season started, people said that without a good year for Oswalt and Berkman, the Astros would be in trouble. So far Oswalt's pitched much better than his 1-2 record shows - and much, much better than last April. The jury's still out on Berkman, since he's on the DL.
The other hero of this game was the much-berated starting catcher wannabe, JR Towles. Coming into the game with a batting average in the fifties, he didn't seem to be much of a threat to the Cubs. But he turned into their biggest enemy, after Oswalt, going 3 for 4, to raise his batting average about .130 points. His first hit was a bloop RBI single in the second inning, which might not have even been a hit if Soriano didn't play left field quite so deep. His next hit was completely legit - a leadoff homer to left field in the fifth. His third hit, another soft single to Soriano, got him on base, setting him up to score the Astros fourth and final run of the game.
Not to nitpick, but there were also a few things not to like in this win. The first was Brandon Lyon, who nearly gave away Oswalt's great start, allowing the Cubs to earn back three runs in the eighth inning. I'm still trying to figure out why the Astros signed him to such a nice deal in the offseason - so far he hasn't been really impressive as a setup man, let alone a potential closer. His line for this game: two-thirds of an inning, giving up 3 runs on a single and then 3 doubles, before Sampson came in to rescue him. I know it's early in the season, but so far he's not looking too good - with a ERA over 10 to back up that impression.
The second thing not to like was not seeing Bourn - he's out for a sore groin. With Bourn one of the few Astros who hasn't been in a slump, we can't afford to miss him. Hopefully, he'll be back after the day off.
In his absence, Keppinger got the leadoff spot in the lineup. Hitting over .350, Keppinger is making it hard for Mills to use Matsui (only 2 hits in his 21 at bats).
The third thing not to like were the infield fielding errors - one by Feliz and one by Manzella with 2 outs in the ninth (which probably added to Oswalt's nervousness in his hideout). No one's perfect, but with the offense so miserable, we can't afford to give anything away.
On the subject of our miserable offense... I'm not going to run through a bunch of stats this week. Our place in the standings and win-loss record gives a good indication of how the Astros compare to everyone else. It's just depressing to talk about being worse than the Nationals. But here's one astounding statistic: Four of the six top batting averages on the team are held by pitchers: Paulino (.500), Wandy (.500), then after our one-two stars Kepp and Bourn, Norris (.333) and Myers (.250). I do like a pitcher who can help himself at the plate, but really - this is incredibly bad. Lee and Pence, two would-be offensive star players whose slumps are helping to doom the Astros, both went 1 for 4 in this game, improving their batting averages to .116 and .122 respectively. Maybe when Lee spent an inning sitting with the relievers during Spring Training, he was thinking of trying out for a spot in the bullpen. I just wish he wouldn't get batting average mixed up with ERA.
Hopefully, this situation will start to improve a bit when we get the Puma back in the lineup later this week. He's on a rehab in Round Rock this weekend. He didn't get a hit in Saturday's game (0 for 2), but he did contribute a game-tying RBI sac fly. Unfortunately the Express went on to lose the game. In a worrisome parallel universe, the Astros Triple A team is mirroring the big leaguers, with a 2-8 record to start their season. It would be nice to think that even if the Astros don't have a great season this year (and I'm not giving up yet!), they're rebuilding for the future. But our farm teams are still not highly regarded, to be charitable.
Next up: Wandy's pitching this afternoon, looking for his first win of the season. Can we beat our streak - with two consecutive wins?
I read afterwards that Roy Oswalt hid in the bathroom during the ninth inning, he was so nervous that the Cubs would score and he'd lose his change for a win. He had his reasons. Remember his 2009 record-setting 16 no decisions? Remember Oswalt's first win last season - on May 10th? Remember his two solid starts this season - resulting in a pair of losses when his teammates didn't score even a single run on his watch? You can bet that Oswalt remembers. So there he was, according to the media reports, hiding in the bathroom when Matt Lindstrom got the last out of the game and the Wiz got his W.
Oswalt certainly earned the win - he pitched 7 shutout innings, gave up 5 hits (4 singles and a double), not a single walk, and struck out 6. He threw a lot of 92-94 MPH fastballs/sinkers and sliders in the early innings, adding in his wicked curveball (as low as 63 MPH) starting in the third inning. Oswalt's win put him at 138 career, taking over second place from Larry Dierker (137 from '64-'76) on the Astros all-time winningest pitcher list. Joe Niekro's first place position -- 144 ('75-'85) -- is definitely within range for Oswalt this year, assuming he stays healthy and the team backs him up. In this game, the Wiz looked like the classic Roy that we didn't get to see much of this time last year. This is one of the factors that makes me think that, despite the current standings, there's reason to hope for the Astros this season. Before the season started, people said that without a good year for Oswalt and Berkman, the Astros would be in trouble. So far Oswalt's pitched much better than his 1-2 record shows - and much, much better than last April. The jury's still out on Berkman, since he's on the DL.
The other hero of this game was the much-berated starting catcher wannabe, JR Towles. Coming into the game with a batting average in the fifties, he didn't seem to be much of a threat to the Cubs. But he turned into their biggest enemy, after Oswalt, going 3 for 4, to raise his batting average about .130 points. His first hit was a bloop RBI single in the second inning, which might not have even been a hit if Soriano didn't play left field quite so deep. His next hit was completely legit - a leadoff homer to left field in the fifth. His third hit, another soft single to Soriano, got him on base, setting him up to score the Astros fourth and final run of the game.
Not to nitpick, but there were also a few things not to like in this win. The first was Brandon Lyon, who nearly gave away Oswalt's great start, allowing the Cubs to earn back three runs in the eighth inning. I'm still trying to figure out why the Astros signed him to such a nice deal in the offseason - so far he hasn't been really impressive as a setup man, let alone a potential closer. His line for this game: two-thirds of an inning, giving up 3 runs on a single and then 3 doubles, before Sampson came in to rescue him. I know it's early in the season, but so far he's not looking too good - with a ERA over 10 to back up that impression.
The second thing not to like was not seeing Bourn - he's out for a sore groin. With Bourn one of the few Astros who hasn't been in a slump, we can't afford to miss him. Hopefully, he'll be back after the day off.
In his absence, Keppinger got the leadoff spot in the lineup. Hitting over .350, Keppinger is making it hard for Mills to use Matsui (only 2 hits in his 21 at bats).
The third thing not to like were the infield fielding errors - one by Feliz and one by Manzella with 2 outs in the ninth (which probably added to Oswalt's nervousness in his hideout). No one's perfect, but with the offense so miserable, we can't afford to give anything away.
On the subject of our miserable offense... I'm not going to run through a bunch of stats this week. Our place in the standings and win-loss record gives a good indication of how the Astros compare to everyone else. It's just depressing to talk about being worse than the Nationals. But here's one astounding statistic: Four of the six top batting averages on the team are held by pitchers: Paulino (.500), Wandy (.500), then after our one-two stars Kepp and Bourn, Norris (.333) and Myers (.250). I do like a pitcher who can help himself at the plate, but really - this is incredibly bad. Lee and Pence, two would-be offensive star players whose slumps are helping to doom the Astros, both went 1 for 4 in this game, improving their batting averages to .116 and .122 respectively. Maybe when Lee spent an inning sitting with the relievers during Spring Training, he was thinking of trying out for a spot in the bullpen. I just wish he wouldn't get batting average mixed up with ERA.
Hopefully, this situation will start to improve a bit when we get the Puma back in the lineup later this week. He's on a rehab in Round Rock this weekend. He didn't get a hit in Saturday's game (0 for 2), but he did contribute a game-tying RBI sac fly. Unfortunately the Express went on to lose the game. In a worrisome parallel universe, the Astros Triple A team is mirroring the big leaguers, with a 2-8 record to start their season. It would be nice to think that even if the Astros don't have a great season this year (and I'm not giving up yet!), they're rebuilding for the future. But our farm teams are still not highly regarded, to be charitable.
Next up: Wandy's pitching this afternoon, looking for his first win of the season. Can we beat our streak - with two consecutive wins?
GAME 10: The Winning Streak Ends - at 1 Game
GAME 10 - April 16: Cubs 7, Astros 2
The Astros winning streak didn't last long: Just one game later, they returned to their pattern of losing games on sad offense, and in this case, a pitching meltdown.
The only really good thing about Friday's opener against the Cubs was that they got it over with in the afternoon, so I didn't have to wonder about the outcome over the Sabbath. The game started while I was at work. I took off a little early, and checked the score on my Blackberry as I ran into Giant to pick up a few things for Shabbat: The Astros were leading 2-1 midway through the seventh inning, Paulino throwing a real nice game. A few things ended up being a cartful, and by the time I got out of the grocery, the Astros had already blown the game. Paulino stayed in just a little too long, starting with a pair of leadoff doubles in the bottom of the seventh to tie up the game. A walk, a steal, another walk... The bases were now loaded with no outs, and Mills had enough. Paulino was done.
This was not, unfortunately, one of those days where the bullpen was stellar. It would have been too much to hope that Brydak could get out of this mess without allowing the Cubs to take the lead. A pair of fly balls and a single later, there were two outs, but the Cubs had two more runs to show for it. With Derek Lee coming to the plate, Mills brought in Fulchino, who promptly gave up a home run to clear the bases and leave the Astros behind 7-2. That's where things stayed for the rest of the game. Wilton Lopez allowed a pair of singles, but no runs in the eighth.
The Astros scored their pair of runs in the fourth inning. On what should have been a 2 out fly out by Pence, the Cubs center fielder dropped the ball. Chris Johnson's triple scored Pence, and Manzella lined to left to score Johnson. Quintero struck out to end the inning - one of 8 Astros Ks in the game - but Houston had taken a tenuous, temporary 2-1 lead. Scraping the barrel for other tidbits to like in this sad loss... Paulino hit a single to continue the hitting spree by Astros pitchers. Carlos Lee went 1 for 4 to raise his batting average over .100 - just barely. Unfortunately, Bourn and Keppinger (the Astros one-two punch that has been nearly the only dependable source of offense so far) combined to go 1 for 8, with no runs or RBIs between them.
Ten games into the season, the Astros have a 1-9 start, tied for the Astros' worst-ever start in 1983. However, they went on to have a winning season in '83, and I still think there's no good reason for not doing the same this year. It would be really sweet if they could start turning it around soon.
The Astros winning streak didn't last long: Just one game later, they returned to their pattern of losing games on sad offense, and in this case, a pitching meltdown.
The only really good thing about Friday's opener against the Cubs was that they got it over with in the afternoon, so I didn't have to wonder about the outcome over the Sabbath. The game started while I was at work. I took off a little early, and checked the score on my Blackberry as I ran into Giant to pick up a few things for Shabbat: The Astros were leading 2-1 midway through the seventh inning, Paulino throwing a real nice game. A few things ended up being a cartful, and by the time I got out of the grocery, the Astros had already blown the game. Paulino stayed in just a little too long, starting with a pair of leadoff doubles in the bottom of the seventh to tie up the game. A walk, a steal, another walk... The bases were now loaded with no outs, and Mills had enough. Paulino was done.
This was not, unfortunately, one of those days where the bullpen was stellar. It would have been too much to hope that Brydak could get out of this mess without allowing the Cubs to take the lead. A pair of fly balls and a single later, there were two outs, but the Cubs had two more runs to show for it. With Derek Lee coming to the plate, Mills brought in Fulchino, who promptly gave up a home run to clear the bases and leave the Astros behind 7-2. That's where things stayed for the rest of the game. Wilton Lopez allowed a pair of singles, but no runs in the eighth.
The Astros scored their pair of runs in the fourth inning. On what should have been a 2 out fly out by Pence, the Cubs center fielder dropped the ball. Chris Johnson's triple scored Pence, and Manzella lined to left to score Johnson. Quintero struck out to end the inning - one of 8 Astros Ks in the game - but Houston had taken a tenuous, temporary 2-1 lead. Scraping the barrel for other tidbits to like in this sad loss... Paulino hit a single to continue the hitting spree by Astros pitchers. Carlos Lee went 1 for 4 to raise his batting average over .100 - just barely. Unfortunately, Bourn and Keppinger (the Astros one-two punch that has been nearly the only dependable source of offense so far) combined to go 1 for 8, with no runs or RBIs between them.
Ten games into the season, the Astros have a 1-9 start, tied for the Astros' worst-ever start in 1983. However, they went on to have a winning season in '83, and I still think there's no good reason for not doing the same this year. It would be really sweet if they could start turning it around soon.
Friday, April 16, 2010
GAME 9: Astros on a Winning Streak!
GAME 9 - April 16: Astros 5, Cardinals 1
Okay, I'll admit that it's a streak of one game. But after losing the first 8, Astros fans will take what we can get!
Rookie Bud Norris was the first Astros pitcher to earn his W, with a performance that was short in innings but long on quality. He threw 5 innings, giving up only one unearned run on 4 hits and 3 walks, and striking out nine - including Pujols' first two at bats. He also hit an RBI single for the Astros first run of the game, and did some nice fielding as well. He left the game with the Astros ahead, but just barely - the 2-1 score was not exactly a comfortable lead.
The bullpen really pulled behind Norris to get him the win. Chris Sampson followed with perfect sixth and seventh innings. Lyon and Lindstrom each pitched a one-hit scoreless inning to give the Astros their first win of the season.
Just in case things didn't work out so well for the bullpen, the Astros came through with another 3 runs in the eighth for a bit of insurance. Johnson led off with a ground out. Quintero singled, but was still standing on first when Sullivan lined out for the second out. Happily the Astros had their one-two punch coming up next. Bourn and Keppinger are among the very few Astros players not to be in batting slumps. Bourn doubled, moving Q to third. Then Kepp followed with a 2-RBI single. Feliz followed with a double, scoring Keppinger. That brought up Carlos Lee, who grounded out to short. What a surprise.
Lee is having a miserable season start. He was 0 for 4, ending the game with a .086 batting average. To add insult to injury, he dropped a routine two-out fly ball, setting the stage for the unearned run that was subsequently scored. His huge salary is a bone of contention with lots of folks, even in a good year. This is not a good year, at least so far.
I'm not good at keeping secrets. I'm typing this up the day after, and the Astros have already finished their day game against the Cubs. The winning streak ends at 1.
Catch up with you again after the Sabbath. The Astros are playing in the afternoon. Hopefully I will turn on my computer after dark and find out that there's a great Astros win to watch tomorrow night.
Shabbat Shalom!
Okay, I'll admit that it's a streak of one game. But after losing the first 8, Astros fans will take what we can get!
Rookie Bud Norris was the first Astros pitcher to earn his W, with a performance that was short in innings but long on quality. He threw 5 innings, giving up only one unearned run on 4 hits and 3 walks, and striking out nine - including Pujols' first two at bats. He also hit an RBI single for the Astros first run of the game, and did some nice fielding as well. He left the game with the Astros ahead, but just barely - the 2-1 score was not exactly a comfortable lead.
The bullpen really pulled behind Norris to get him the win. Chris Sampson followed with perfect sixth and seventh innings. Lyon and Lindstrom each pitched a one-hit scoreless inning to give the Astros their first win of the season.
Just in case things didn't work out so well for the bullpen, the Astros came through with another 3 runs in the eighth for a bit of insurance. Johnson led off with a ground out. Quintero singled, but was still standing on first when Sullivan lined out for the second out. Happily the Astros had their one-two punch coming up next. Bourn and Keppinger are among the very few Astros players not to be in batting slumps. Bourn doubled, moving Q to third. Then Kepp followed with a 2-RBI single. Feliz followed with a double, scoring Keppinger. That brought up Carlos Lee, who grounded out to short. What a surprise.
Lee is having a miserable season start. He was 0 for 4, ending the game with a .086 batting average. To add insult to injury, he dropped a routine two-out fly ball, setting the stage for the unearned run that was subsequently scored. His huge salary is a bone of contention with lots of folks, even in a good year. This is not a good year, at least so far.
I'm not good at keeping secrets. I'm typing this up the day after, and the Astros have already finished their day game against the Cubs. The winning streak ends at 1.
Catch up with you again after the Sabbath. The Astros are playing in the afternoon. Hopefully I will turn on my computer after dark and find out that there's a great Astros win to watch tomorrow night.
Shabbat Shalom!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
GAME 8: This One Will be Short
GAME 8 - April 14: Cardinals 2, Astros 1
I'll keep this very short and not so sweet. I'm only bothering to write up loss #8 for the sake of completeness, because I already know that the losing streak is over. The Astros won this afternoon, while I was at work, and I can't wait to watch the game. (Sorry to give away the ending, in case you hadn't heard.) But first, I'm going to conclude this bad chapter with a quick game report, and then I'm going to treat myself to a nice glass of win, and the recorded ball game from this afternoon.
I've been prepared to dislike Brett Myer since I heard that the Astros picked him up in the off season. No need to rehash his domestic issues; I just have kind of a thing against big guys who knock around little women. I thought the Astros had a similar kind of thing, based on the Lugo case a few years back, but apparently they're over it. Anyway, I'll have to hold my nose and cheer for him anyway this year, since he's in the rotation whether I like him or not.
I have to admit that Myers pitched a very solid game yesterday, even if he took home a loss from it. It was similar to Oswalt's last game - a 2-1 loss. After giving up 2 runs in the first inning (only one of them earned), he held the Cards to 6 more scoreless innings - bottom line of 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Lyon and Byrdak split the eighth inning, to maintain the close game. So another very nice performance by the pitching staff.
The offense was deadly. The Astros scored early, but not often. Bourn led off with a single, advaned to second on a flubbed pickoff attempt, moved to third on Matsui's ground out, and scored on Feliz' sac fly. So there it was: The Astros only run of the game, scored on exactly one single and a bunch of Bourn base-running. Bourn did his part in this game - he hit a single and a double, and is sitting on a .379 batting average - approximately the same as Matsui, Pence, Lee, and Towles' batting averages all added together. This is really, really sad.
I actually didn't see the Astros score, since I was at an office dinner. I got home in time to see the Astros throw away a chance at a win in the eighth inning. They loaded the bases on a single and a pair of two-out walks. But Matsui (batting .118 and not making a good case for being an Astro after this year) grounded out to end the fun.
One might have hoped with a 2-1 game, and the 3-4-5 batters coming up, the Astros would have had another chance in the ninth. But it only took the Cards pitcher 6 pitches to take out Feliz, Lee, and Pence. Lee (AKA El Slackero per Austin's blog) is now down to a .097 batting average. I'm not sure what they can do with a guy who's getting a huge chunk of their salary budget and not doing diddlysquat. He looks really terrible at the plate, so it's not clear that things are on the verge of turning around. Might be worth sitting him for a day or two, maybe watch a few videos and think happy thoughts. Maybe he has something in his eye?
Well, enough gloom. I've had enough of writing disappointing endings. I'm going to pop the cork on a nice bottle of Rioja and sit back to watch Bud Norris lead the Astros to their first win. A winning streak! But that's my next blog...
I'll keep this very short and not so sweet. I'm only bothering to write up loss #8 for the sake of completeness, because I already know that the losing streak is over. The Astros won this afternoon, while I was at work, and I can't wait to watch the game. (Sorry to give away the ending, in case you hadn't heard.) But first, I'm going to conclude this bad chapter with a quick game report, and then I'm going to treat myself to a nice glass of win, and the recorded ball game from this afternoon.
I've been prepared to dislike Brett Myer since I heard that the Astros picked him up in the off season. No need to rehash his domestic issues; I just have kind of a thing against big guys who knock around little women. I thought the Astros had a similar kind of thing, based on the Lugo case a few years back, but apparently they're over it. Anyway, I'll have to hold my nose and cheer for him anyway this year, since he's in the rotation whether I like him or not.
I have to admit that Myers pitched a very solid game yesterday, even if he took home a loss from it. It was similar to Oswalt's last game - a 2-1 loss. After giving up 2 runs in the first inning (only one of them earned), he held the Cards to 6 more scoreless innings - bottom line of 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Lyon and Byrdak split the eighth inning, to maintain the close game. So another very nice performance by the pitching staff.
The offense was deadly. The Astros scored early, but not often. Bourn led off with a single, advaned to second on a flubbed pickoff attempt, moved to third on Matsui's ground out, and scored on Feliz' sac fly. So there it was: The Astros only run of the game, scored on exactly one single and a bunch of Bourn base-running. Bourn did his part in this game - he hit a single and a double, and is sitting on a .379 batting average - approximately the same as Matsui, Pence, Lee, and Towles' batting averages all added together. This is really, really sad.
I actually didn't see the Astros score, since I was at an office dinner. I got home in time to see the Astros throw away a chance at a win in the eighth inning. They loaded the bases on a single and a pair of two-out walks. But Matsui (batting .118 and not making a good case for being an Astro after this year) grounded out to end the fun.
One might have hoped with a 2-1 game, and the 3-4-5 batters coming up, the Astros would have had another chance in the ninth. But it only took the Cards pitcher 6 pitches to take out Feliz, Lee, and Pence. Lee (AKA El Slackero per Austin's blog) is now down to a .097 batting average. I'm not sure what they can do with a guy who's getting a huge chunk of their salary budget and not doing diddlysquat. He looks really terrible at the plate, so it's not clear that things are on the verge of turning around. Might be worth sitting him for a day or two, maybe watch a few videos and think happy thoughts. Maybe he has something in his eye?
Well, enough gloom. I've had enough of writing disappointing endings. I'm going to pop the cork on a nice bottle of Rioja and sit back to watch Bud Norris lead the Astros to their first win. A winning streak! But that's my next blog...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
GAMES 6-7: At this Point, Let's Go for a Record...
GAME 6 - April 11: Phillies 2, Astros 1
GAME 7 - April 12: Cardinals 5, Astros 0
The last time that the Astros opened a season with such a dismal string of losses was 1983 - the summer that I moved away from Texas with my husband and two sons, ages 4 and 10 months. Those two sons are now married men, an architect and lawyer respectively, who live in NY, cheer for the Yankees*, and pity me for my loyalty to the Astros. After starting with 9 consecutive losses, the Astros went on to eke out a pretty nice 1983 season, with an 85-77 record, third in the NL Western Division.
Fast forward to 2010, and here we are just 3 losses away from passing that landmark of terrible season starts. Not that I'm wishing for more losses - they are disheartening to watch live, and I just can't force myself to watch a loss after the fact on the mlb.tv archive. Especially a shutout like yesterday's 5-0 loss to our erstwhile foe, the Cardinals. But if we're going to lose 9, then let's break through '83, lose a nice round 10 to start the season, and then ... go on to win the pennant. Kind of a condensed version of 2005's 15-30 season start.
On the other hand, 10 consecutive losses would mean digging out from 10 games under .500. It's a deep hole. Although the 1983 Astros ended up with a winning record, they didn't end up in the playoffs. That first couple of weeks killed their chances. Had the Astros started the season strongly in '83 - say 6-3, instead of 0-9 -- they would have tied the division leading Dodgers.
I just want to clarify that I am not advocating going all-out for record breaking in this statistical category. We aren't looking to top the 1988 Orioles' 21 losses to start the season. In fact, even imagining such a thing has made me change my mind - let's rest up today (an off day) and go start a winning streak tomorrow.
I have to find something to like in the most recent embarrassments. If nothing else this year, that will be the purpose of my blog, as everyone else is busy trashing the Astros. So what to like...?
In Sunday's finale against the Phillies, Ray Oswalt pitched a valiant battle. After giving up a lead off homer, he was pretty much vintage, alternating his 96 MPH fastball with a curve that was clocked as low as 64. Nice to see that he's got that curve this year, after such a bad start last year. Not that it's kept him from being on the wrong side of the loss - he's got an 0-2 record to start the year. But he's pitched really well. It probably goes without saying that the other Roy - Halladay - also pitched pretty well, all the way to a one run complete game.
It's hard to find much to like in a shutout - the Astros' third already in the first week of the season - but I'll have to stretch. The starting pitching isn't worth bragging on - Wandy came out on the wrong side of the battle with Pujols, whose 4 RBI all came off his pitches. I guess Michael Bourn is my man for this game - he got the Astros first steal of the season, and hit two singles, driving his BA up to .346. On a team with several other starters who are batting under .120, that's kind of nice. Bourn also got up close and personal with the Cards' outfield wall, hitting it hard and falling onto the field, but he doesn't seem to be injured.
I also liked the bullpen work in these two games - in 7 innings, the Astros relievers only gave up one run (by Wilton Lopez, up from Round Rock to fill in for Sammy Sidearm).
Don't get me started on what I didn't like about a shutout. I don't even want to look at the team stats, for fear that the Nats have left us in their dust. The off day today is a welcome break. Unfortunately, most of this week will be afternoon games, meaning that I won't get to see them until I get home from work. But I'm promising now: I'm not going to watch any shutouts, unless we've broken into the W column.
In other interesting news: Andy Pettitte (who the Astros did not want to give a 2 year contract to, some years back, since he was getting kind of old) pitched enough shutout innings in the Yankee's home opener to get the win. To the best of my knowledge, Clemens is still in the process of retiring.
GAME 7 - April 12: Cardinals 5, Astros 0
The last time that the Astros opened a season with such a dismal string of losses was 1983 - the summer that I moved away from Texas with my husband and two sons, ages 4 and 10 months. Those two sons are now married men, an architect and lawyer respectively, who live in NY, cheer for the Yankees*, and pity me for my loyalty to the Astros. After starting with 9 consecutive losses, the Astros went on to eke out a pretty nice 1983 season, with an 85-77 record, third in the NL Western Division.
Fast forward to 2010, and here we are just 3 losses away from passing that landmark of terrible season starts. Not that I'm wishing for more losses - they are disheartening to watch live, and I just can't force myself to watch a loss after the fact on the mlb.tv archive. Especially a shutout like yesterday's 5-0 loss to our erstwhile foe, the Cardinals. But if we're going to lose 9, then let's break through '83, lose a nice round 10 to start the season, and then ... go on to win the pennant. Kind of a condensed version of 2005's 15-30 season start.
On the other hand, 10 consecutive losses would mean digging out from 10 games under .500. It's a deep hole. Although the 1983 Astros ended up with a winning record, they didn't end up in the playoffs. That first couple of weeks killed their chances. Had the Astros started the season strongly in '83 - say 6-3, instead of 0-9 -- they would have tied the division leading Dodgers.
I just want to clarify that I am not advocating going all-out for record breaking in this statistical category. We aren't looking to top the 1988 Orioles' 21 losses to start the season. In fact, even imagining such a thing has made me change my mind - let's rest up today (an off day) and go start a winning streak tomorrow.
I have to find something to like in the most recent embarrassments. If nothing else this year, that will be the purpose of my blog, as everyone else is busy trashing the Astros. So what to like...?
In Sunday's finale against the Phillies, Ray Oswalt pitched a valiant battle. After giving up a lead off homer, he was pretty much vintage, alternating his 96 MPH fastball with a curve that was clocked as low as 64. Nice to see that he's got that curve this year, after such a bad start last year. Not that it's kept him from being on the wrong side of the loss - he's got an 0-2 record to start the year. But he's pitched really well. It probably goes without saying that the other Roy - Halladay - also pitched pretty well, all the way to a one run complete game.
It's hard to find much to like in a shutout - the Astros' third already in the first week of the season - but I'll have to stretch. The starting pitching isn't worth bragging on - Wandy came out on the wrong side of the battle with Pujols, whose 4 RBI all came off his pitches. I guess Michael Bourn is my man for this game - he got the Astros first steal of the season, and hit two singles, driving his BA up to .346. On a team with several other starters who are batting under .120, that's kind of nice. Bourn also got up close and personal with the Cards' outfield wall, hitting it hard and falling onto the field, but he doesn't seem to be injured.
I also liked the bullpen work in these two games - in 7 innings, the Astros relievers only gave up one run (by Wilton Lopez, up from Round Rock to fill in for Sammy Sidearm).
Don't get me started on what I didn't like about a shutout. I don't even want to look at the team stats, for fear that the Nats have left us in their dust. The off day today is a welcome break. Unfortunately, most of this week will be afternoon games, meaning that I won't get to see them until I get home from work. But I'm promising now: I'm not going to watch any shutouts, unless we've broken into the W column.
In other interesting news: Andy Pettitte (who the Astros did not want to give a 2 year contract to, some years back, since he was getting kind of old) pitched enough shutout innings in the Yankee's home opener to get the win. To the best of my knowledge, Clemens is still in the process of retiring.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
GAMES 4-5: How Deep a Hole is Needed for a Good Foundation?
GAME 4 - April 9: Phillies 8, Astros 0
GAME 5 - April 10: Phillies 9, Astros 6
When Elizabeth and I were down in Florida for Spring Training, we took advantage of an off day to go to the beach. It was a little cool for swimming, but just fine for making the peculiar form of sand castle that we devised in our childhood Sundays at Galveston beach -- the drip castle. Here's how to make one: You start by digging a hole in the sand. Pile up the sand you dig out on the land side of the hole, as a base for your structure. (That way the hole becomes a moat when the tide comes in.) When you get down to water in the bottom of the hole, you can start dripping the watery sand on your structure to create turrets and buttresses and all kind of other sandy gingerbread. It results in a very organic kind of a structure - more like a mountain range than a castle.
Like everything in the real estate business, it's all about location, location, location. You need to dig far enough from the waterline so that your structure doesn't get washed away, but close enough that you'll get water in the bottom of the hole without having to dig too deeply. I didn't gauge the location decision quite right down in Florida - our first attempt was too far up and we had to dig down a couple of feet before we got enough water in the hole to start making drips. If I'd realized how far it would be, I probably would have changed the plans earlier, but I kept thinking we were on the verge of hitting water any minute. We weren't. Eventually we abandoned the site, and started over closer to the water. There we hit water quickly and succeeded in creating a nice little drippy castle before the incoming tide caused it to collapse - the problem with being too close to the water.
Somewhere in this beach story, there's a metaphor for the Astros losing their first 5 games of the season, digging themselves a hole that's getting deeper and deeper. It's not time for doom and gloom - it is highly unlikely that they can sustain their perfect record for a whole season. It is, after all, still the first week of the season. On the other hand, these games do count just as much as the ones in September. At some point a little before the All Star game, we'll all be thinking about what it will take to get back up to .500 -- a preliminary step before we can count on our traditional strong finish to get us into the playoffs. And each one of these first-week losses is another game under .500 to dig out of.
I'm not sure what lesson the Astros could take from my castle building. It's not as if they have been stubbornly clinging to the same losing pattern, game after game. Each game has featured different lineups, as well as rotating pitchers. But each game has also had the same result - not even close to a winning outcome. The early games featured solid pitching - quality starts from the top of our rotation and good relief pitching. The later games showed less and less solid pitching from both starters and bullpen.
But all of the games were notable for ineffective offense. Even Saturday night's 5-run third inning was kind of lucky - the pitcher hit a two-out double to start a rally that included 2 homers and gave the Astros their first lead of the season. They eked out another run in the ninth. But aside from that, there were 7 goose eggs to add to the 9 from Friday night's shutout. Very similar pattern to the first two games against the Giants when the Astros didn't score in 17 of their 18 innings.
Another odd pattern: In their first 5 games, the Astros have a total of 5 BBs. The next lowest team in the walk category has more than double that number, and the Phillies have over 30. Does this mean that the Astros are being directed to be aggressive at the plate? Are they just trying too hard? Somehow it doesn't seem like a GOOD thing - a walk is just as good as a single for getting a runner to first base. Berkman would likely have had more than 5 BBs all by himself, but he's going to be on the DL until after the upcoming road trip.
I don't know why the BB stat bugs me so much. There are other distressing offensive stats: The Astros are in the league cellar for on base percent (.249) -- 20 points below the next worst Padres (.269), in part a reflection of that lack of walks. The Astros are in last place in the NL in slugging (.320), compared to the next worst Brewers (.356) and best in league Phillies (.540). They did not get their first home runs until yesterday's pair of dingers from Michaels and Pence, 5 games into the season. They are the only team in the NL with no stolen bases, in part a reflection of the lack of opportunity. Oddly, in the team stats, the top three batting averages are held by Houston starting pitchers (Wandy, Paulino, and Myers), who each got a hit and ended up batting .500. Maybe they thought if they didn't hit, no one else would either.
On the pitching side, the Astros are tied with the Nationals for giving up the most runs (35). No Astros starting pitcher has a WHIP under 1.50. Opposing batters are hitting .350 against Astros pitchers, compared to .315 for the Nats, and .190 for the Braves. On base percent against our pitchers is .411, with only the Nats at .419 worse. Our starting pitchers are averaging just over 5 innings per start; again only the Nats are worse. As a Washington-area resident, I can tell you that being categorized with the Nationals for anything this season is not a good place to be. But even the Nats have a couple of wins so far. Why not us? Are we digging our hole too deep in the wrong place?
The only bright spot in the stats seems to be in our improved infield defense. The Astros 9 double plays so far are next to the best in the league, and probably account for why we aren't absolute bottom in some of those pitching categories. As a team, we only have 3 errors, and 2 of those were misplays by pitchers. I have to look for a bright spot somewhere.
I'm not going to bother looking for something to like in Friday night's shutout. I didn't bother to go back and watch it after the Sabbath ended. I really hate being on the wrong end of a shutout. Saturday's game had some likable moments - especially the five-run blitz in the third, which happened before I turned on the computer after the Sabbath ended. Michaels, who got a start in center field, hit the first Astros homer of the season, followed shortly after by a long ball from Pence. But all the fun was initially kicked off by a 2-out double by Paulino - I always like it when a pitcher helps himself at the plate.
It was more than Paulino did for himself on the mound, though - he gave up 4 ER on 4 hits and 4 walks, in 5 innings. That was not the worst performance by an pitcher wearing the Astros '65 retro jersey last night: Honors go to Brandon Lyon, whose 3-run seventh inning blew the Astros' tenuous lead and earned him the loss. He got 2 quick outs, then walked Utley on a 3-2 pitch, and it was downhill from there - a home run and 3 singles put the Astros behind for good. There are a lot of people who wonder how it is that Lyon is worth the $15M deal he got, and yesterday's game didn't buy him much good will in those circles. The Astros other off-season pitching deal, Matt Lindstrom, didn't fare much better, giving up a two-run home in the ninth. But the damage was already done. The Astros had a little rally in the bottom of the ninth, with Bourn's pinch-hit double, scoring on Michaels' single, but it fizzled when Pence struck out swinging.
While I'm on the theme of hole-digging and implosions, here's a bit of nostalgia for Texas sports fans: The demolition of Texas Stadium early this morning. (You can watch the video here.) I wasn't ever in this stadium, and I'm not a Cowboys fan (although I used to fib that Bob Lilly was my cousin when I lived in Texas), but it was still kind of sad to watch the stadium go down. That ugly domed profile reminded me a bit of the Astrodome, which may eventually have a similar poignant and dusty moment of its own. I see that there's a petition on the web to save the Astrodome, but I'm not sure that the expense of keeping it around for the occasional hurricane housing justifies the cost. Perhaps they'll blow it up as part of the Astros 50 year anniversary party in 2012. I'd sure go down to Houston to watch that!
Oswalt on the mound at 2 my time. Time for a bit of gardening, before I come in to watch Houston win its first game of the season. Ever the optimist. Didn't you hear? We're going to win the pennant!
GAME 5 - April 10: Phillies 9, Astros 6
When Elizabeth and I were down in Florida for Spring Training, we took advantage of an off day to go to the beach. It was a little cool for swimming, but just fine for making the peculiar form of sand castle that we devised in our childhood Sundays at Galveston beach -- the drip castle. Here's how to make one: You start by digging a hole in the sand. Pile up the sand you dig out on the land side of the hole, as a base for your structure. (That way the hole becomes a moat when the tide comes in.) When you get down to water in the bottom of the hole, you can start dripping the watery sand on your structure to create turrets and buttresses and all kind of other sandy gingerbread. It results in a very organic kind of a structure - more like a mountain range than a castle.
Like everything in the real estate business, it's all about location, location, location. You need to dig far enough from the waterline so that your structure doesn't get washed away, but close enough that you'll get water in the bottom of the hole without having to dig too deeply. I didn't gauge the location decision quite right down in Florida - our first attempt was too far up and we had to dig down a couple of feet before we got enough water in the hole to start making drips. If I'd realized how far it would be, I probably would have changed the plans earlier, but I kept thinking we were on the verge of hitting water any minute. We weren't. Eventually we abandoned the site, and started over closer to the water. There we hit water quickly and succeeded in creating a nice little drippy castle before the incoming tide caused it to collapse - the problem with being too close to the water.
Somewhere in this beach story, there's a metaphor for the Astros losing their first 5 games of the season, digging themselves a hole that's getting deeper and deeper. It's not time for doom and gloom - it is highly unlikely that they can sustain their perfect record for a whole season. It is, after all, still the first week of the season. On the other hand, these games do count just as much as the ones in September. At some point a little before the All Star game, we'll all be thinking about what it will take to get back up to .500 -- a preliminary step before we can count on our traditional strong finish to get us into the playoffs. And each one of these first-week losses is another game under .500 to dig out of.
I'm not sure what lesson the Astros could take from my castle building. It's not as if they have been stubbornly clinging to the same losing pattern, game after game. Each game has featured different lineups, as well as rotating pitchers. But each game has also had the same result - not even close to a winning outcome. The early games featured solid pitching - quality starts from the top of our rotation and good relief pitching. The later games showed less and less solid pitching from both starters and bullpen.
But all of the games were notable for ineffective offense. Even Saturday night's 5-run third inning was kind of lucky - the pitcher hit a two-out double to start a rally that included 2 homers and gave the Astros their first lead of the season. They eked out another run in the ninth. But aside from that, there were 7 goose eggs to add to the 9 from Friday night's shutout. Very similar pattern to the first two games against the Giants when the Astros didn't score in 17 of their 18 innings.
Another odd pattern: In their first 5 games, the Astros have a total of 5 BBs. The next lowest team in the walk category has more than double that number, and the Phillies have over 30. Does this mean that the Astros are being directed to be aggressive at the plate? Are they just trying too hard? Somehow it doesn't seem like a GOOD thing - a walk is just as good as a single for getting a runner to first base. Berkman would likely have had more than 5 BBs all by himself, but he's going to be on the DL until after the upcoming road trip.
I don't know why the BB stat bugs me so much. There are other distressing offensive stats: The Astros are in the league cellar for on base percent (.249) -- 20 points below the next worst Padres (.269), in part a reflection of that lack of walks. The Astros are in last place in the NL in slugging (.320), compared to the next worst Brewers (.356) and best in league Phillies (.540). They did not get their first home runs until yesterday's pair of dingers from Michaels and Pence, 5 games into the season. They are the only team in the NL with no stolen bases, in part a reflection of the lack of opportunity. Oddly, in the team stats, the top three batting averages are held by Houston starting pitchers (Wandy, Paulino, and Myers), who each got a hit and ended up batting .500. Maybe they thought if they didn't hit, no one else would either.
On the pitching side, the Astros are tied with the Nationals for giving up the most runs (35). No Astros starting pitcher has a WHIP under 1.50. Opposing batters are hitting .350 against Astros pitchers, compared to .315 for the Nats, and .190 for the Braves. On base percent against our pitchers is .411, with only the Nats at .419 worse. Our starting pitchers are averaging just over 5 innings per start; again only the Nats are worse. As a Washington-area resident, I can tell you that being categorized with the Nationals for anything this season is not a good place to be. But even the Nats have a couple of wins so far. Why not us? Are we digging our hole too deep in the wrong place?
The only bright spot in the stats seems to be in our improved infield defense. The Astros 9 double plays so far are next to the best in the league, and probably account for why we aren't absolute bottom in some of those pitching categories. As a team, we only have 3 errors, and 2 of those were misplays by pitchers. I have to look for a bright spot somewhere.
I'm not going to bother looking for something to like in Friday night's shutout. I didn't bother to go back and watch it after the Sabbath ended. I really hate being on the wrong end of a shutout. Saturday's game had some likable moments - especially the five-run blitz in the third, which happened before I turned on the computer after the Sabbath ended. Michaels, who got a start in center field, hit the first Astros homer of the season, followed shortly after by a long ball from Pence. But all the fun was initially kicked off by a 2-out double by Paulino - I always like it when a pitcher helps himself at the plate.
It was more than Paulino did for himself on the mound, though - he gave up 4 ER on 4 hits and 4 walks, in 5 innings. That was not the worst performance by an pitcher wearing the Astros '65 retro jersey last night: Honors go to Brandon Lyon, whose 3-run seventh inning blew the Astros' tenuous lead and earned him the loss. He got 2 quick outs, then walked Utley on a 3-2 pitch, and it was downhill from there - a home run and 3 singles put the Astros behind for good. There are a lot of people who wonder how it is that Lyon is worth the $15M deal he got, and yesterday's game didn't buy him much good will in those circles. The Astros other off-season pitching deal, Matt Lindstrom, didn't fare much better, giving up a two-run home in the ninth. But the damage was already done. The Astros had a little rally in the bottom of the ninth, with Bourn's pinch-hit double, scoring on Michaels' single, but it fizzled when Pence struck out swinging.
While I'm on the theme of hole-digging and implosions, here's a bit of nostalgia for Texas sports fans: The demolition of Texas Stadium early this morning. (You can watch the video here.) I wasn't ever in this stadium, and I'm not a Cowboys fan (although I used to fib that Bob Lilly was my cousin when I lived in Texas), but it was still kind of sad to watch the stadium go down. That ugly domed profile reminded me a bit of the Astrodome, which may eventually have a similar poignant and dusty moment of its own. I see that there's a petition on the web to save the Astrodome, but I'm not sure that the expense of keeping it around for the occasional hurricane housing justifies the cost. Perhaps they'll blow it up as part of the Astros 50 year anniversary party in 2012. I'd sure go down to Houston to watch that!
Oswalt on the mound at 2 my time. Time for a bit of gardening, before I come in to watch Houston win its first game of the season. Ever the optimist. Didn't you hear? We're going to win the pennant!
Friday, April 9, 2010
GAME 3: There's Only One Thing to Conclude...
GAME 3 - April 7: Giants 10, Astros 4
The Astros have a PERFECT record: Five days into the season, they are the only team in the whole MLB without a win. How beautiful is that? There is only one possible thing to conclude:
***** We are going to win the pennant. *****
I'll have to give some thought to how I can really justify this prediction. Right now it's just a hunch.
I regularly say that there is always something to like in a game, and if I stretch I can probably find something in this miserable loss to clinch the series anti-sweep. How about this: The Astros did not actually spend the whole game behind. There was a brief moment, at the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Astros scored 3 runs and tied up the game 4-4. It's a stretch, but I kind of liked that. I liked Cory Sullivan's pinch-hit 2-RBI triple too. And two more double plays.
What I didn't like could fill up a few pages, starting with the meltdown of the bullpen in the rest of the game. And sadly, it was my current favorite reliever, Sammy Gervacio, who turned up the heat to start the melting. He only threw 9 pitches, but managed to give up 2 runs on 2 hits, made a throwing error, earned the loss, and (by far the worst thing) came out of the game with an injured shoulder. He's diagnosed with a rotator cuff inflammation and on the 15 day DL.
Sampson finished up his inning without any further damage. But Fulchino was tagged for ER in the ninth (Moehler taking over for him and allowing one of his runners to score). Okay, some days are worse than others, but my favorite thing in the previous losses was how good the bullpen was. Bummer.
Nothing much to say about Brett Myers in his first start as an Astro. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 12 of the Giants' 19 hits, allowed 4 ER. Not quite good enough to get into the range of "quality" start. I'm not really crazy about him to begin with, but I will hold my nose and cheer this season, as long as he's wearing our uni. Like Wandy, he did manage to get a hit - I do like when a pitcher helps himself.
The next thing I don't like in this game - and in this series - is the lack of walks. So far this season, the Astros have accumulated a total of 2 BBs, both by Keppinger in Game 2. I guess that an expert might diagnose this as the batters being aggressive, but given the dismal offensive performance in the series, perhaps it's worth being a little picky about what to swing at. Maybe I'll ask Morgan Ensberg about this in his Baseball IQ blog. (If you haven't seen this blog, RUN-DON'T-WALK to it. It's totally terrific.)
I can't end this blog so dismally, especially as I'm about to shut down my computer for my usual baseball-free Sabbath. So here's one more thing to like: My video of Gervacio pitching at Spring Training is now over 9300 views. Even the video of him picking off the runner is almost to 3000 views. I have no idea who are all these folks watching my baseball videos, but I sure hope they're cheering for the Astros this weekend. We need all the help we can get. It's a long way to that pennant!!!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
GAMES 1-2: It's a tradition (to start the season with a loss)
GAME 1 - April 5: Giants 5, Astros 2
GAME 2 - April 6: Giants 3, Astros 0
For the eighth consecutive year, Roy Oswalt took the mound on Opening Day, and for the fourth consecutive year, the Astros lost their season opener. I'm thinking that there's a message in there somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is. Oswalt didn't pitch badly - he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, with all 3 runs scored in one shaky second inning. But he didn't get any help from his teammates at the plate - they didn't manage to score any runs until the ninth inning when they eked out a pair. Too little too late. I think I saw this movie before...
The trend continued when Wandy took the mound in Game 2. His line looked very similar to Oswalt's - 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, with all 3 runs scored in his shaky sixth inning. And like Oswalt, Wandy got no help from Astros batters. Although he did his best - hitting a single on his first at bat - the rest of the team managed to escape scoring for the full nine innings.
I seem to recall having seen this pattern before, and it doesn't necessarily mean gloom and doom is certain. But it does mean that watching the Astros games lacks that certain je ne sais quoi. Actually, I do know what - the fun of WINNING. Or even just base running. I'm not going to bother with the excuses about what great pitching the Giants have - sure they do, and sure do lots of other teams. That gets to be a dull refrain pretty quickly. Having griped about the lousy outcomes of these games, I have to point out that there's almost always something to like in a game, even a loss. So I'll finish this blog posting up with a few of my favorite things...
I actually didn't get to watch the first game, since it was played during the end-of-Passover holiday and I forego using the computer as part of my religious observance. I did go back to watch just one half-inning of the game on the mlb.tv archive after the holiday ended. It was the top of the ninth when Sammy Gervacio pitched. I even, uncharacteristically, watched it on the other team's broadcast, because I wanted to hear what their commentators had to say about Gervacio's odd set up. The Giants broadcasters weren't quite as hilarious (and insulting) as the Mets guys were during Spring Training, but they did find him to be a bit unusual. However, after his 1-2-3 inning, striking out 2 of his 3 batters, they admitted that his strange approach was effective. I am really getting a kick out of watching Gervacio pitch - he was terrific at Spring Training, and hopefully will continue to be effective as batters get used to his routine and his sidearm delivery. (On a related note, my You Tube video of Gervacio pitching at Spring Training now has 6700 views - and rising. Click here to see it now.)
My thing to like in Game 2 (which I did get to watch most of, live, once the holiday ended) was Jeff Keppinger. Although the Giants limited the Astros to only 4 hits in the game, Kepp hit 2 doubles, and walked in his other 2 at bats. One of the doubles looked a whole lot like a homer - it seemed to bounce off the railing above the yellow line into the Crawford Box in left field. But the umps, after a replay review, called it a double, and Keppinger was stranded on base. (I agree with the admittedly biased fans in the Crawford Box who swore up and down the ball bounced off the railing - it should have been a homer.)
My third thing to like was the defense - in particular, the 5 double plays in the first two games. We've got an upgraded infield this year, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the season. Mills used two different infields in these two games. In Game 1, against righty Tim Lincecum, it was Blum at first, Matsui at second, and Feliz at third, with Manzella at short and Towles behind the plate. In Game 2, against lefty Zito, Mills started Feliz at first, Keppinger at second, and Chris Johnson at third, with Manzella at short and Quintero catching.
There are a whole lot of things not to like much about these first two games, pretty much starting and ending with the offense. The Astros only managed to score in one out of 18 innings. Pence hasn't had a hit yet, and Bourn and Feliz are 1 for 8. No homers yet. And perhaps, more worrisome, only 2 BBs so far - both Keppinger's. (That would probably be higher if Puma were in the lineup, but he's on the DL for now.)
But the pitching (my bigger concern this year) was not bad. The starting pitching for both games was at least solid - both Oswalt and Wandy had "quality" (albeit losing) starts. And 4 of the 6 relief pitchers used in these two games threw scoreless innings (only 1 hit and no BBs between them).
I'm hoping for a better outcome to salvage this opening series in tomorrow afternoon's game. I'll be back at work, now that the Passover holiday is over, but it sure would be nice to watch a win when I get home after a hard day at the office. Maybe even some home runs. Am I being too greedy?
GAME 2 - April 6: Giants 3, Astros 0
For the eighth consecutive year, Roy Oswalt took the mound on Opening Day, and for the fourth consecutive year, the Astros lost their season opener. I'm thinking that there's a message in there somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is. Oswalt didn't pitch badly - he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, with all 3 runs scored in one shaky second inning. But he didn't get any help from his teammates at the plate - they didn't manage to score any runs until the ninth inning when they eked out a pair. Too little too late. I think I saw this movie before...
The trend continued when Wandy took the mound in Game 2. His line looked very similar to Oswalt's - 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, with all 3 runs scored in his shaky sixth inning. And like Oswalt, Wandy got no help from Astros batters. Although he did his best - hitting a single on his first at bat - the rest of the team managed to escape scoring for the full nine innings.
I seem to recall having seen this pattern before, and it doesn't necessarily mean gloom and doom is certain. But it does mean that watching the Astros games lacks that certain je ne sais quoi. Actually, I do know what - the fun of WINNING. Or even just base running. I'm not going to bother with the excuses about what great pitching the Giants have - sure they do, and sure do lots of other teams. That gets to be a dull refrain pretty quickly. Having griped about the lousy outcomes of these games, I have to point out that there's almost always something to like in a game, even a loss. So I'll finish this blog posting up with a few of my favorite things...
I actually didn't get to watch the first game, since it was played during the end-of-Passover holiday and I forego using the computer as part of my religious observance. I did go back to watch just one half-inning of the game on the mlb.tv archive after the holiday ended. It was the top of the ninth when Sammy Gervacio pitched. I even, uncharacteristically, watched it on the other team's broadcast, because I wanted to hear what their commentators had to say about Gervacio's odd set up. The Giants broadcasters weren't quite as hilarious (and insulting) as the Mets guys were during Spring Training, but they did find him to be a bit unusual. However, after his 1-2-3 inning, striking out 2 of his 3 batters, they admitted that his strange approach was effective. I am really getting a kick out of watching Gervacio pitch - he was terrific at Spring Training, and hopefully will continue to be effective as batters get used to his routine and his sidearm delivery. (On a related note, my You Tube video of Gervacio pitching at Spring Training now has 6700 views - and rising. Click here to see it now.)
My thing to like in Game 2 (which I did get to watch most of, live, once the holiday ended) was Jeff Keppinger. Although the Giants limited the Astros to only 4 hits in the game, Kepp hit 2 doubles, and walked in his other 2 at bats. One of the doubles looked a whole lot like a homer - it seemed to bounce off the railing above the yellow line into the Crawford Box in left field. But the umps, after a replay review, called it a double, and Keppinger was stranded on base. (I agree with the admittedly biased fans in the Crawford Box who swore up and down the ball bounced off the railing - it should have been a homer.)
My third thing to like was the defense - in particular, the 5 double plays in the first two games. We've got an upgraded infield this year, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the season. Mills used two different infields in these two games. In Game 1, against righty Tim Lincecum, it was Blum at first, Matsui at second, and Feliz at third, with Manzella at short and Towles behind the plate. In Game 2, against lefty Zito, Mills started Feliz at first, Keppinger at second, and Chris Johnson at third, with Manzella at short and Quintero catching.
There are a whole lot of things not to like much about these first two games, pretty much starting and ending with the offense. The Astros only managed to score in one out of 18 innings. Pence hasn't had a hit yet, and Bourn and Feliz are 1 for 8. No homers yet. And perhaps, more worrisome, only 2 BBs so far - both Keppinger's. (That would probably be higher if Puma were in the lineup, but he's on the DL for now.)
But the pitching (my bigger concern this year) was not bad. The starting pitching for both games was at least solid - both Oswalt and Wandy had "quality" (albeit losing) starts. And 4 of the 6 relief pitchers used in these two games threw scoreless innings (only 1 hit and no BBs between them).
I'm hoping for a better outcome to salvage this opening series in tomorrow afternoon's game. I'll be back at work, now that the Passover holiday is over, but it sure would be nice to watch a win when I get home after a hard day at the office. Maybe even some home runs. Am I being too greedy?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
So Close You Can Almost Taste It
I'm talking about matzah, of course. Boxes and boxes of matzah, shmura matzah, matzah balls, matzah farfel kugel, matzah cookies... That's the thing about Passover - wherever you look there's matzah. It actually tastes pretty good, especially slathered in zhug (Yemenite chile paste). And of course, matzah balls... Okay, I'm joking - it's Astros Opening Day that's SOOOOOO close. Play Ball!
After weeks of no-account Kissimmee games, tomorrow night the Astros will be suiting up for the real thing. Roy O will, of course, be on the mound for his eighth consecutive opening day start. After all the rainouts and the pulled body parts, his total IP for all of Spring Training only hit 10 innings - 4 of them in the March 16 game I attended. With so little game time this Spring, his back injection last week, and his disappointing season last year, it's hard to predict how Oswalt will do this year. I'd like to be predicting 7 fast innings for him for tomorrow night's opener against the Giants, but I'm not sure he's up for much of a pitch count yet.
I won't actually find out until Tuesday night. Right about the time Roy takes the mound tomorrow night, I'll be breaking bread - I mean matzah - with long-time friends, at a holiday meal celebrating the last night of Passover. That means, of course, no TV, radio, or mlb.tv broadcast for me until the holiday ends at 8:17 Tuesday night. If my curiosity gets the best of me, I just may have to go to a neighbor on Tuesday morning to borrow a newspaper to check the box scores.
With only a day to go before the season starts, I should use this blog posting to make some kind of prophetic remarks about the 2010 season. Last year, the Astros frankly sucked. They haven't made any earthshaking changes in the off-season, and they had a losing record in Spring Training. All of the serious professional prognosticators are predicting gloom and doom for the Astros - somewhere close to the bottom of a mediocre division. I was very impressed by the bullpen at the Spring Training games I attended, and the offensive stats for the final roster guys weren't bad at all. But I'll admit that there are some pretty heavy concerns about the rotation.
Happily, I'm a fan, so I'm allowed to indulge in outrageous optimism in the face of not-quite-ideal evidence. I don't have to worry about ruining my professional reputation by predicting a playoff spot for a team that, by all accounts, is likely to be on the shady side of .500. I can blithely profess my faith that we're going all the way in 2010 - just like we almost did in 2005. To be honest - I did NOT have an epiphany at Spring Training this year, as I did in 2005, when I clearly "saw" Bagwell and Biggio on the team that won the pennant. So for now, I'm going to punt on predictions, hope for the best, and cheer for my guys.
If anyone is reading this, look for me on Twitter on or about 8:18 Tuesday night. I'll be back! Meanwhile, happy Passover, and PLAY BALL - matzah ball!
After weeks of no-account Kissimmee games, tomorrow night the Astros will be suiting up for the real thing. Roy O will, of course, be on the mound for his eighth consecutive opening day start. After all the rainouts and the pulled body parts, his total IP for all of Spring Training only hit 10 innings - 4 of them in the March 16 game I attended. With so little game time this Spring, his back injection last week, and his disappointing season last year, it's hard to predict how Oswalt will do this year. I'd like to be predicting 7 fast innings for him for tomorrow night's opener against the Giants, but I'm not sure he's up for much of a pitch count yet.
I won't actually find out until Tuesday night. Right about the time Roy takes the mound tomorrow night, I'll be breaking bread - I mean matzah - with long-time friends, at a holiday meal celebrating the last night of Passover. That means, of course, no TV, radio, or mlb.tv broadcast for me until the holiday ends at 8:17 Tuesday night. If my curiosity gets the best of me, I just may have to go to a neighbor on Tuesday morning to borrow a newspaper to check the box scores.
With only a day to go before the season starts, I should use this blog posting to make some kind of prophetic remarks about the 2010 season. Last year, the Astros frankly sucked. They haven't made any earthshaking changes in the off-season, and they had a losing record in Spring Training. All of the serious professional prognosticators are predicting gloom and doom for the Astros - somewhere close to the bottom of a mediocre division. I was very impressed by the bullpen at the Spring Training games I attended, and the offensive stats for the final roster guys weren't bad at all. But I'll admit that there are some pretty heavy concerns about the rotation.
Happily, I'm a fan, so I'm allowed to indulge in outrageous optimism in the face of not-quite-ideal evidence. I don't have to worry about ruining my professional reputation by predicting a playoff spot for a team that, by all accounts, is likely to be on the shady side of .500. I can blithely profess my faith that we're going all the way in 2010 - just like we almost did in 2005. To be honest - I did NOT have an epiphany at Spring Training this year, as I did in 2005, when I clearly "saw" Bagwell and Biggio on the team that won the pennant. So for now, I'm going to punt on predictions, hope for the best, and cheer for my guys.
If anyone is reading this, look for me on Twitter on or about 8:18 Tuesday night. I'll be back! Meanwhile, happy Passover, and PLAY BALL - matzah ball!
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