GAME 20: Astros 7, Mariners 2
GAME 21: Astros 5, Mariners 2
GAME 22: Mariners 5, Astros 3
The Astros hadn't won a series since the opening week games against the Yankees. After being on the wrong side of back-to-back sweeps, the team wasn't looking too good. And then, they found the key to winning: Play the Mariners.
Up until the very last pitch of this afternoon's game, I thought I'd be writing about an Astros sweep today. Going into the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead, playing against a team that was in a worse losing streak than the Astros, it seemed like a day for optimism. But that very last pitch was the one that Seattle's Kyle Seager knocked over the outfield wall with two runners on base, giving the Mariners a walk off win. Bummer. It is hard to feel too sad about the series, when the Astros won the other two games, breaking their own long losing streak. But a win today would have lifted the Astros out of the AL cellar, at least for one day.
The good news: Cosart, whose last start only went 1/3 of an inning into the game, pitched very nicely today, allowing just a two run homer in 6 2/3 innings. Qualls was not the goat for the blown save this time - he pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning. The BS honors went to Josh Fields, who allowed a pair of singles to open the ninth, before the 3 run homer ended the fun. Clearly the Astros haven't yet quite figured out the right approach to closers. On the rare occasion that they go into the ninth with a lead, allowing multiple hits before even a single out just doesn't inspire confidence. Surpassing last year's 29 blown saves is not a goal to aspire to.
The best pitching performance of this series was by a very unlikely candidate: Collin McHugh was called up Monday from the Triple A team to replace our injured ace. Tuesday night he found himself on the mound. Although his small sample of previous major league pitching was pretty unimpressive (0-8 record, with an ERA close to 9), he pitched like an ace last night: 6 2/3 scoreless innings, 3 hits - all singles, 12 strikeouts, and no walks. With Feldman on the 15 day DL, that performance certainly earns McHugh another start or two in the big leagues! The Astros offense again came largely from homers - one each by Castro, Carter and Dominguez. I watched this game on my iPad after Passover ended last night, while repacking all of the Passover dishes.
Due to the holiday, I missed the fun and games on Monday night, when the Astros broke their losing streak with a big 7-2 win. However, my dad didn't want me to be unaware of the excitement, and texted me game updates off and on throughout the game. I don't actually use my phone on the Sabbath and holidays, but text messages cause the phone to ding and the message pops up on the screen. So I saw a few of the game messages during the game. Dallas Keuchel had a good start, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, and the Qualls/Albers/Fields bullpen team threw 3 scoreless. More homers in that game (Dominguez and Krauss).
The homers are fun, and welcome after several years without much power hitting, but in nearly every other offensive category the Astros are in the cellar. They have the fewest runs in the AL (64, compared to the league-leading White Sox's 115), the worst overall BA (just .200) and OBP (.270) in the majors, and almost the worst AL strikeout record. It's fun to see the homers and the stolen bases and athletic fielding plays - the kind of baseball you see with an energetic young team. Since my expectations for this rebuilding season are so low, I'll take the fun, and hope that the rest (batting and pitching) improve over time. Meanwhile, at .318 our win record is just about where it was in 2013.
Next stop: Home! Series against the Athletics and Nationals at MMP.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Lose a Few, Lose a Few...
GAME 17: Athletics 11, Astros 3
GAME 18: Athletics 4, Astros 3
GAME 19: Athletics 4, Astros 1
While I was off being busy with Passover, the Sabbath, and hosting an engagement party for my daughter and her fiancé, the Astros were continuing their slide into 2013-style oblivion. On the heels of being swept out in Kansas City, they did a repeat in Oakland. My expectations for the team this season are very modest: Just win one game in each series, resulting in a better win-loss record than last year. Back to back sweeps are not an encouraging sign.
I didn't bother to read more than the headlines and box score for Friday night's 11-3 thrashing. Jarred Cosart did some serious damage to his early season ERA, giving up 7 earned runs in his 1/3 inning start. Amazingly, Oakland only needed 3 hits to accomplish its big inning. Of course, 2 of the hits were homers, and there were 4 walks interspersed, along with a wild pitch for good measure. Altogether a sad start for the Cosart-Castro anagram team. In all, Astros pitchers allowed as many walks as hits in this blowout, with each of the 5 pitchers giving up at least one free base.
Equally disheartening was the Game 2 meltdown of Chad Qualls, who gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday afternoon. The Astros came this close to pulling off a 3-1 win to end their losing streak, before Qualls took the mound. It should have been obvious, after a leadoff homer and then a walk, that Qualls wasn't dealing his best stuff, but he's an experienced veteran - so they left him in to give up 3 singles to blow the game. Give Qualls the benefit of the doubt - he was just coming off an icky virus that's been going around the clubhouse. But I'm not really sure about Qualls in the Astros' rotation of closers. Been there, done that, right?
In the third loss of the Oakland series (the only game I got to watch live, due to the Sabbath), Brad Peacock had a fair start, giving up a 2 run homer in the first inning before settling in for 5 innings. Peacock's up to replace Lucas Harrell, who may or may not take his offered place in Oklahoma City. Let's hope that he does better than Harrell, with a much better attitude!
There will be better news in my next posting, as the Astros headed up to Seattle to play the most unfortunate Mariners.
GAME 18: Athletics 4, Astros 3
GAME 19: Athletics 4, Astros 1
While I was off being busy with Passover, the Sabbath, and hosting an engagement party for my daughter and her fiancé, the Astros were continuing their slide into 2013-style oblivion. On the heels of being swept out in Kansas City, they did a repeat in Oakland. My expectations for the team this season are very modest: Just win one game in each series, resulting in a better win-loss record than last year. Back to back sweeps are not an encouraging sign.
I didn't bother to read more than the headlines and box score for Friday night's 11-3 thrashing. Jarred Cosart did some serious damage to his early season ERA, giving up 7 earned runs in his 1/3 inning start. Amazingly, Oakland only needed 3 hits to accomplish its big inning. Of course, 2 of the hits were homers, and there were 4 walks interspersed, along with a wild pitch for good measure. Altogether a sad start for the Cosart-Castro anagram team. In all, Astros pitchers allowed as many walks as hits in this blowout, with each of the 5 pitchers giving up at least one free base.
Equally disheartening was the Game 2 meltdown of Chad Qualls, who gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday afternoon. The Astros came this close to pulling off a 3-1 win to end their losing streak, before Qualls took the mound. It should have been obvious, after a leadoff homer and then a walk, that Qualls wasn't dealing his best stuff, but he's an experienced veteran - so they left him in to give up 3 singles to blow the game. Give Qualls the benefit of the doubt - he was just coming off an icky virus that's been going around the clubhouse. But I'm not really sure about Qualls in the Astros' rotation of closers. Been there, done that, right?
In the third loss of the Oakland series (the only game I got to watch live, due to the Sabbath), Brad Peacock had a fair start, giving up a 2 run homer in the first inning before settling in for 5 innings. Peacock's up to replace Lucas Harrell, who may or may not take his offered place in Oklahoma City. Let's hope that he does better than Harrell, with a much better attitude!
There will be better news in my next posting, as the Astros headed up to Seattle to play the most unfortunate Mariners.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Swept Away
GAME 14: Royals 4, Astros 2
GAME 15: Royals 6, Astros 4 (11 innings)
GAME 16: Royals 6, Astros 1
Okay, this time we were blown away. Swept in Kansas City. Let's not talk about it...
To me, the most notable thing in these games was the insertion of one of our new talents, George Springer. up from the minor league this week. Batting second in the lineup, he got a teensy weensy little infield single in his first game Wednesday night, and scored on Jason Castro's subsequent homer. Welcome to the Bigs, where even little hits can have big results. Unfortunately, the Astros lost the game in the 11th inning, so the results weren't quite big enough. However, this is one of the moves towards the Astros of the Future, with the great talent that we've got waiting and playing down on the farm teams. Is Jon Singleton close behind?
In other roster moves, the Astros have gotten rid of a couple of pitchers, including the unfortunate Lucas Harrell (fans were tweeting their desire to ditch him by his first loss) and reliever Kevin Chapman, whose walks were starting to really mount up. In exchange, the Astros brought up starter Brad Peacock and reliever Raul Valdes.
After 16 games, the Astros have returned to their former glory - last place in the American League with a 5 and 11 (.313) record. In the National League, at least, the Diamondbacks and Cubs are doing even worse.
Next stop: Out to the West Coast to play a series against Oakland, who has the best record in the AL. Then off to Seattle take on my parents' and brother's (current) home team, the Mariners, who are not doing much better than the Astros.
GAME 15: Royals 6, Astros 4 (11 innings)
GAME 16: Royals 6, Astros 1
Okay, this time we were blown away. Swept in Kansas City. Let's not talk about it...
To me, the most notable thing in these games was the insertion of one of our new talents, George Springer. up from the minor league this week. Batting second in the lineup, he got a teensy weensy little infield single in his first game Wednesday night, and scored on Jason Castro's subsequent homer. Welcome to the Bigs, where even little hits can have big results. Unfortunately, the Astros lost the game in the 11th inning, so the results weren't quite big enough. However, this is one of the moves towards the Astros of the Future, with the great talent that we've got waiting and playing down on the farm teams. Is Jon Singleton close behind?
In other roster moves, the Astros have gotten rid of a couple of pitchers, including the unfortunate Lucas Harrell (fans were tweeting their desire to ditch him by his first loss) and reliever Kevin Chapman, whose walks were starting to really mount up. In exchange, the Astros brought up starter Brad Peacock and reliever Raul Valdes.
After 16 games, the Astros have returned to their former glory - last place in the American League with a 5 and 11 (.313) record. In the National League, at least, the Diamondbacks and Cubs are doing even worse.
Next stop: Out to the West Coast to play a series against Oakland, who has the best record in the AL. Then off to Seattle take on my parents' and brother's (current) home team, the Mariners, who are not doing much better than the Astros.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Not Blown Away!
GAME 11: Rangers 1, Astros 0 (12 innings)
GAME 12: Astros 6, Rangers 5 (10 innings)
GAME 13: Rangers 1, Astros 0
Well, that was a surprise. I kind of expected the Astros to be pretty much blown away by the Rangers this weekend, and instead there were three super-close games. It's too close to Passover for me to be writing baseball posts (and I'll miss the games for the next couple of days for religious observance). But just wanted to get in my 27 cents about what a nice surprise the Rangers games were. The Astros really held their own, staying in the games until the very last out, twice in extra innings! And amazing pitching in the two losses - holding the Mighty Rangers to only a single run! We got our one win in, to keep us on the way to beating last year's win-loss record. Good work guys!
To those of you who are Jewish, have a wonderful Passover! Here are a few tips about making charoset come out AWESOME!
1. Toast the nuts before chopping them.
2. Squeeze all the juice out of the grated apples, so that they better absorb the wine.
3. Use the whole bottle of wine! And make sure that it's wine personally made by Mr. Manny Sevitz.
HAPPY PASSOVER!
GAME 12: Astros 6, Rangers 5 (10 innings)
GAME 13: Rangers 1, Astros 0
Well, that was a surprise. I kind of expected the Astros to be pretty much blown away by the Rangers this weekend, and instead there were three super-close games. It's too close to Passover for me to be writing baseball posts (and I'll miss the games for the next couple of days for religious observance). But just wanted to get in my 27 cents about what a nice surprise the Rangers games were. The Astros really held their own, staying in the games until the very last out, twice in extra innings! And amazing pitching in the two losses - holding the Mighty Rangers to only a single run! We got our one win in, to keep us on the way to beating last year's win-loss record. Good work guys!
To those of you who are Jewish, have a wonderful Passover! Here are a few tips about making charoset come out AWESOME!
1. Toast the nuts before chopping them.
2. Squeeze all the juice out of the grated apples, so that they better absorb the wine.
3. Use the whole bottle of wine! And make sure that it's wine personally made by Mr. Manny Sevitz.
HAPPY PASSOVER!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Keep Smiling (Through Your Tears)!
GAME 8: Blue Jays 5, Astros 2
GAME 9: Blue Jays 7, Astros 3
GAME 10: Astros 6, Blue Jays 4
There's a fair amount of ranting and raving on Twitter from the other #AstrosFans -- and you can't really blame them. Frankly, the team just isn't very good. But why would any of us expect them to be? The Astros are fielding the youngest, least experienced team in baseball. This is a season to look for gems in the rough, and hope for the not-too-far-off future. After 3 years of being the worst team in baseball, our exciting farm system gives much to hope for. (And we get another first pick this summer!)
Not surprisingly, the Astros lost their first road series up in Toronto. It's not that the Blue Jays are invincible -- they were, after all, the worst team in the AL East last season. It's just that the Astros are worse. There were many opportunities to score, and the Astros did not capitalize on them. The team's ability to score with RISP is too dreadful to contemplate.
Meanwhile, the players are young guys with energy. They like to run - they're second in the league for steals (7 for 7). They are second in the league for homers - 14 after 10 games - without any clearcut power hitters to account for them. Nine different players contribute to the home run total. In the few games we've won (including last night's win) most of the runs were scored off of homers.
On the other hand, they lead the AL in strikeouts, and the team batting average just barely breaks .200 -- the worst in the league. The on base percent is a measly .275 (worst), with an OPS of .674 (next to worst). But batting stats like these don't account for everything. The Mariners' total hits, at 64, ties the Astros' for worst in the league, and their overall batting average is not much better than ours. But Seattle has turned those hits into a winning record. (Ever hear of situational hitting? The Astros haven't.)
So about this second series loss - get used to it, Astros Fans! But think optimistically. If the Astros lose all the rest of the series this season - but win just ONE game in each - our record will still be better than it was last year!
Off to play the Rangers in Arlington. Unfortunately for the Rangers (and luckily for the Astros), they have some serious DL problems, so maybe we have a chance -- to win one.
As for me, it's back to the kitchen to get ready for Passover!
GAME 9: Blue Jays 7, Astros 3
GAME 10: Astros 6, Blue Jays 4
There's a fair amount of ranting and raving on Twitter from the other #AstrosFans -- and you can't really blame them. Frankly, the team just isn't very good. But why would any of us expect them to be? The Astros are fielding the youngest, least experienced team in baseball. This is a season to look for gems in the rough, and hope for the not-too-far-off future. After 3 years of being the worst team in baseball, our exciting farm system gives much to hope for. (And we get another first pick this summer!)
Not surprisingly, the Astros lost their first road series up in Toronto. It's not that the Blue Jays are invincible -- they were, after all, the worst team in the AL East last season. It's just that the Astros are worse. There were many opportunities to score, and the Astros did not capitalize on them. The team's ability to score with RISP is too dreadful to contemplate.
Meanwhile, the players are young guys with energy. They like to run - they're second in the league for steals (7 for 7). They are second in the league for homers - 14 after 10 games - without any clearcut power hitters to account for them. Nine different players contribute to the home run total. In the few games we've won (including last night's win) most of the runs were scored off of homers.
On the other hand, they lead the AL in strikeouts, and the team batting average just barely breaks .200 -- the worst in the league. The on base percent is a measly .275 (worst), with an OPS of .674 (next to worst). But batting stats like these don't account for everything. The Mariners' total hits, at 64, ties the Astros' for worst in the league, and their overall batting average is not much better than ours. But Seattle has turned those hits into a winning record. (Ever hear of situational hitting? The Astros haven't.)
So about this second series loss - get used to it, Astros Fans! But think optimistically. If the Astros lose all the rest of the series this season - but win just ONE game in each - our record will still be better than it was last year!
Off to play the Rangers in Arlington. Unfortunately for the Rangers (and luckily for the Astros), they have some serious DL problems, so maybe we have a chance -- to win one.
As for me, it's back to the kitchen to get ready for Passover!
Monday, April 7, 2014
Guess Who is the Fan of the Day!
GAME 7: Angels 9, Astros 1
When a team is not doing that well, the way to get through the season is just to try to find something to like in every game. Trust me, as a longtime Astros fan, I have a lot of experience at this. And I expect to have to use this approach frequently this season.
So what is there to like when the Astros lose 9-1 to end their opening homestand under .500? Well... here are a few ideas:
When a team is not doing that well, the way to get through the season is just to try to find something to like in every game. Trust me, as a longtime Astros fan, I have a lot of experience at this. And I expect to have to use this approach frequently this season.
So what is there to like when the Astros lose 9-1 to end their opening homestand under .500? Well... here are a few ideas:
- We didn't get shut out! Carlos Corporan's 8th inning homer not only put the Astros on the board; it also keeps us leading the American League in season homers, at 10. We may have only scored 1 run in 3 of the 4 games of this series, but we haven't been shutout yet this year.
- We didn't get swept! True, we lost the series against the Angels, but yesterday's win kept it from being a four-game sweep.
- And best of all -- I was fan of the day on the CSN Houston broadcast! If you've got MLB.TV, check it out at 1:51, at the top of the 7th inning!
There was too much to dislike about this game to spend much time detailing it -- Cosart's shaky start (giving up 3 runs in a first inning that just dragged on and on), sloppy base running (what little we had in the way of base runners!), no hits for Altuve, and of course, losing another very lopsided game. But it's just one week into the season. Let's just move on to Toronto for the start of the team's first road series.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Home Sweet Homer!
GAME 6: Astros 7, Angels 4
The Astros pulled back to .500 with a most unusual win: All of the runs were scored on home runs! For a team that has lacked real power hitting for the past few years, today's five homers were a big treat. Match that up with another superb start from Scott Feldman, and we've got a WIN today!
The homers were hit by 5 different Astros batters, starting with Castro's 2 run blast in the first inning. Then Dominguez, Presley, Guzman, and Villar followed up with long balls of their own. Feldman threw 7 innings, giving up only one run on a ground out. Bass had a good 8th inning in relief, but got in trouble in the ninth and had to be rescued by Chad Qualls, who got the save.
This win puts the Astros back up at .500, with a chance to tie up this badly begun Angels series with tomorrow afternoon's game.
Bad news of the day: Fowler's still out of the lineup, suffering from a gastrointestinal virus. Altuve didn't get a hit in this game. And Krauss still hasn't got his first hit of the season. I'm hoping that when he does, it's a big clutch hit that wins the game!
In baseball fashion news, here's my new ballgame watching haircut.
The Astros pulled back to .500 with a most unusual win: All of the runs were scored on home runs! For a team that has lacked real power hitting for the past few years, today's five homers were a big treat. Match that up with another superb start from Scott Feldman, and we've got a WIN today!
The homers were hit by 5 different Astros batters, starting with Castro's 2 run blast in the first inning. Then Dominguez, Presley, Guzman, and Villar followed up with long balls of their own. Feldman threw 7 innings, giving up only one run on a ground out. Bass had a good 8th inning in relief, but got in trouble in the ninth and had to be rescued by Chad Qualls, who got the save.
This win puts the Astros back up at .500, with a chance to tie up this badly begun Angels series with tomorrow afternoon's game.
Bad news of the day: Fowler's still out of the lineup, suffering from a gastrointestinal virus. Altuve didn't get a hit in this game. And Krauss still hasn't got his first hit of the season. I'm hoping that when he does, it's a big clutch hit that wins the game!
In baseball fashion news, here's my new ballgame watching haircut.
Back Where We Belong - Under .500
GAME 3: Yankees 4, Astros 2
GAME 4: Angels 11, Astros 1
GAME 5: Angels 5, Astros 1
After the initial euphoria of the first two wins against the Yankees, reality set in with losses in the next 3 games, putting the Astros under .500 -- where, alas, they probably belong. I make no pretense about expecting the Astros to make the playoffs this year, but having a .500 record is something to shoot for. Actually, after the last few years, having a .400 record might be a more realistic goal to stretch for!
The very high quality of the starting pitching from the first two games went downhill a bit after that, with Oberholzer, Harrell, and Keuchel earning losses. All I can say about Harrell's start Friday night (ERA 15.00) against the Angels is this: If the Astros are going to lose games 11-1, better that they do it on Shabbat when I'm not watching! I seem to remember Harrell having some big losses last year, and hope that he can get in shape soon. If not, there are some good arms down on the farm...
With our new spark plug of a leadoff hitter, Dexter Fowler, out with a tummy bug for the past couple of games, the Astros offense has been somewhat lethargic. Altuve has continued to hit, and to run, with 3 steals in the first 5 games. But overall it's been pretty lackluster in the scoring department. Hope that Fowler's out of the hospital and back in uni soon!
With the Sabbath now ending late on Saturday night, I missed one notable thing at last night's game: the official retirement of longtime Astros, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt. (I watched it afterwards on the Astros website.) They both signed one-day contracts with the Astros, just for the retirement ceremony, MC'ed by Milo Hamilton. "Holy Toledo, what a night! what a night!" I was happy to see that the gifts to these two wealthy retirees were appropriate for the occasion, not expensive cars or rocket ships. (See my last post.) The two were presented with framed 2005 World Series jerseys, Stetson hats, and (appropriate for old guys) rocking chairs. Of course, Oswalt previously got a nice tractor from Uncle Drayton!
Hopefully Fowler and the rest of the team will be back in form for today's series ender with the Angels, and they can avoid the sweep and get back to .500!
GAME 4: Angels 11, Astros 1
GAME 5: Angels 5, Astros 1
After the initial euphoria of the first two wins against the Yankees, reality set in with losses in the next 3 games, putting the Astros under .500 -- where, alas, they probably belong. I make no pretense about expecting the Astros to make the playoffs this year, but having a .500 record is something to shoot for. Actually, after the last few years, having a .400 record might be a more realistic goal to stretch for!
The very high quality of the starting pitching from the first two games went downhill a bit after that, with Oberholzer, Harrell, and Keuchel earning losses. All I can say about Harrell's start Friday night (ERA 15.00) against the Angels is this: If the Astros are going to lose games 11-1, better that they do it on Shabbat when I'm not watching! I seem to remember Harrell having some big losses last year, and hope that he can get in shape soon. If not, there are some good arms down on the farm...
With our new spark plug of a leadoff hitter, Dexter Fowler, out with a tummy bug for the past couple of games, the Astros offense has been somewhat lethargic. Altuve has continued to hit, and to run, with 3 steals in the first 5 games. But overall it's been pretty lackluster in the scoring department. Hope that Fowler's out of the hospital and back in uni soon!
With the Sabbath now ending late on Saturday night, I missed one notable thing at last night's game: the official retirement of longtime Astros, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt. (I watched it afterwards on the Astros website.) They both signed one-day contracts with the Astros, just for the retirement ceremony, MC'ed by Milo Hamilton. "Holy Toledo, what a night! what a night!" I was happy to see that the gifts to these two wealthy retirees were appropriate for the occasion, not expensive cars or rocket ships. (See my last post.) The two were presented with framed 2005 World Series jerseys, Stetson hats, and (appropriate for old guys) rocking chairs. Of course, Oswalt previously got a nice tractor from Uncle Drayton!
Hopefully Fowler and the rest of the team will be back in form for today's series ender with the Angels, and they can avoid the sweep and get back to .500!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Starting Out on a Winning Streak!
GAME 2: Astros 3, Yankees 1
Before last night's game, I just had to go back to watch the first two innings of the Astro's Opening Night win -- this time on the Yankees station, so I could hear their broadcasters' reactions to being trounced by the worst team in baseball. They sounded more puzzled than humiliated, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
The Astros hadn't won their first 2 games of the season for 11 years before last night's second triumph against the not-so-mighty Yankees. Like Game 1, this win featured excellent starting pitching (the Astros starters haven't given up a run yet), home runs (two in each game), and good work by the bullpen to hold the lead. Last year's frequent bullpen meltdowns were a big contribution to the Astros' worst record ever, and the off-season acquisitions of some veteran relievers. In the game last night, we saw five shutout innings from Jarred Cosart, with his blazing fastball and effective curve going great. After a scoreless inning by Jerome Williams, Kevin Chapman got into trouble in the seventh, walking 2 and giving up a hit, and allowing the Yankees what would be their only run. Matt Albers, who closed the Opening Night game, came to the rescue. He struck out Jeter to end the inning, then after allowing Beltran a leadoff double in the 8th, struck out the side. Josh Fields', the closer du jour, put down the Yankees 1-2-3 in the ninth for the save.
The Astros' offense was not mighty, but was enough for the win. Two of the 3 runs came on home runs -- Dexter Fowler's leadoff homer in the first inning, and a second one from Matt Dominguez in the 7th. Fowler also plated the team's second run in the third inning, hitting a triple and then scoring from third on a fielding error. From a team that didn't have many homers over the past few years, 4 in the first 2 games looks like a sign of better things to come! Fowler now has 4 extra base hits - two doubles in Game 1, then the homer and triple in Game 2. If it keeps up, one might wonder if he could be more effective hitting third or fourth instead of leadoff. But it's early yet...
Fun Fact of the Game: The battery for Game 2 matched up a pitcher and catcher whose names are anagrams: COSART and CASTRO. (And CARTER is pretty close too.) Almost as cool as when Qualls pitched to Quintero, the only "Q" battery in baseball.
Soapbox of the Game: Before the game there was a tribute, with all kinds of Texas themed gifts, for Jeter, who is retiring after this season. Apparently this will be going on in every stadium over the course of the year. I'm not sure that every team will be quite as gracious as the Astros, whose players came out of the dugout to give him a standing O. My perspective: Why do they honor big retiring stars with expensive presents, when these millionaires could easily afford to buy the cars, golf clubs, custom boots, and so on? The big star doesn't need the gifts -- he probably even has to pay taxes on them. Why not name a room in the children's hospital in his honor, or make a donation to the charity of his choice? Just saying'...
Of course, I'm not saying that every team needs to honor Jeter the way that Scott Feldman did on Opening Night - hit him with a pitch on his first at-bat. Here's the tee shirt that Scott Feldman apparently WASN'T wearing under his jersey Monday night:
A second observation: If Jeter hadn't played his career for the Yankees -- if he'd played for Kansas City, or Arizona, or say, HOUSTON -- would they be making all this falderal about his retirement? Oh yeah, he's a star, and a fan favorite (if you like the Yankees), and will be a HOFer someday -- but so was Biggio. I don't remember all the other teams honoring Bidge like this in his retirement season, after 20 years of righteous ball playing? (True, the Pirates retired Biggio's2 number -- but that was his college alma mater, Seton Hall Pirates, and it was #44, not #7.)
On to Game 3 - let's sweep those Mighty Yankees!
Before last night's game, I just had to go back to watch the first two innings of the Astro's Opening Night win -- this time on the Yankees station, so I could hear their broadcasters' reactions to being trounced by the worst team in baseball. They sounded more puzzled than humiliated, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
The Astros hadn't won their first 2 games of the season for 11 years before last night's second triumph against the not-so-mighty Yankees. Like Game 1, this win featured excellent starting pitching (the Astros starters haven't given up a run yet), home runs (two in each game), and good work by the bullpen to hold the lead. Last year's frequent bullpen meltdowns were a big contribution to the Astros' worst record ever, and the off-season acquisitions of some veteran relievers. In the game last night, we saw five shutout innings from Jarred Cosart, with his blazing fastball and effective curve going great. After a scoreless inning by Jerome Williams, Kevin Chapman got into trouble in the seventh, walking 2 and giving up a hit, and allowing the Yankees what would be their only run. Matt Albers, who closed the Opening Night game, came to the rescue. He struck out Jeter to end the inning, then after allowing Beltran a leadoff double in the 8th, struck out the side. Josh Fields', the closer du jour, put down the Yankees 1-2-3 in the ninth for the save.
The Astros' offense was not mighty, but was enough for the win. Two of the 3 runs came on home runs -- Dexter Fowler's leadoff homer in the first inning, and a second one from Matt Dominguez in the 7th. Fowler also plated the team's second run in the third inning, hitting a triple and then scoring from third on a fielding error. From a team that didn't have many homers over the past few years, 4 in the first 2 games looks like a sign of better things to come! Fowler now has 4 extra base hits - two doubles in Game 1, then the homer and triple in Game 2. If it keeps up, one might wonder if he could be more effective hitting third or fourth instead of leadoff. But it's early yet...
Fun Fact of the Game: The battery for Game 2 matched up a pitcher and catcher whose names are anagrams: COSART and CASTRO. (And CARTER is pretty close too.) Almost as cool as when Qualls pitched to Quintero, the only "Q" battery in baseball.
Soapbox of the Game: Before the game there was a tribute, with all kinds of Texas themed gifts, for Jeter, who is retiring after this season. Apparently this will be going on in every stadium over the course of the year. I'm not sure that every team will be quite as gracious as the Astros, whose players came out of the dugout to give him a standing O. My perspective: Why do they honor big retiring stars with expensive presents, when these millionaires could easily afford to buy the cars, golf clubs, custom boots, and so on? The big star doesn't need the gifts -- he probably even has to pay taxes on them. Why not name a room in the children's hospital in his honor, or make a donation to the charity of his choice? Just saying'...
Of course, I'm not saying that every team needs to honor Jeter the way that Scott Feldman did on Opening Night - hit him with a pitch on his first at-bat. Here's the tee shirt that Scott Feldman apparently WASN'T wearing under his jersey Monday night:
A second observation: If Jeter hadn't played his career for the Yankees -- if he'd played for Kansas City, or Arizona, or say, HOUSTON -- would they be making all this falderal about his retirement? Oh yeah, he's a star, and a fan favorite (if you like the Yankees), and will be a HOFer someday -- but so was Biggio. I don't remember all the other teams honoring Bidge like this in his retirement season, after 20 years of righteous ball playing? (True, the Pirates retired Biggio's2 number -- but that was his college alma mater, Seton Hall Pirates, and it was #44, not #7.)
On to Game 3 - let's sweep those Mighty Yankees!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Opening Day Fun and Game!
GAME 1: Astros 6, Yankees 2
Is there anything better than Opening Day? Your team takes the field with a clean slate and ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN! Given the Astros' last place finish for 3 years running, that ANYTHING might be just that we don't finish in last place this season. But who knows?
Tonight's game was terrific. The real difference maker in the game was the starting pitching. Scott Feldman threw almost 7 innings of shutout ball in his debut as the Astros' ace, while the Yankee's CC Sabathia floundered in the first couple of innings, giving up 6 runs. The Astros showed a lot of hustle, both in fielding and on the base paths -- just what we all want to see from the youngest team in the Major Leagues.
Sabathia settled in after the first few innings and the Astros did not score again. Astros reliever Kevin Chapman, who rescued Feldman from a 7th inning bases-loaded threat, put a couple of runners on in the 8th. Then Chad Qualls, resurrected from the 2005 pennant winning Astros team, let them score to make the score 6-2. Albers, the closer du jour, pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Offensive high points of the game: Homers by Guzman and Hoes. Multi-hit games for Altuve and Fowler. Stolen base for Altuve. GO DOG GO!
Opening Day Prediction: The Astros may not make the playoffs this year, but they aren't going to lose 100 games this season.
Game Day Food: Vegetarian hot & sour soup with udon, lotus root, king oyster mushrooms, winter melon, and smoked tofu. I bet they weren't serving THAT at Minute Maid Park!
Is there anything better than Opening Day? Your team takes the field with a clean slate and ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN! Given the Astros' last place finish for 3 years running, that ANYTHING might be just that we don't finish in last place this season. But who knows?
Tonight's game was terrific. The real difference maker in the game was the starting pitching. Scott Feldman threw almost 7 innings of shutout ball in his debut as the Astros' ace, while the Yankee's CC Sabathia floundered in the first couple of innings, giving up 6 runs. The Astros showed a lot of hustle, both in fielding and on the base paths -- just what we all want to see from the youngest team in the Major Leagues.
Sabathia settled in after the first few innings and the Astros did not score again. Astros reliever Kevin Chapman, who rescued Feldman from a 7th inning bases-loaded threat, put a couple of runners on in the 8th. Then Chad Qualls, resurrected from the 2005 pennant winning Astros team, let them score to make the score 6-2. Albers, the closer du jour, pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Offensive high points of the game: Homers by Guzman and Hoes. Multi-hit games for Altuve and Fowler. Stolen base for Altuve. GO DOG GO!
Opening Day Prediction: The Astros may not make the playoffs this year, but they aren't going to lose 100 games this season.
Game Day Food: Vegetarian hot & sour soup with udon, lotus root, king oyster mushrooms, winter melon, and smoked tofu. I bet they weren't serving THAT at Minute Maid Park!
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