I'm Glad I'm Not in Kissimmee

For the first time in weeks, I can honestly say that I'm glad that I'm not down in Florida - but only because the team has moved on. With much glee (well documented by Alyson Footer's camera), the big league roster guys checked out and headed out for the big city. Well, actually, they headed out to Corpus Christi, but it's in the right direction.

They left some of the minor league contingent back in Osceola Land, to play one more just-fer-fun against the Braves. The Astro-wannabee team lost 2-1, but they acquitted themselves very well, thank you, behind an excellent start by Bud Norris. He threw 4 innings, giving up only a single run on five hits (including a solo homer), walking no one, and striking out 4. Sergio Perez came in behind him with 4 well-pitched innings, giving up one run on 2 hits and a walk. Neal Musser threw a hit-free ninth. It was a doesn't-matter game, attracting less than 2500 fans (probably including some of my die-hard new friends with their season tickets). But still nice to see some muscle on the mound from our much aligned farm hands.

Meanwhile the Big Boys were off to Corpus to play the Double A Hooks - the first time since the 50's that a major league team has graced that fine city with a ball game. (That was before the Astros were born.) This occasion drew almost 4 times as many baseball fans as the earlier game in Florida - a record breaking crowd of over 9000 for a Corpus ball game.

Though this game was not the pitchers duel of the earlier one, it started off with a terrific performance by Wandy Rodriguez. He pitched six shutout innings, giving up only one hit, walking no one, and striking out a whopping 11 batters. We can make some excuses - it was just a bunch of minor leaguers, after all - but in Wandy's last three plate appearances, he's pitched 16 innings without giving up a run, striking out 20 in the process. The guy is locked in. If he can stay healthy, this could really (finally) be his year to shine. Despite his diminutive size on the mound (a midget next to hunks like Valverde), Wandy can really pitch. I vowed last year that, if Wandy would grow up in pitching stature, I'd start calling him by his last name. Now with a second Rodriguez on the team, it's not worth the confusion, so I'll stick with Wandy and Pudge. But I'm going on record now, predicting that he's going to come into his own this year.

As good as Wandy was, Capellan was bad: In his 2 innings, he was in trouble all over the place, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits - including two home runs - and 5 (FIVE!) walks. Maybe he was just disappointed that Ortiz made the team and he got sent to Round Rock. At any rate, his performance didn't do anything to challenge the wisdom of that move.

I listened to this evening game on the radio broadcast after work, and found the announcers to be nearly giddy in their presentation of this who-cares game. The one thing that they did not say, but what I suspect in my heart o' hearts, is that the Astros threw the game to the Hooks. It went back and forth, with the Astros taking a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. At that point, they made a curious pitching move - they handed the ball to one of the Hooks' own pitchers, Chris Salamida. (Kind of a conflict of interest there? Read on...) The lefty threw to only two batters in the ninth: The first hit a single, and the second homered to give the Hooks a walk-off 5-4 win. Okay, using Valverde might have been overkill - although the Corpus fans would have loved to have seen him. Perhaps the Astros hadn't brought any extra relief pitchers with them? I don't believe that. I think they put in the kid with the express (oh wait - that's the AAA team) purpose of throwing the no-account game to the home team crowd. Whatever the motivation, the crowd loved it. David slew Goliath and everyone went home happy.

I've had a crazy time at work since I've been back from Spring Training, with barely time to listen to the games on the radio, let alone format pictures and write about baseball. It's going to be much worse over the next couple of weeks, between my work at the office and the Passover holiday (don't get me started!). But the clock's ticking - just two more exhibition games and then...

THE SEASON'S STARTING MONDAY!

Photo Finish...

The Astros nosed their way to a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays yesterday, thanks to an eighth inning homer from catcher Lou Santangelo. It wasn't a big day for the offense, with the other two runs coming off a solo homer by Michaels, and an RBI single from Pence.

The more interesting performance came from the pitching staff: Moehler logged another solid start with 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. Odd stats on this appearance - no walks, no strikeouts, and 6 of the 7 hits were doubles. Arias, who got the win, pitched 2 shutout innings, giving up only a single hit. Geary threw a perfect ninth to pick up his first save of the spring. For a team whose pitching has been constantly cited as a reason for dismay, all I can say is: Keep up the good work.

Bad news for the game: Berkman is still out with a sore shoulder. I'm not sure about the shape and size of his sideburns - I'll have to get a report from one of my on-site friends with season tickets.

While I listened to this game (their 8th win in the last 9 games, starting with my trip to Kissimmee!), I worked on some of my photos. I formatted and posted a bunch of pictures from the March 20 game against the Reds on my Photo Album. Enjoy. I also redesigned the home page of my Astros Fan in Exile website to put a little more emphasis on photos, since that's really one of the strengths of my site. I don't have the depth of baseball commentary of some of my baseball blogging colleagues, but I do have original photos!

I'll keep plugging along at updating the photo pages over the next week or so, so if you want to see Astros pictures, just keep checking the site.

A Bunch of Losers? NOT!

The Astros' winning streak - now at 7 - may or may not be quieting the blog commenters who spent the first half of Spring Training ranting and raving. I've pretty much stopped reading the reader comments on Chron.com, and have taken RoundRock15's advice about responding to the bashers on Astros.com - only answer back if they say something that's factually incorrect.

The facts and figures, as much as the wins themselves, support the assertion that some of us have been making all along: This team is not just a bunch of losers. The pitching has been better than I expected, and the batting is coming around. Veteran players who started out kind of slow at the plate are starting to pick up, and several of the nonroster guys are making things interesting as they compete for the few remaining open positions. One other thing that has been shown in the past two wins: My presence in Kissimmee is irrelevant - except, of course, to me!

It's a bummer being here while other people get to be the fans of the day. I've been weaning myself off of the pleasure of seeing the games firsthand - Wednesday's game against the Cards was televised; I listened to a bit of today's game on the radio while I was eating lunch. There's one big difference between earlier in the spring and now: My week in Kissimmee has really given me a huge collection of mental images of the players, as well as a couple of thousand photographs of the team.

So let's talk about the games. The past two games were both close, with the Astros either eking out the win in the ninth inning, or holding on to a precarious lead. I watched Wednesday's televised game against the Cards when I got home from work. Russ Ortiz pitched another terrific start, adding more reasons for the Astros to pick him over Capellan for that fifth rotation slot. In 5 innings, he gave up only 1 run on 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 4. Even that run was pretty iffy - with a runner on and two outs, left fielder Jason Michaels lost track of a fly ball and was unable to catch it to end the inning. It wasn't really Michaels' fault - the day was windy and very sunny, and other players had similar issues with fly balls. Just one of those things. Ortiz, with the help of Maysonet pulled off a nice pickoff at second base. He also stymied Albert Pujols, who was 0 for 3 against him, including a rally-ending out with two runners in scoring position. Anyway, another very good appearance for Ortiz, who (according to Alyson Footer) was battling a case of tummy virus. Eeeew.

Pudge continued to make himself popular with Astros fans, hitting another homer, a solo in the third inning. Pence went 3 for 4, with a double and a pair of singles. Neither of these guys have anything to prove, since their positions on the roster are assured. That's not true of Jason Smith and Edwin Maysonet, who are duking it out for the Astro's utility infielder spot. Wednesday's game was a great duel for the two - Smith went 3 for 4, raising his BA to .422. Maysonet, following him in the lineup, went 2 for 4, with a double and 2 RBIs.

These guys helped put a few runs on the scoreboard on Ortiz' watch, but Geoff Geary gave up a pair of runs in his 2 innings of relief, allowing the Cards to tie the game. Wright and Fulcino each contributed a perfect inning to take the Astros to the ninth. Michael Bourn's RBI single in the ninth put the Astros ahead for the sixth consecutive win. Bourn's low batting average is frustrating, but he did manage to get on base 3 times in his 5 plate appearances - twice on walks and once with a hit. Given his speed, his OBP is of greater concern than just the BA.

Today was the Astros first home game since I left Kissimmee. I am picturing my new friends (Carole, Mitch, Kevin, "Jill" and "Pat," etc.) watching Oswalt pitch on a nice warm Florida afternoon, while I was at a business meeting. I'm not jealous, but I do wish I'd been able to see Roy O at Spring Training this year. Bummer.

Oswalt, who arrived in Kissimmee this morning, did not have a very clean game, giving up 3 runs (all in the second inning) on 10 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. He pitched his way out of trouble to keep the Astros in contention, with a little help from the offense.

Offensive breakthrough of the game: Matsui, who hasn't hit much of anything this spring, went 3 for 4, moving his batting average further from double digits. Tejada hit a solo homer in the 4th. But the hitter of the day honor goes to Pence, who got 3 hits (all singles) for the second game in a row. Pence's batting average has jumped from the puny low .200s to over .300 in just a few games - shows you the power of a small sample size. Pudge had his first hitless game as an Astro.

Hawkins threw a perfect seventh inning - good to have him back from the WBC! Sampson, who pitched the last two innings, entered the game with the Astros ahead 4-3. When the team scored 2 in the bottom of the eighth, things looked comfortable. But he gave up 2 in the ninth, just to make things interesting before ending the game with his first save of the spring.

I'd say more but it's almost sunset. Gotta run and light my Sabbath candles. Hope things keep going good while I'm "resting." I'll post some pictures on Sunday.

Astros Extend Streak to Five on My Last Day in Kissimmee

It is such a bummer going home from Spring Training. In a more perfect world (one where the Dow is at about 14ooo, where deer don't eat all the bulbs you planted last fall, and where there's no need for security checks in airports), I'd be able to stay until the Astros' equipment truck heads back to Houston. But in the Real (and less perfect) World, after 8 days it was time to go back to the office. Tuesday was the last day of my annual pilgrimage to Kissimmee for Astros Spring Training.

I did get a cheerful sendoff, however, as the Astros extended their winning streak to five games by shutting out the much-hated Mets 8-0. (It's a long story, dating back to my childhood.) While I make no pretense of having magical powers, it was great fun to arrive just in time for the big turn-around. My presence in Kissimmee, just as the Astros started to win, even earned me a reference in RoundRock15's excellent Misplaced Astros Fan blog. But before I talk about the game - which featured the first appearance of the Rodriguez and Rodriguez battery - I need to acknowledge the other fans who contributed to the spirited team support on Tuesday.

The first Fans of the Day are Maria and Alfred from Houston, who were there all decked out in Astros jerseys and hats. This is their first-ever Spring Training, and they are having a great time. I am sure that this will be the first of many March trips to Kissimmee for them.

The other Fan of the Day is Tony from Melbourne, who sat next to us at the game. For those of you who are not familiar with Florida geography, Melbourne is where the ubiquitous US 192 (AKA Irlo Bronson Highway) deadends at the Atlantic. Tony and some of his pals from Melbourne were playing hooky from work on a gorgeous sunny day - who can blame them? An amateur shortstop, Tony wasn't totally sure that he qualifies as an Astros fan, but after I offered him this place of honor in my blog, he decided to convert (at least for this game). Hopefully, his boss won't read my blog and figure out that Tony wasn't home with tonsillitis after all.

Now let's talk about baseball... A couple of years ago, the Astros featured a "Q and Q" (Qualls and Quintero) battery. This year, they have "Rodriguez and Rodriguez" - Wandy and Ivan. Given the dominence of Latino players in the big leagues, the Q Battery is probably more rare than a R and R one, but it might be the first time that the Astros have actually had a pitcher throwing to a catcher with the same name. (I sent a question to Alyson to ask about that - if you know the answer, comment on this blog.) I don't think that anyone will get them mixed up though, since both of them go by their first name or nickname - Wandy and Pudge. At any rate, the first appearance of R and R together was a great photo opportunity, and I snapped quite a few shots of them before and during the game: warming up, pitcher-throwing-to-catcher shot from behind home plate, and a little tete-a-tete on the mound. (These will all make their way into my Photo Album as I have time to post them.)

The first pairing of the R and R battery was good for both of them. Wandy R, coming back from his strained intercostal thingy, pitched a terrific game - 4 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 2. Meanwhile, Pudge R had a crowd pleasing day at the plate, hitting his first homer as an Astro, with a single thrown in for good measure.

Wandy was backed up by a very fine collection of relief pitchers: Hawkins (welcome back from the WBC!), Valverde, Brocail, Brydak, and Arias, each of whom threw one scoreless inning. Arias came the closest to giving up a run, allowing two hits and a walk, before wiggling out of the ninth inning without letting the Mets get on the board. The pitchers were backed up by some very nice fielding work, including four double plays that erased the few Mets players who dared to get on base. Even if it was the traveling squad of Mets players, not all their starters who got out of the long bus trip, kudos go to the pitching staff for shutting them down completely.

The Astros did a nice job at the plate to keep this from being another down-to-the-wire 1-0 game. While either of their single-run innings (the 3rd and 6th) would have sufficed to win, the big six-run inning in the middle made this game quite entertaining. The fifth inning featured Pudge's home run and Blum's 3-run double. It also included a crazy run that resulted when Bourn singled, then made it all the way home on a fielding error. (His OBP could be better, but that guy sure can fly!)

Anti-Sampson Watch: Berkman was clean-shaven and went 2 for 3 - two singles and a walk. After leaving Kissimmee, I'll be able to use the box scores to assess Berkman's hitting but it will be hard to link it to his facial hair quotient without regular photos. I wonder if Alyson would be willing to post a daily mugshot?

Two other notables at Tuesday's game: Ex-President Bush was back again, sitting behind home plate with team owner Uncle Drayton. I particularly enjoyed the way that Hunter Pence stood right in front of the former Leader of the Free World to take his on-deck swings. But for me, while I applaud Bush Sr's taste in baseball teams, the bigger thrill was seeing Jeff Bagwell at the game. (Hey, I'm a lifelong Democrat.) In uniform -- not the usual flowered cotton shirts -- Bagwell spent much of the game sitting with the coaches.


Okay, enough blogging. I have a couple of thousand photos to go through, and to pick a hundred of so to post on the Astros Fan in Exile Photo Album. It will probably take me a couple of weeks to go through all of them - keep checking back on the website to see new pictures.

Former-First Fan Among Fans of the Day as Astros Win Fourth Game in a Row

George H. W. Bush is a great Astros fan. Even I know that - as a Fan in Exile who watches all the Astros games on mlb.tv, I regularly see a big white halo directly behind the ump when the camera is pointed at the batter. That big white halo is Barbara Bush, and right next to her (although less easily detectable) sits #41 himself. The former First Lady wasn't able to come to Kissimmee due to health issues, but the Original President Bush was at the game today, sitting in the stands right behind home plate. He stayed for the whole game. (This game was televised, so you can probably see him in his usual spot behind the ump.)

It's kind of difficult to compete for attention with a former president, but there were actually some other notable Fans of the Day at the game today. Boot Woman -- or Linda as her friends and family know her -- is an Astros fan who lives in Dallas. Yet she withstands the temptation to just give in and cheer for that Other Texas Team (which was coincidentally owned in the past by #43), and stays true to her Astros.

Also key to the fan support for Monday's win over the Marlins were Ann and Mike, my other Fans of the Day. They've been coming to Astros Spring Training for the past four years. Although now a big Astros fan, Ann admits to having an ongoing fondness for the Braves, who play on the classier end of US 192. However, she limits herself to a surreptitious tomahawk chop or two - it's really hard to break old habits.

With these great fans cheering for them today, the Astros didn't have much of a choice: They just had to reel in those wily Fish. They fought back time and time again, as the Marlins fought hard. But the Astros persevered, and managed to land their fourth "W" in as many days.

The player of the game was Lance Berkman, who smacked two long balls out of Osceola County Stadium. (See my previous blog entry for an explanation of Berkman's increasing power.) The first was a solo shot in the third inning, putting the Astros ahead 3-2. Florida bounced back with a 5-3 lead in the fourth. Berkman's two-run homer helped the Astros retake the lead in a three-run fifth inning.

The battle went back and fourth, as the Fish scored 4 in the sixth, then the Astros matched that with 4 of their own in the bottom of the seventh. Each team added one more run for good measure in the eighth, pushing the score to 10-8, Astros ahead. That's where things stood when, in the middle of the ninth inning, the stadium announcer proclaimed that the game was over and in the books. However, since the Marlins still had a pitcher who needed work, they would play the bottom of the inning anyway. Or, as the announcer called it, "free baseball." (Nothing interesting happened, and it was not included in the box score.)

Obviously Berkman was not solely responsible for the Astros' double-digit score. Special kudos go to Michael Bourn, who went 3 for 4, with 3 RBI, and his 8th stolen base of the spring. Another light hitter, JR Towles, also had a good day at the plate, hitting (a double and a single) and scoring in both of his at bats. Matsui hit a double - that might be the first time that I've seen him hit once since I've been in Kissimmee. Tejada went 2 for 4 with a double and single. All in all, a great team effort and some nice crooked numbers.

With a final score of 10-8, this was not a pitchers' duel like yesterday's game. Astros starter Mike Hampton pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 7 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. Chad Paronto pitched to 3 batters in the sixth, allowing 2 of them to get on base before being removed due to an injury. He was obviously unhappy about being taken out; he booted the ball across the field in frustration. Gilbert De La Vara finished off the inning, but not before giving up an inside-the-park home run, allowing Paronto's runners to score.

Chris Sampson pitched a perfect seventh inning, and Houston had some fun in the bottom of the inning, to earn him the win. Bud Norris, who got roughed up in his 1/3 of an inning on Friday, finished off the game. He had much better luck today, giving up one run on a solo homer in his 2 innings on the mound, and earning the save. (Although I was sitting right over the Astros dugout, a great location for shooting pictures, I just had to get out of my seat to position myself to get this photo of Bud, who's actually Not-So-Lite. I couldn't resist it.)

For those who like to bash the Astros this year, I have to note: Giving up 8 earned runs doesn't sound too hot, but only 3 of the runs were allowed by pitchers who are likely to be on the roster in April. I'm not giving up on this team yet - I've been pleasantly surprised by the pitching since I've been here.

Next up: The hated Mets. (It's a long story.) And more hated, leaving Kissimmee after the game to go home.

The Key to the Astros Newfound Success

I'd like to think I bring the Astros good luck, as evidenced by the winning streak that they've gone on since I arrived in Kissimmee. But I'm an engineer, not a practitioner of voodoo, so I am compelled to search for more logical reasons for events. So as an engineer, I am looking for what might have changed in the past few days, which may have resulted in a turnaround in the Astros' game performance. And I think I've found it:

It's the change in Lance Berkman's facial hair.

Last Wednesday, the day we arrived in Kissimmee, Berkman was wearing what appeared to be a two-day beard and the Astros lost yet again. Fast forward to Friday, when Berkman was clean-shaven, but still sporting gigantic muttonchops - he hit a home run in that game and the Astros won. Now look at today's game: The Fat Elvis sideburns are gone, Berkman hit two home runs, and the Astros won again. See the evidence for yourself:
A quick scientific analysis seems to indicate that Berkman is the opposite of Sampson (the Biblical one, not the pitcher): Less hair, more strength, and more success for the team.

Disclaimer: I have to be honest, since the new Administration in Washington has vowed to get rid of the abuse of pseudo-science in the promotion of fanciful beliefs. I actually don't have any idea how Berkman has been decorating his chops over the past few weeks, since I wasn't here. He could have showed up with whiskers like Bagwell's in 2000 for all I know. This is what I've been saying all along: If you aren't here at Spring Training, you can't really see what's happening. If only I could just call in sick for the rest of Spring Training, I could actually collect the evidence to back up this wild hypothesis, that Berkman is really the Anti-Sampson.

More importantly, I would have so many more observations about the team's strengths and weaknesses, on-field personalities, and maybe even an assessment of which Astro is most likely to replace Brad Ausmus in the fantasies of female fans and readers of Outsports.com. The Spring Training box scores and the few sentences that appear in Astros.com or the Chronicle after each game just aren't enough. There's just not enough information there, and definitely not enough pictures. (Thank Alyson Footer for the ones she's posted on her blog!)

So Berkman's hair probably doesn't have anything to do with anything. But who knows what might happen if Wednesday (after I've gone back home), he decided to shave his head?!!

Three in a Row - Thanks to These Killer Bs!

After a long drought, Central Florida is getting a few raindrops and the Astros are getting a few wins! We'll get to the details of which players get kudos for Sunday's squeaker against the Nats in a minute. First, we need to acknowledge a few of the fans whose boisterous cheers contributed to the win - a new set of Killer B's.

Fan of the Day is Baylen from Omaha, who was at the game with his granddad. Baylen was wearing an Astros hat - courtesy of the Sunday stadium giveaway - and his grandfather admitted that he was just developing his loyalty to the team. We were sitting in the first row, right over the Nats dugout, and Baylen really, really wanted a game ball. When he finally got one, that was step 1 in cementing his fandom. But I'm hoping that seeing himself featured on Astros Fan in Exile will make him a lifelong fan-atic of baseball, Spring Training, and of course - the Astros!

To round out our set of Killer B's we have Bill, Bill, and Bob. Bob is Carole T's significant other, and felt left out that she got Fan of the Day credit Thursday without him. (Well, she was the one who recognized me!) Anyway, these guys surely contributed plenty of cheers (if not beers) to the game Sunday, resulting in...

ANOTHER WIN!

Let's talk about baseball: First of all, welcome to Pudge Rodriguez, who caught his first game in an Astros jersey today. Batting second in the lineup, he pleased the crowd with a base hit in his first at bat.

Today's game was all about pitching. The Astros started with Brian Moehler who looked very sharp, despite getting smacked with a hard-hit ball in the first inning. He stayed in to pitch a very economical three innings of no-hit ball: His pitch-count was 27, but I could swear that one inning he got out with about 3 pitches. According to reports after the game (thanks, Alyson!), it's just a bruise and he hopes to get his work in with a couple more Spring starts. After 14 innings, Moehler's got a 1.29 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00 - not a bad showing for a starter who was a nonroster invitee last March.

Jeff Fulcino, who the Astros picked up from KC, came in to pitch the other two innings that had been planned for Moehler. He gave up only one hit, no runs, no walks. Fulcino's also having a terrific spring: He has pitched more than 12 innings in 8 appearances (one as a starter), with a 2.19 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00.

Valverde was tough - after allowing a triple, he struck out two to shut down the Nats without any scoreboard damage. I was hoping for a bit of an emotional display, for the sake of my camera, but he just gave a tiny little self-satisfied clench of the fist to end the inning. Brocail, Wright, and Geary each pitched a hitless inning to complete the shutout against the Nats.

As tough as Houston's pitching staff was, the Nats were matching them inning by inning. Special kudos to John Lannon, who threw the first 6 scoreless innings, to keep his 0.00 ERA intact.

It looked like the Astros might break it open in the eighth inning, loading the bases before Towles struck out looking to end the inning. Down to the bottom of the ninth, it was starting to look like someone was going to need to decide whether to take the tie or plan an extra inning... With one out, speedster Bourn on third base, and Newhan on first, Erstad hit a ground ball. Newhan charged into second, breaking up the Nat's attempted double play, while Bourn dashed in to score. "Walkoff fielders choice" doesn't have quite the same cachet as, say, "walkoff three-run blast" - but hey, this spring, we'll take it and say "Thank you, Darin!"

For those of you who were hoping to see some awesome photos of this game, courtesy of my new camera, be patient. Here's my picture of the game - not yet even formatted. I've always wanted to take one of those flying shortstop photos and almost fainted when I realized I'd finally got one. I have lots more good ones to post, but haven't had a time to format and upload them yet. Check my website Photo Album later - I'll get some more posted after the game tonight.