GAME 11 - April 11: Concerned

Florida 10, Houston 6

Quote of the Day: "I have never went through this before." (Oswalt, on his 3rd bad start)

Oswalt is concerned. He and Cooper say he's healthy, not injured as the (other) bloggers suspect. They say he's throwing good stuff, that maybe he's tipping his pitches. Is he injured? In decline? Tipping pitches?

Whatever it is, Houston's one "sure thing" pitcher is getting clobbered this year. His third start - and third loss - of the season was the worst so far. Oswalt only lasted 4 innings, giving up 8 runs on 9 hits, include 4 home runs - a personal record.

The Astros scored 3 in the first inning - enough runs in previous years to practically give the game to Oswalt. He gave up a triple in the first inning, but the runner was stranded, and he pitched a 1-2-3 second. In the third inning, he allowed a lead-off single, but quickly retired the next two batters. It was all downhill from there, he gave up 5 runs on a pair of singles and a pair of home runs. A couple more home runs in the fourth inning, and Cooper called it a night.

I didn't see this game, as it was on the Sabbath. (See entry for April 5 for more on that.) I'm not planning on watching it, despite some good things: Berkman and Blum's home runs, Moehler and Brocail combining for 3 scoreless innings. Too much not to like, especially Villareal giving up a pair of homers in the 9th.

Of all the upside-down aspects of this season so far, Oswalt's performance has got to be the most worrisome. The fielding has been excellent. The team batting sucks - but I just cannot believe that this lineup won't come around after an anemic start. The relief pitching hasn't been a total mess - although it's scary that Valverde hasn't pitched a scoreless inning yet. But if Oswalt doesn't win games, that's really scary. After 12 games, the Astros starters have a total win record of ZERO.

Items of Note in this Game: Cooper used Towles with Oswalt, instead of Ausmus. And he moved Pence from 2nd to 7th in the lineup, in an effort to take some of the pressure off of him. Pence was 1 for 3 with a single and a walk; he didn't strike out in this game.

Old Friends: Some of the players that the Astros got rid of are doing well with their new teams. Lidge has 2 saves and an ERA of 0.00 for the Phillies. And Luke Scott, now in Baltimore, is leading the American League in batting with a .433 BA, .714 SLG, and 1.229 OPS. In less happy news, Adam Everett is only batting .095 for Minneapolis, and has 2 errors in 7 games. Chris Burke is only batting .167 out in Arizona. Meanwhile, Morgan Ensberg made the Yankees team out of Spring Training, but is not seeing much playing time - he's batting .375 in the 3 games he's appeared in.