The Archives 2005 Just noticing here that the last time I updated, six long weeks ago, the Astros had also just won by a 9 to nothing final. I hadn't really meant to go a month and a half between updates here, but that Crawfish Boxes gig is like, really demanding of my time.
Funny thing is, the optimistic indicators I had after the 9 - 0 complete game shutout over San Francisco were something of a mirage, and the enthusiasm I had dredged up in that game's wake was somewhat misplaced. Within two games, the team would embark on a seven-game losing streak that included a ghastly 18 - 3 road loss at Texas. The seventh and final game of that losing streak came in Chicago on May 24. The following night, Brandon Backe singled, stole second, outpitched Greg Maddux and beat the Cubs 5 - 1. That game, though it seemed a mere consolation prize at the time, preventing the Cubs three-game sweep, actually has propelled the Astros into a 23 - 12 run that now has them a mere four games under .500, and victors of five consecutive series.
But while it feels good to write these things, I'm still not sure that this is any less a mirage than the 9 - love victory over San Fran was. Although we played basically to our pythagorean record, the offensive breakout wasn't quite as large as you may have thought: the team was 11th in the NL in batting average for June, 10th in OBP, 10th in OPS, 10th in runs. These are not in general formulae for success, and perhaps these leading indicators will start indicating more accurately.
Or maybe, just maybe, this team has found its formula, with two great starters, a good one, and two adequate ones, that maybe this team won't NEED to score a bunch of runs. Maybe, just maybe, if the pitching holds up, these guys, in a year where the White Sox could take the AL pennant, could take on the mantle of the New Hitless Wonders. I know I'm stretching things a bit, but think about it. Think of Willy Taveras today, failing to knock the ball out of the infield four times out of five, but ending up with four hits. Think of how good Clemens and Oswalt have been, and imagine them carrying those streaks into August. Imagine you're seeing Wandy Rodriguez continue to learn at a rapid rate, and Pettitte and Backe making their talent translate into wins on a more consistent basis.
No-one but the Cardinals is winning the Central, but the Astros are right now 6 back of the wild card leaders, Atlanta, with Roy Oz going tomorrow.
I'm real interested in what might be next posted here, if I take another six weeks to update. . . .
May 15
You wouldn't think that a week which started so well, and ended so well, could have been so crappy in between. But the period after Roger Clemens' 330th win and before his 331st was chock full of bad news. Let's see, in a mere four days, we saw:
Last week it seemed as if the '05 Astros and the Central Division cellar were made for each other. Now in the clearer light of the Monday after a 9 - 0 whitewash of the Giants, of all teams, and the announcement of an actual plan of attack on Jeff Bagwell's decrepit shoulder, third place seems like a very real and robust possibility.
The dog days are still ahead, and until they arrive to smack me upside the head some, I like my wispy fantasies just fine.
May 8
Atlanta manager Bobby Cox-- a man known for his sometimes tenuous grasp on reality-- was either extremely gracious or extremely deluded when speaking about Sunday's 16 - 0 Braves victory over the Astros. "This Houston team is decimated with injuries," he said. A casual onlooker--and of course Cox is certainly that--can certainly be forgiven for thinking that it must be injuries which has laid this team so low, but a quick check confirms what those following the team already know: that save Jeff Bagwell, the team is actually remarkably healthy, and that the Astros in fact don't have a single player on the disabled list.
It is actually only the team's play that looks as if it should be shut down for fifteen days. Elsewhere, I write that, "For combined offensive and pitching futility, [Sunday]'s game probably wears the crown. as the worst game in team history." Astrosdaily writes starkly, "we suck," and that Sunday was simply, "one of the worst losses in franchise history."
Actually, you only have to go back six years to find the last game the Astros lost by 16 runs. Back on August 30 of 1999, Shane Reynolds and the 'Stros lost a home game to the Mets by the equally pathetic final score of 17 - 1. And the Mets that day actually had four more hits than the Braves did yesterday. But I still think that the morning of August 31 could not have dawned more depressing for the Astro fan than this morning did. The '99 team played .500 ball in the ten games leading up to the August 30 fiasco; today's Astros were 3 - 7 in the ten before yesterday. And the '99 squad would go on a 12-game winning streak within a week of the Mets whitewash.
What I'm trying to say is that yesterday's loss was symptomatic. It wasn't just "one of those games," although it's looking more and more like this is going to be "one of those seasons." Many of the problems that the 2005 Astros have were on prominent display yesterday. They're not new, but yesterday's game simply underscores the truth that these problems are not going away.
May 1
Assuming that Roy Oswalt's sprained right foot is not going to be of any long term consequence, it's very hard as an Astro fan not to be pleased with Sunday's conclusion to the three-game series with the Cubs, a series that provided the Astros with only their second three-game series win of the year, and also provided a nice lift for the club after the series began so depressingly Friday night, when the whole matchup of the ages thing ended with just another Astros L. The streaky Lamb, who started and had a hit in each game of the Cubs series, is assuredly the only one we're going to see in left field during the competitive portions of the upcoming Pirates series. Chris Burke had a pinch-hit appearance Sunday, and Luke Scott had one Friday, but we're not gonna see much of them, not if Lamb's hot streak continues to build as it should.
Looking for the correct spelling of "Casper" just now, I came across some Cubs blog there that was talking about liking Carlos' Zambrano's energy on the mound. And I thought, energy? If Zambrano has any energy on the mound, it's all negative. Guy needs to watch Brandon Backe, is all I got to say. Watching Brandon's start (and win) Saturday night was an absolute rollicking blast. . . .
April 24
Luke Scott's hitless streak has reached 21 at bats and his batting average has plummeted to .154. Further, the team appears to have broken the nascent platoon that had been established with the righthanded Chris Burke over the last few games: Burke started vs. righthanders on Friday against Jason Marquis, and Sunday vs. Matt Morris. Burke, though not an embarassment in left as some cynics might have feared, has had his problems at the plate, as well, and much of the Astros' well-publicized offensive anemia can be attributed to the gaps in the order that Scott and Burke have created for opposing pitchers. How a professional ballplayer deals with such a situation is basically unfathomable to me. I'm reasonably sure, however, that Scott is currently drawing what strength is available from the silver cross you see dangling from his neck during his AB's.
In wondering just how much slack Luke Scott will be given, it might be instructive to look back at Eric Bullock. Bullock, unlike Scott, batted lefthanded, but the two are very similar in many other respects. Bullock, a first round pick in the June '81 draft, hit .374 in Spring Training of 1986, when both Terry Puhl and Jose Cruz sustained injuries, and the leftfielder from Los Angeles broke camp with the major league club. As you can see from the above, Bullock was on a rather short leash, and when he did not come through in the (very) early going , was banished from Houston rather quickly. Despite battling a degenerative foot injury, Bullock actually hit .384 at Tucson after he was sent down, but he didn't even get the customary September callup, and in fact would never play for Houston again. In comparing the numbers, you see that already Scott has been given more opportunities than Bullock ever got, and a regard for the truth compels me to venture that he may not receive very many more. It'll still be several weeks before Berkman returns and takes up a roster spot, but even before then, if the Astros feel they have to make a move, Trenidad Hubbard, while only hitting .240 at Round Rock, hit .310 in Spring Training, and would bring a veteran presence, and to a certain extent, so would Barry Wesson, who only hit .250 in ST, but was at .321 with the Express, last I saw.
Congratulations to Fernando Nieve, who was named Texas League Pitcher of the week for the period April 7 - 17. Nieve reminds you of Roger Clemens a bit in that he's been denied proper run support by his Corpus Christi teammates, but despite his 1 - 1 record, he's struck out 28 in 24 innings, and leads the Texas League in that category. He's also got a nifty .667 WHIP, best on the Hooks.
Shame on you Adam Seuss. Seuss, who played for Salem last year, then was sent to the Mets in the Dan Wheeler deal, but re-signed with the 'Stros this spring, became the first in the organization to be suspended for steroid use. The Chronicle speculates that Seuss will not play in the Astros' organization again, and--remembering the speed with which a Julio Lugo of at best uncertain guilt was dispatched to Tampa--I tend to think they're right.
April 18
I'd say .500, or even two or three games over, is a reasonable and attainable goal for this baseball team.
The more and more amazing Craig Biggio leads the NL in doubles and has an OPS over 1.000, while Jason Lane has produced the power expected of him so far. And although he looked positively flummoxed Sunday vs. Aaron Harang, Morgan Ensberg has hit for good average with acceptable power.
However, even assuming all of that continues, it's still hard to realistically prognosticate any kind of tangible offensive boost, after anything brought to the table by Berkman. I suppose it's possible that Bagwell will end up hitting .300 with 30 home runs rather than only attaining his current projection of .275 with 30, but I'm not confident Bagwell can hit for that kind of an average anymore. Adam Everett will, I'm sure, raise his average into the .250's--but assuming anything more than that from Everett downplays the adjustment pitchers are likely to make against him in what amounts to his third major league year, and too blithely dismisses the possibility of a regression to his minor league numbers.
No, this is a team--as we've seen during the first two weeks--that is going to suffer frequent bouts of hitters' anemia. Especially after Brandon Backe's just-south-of-excellent start vs. the Mets last Thursday, it is almost self-evident that the starting pitching will remain outstanding, but sometimes good pitching is just good enough to keep the losses close, you know?
But I don't want to sound too gloomy, because I'm also convinced that no matter the season's outcome, this is going to be a fun and aggressive team to watch. The infusion of speed with Willy Taveras and to a lesser extent Chris Burke added to a team that already had Adam Everett will set the Astros apart from other teams, will give them a dimension of runners in movement that few teams this century have had. Already Phil Garner seems committed to the aggressive running game. The signs are obvious: for one, everyone's got the green light at all times. 39-year old Craig Biggio has already stolen third base. And Jose Vizcaino's popup on a 3-2 pitch with the runners going Sunday that led to the double play may not have been the outcome we were looking for, but it does show what Garner's philosophy has been, and what, hopefully, it will be: to get the runners moving on the basepaths, to go for the extra base, to try to make things happen. Movement, motion, kineticism--what the team lacks in power it will attempt to make up in speed. It may not seem revolutionary to play to your talent, but for the stodgy Astros of this century, this is tantamount to a paradign shift.
At least so far, and at least with what we can expect, the 2005 Astros remind me of the Astro teams that first drew me toward them: their hallmarks are aggressive baserunning, exceptional defense, smart at bats, and outstanding pitching.
For example, while the Astros through Sunday are 14th in the NL in runs, and ninth in hits, they are sixth in walks and first in stolen bases. They are ninth in doubles, but 2nd in triples. And pitching-wise, the numbers all look good: they are third in team ERA, second in WHIP, and third in K's per nine.
All of this is going to lead to a lot of "late and close" games, and a lot of exciting baseball. So they'll definitely be worth watching, even if they only win 84. . . .
April 11 --- John P. Lopez of the Houston Chronicle
Commentary on commentary--while it may not be what we do best here at Astroland, it certainly is what we do.
With that in mind, we'd like to take aim at the Houston Chronicle's John Lopez, or more specifically his April 9 column.
Now, I wouldn't argue that the previous did not represent a very nice performance from Clemens. Certainly he earned the win, and the, game-winning-RBI, if they still gave those out. However, I come to praise Clemens, not to deify him.
Lopez, though, if I read him right, will take care of the deification.
I'll admit some of this with me goes back to Roger's pre-Astro days, maybe to the days when Clemens and his agent Hendricks were making unreasonable demands of the Astros in the free agent market, back to the days when I looked on from afar and saw a successful pitcher, but one who was gruff and uncivil, one who worked from a simplistic system of rights and wrongs, of reward and retribution. Clemens was quite able to end up looking like anything from a petty fool--as we saw in the vindictive ways in which he dealt with the city of Boston after his departure therefrom-- to a savage madman, as we saw during the 2000 World Series. Yet no-one was willing to criticize the guy, because he'd won all these games, and won all these awards.
Do not misunderstand me: Mr. Clemens has been nothing but a gentleman during his tenure in Houston. But he is all too human, and all too fallible. And both ballclubs and sportswriters should not lay their burdens at the feet of a single fallible human.
Lopez' main point in the piece--that Houston is going to have to rely on their top three starters while the younger players become acclimated--is not going to get any argument from me. But in doing so, and in attempting to piece a metaphor from the events of Friday's game, he unfairly and untruthfully neglects the headiness of Adam Everett, who stepped in front of Ausmus' throw and threw it back to nab Freel at the plate. He neglects Luke Scott, whose first big league hit was both very big and very long. And most of all he neglects what should be obvious: that Clemens very easily could have been out. Clemens and the Astros got lucky, and that's fine, happens all the time, but it was not fated that just 'cause Roger Freaking Clemens was at the plate in a big situation, the Astros were destined to win that ballgame. True, Clemens had his wits about him in looking at three balls after the count went to 0 - 2. And true, Clemens has fashioned a three for three record with the Astros in bases-loaded situations. But it is quite easy to imagine him flailing at a pitch away in that situation. He's a pitcher, folks, and pitchers do that, all the time. Or granting that Clemens did, after all, make contact, you can certainly imagine Rich Aurilia maybe getting his throw off and nailing the rather slow Clemens at first. Or given that hit wasn't made with any great deal of shall we say authority, you can imagine Clemens hitting it 10 degrees to the left, right back to the pitcher.
I can go on, but you see my point, I hope. Maybe it's just me, but I like viewing the game not because of any illusions of superhumanity that MLB might wish to create for us, but rather because of the sometimes obvious fallibility of its participants. Lopez' effort to strip one of baseball's best players of his fallibility--and therefore of his humanity--I don't know, just kind of offended.
April 3
Let's say Sox over Marlins in the Series.
NL Central -- Cardinals are way over-rated; St. Louis presents the same team they were unanimous in picking third a year ago, except they've lost some defense. But the Cubs and the Astros have also dropped off. Still, wouldn't surprise me if the Cubs took the division, and neither will I be betting against the team with the largest infusion of young players: the Astros.
NL East -- Florida is obviously the most complete team in the National League. Starting pitching with Burnett, primarily, but also Beckett and Leiter; a very able, very nasty closer in Guilermo Mota; power with Delgado, Lowell, and Cabrera; the same amazing infield defense with Castillo and Gonzalez; average with everyone but Delgado. In short, no holes, no reason they shouldn't win the pennant. And I'd find it hard to disagree with all those guys over on ESPN who predict Cabrera will win the MVP.
NL West -- The mating of team to its venue is always an interesting process to watch, and it is many times painful. Witness the 2000 Astros and the 2004 Padres. But good things often follow, and I expect that Klesko, Giles, Nevin and the rest of them, having had a year to get used to Petco will at the very least play with more contentment than they did in 2004. And of course, the pitching should be just fine.
AL East -- If I told you that I thought Randy Johnson makes fifteen starts or less, and I will, then what would you think of the Yankees' chances? Cashman needs to have his head examined for banking so much on a 41-year old pitcher only two years removed from an injury-plagued 6 - 8 season. Of course, suddenly the Red Sox look tenuous in the pitching department, too. But a year after the Yankees were supposed to score a thousand runs, I predict the Red Sox get it done.
AL Central -- Maybe I'm a year early on the Indians, but I don't see ex-Astro minor leaguer Johan Santana being a year-in, year-out ace. And I find it hard to take the White Sox seriously when almost everything they do seems to be an attempt to find a way to avoid winning. Trading Carlos Lee makes no sense to me, and neither does letting Magglio Ordonez walk.
NL West -- I have no problem discounting the Atlanta Braves, but picking the A's third gives me a guilty pang in the chest. Hell, maybe they will overcome the fact that they now have the third best talent in the division. Guessing that Guerrero ends up defending his MVP crown, Anaheim/Los Angeles whatever we end up calling 'em, has the best talent, and at the end of the day that's where my pick goes.
Play ball, man! Consider if you will the above quote, uttered Tuesday afternoon by Dave Burba, a gentleman who for the past three weeks has labored under the large Florida sun, but also evidently has labored under the impression that he had been guaranteed a job pitching for the Houston Astros this summer. Even at the age of 38, Burba knows that any overtly critical words he might utter to the press about the men for whom he auditioned this spring could reflect poorly on him later. After all, you never know who'll need pitching help in June. So upon learning of his transfer to the Astros' minor league camp, Burba didn't say what he wanted to, and we shouldn't blame him for that. But we're also smart enough to read between those obfuscatory lines he's inserted, and we'd be silly if we didn't see some conflicts between what we discern from him, and the way the world really works. Burba clearly has taken issue with the decision Garner and Purpura have come to regarding Burba's place of employment for the organization. When he says, "that's their decision," what he leaves unsaid is, "and I think it's a stupid one." When he says, "they just chose to go a different route," what he means is "an inferior route."
While you can with a little effort discern Burba's point of view, it sure is difficult to agree with it. Fact is, Burba was lit up like the pink neon storefront of an adult bookstore this spring. His ERA over 11-2/3 innings was 9.26. He allowed 19 runs overall, and 21 hits, both team highs for March, and three homers, tied for second worst. His amazingly high WHIP of 2.41 was exceeded this spring by only two: 1) Turk Wendell, who had a double digit ERA, and was so bad, he was seriously considering retirement, and 2) that old and injured loser, Roger Clemens.
So if his numbers stunk, why then was Burba surprised that his inferior work got him shown the door? I never have a great spring, and this year's no different from any other year. That's Burba's way of trying to convince us that he's such the wily and battle-proven veteran that a poor spring doesn't mean anything, he's getting in shape, and come opening day, he'll be ready. Sorry, Dave: you're not good enough to sport an attitude like that. While your career ERA+ of 100 says that you are in actuality a remarkably average pitcher, other numbers suggest that you are not up to that caliber. For example, three times Burba has finished in the bottom ten in his league as far as walks allowed, twice more in homers allowed, and twice more in hits allowed. Although he's had a long career, Burba is still very much the journeyman: he's spent time with six different major league teams, and has spent significant time in AAA as recently as 2003.
Listen, I am usually much more than kind when considering players who are not good enough to play in the majors. Three-quarters of this website is devoted to players just like that. But when someone who can't back such arrogance up with the numbers starts copping an attitude 'cause they think the normal rules of competition shouldn't be applied to them, then I gotta call their hand. Adios, Dave: it might be a stretch, but I think we'll go with Zeke Astacio and his 0.71 ERA for the fifth slot, or even Brandon Duckworth with his 2.45. Even though you can't imagine why.
March 22, 2005
I'm sure you've heard by now from the myriad of sources generated that fifth-spot contender Carlos Hernandez was sent down Monday. Garner was mouthing some banalities about this not being the end for Carlos, and that he will contribute to the major league team this year, and that might even be true. But Purpura also said that Carlos was "still trying to build some velocity," and the question I MUST ask is what glorious eventualities they are expecting to be still unfurled after a three year rehabilitation? It might be time for the Astros to realize that Carlos' injury bleached him of the power he used to throw with.
Speaking of young pitchers, was absolutely out of my skull delighted to see that the prodigal Brandon Backe, coming to the plate Sunday vs. the Marlins in a sacrifice situation instead pulled back the bat and stroked a single into right, igniting what has gotta be one of the better rallies this spring.
Anybody else notice Luke Scott's gonna make the team?
March 14, 2005
I had declined last time to make a public prediction regarding the Astros' fate this coming season , and will continue that reticence this time, but I am forced by circumstances to remark that they sure are off to a lousy freaking start to their spring.
Then again, all may not be lost as of yet: it's always possible that a clutch performer this spring will ignite the team, and with his leadership and heavy hitting get the ship righted, and bury the poor early play as we head into April and the 2005 season. Yes, it's always possible that CARLOS RIVERA will save us all. You may not have heard of him, but as of this morning, first baseman Rivera was slugging 1.071 and hitting .538. He has two homers, more than anyone but Lane, and 14 total bases, ditto. And he leads the team in RBI. The only thing he hasn't done is stolen a base, or hit a triple.
But seriously folks, most likely, Rivera is this year's Abraham Nunez, the Marlins' farmhand who hit .450 and led the 2004 Grapefruit League in homers with ten in 54 at bats, then hit six in the 285 at bats he got during the regular season before and after Florida jettisoned him. And even if Rivera does carve himself a future with Houston, he's still a first baseman, which for at least two more years, limits your career growth more than any other position within the Astros chain.
I'll stop now. I came to celebrate the man, not to bury him. Carlos Rivera rocks! Maybe what he's got is contageous. I sure hope so; it's certainly better than the seven singles Ausmus has.
March 1, 2005
Well it's March first, and as befits that time of year, there are plenty of omens for those who ESPN.com is reporting that Andy Pettitte "struggled mightily" in an intrasquad scrimmage (?) Tuesday, needing 28 pitches to record four outs. He'd given up two runs three hits and two walks before recording an out. ESPN goes on to say that for the Astros to have a prayer at repeating last year's LCS, "a healthy Pettitte is almost a necessity."
Welcome to the Year After, in which And tries to shake the hoodoo of the elbow, in which Astro fans try to avoid staring at the spectre of Carlos Beltran--for too long anyway--and in which the ridiculous Roger Clemens tries to become the oldest pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Youngs. The aura is such that Clemens' quest is probably the easiest of the three, but none are anything like the, um, lead-pipe cinches that Houston fans so fabulously deserve. I won't make a prediction yet, but the 2005 Astros seem a starting pitcher, a decent middle relief crew, and a speedy outfielder away from being a serious threat in the NL. There are some possibilities that excite however, the most intriguing of those posited being that winning--competing at the highest levels last year--has gotten to McLane, that he's got the jones now, like crystal meth or something, and as the season plays out, he'll need to feed that jones. Knowing McLane, though, the whole idea is as out of whack as putting his name and "crystal meth" in the same sentence. He is, after all, a businessman.
But we can hold out hope can't we? Andruw Jones for Christmas in July, shall we say?
January 15, 2005
Well, if 108 million over seven years to play for a team that won ain't good enough for 'im, then f**k 'im.
Click here to check out the Archives for 2004
May 15
Reds 0
Giants 0
These were some dark times, my friends. And I'd be hard pressed to say that there may not be more just like 'em in store for us. But Saturday's comparatively stress-free win for Rogér and Sunday's laugher--with Backe's and Ensberg's superlative performances looking so effortless--were sorely needed, and I'll be darned if I haven't convinced myself that the team will see an upturn in its play as a result of these two games, that the darkest times are in fact passed by.
Astros 0
Cubs 3
OK. Show of hands. How many of you knew Mike Lamb was going to strike out on the Mark Prior 0 - 2 pitch with two outs in the fifth? Come on, you can't fool me; hands up. But defensive butchery aside, Lamb (rhymes with slam) was more than up to the task of handling a poorly placed and much more poorly conceived Mark Prior fastball. Prior, who had been one strike away from getting out of the inning with his 3 - 1 lead intact, instead saw that lead and his composure fly out the freaking window, all on that one pitch. And it would be two walks and a grooved fastball to Adam Everett before Prior would recover it, just in time to be lifted with the end of the fifth.
Again, until I hear otherwise, I'm gonna consider Roy Oz' sprained foot a minor matter, and for now, I'm just glad to see him get the win. Cubs hired hack Len Casper was all over himself telling the viewer how poorly Oswalt was pitching, but I wasn't of quite the same speed there: semed to me Oswalt was pitching just well enough to stay in it, yielding a bunch of baserunners, but making the pitches when he needed to to avoid major damage. Only D. Lee's majestic homer can't be well spoken of here, but consider the source, you know? Bob Brenly called Derrick "the hottest hitter on the planet," and I'm not gonna argue. Other than that, Oswalt's stuff looked the way he did many times last year, just good enough to get the win. Casper was, however, correct in pointing out another facet of Oswalt's start, though. You'd have to say that Oswalt's start today was one of the more-violently-pitched games you'll ever see. I guess because he couldn't come down on his bad foot like he wanted, Roy was flying off the hill like Mitch Williams, or Bob Gibson, or something, sometimes ending up a third of the way to first base. Casper was imploring the Cubs to bunt up the third base line, but I guess Dusty wasn't listening. Date Game AB R H RBI BB K PO A Opp.
Starter
April 8 Bullock, LF At Home vs. San Francisco (L) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Righty
April 9 Bullock, LF At Home vs. San Francisco (L) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Righty
April 10 Bullock, LF At Home vs. San Francisco (W) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Lefty
April 11 Bullock, LF At Home vs. Atlanta (W) 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 Righty
April 12 Bullock, LF At Home vs. Atlanta (W) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Righty
April 13 Bullock, LF At Home vs. Atlanta (L) 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 Righty
April 15 DID NOT START OR PLAY VS. LEFTY (Hatcher started in left)
April 16 DID NOT START OR PLAY VS. RIGHTY (Walling started in left)
April 18 DID NOT START OR PLAY VS. RIGHTY (Walling started in left)
April 19 SENT DOWN TO TUCSON UPON ACTIVATION OF JOSE CRUZ (Hatcher started in left)
TOTALS 21 0 1 1 0 3 7 0
Burke, though, is a former number one pick, and simply because of the dollars involved is likely to get another chance if it is at some point determined that he has failed this one. Scott is in another position entirely, however. Although he of course go the invite, Scott was not really considered a tenable prospect coming into spring training; he basically forced the Astros to revise their opinion of him with a .368-7-20 spring. Now the opinion is being revised back to what it had been.
Bill Brown or Jim DeShaies--I'm not sure which--was talking Sunday about how they asked Scott how he was doing the other day, and the answer they got was uncomfortably solemn: "trying to stay positive," or some such. Scott knows he's on the edge, and if he falls off, he'll most likely never get back up.
The lover of good stories in me is pulling for Luke Scott, but the pragmatist in me tells me the odds are against him.
Houston 5
And maybe we get a little lucky after that, but even allowing for the offensive expansion that will occur with the return of Berkman, it appears that the Astros are not going to be able to score runs consistently enough to contend for the division title.
You probably are familiar with the specifics of the game Lopez was writing about: the Friday night opener of the recently- (and definitively-) concluded three-game series vs. the Reds. As you I'm sure recall, the fulcrum upon which this game was balanced, and on which it eventually turned, was the sixth inning. The top of that frame saw Roger Clemens work out of a first-and-third no-out jam without giving up a run, while the bottom half was highlighted by Clemens the hitter working back from a two-out 0-2 count to single and drive in two.
NL Central
NL East
NL West
AL East
AL Central
AL West
1. St. Louis Florida San Diego Boston Cleveland Anaheim/Los Angeles
2. Cubs* Mets Dodgers Yankees* Minnesota Seattle
3. Houston Philadelphia San Francisco Tampa Bay White Sox Oakland
4. Cincinatti Atlanta Arizona Toronto Detroit Texas
5. Pittsburgh Washington Colorado Baltimore Kansas City
6. Milwaukee
*Wild Card
At no time is there more of a disparity between what a player might like to say and what he does say, at no time is there more of a difference between what the words mean on the surface and what they signify in between the lines, than when you listen to what that player has to say when he's been cut or been released or been sent down.
The kid was gonna be scary good, and showed it for the first 18 innings of his career, but what we have now is only a pale umbra of what the kid was, of what he could have been. And that's a shame, but you've got to wonder what the Astros brass are expecting. All last year at New Orleans they were talking about how he was working on his velocity, and that was great, but I think one year later, it's safe to say that velocity-wise with Carlos, what you see is what you're gonna get. Good luck to him in his bid to become a wily snake-oil salesman of a lefty. Really I'm pulling for him. I just don't think it's reasonable to expect him to return to his former graced and sainted status as young prince fireballer, you know?
All this reminded me of last year when I was one of those absolutely thunderstruck by Backe's homer off Aaron Harang in what turned out to be the tenth straight win during the streak to the wild card. Backe was practically doing cartwheels that night, so I was disappointed to hear during the playoffs that Roger Clemens had told Backe to calm down a little, more specifically to maybe not worry so much about the hitting.
Although Backe spoke well of Clemens and the little pep talk, I thought it was lousy advice. Backe's subsequent masterpiece vs. Woody Williams had little to do with Backe's energy level, which was high throughout, although he may have appeared a little somnolent during the AB's. Anyway, just glad to see Backe is still willing to be aggressive with the bat, and here's hoping he gets good and pumped for the upcoming season. Operating at something of a higher frequency myself, I'm always glad to see those who take a different tack in their success. Player, Team AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI
Abraham Nunez, FLA 2004 Spring .463 54 18 25 5 0 10 21
Carlos Rivera, HOU 2005 Spring* .538 13 2 7 1 0 2 7
Abraham Nunez, FLA/KC 2004 MLB .214 285 40 61 10 1 6 34 * Through March 13
From year to year, I will pay more or less attention to the spring at all, and this is one of the ones where I'm paying less mind to the Grapefruit goings-on, but sheesh, mediocrity like this is kind of hard to miss. Nice of the major league dot com to post the spring stats onsite this year, and that was where I went this morning to gather 'em all up. Then I threw the numbers into excel, did some totals, added some esoteric ratios, et voilá, the formula for rancid baseball.
Through Monday's offday, the team is slugging .381 and hitting .249. Even the good news is bad: the player that, with Berkman out, the Astros need most to perform, and to whom they are doling out the most at bats this spring, Jason Lane, has three home runs in his 26 AB's. But he's also hitting .231. Chris Burke, though slugging .526, is hitting .211. Adam Everett? .208.
The pitching has not been good either. The team has a collective 6.67 ERA and an overall WHIP of 1.674. Andy Pettitte, of course hasn't pitched, and things have gotten so bad that they're actually considering giving 38-year old Dave Burba a spot in the rotation. He may be 0 - 1 with a 6.23, but he's pitched better than Carlos Hernandez, Pete Munro, Mark McLemore, and (of course) John Franco.
Rivera was only signed by the Astros January 7, as a minor league free agent with the invite. Up to that day, he had spent his entire professional career in the Pirates organization. You can see his minor league stats here. He was 3 for 15 in 7 games for the Pirates last year in his first major league action. Don't quote me, but it looks like he was out of options, the Pirates had no plans, so they just let him go. You can see he had some pop, especially in Pennsylvania, especially in 2002. And he appears to be unleashing some of that pop this spring. . . .
look for those sorts of things.
Plenty of omens, but none of them good.
None of the news is purely good, of course, but at the same time not all the news is totally bad, either. We're thinking about the departure of Jeff Kent when we write this. Kent--he of the alternate reality where Babe Ruth took steroids--is comically unbalanced and maybe even clinically depressed. We're betting that newcomer Chris Burke is twice the teammate Kent ever was, even as a shy rookie. We're also betting that he'll be about half the batsman. I definitely don't see Burke having the determination or the focus to hit the Jason Isringhausen pitch nearly out of Minute Maid park to end a scoreless playoff game. But reviews were definitely mixed on Kent, and it may be instructive to watch Kent and Milton Bradley play a season together. As with Carl Everett, the Astros may simply have gotten lucky when a timebomb failed to explode.
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