Houston Astros Baseball

Pitchers Struggles In Marlins Tie

Written by Baqqs on 9:20 PM

Spring Training Update (March 24)

Highlights: We were able to score ten runs without the help from most of our regulars. Hunter Pence,
Lance Berkman, and
Miguel Tejada did not make the trip this Monday and yet The Astros were able to produce 10 runs.

Lowlights: Our pitching looked pretty bad. It was a mixed bag, Chacon, Moehler, and Wesley Wright gave up all 13 hits and Wright had his first poor performance of the spring with a blown save. The positive (if there is one) is that most of the hits given up were not driven well and would lucky to drop/roll where they did.

Although our pitching was sup-bar, I have comes to terms with that, the thing that really has me nervous was the performance of Michael Bourn. Today he went 0 for 6 and has seen his batting avg drop .100 points in less than a week. I have faith in the kid however and will reserve the right to be cautiously optimistic about his ability to get on base when the season started. The silver lining again, is that he only struck out once in those six at bats, which means that he was able to make contact, but just hit the ball to someone. This is unlikely to continue this way and I would still stand by my prediction that his OBP (on-base-percentage) will hover around .360 this year, which would be plenty.

Tags: Baseball Houston-Astros-Blog Wesley-Wright Hunter-Pence

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Woody Makes It Interesting

Written by Baqqs on 7:01 PM

Astrs pitcher Woody Williams turned in a improved performance Sunday earning himself at least one more chance to prove himself as The Astros #5 starting pitcher. Prior to Sunday, Williams had pitched 11 2/3 innings yielding 26 hits and 18 earned runs, including 5 HR's. (13.88 ERA)

His competition remains Chris Sampson (10.61 ERA) and Jack Cassel (5.73ERA). All three have shown glimpses of what Cecil Cooper is looking for. Sampson particularly has pitched well about 80% of his innings and being hit hard in one or so innings per outing. Cassel has an uphill battle for the position based solely on his lack of experience. This competition really comes down to experience or upside? Coop would love to save the team $6 Million Dollars which is owed Woody, however, at what point does hurting the team warrant $6 Million Dollars?

Woody's Line vs The Braves (6 IP/6 H/6 R/6 ER/1 BB/0 K/ (10.71 ERA)

Other Spring Training Notes

Tejada continues to hit well, increasing his batting avg to .353. He is now tied for 2nd best batting avg of those with at least 40 AB's. The Astros spring training batting champ is none other than Hunter "Superman" Pence. Hunter continues to dominate on a daily basis causing Cecil Cooper to re-think his desire to bat Pence 6th. "He's just an exciting player and you want him to bat as many times as you can," Cooper said. "If he's down sixth, it would probably keep him from hitting one extra time. You want your best guys right up top."

Hunter's Spring Stats

H. Pence 68AB/ 27H/ 4HR/14RBI/ BA .397/ OBP .417/ SLG .735

Compared to 2007 ROY Candidates

T. Tulowitzki 41AB/ 14H/ 4HR/ 6RBI/ BA .341/ OBP .438/ SLG .756
R. Braun 39AB/ 11H/ 4HR/13RBI/ BA .282/ OBP .370/ SLG .641

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Players Out Of Options

Written by Baqqs on 3:21 PM

Athletics - Dan Johnson, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Rob Bowen, Donnie Murphy

Angels - Nathan Haynes, Chris Bootcheck

Astros - Reggie Abercrombie, Humberto Quintero

Blue Jays -

Braves - Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, Scott Thorman, Brayan Pena, Tyler Yates

Brewers - Gabe Gross

Cardinals - Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick

Cubs - Ronny Cedeno, Geovany Soto, Angel Guzman

Diamondbacks - Dustin Nippert, Brandon Medders, Edgar Gonzalez

Dodgers - Hong-Chih Kuo, Delwyn Young

Giants - Rajai Davis, Fred Lewis, Erick Threets, Merkin Valdez

Indians - Andy Marte, Shin-Soo Choo, Franklin Gutierrez

Mariners - Mike Morse, Cha Seung Baek, Jake Woods, Charlton Jimerson

Marlins -

Mets - Ruben Gotay

Nationals - Joel Hanrahan

Orioles - Guillermo Quiroz, Luis Hernandez, Dennis Sarfate

Padres - Paul McAnulty

Phillies - Clay Condrey, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, J.D. Durbin, John Ennis, Chris Snelling, So Taguchi, Jayson Werth

Pirates -

Rangers - Robinson Tejeda, John Rheinecker, Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz

Rays - Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Carlos Pena, Jonny Gomes, Gary Glover, Scott Dohmann, Willy Aybar

Red Sox - David Aardsma, Kyle Snyder, Craig Breslow, Bryan Corey

Reds - Bronson Arroyo, Juan Castro, Francisco Cordero, Ryan Freel, Scott Hatteberg, Jeff Keppinger, Brandon Phillips, David Ross, Javier Valentin, David Weathers

Rockies - Jeff Baker, Jayson Nix, Clint Barmes

Royals - John Bale, Jorge De La Rosa, Jimmy Gobble, Luke Hudson, Ron Mahay, Gil Meche, Leo Nunez, John Buck, Alberto Callaspo, Joey Gathright, Esteban German, Ross Gload, Jose Guillen, Justin Huber, Tony Pena Jr.

Tigers - Denny Bautista, Yorman Bazardo, Tim Bydrak, Francisco Cruceta, Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, Mike Hessman, Ramon Santiago, Freddy Guzman

Twins - Brian Bass, Carmen Cali, Boof Bonser, Garrett Jones

White Sox - Nick Masset, Gavin Floyd

Yankees - Sean Henn, Wilson Betemit

Houston+Astros

Baseball

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Tejada Takes Off

Written by Baqqs on 7:50 PM

The Astros have won three straight on the heels for Tejada's offensive awakening. Tejada was originally excused for the game today but asked Coop if he could play anyway. It's a good thing he did, as he hit another HR and and singled in another run. In the past two days Tejada has gone 6 for 7 with two HR's and 4 RBI's, raising his avg all the way up to .318 for the spring.

Another notable performances include Jack Cassel improving his ERA by throwing two perfect innings with two strike outs.

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Chacon and Wright Look Good

Written by Baqqs on 1:00 PM

Yesterday's game against The Braves gave us fans a little bit of hope that our pitching won't be terrible this year. Chacon retired the first 10 of 11 hitters he faced with no walks, hits, or runs. In total he went 5 innings giving up 1 run and would have been good for a couple more innings if in the regular season. This performance pretty much guarantee's his place in the rotation. (Like there was a choice) Also making strides were Valverde, Wright, and Brocail. All pitched the way we originally thought they would. Papa Grande (Valverde)pitched one perfect inning yielding no hits, runs, or walks, and with two K's. His goal of 55 saves looks to rest on the starting staff as Papa looks ready to go.

Wright looks to have cemented his position in the bullpen as the lone lefty with another strong outing. He came into the game in a jam and had to get one tough out. His response, a beautiful strike out. Coop seems very high on Wright and unless he hurts himself count on Wright being on the 25 man roster.

As for the for sole remaining starter spot. It would appear that the #5 spot is between Woody Williams, Chris Sampson, and Jack Cassel. the position is still Woody's to lose, but he is coming very close to doing just that. We all know he is a veteran and for that reason we believe their spring stats mean less, but I would argue that if a player knew his season/ career was on the line he may put forth his best stuff. The question remains, Is this his best stuff? Age may have caught up with Woody and unless he can pitch say a 5/6 inning 2 run game he may be out of the loop for this year. If Coop plans Woody's next outing on regular rest then expect Woody to get the start against The Reds this Saturday. Either way, let's hope that Sampson pitches well today against the Nats.

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Matsui Goes Under The Knife

Written by Baqqs on 7:12 PM

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Although Kazuo Matsui's surgical procedure to repair an anal fissure on Monday was a success, the second baseman will need extra time to recover and consequently will begin the season on the disabled list.

Effect On The Team

Omitting Matsui from the Opening Day 25-man roster opens a spot for another player currently on the bubble, such as infielder David Newhan or catcher Humberto Quintero, who would have to pass through waivers before the Astros could send him to the Minor Leagues. Tomas Perez is also an option.

Matsui's situation also creates a hole at the top of the order. Matsui was slated to hit second, behind Michael Bourn, but Cooper may have to shuffle the lineup depending on who plays second base.

When Loretta plays, he'll likely hit second, but when Blum plays, he'll hit in the lower half of the order. Hunter Pence could also slot into the two-hole.

A Fans Opinion

I think it's a win-win situation. If Loretta bats #2 he is likely to get on base about 35% of the time which would be great for our run producers, including Pence at #6. The negative would be that our top of the order isn't the hot-bed of speed that Wade and Coop envisioned. Loretta is highly unlikely to steal where as someone like Pence would if needed. In the end I beleive it all comes down to Pence, would you rather him gather RBI's or Runs? In either case I think our offense is still a potent one.

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I AM BACK!!!

Written by Baqqs on 3:24 PM

Spring Training is upon us and I finally have enough time to dedicate towards the Astros and the upcoming season.

Spring Training Notes:

Astros Spring Training Stats (As of 3/15/2008)

Spring Training Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights:

- Ed Wade's first major trade bringing over Michael Bourn as well as others has looked great so far, with Bourn putting on a show both offensively and defensively.

- Oscar Villarreal has looked exceptional so far, and may have a legitimate shot at the 8th inning.

- Wandy and Brandon Backe have both shown signs of improvement and look to be up for the challenge of 190+ innings and 14+ wins.

- Berkman has had a very solid spring and looks to start the season off strong, which he was unable to do last year. It's just my opinion, but the addition of Miguel Tejada may have given Lance new life and will be out to once again prove himself as a dominant hitter in 2008.

Lowlights:

- Kaz Matsui has only appeared in 6 games for 18 AB's with a random "Anal Fissures" injury.

- Woody Williams may be done! His performance in Spring Training is not encouraging to say the least and will HAVE to perform well on Monday 3/17 to prevent a possible demotion.

- Dough Brocail, who admittedly has "bad springs" certainly is proving that this year. His numbers are honestly hard to contemplate. We have rookies who are performing better than the 40 year old vet. Unlike Woody, Doug is assured a spot in the bullpen, but he may lose his 8th inning set-up status to Villarreal if he doesn't improve SOON.