Well the starting pitching did its thing last night, "its thing" being giving up a crooked number in a 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball. Down 9-3, the Astros loaded the bases with one out in the 6th but Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus popped up to end the threat.
Carlos Correa was pulled in the 4th inning after the Cubs made it 9-0 because Hinch didn't want him to reaggravate his shoulder.
Hinch:
Very proud of our guys for fighting back and making it semi-interesting.
Fiers' final line: 2.1IP, 7H/7ER, 0K:2BB. It was the first start of Fiers' career in which he didn't strike out a single opposing batter, and he leads MLB with 17 wild pitches. Fiers:
I thought we played pretty well. I just didn't hold up my end of the bargain and we ended up losing because of it. Big games like his, I need to lock it in and play a lot better than I did. I put us in a hole pretty quick and it was tough to get out of, especially against a pitcher like Jake.
Well it's about to not matter much as there are only 19 games left in the season. FanGraphs has the Astros at 11.5% to make the playoffs. FiveThirtyEight has it at 14%.
Feliz, Hoyt, Neshek, Rodgers: 5IP, 0H/0ER, 8K:1BB.
*Who Won Yesterday: Red Sox, Orioles, Royals, Mariners
*Who Lost Yesterday: Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers
*WC1: Toronto/Baltimore
WC2: Detroit/New York -2
Houston/Seattle: -3.5
The Astros are chasing four teams, down 3.5 games, with 19 to go. It's not looking good.
*Astros starters have made it to the 5th inning once in the last ten games. Starters' September ERA: 8.64.
*The Astros are 1x18 w/RISP in their last four games.
*So now the Rangers come to Houston for the final time this season, and we can all give God a round of applause for that.
*Rangers Great Carlos Gomez isn't worried about getting booed:
I got booed when I played there, too. I'm not going to be surprised if I get booed when I'm (with) the opposing team.
Evan Grant, on Gomez's totally predictable resurgence with the Rangers:
The Rangers and Gomez believe they have fixed a flaw in his approach at the plate, by getting him to stay on his back leg longer and create more "separation" in his swing. Gomez says he's experiencing something in his swing that he's never felt before. It looks like his swings are much more under control and his takes are more well-informed.
Because of course. Would have been nice for the Astros to have found - and fixed - a flaw in his swing.
*Rosenthal: Everyone loves Alex Bregman
*Jeff Luhnow discussed the Dexter Fowler/Luis Valbuena trade. The closing quote, though:
They're going to be good for a long time, and so are we.
*McCullers is hopeful he can get on the mound again this season, even if it is in a relief role.
*Brent Strom taught Joe Musgrove a cutter, allowing him to throw inside a little bit more.
*Here's a good read on Rich Hill's scrubbed perfecto bid.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Dexter Fowler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dexter Fowler. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2016
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
The Astros beat the Indians last night, giving the Astros a 3.5-game lead on the Angels and a 7.0-game lead on the Rangers. FanGraphs lists the Astros' division chances at 58.6% while their postseason odds are at an even 80%. Baseball Prospectus puts the division at 54.1% and the postseason chance at 79.7%.
*Hinch wanted the Astros to lay off Carrasco's changeup:
We wanted to make sure we laid off his change. We did get a couple of balls to hit early. He's coming off a big start, near no-hitter. We were pretty zoned in. We didn't swing out of the zone near as much as he usually gets. Our guys hit off the fastball.
*Preston Tucker, who got a career-high four hits on his 25th birthday last night, is using the field more. Hinch:
He got a little pull-happy the last couple of weeks and I think it hurt him. He's getting back to using the middle of the field. He's gotten a couple base hits to left. He's beaten the shift a couple of times, which is important. He got a changeup and did some damage. He didn't over swing. That's the guy we saw when he first got called up and he went through a little bit of a dry spell. It's big for us to get that kind of production out of him now that his playing time is increasing.
*Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes wrote on last night's game:
The Indians are stuck in baseball limbo. They aren't a first-place team and they aren't a contender. They're simply occupying space, covered in MLB's gray mist of mediocrity...Monday night, Houston showed (the Indians) how wide the gap is between first place in the AL West and fourth place in the AL Central.
*The following conversation actually happened:
Hinch: What's up?
Keuchel: Nothing, how you doing? Did I get traded? Released?
Hinch: No, you made the All-Star team
Keuchel: Oh
Hinch: I'll see you at the field
*Keuchel wouldn't mind starting the All-Star Game.
*The Astros traded Mitch Lambson to the Braves for...yep, cash.
*Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the bill finishing off the land transfer for the new Astros/Nationals Spring Training Complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
*The Cubs are still waiting for Dexter Fowler to put it together
*Cool profile on 2014 37th Round pick Eric Peterson (now pitching for Quad Cities) and his twin brother, a 2014 23rd Round pick by the Mariners.
*2012 18th Round pick Ricky Gingras, released at the end of Spring Training, is playing Independent Ball in California:
I was pretty much just as good as all the catchers they had, if not better. I think I was on the bubble, then I got hurt and made their decision easier. By the time I was cleared to play at the end of Spring Training, physically, I wasn't able to ship off to a team...It's nice not worrying that if I have an 0-for-4 night, I might not see the field for a week. That's a lot more relaxing on the mind.
*Meat Wagon Update:
Jose Valbuena: Sprained toe, day-to-day
Chad Qualls: Pinched nerve, left Cleveland Monday for a rehab stint with Corpus
Scott Feldman: Knee surgery, set for one more rehab start with Corpus
George Springer: Wrist, fans still heartbroken
*Hinch wanted the Astros to lay off Carrasco's changeup:
We wanted to make sure we laid off his change. We did get a couple of balls to hit early. He's coming off a big start, near no-hitter. We were pretty zoned in. We didn't swing out of the zone near as much as he usually gets. Our guys hit off the fastball.
*Preston Tucker, who got a career-high four hits on his 25th birthday last night, is using the field more. Hinch:
He got a little pull-happy the last couple of weeks and I think it hurt him. He's getting back to using the middle of the field. He's gotten a couple base hits to left. He's beaten the shift a couple of times, which is important. He got a changeup and did some damage. He didn't over swing. That's the guy we saw when he first got called up and he went through a little bit of a dry spell. It's big for us to get that kind of production out of him now that his playing time is increasing.
*Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes wrote on last night's game:
The Indians are stuck in baseball limbo. They aren't a first-place team and they aren't a contender. They're simply occupying space, covered in MLB's gray mist of mediocrity...Monday night, Houston showed (the Indians) how wide the gap is between first place in the AL West and fourth place in the AL Central.
*The following conversation actually happened:
Hinch: What's up?
Keuchel: Nothing, how you doing? Did I get traded? Released?
Hinch: No, you made the All-Star team
Keuchel: Oh
Hinch: I'll see you at the field
*Keuchel wouldn't mind starting the All-Star Game.
*The Astros traded Mitch Lambson to the Braves for...yep, cash.
*Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the bill finishing off the land transfer for the new Astros/Nationals Spring Training Complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
*The Cubs are still waiting for Dexter Fowler to put it together
*Cool profile on 2014 37th Round pick Eric Peterson (now pitching for Quad Cities) and his twin brother, a 2014 23rd Round pick by the Mariners.
*2012 18th Round pick Ricky Gingras, released at the end of Spring Training, is playing Independent Ball in California:
I was pretty much just as good as all the catchers they had, if not better. I think I was on the bubble, then I got hurt and made their decision easier. By the time I was cleared to play at the end of Spring Training, physically, I wasn't able to ship off to a team...It's nice not worrying that if I have an 0-for-4 night, I might not see the field for a week. That's a lot more relaxing on the mind.
*Meat Wagon Update:
Jose Valbuena: Sprained toe, day-to-day
Chad Qualls: Pinched nerve, left Cleveland Monday for a rehab stint with Corpus
Scott Feldman: Knee surgery, set for one more rehab start with Corpus
George Springer: Wrist, fans still heartbroken
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Revisiting the Dexter Fowler Trade*
* - The one that brought Fowler to Houston, not the one that sent him to Chicago.
On December 3, 2013, the Astros sent Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes to Colorado in exchange for Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL. The PTBNL was later revealed to be 25k in cash, so it is fair to say that this represented a very minor part of the trade only. I seem to recall rumblings around the time of the trade that the PTBNL would be a "significant" piece, but in the end it amounted to only a negligible amount of money, at least in terms of the monetary amounts that we talk about in baseball.
The recent Fowler trade has essentially altered the equation to something more like:
On December 3, 2013, the Astros sent Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes to Colorado in exchange for Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL. The PTBNL was later revealed to be 25k in cash, so it is fair to say that this represented a very minor part of the trade only. I seem to recall rumblings around the time of the trade that the PTBNL would be a "significant" piece, but in the end it amounted to only a negligible amount of money, at least in terms of the monetary amounts that we talk about in baseball.
The recent Fowler trade has essentially altered the equation to something more like:
Jordan Lyles + Brandon Barnes for 116 games from Fowler + Luis Valbeuna, Dan Straily and 25k
I recently wrote a little about the pieces coming back to Houston, and I won't revisit those guys at all. I remain happy with second Fowler the trade, especially because of the Astros' depth in CF in the Majors (Marisnick, Rasmus, Presley and perhaps Springer), as well as the minors, which includes some good prospects (Brett Phillips, Jason Martin), some potentially good prospects (Teoscar Hernandez), some guys potentially returning from the wasteland of Arlington (Delino DeShields), and some guys that may simply need to be given a chance but aren't going to excite many pundits in the process (Andrew Aplin). I can't think of another position where the Astros have as many possible candidates. No one here is a sure thing, but the chances of someone emerging from this pack on occupying CF in MMP until 2021 are high.
But with the Astros 5th - and probably 4th - starting pitching slots open for auditions, it seems reasonable to review the Fowler trade, especially with regards to the progress of Jordan Lyles. He could have looked pretty good on the SP depth chart about now. Plus, it is often kind of fun to see how ex-Astros have fared after leaving the organisation, because really, the Astros can't afford to leak much talent if they want to contend.
Let's deal with Barnes first. He became the starting CF on a miserable 2013 Astros team, and gained some admiration for his all-out style of play. He carries an above-average glove in CF, and has occasional pop from the right side. He has not walked much (career rate 4.8%) and has struck out waaaay too much (just shy of 30%). Sarcasm alert... he would fit nicely on the 2015 K-stros!
Barnes appeared in 132 games for the Rockies, earning 313 plate appearances. His 2014 triple-slash was .257/.293/.425 for an overall wRC+ of 83. Note that wRC+ is park adjusted, so this factors in his Coors Field splits, which were significant. Barnes hit .299/.338/.552 in 142 PA's at Coors, and .222/.255/.316 in 171 PA's away. So perhaps worth keeping around, especially given the need to rotate players for extended home series because of the altitude and associated longer recovery times.
But Barnes was never going to be the main piece of the trade for Colorado. The Rockies were most interested in Jordan Lyles, who ended to season with 126 and two-thirds innings thrown in the bigs in 2014. He broke his left (non-pitching) hand in a home-plate collision with then-Arizona's Martin Prado in early June. As a result, he missed the next two months, returning in early August.
Lyles started the season well, as noted by the odd fantasy baseball article (ignore the title). His first appearance of the season was on the road against Miami, and it wasn't great (4ER in 5IP). After that, he was pretty much nails for the next six weeks: 1ER in 6.2IP (home), 3ER in 5IP, 0ER in 7IP (home), 2ER in 7IP, 1ER in 6IP, 2ER in 8IP (home) and 2ER in 6IP. Then he got beaten up by the San Diego offensive juggernaut (6ER in 3.1), but rebounded, giving up 2ER in each of the next three, throwing 4, 5 and 6 innings in the three games. The 4 inning game was the game in which he broke his hand.
Lyles was not quite as strong after the injury, giving up three or less earned runs in six of the remaining 10 starts. He did not manage a scoreless outing in that time - in fact, didn't throw one all season (the 0ER in 7IP outing listed above had an unearned run credited). He finished the season with an ERA of 4.62, and an FIP of 4.30. He was valued by Fangraphs as having a 1.3 WAR on the season.
Lyles continued to exhibit a poor strikeout rate (6.39 K/9) and middling walk rate (3.27 BB/9), so the major peripherals remain uninspiring. He restricted home-runs well (0.85/9), and did relatively well keeping the ball on the ground (just over 50%). He doubtless benefitted from human-vacuum-cleaners Nolan Arenado and Troy Tulowitzki on the left side of the infield, both who are rated as premium defenders.
But really, there is nothing that would have indicated that Lyles took a giant step forward, or would have demanded a place in the Astros' 2015 rotation. The Astros have a number of other intriguing options, and being one or who pitchers short of a rotation isn't the worst thing in the world for a month or two. It gives someone the chance to step up, like McHugh and Keuchel did last year. Plus, Appel or another of the Astros' interesting arms could have a rotation spot come the second half of 2015.
Now all we need is for Brandon Beachy to sign with the Astros as an NRI, and go nuts as the fifth starter. That would complete a fascinating Astros offseason, and assist greatly in achieving a record above .500.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
On the Dexter Fowler Trade
Yesterday, the Astros finalised their trade of Fowler to the Cubs - a deal that has apparently been percolating for the last six weeks or so. I had an article planned (and which I will still write) about why the trade market for Castro and Fowler has been a little slow this winter. Essentially, teams seem happy to have a glove-first guy at C and CF, and the teams that do have a weakness in that area are not great match-ups for the Astros in trade talks for various reasons. Fowler finally got traded, and the published analysis seem to see the trade as fair, logical and good for both teams (although this pundit likes it for the Cubbies).
Looking at this trade purely from the Astros' perspective - and ignoring any judgment about who "won" the trade - it is evident that this trade was one that needed to be completed. The loss of what Fowler brings to the table is significant, as he is a solid player who likely would have played well enough for a qualifying offer at the end of the year. But subtracting him for an infielder who can be a league-average bat at the left side of the infield is also an idea of considerable merit.
Lets start by looking at what Fowler is. He is a solid source of on-base percentage, and a great baserunner (but not necessarily a base stealer). OBP is vital for the Astros, who seem to be hell-bent on assembling a lineup of high-strikeout power-hitters. OBP turns solo homers into crooked-number innings. OBP ratchets up the pressure on the pitchers, who must deliver strikes when players are on-base, perhaps making the chances of a fat, hittable pitch more likely.
Fowler, and his career .366 on-base percentage, was an ideal switch- and leadoff-hitter on the Astros. With the Astros, he struck out at an average-to-slightly-superior clip (21.4%), walked a lot (13.1%) and stole a few bases (11, versus 4 caught-stealings). As mentioned above, most of his measured base-running value is in taking the extra-base and going first-to-third, rather than base-thievery, so he should be seen as an intelligent baserunner, rather than an out-and-out burner like Jose Altuve.
Fowler plays a moderate CF. His defensive numbers - depending on whether you choose to believe them or not - peg him as a fairly awful CF compared with other major-leaguers, which is a combination of a poor range and weak throwing arm. I also recall that he botched a number of plays late in the season last year, including a dropped fly-ball, a couple of outfield bobbles, and a slow throw into second that allowed the opponent to take an extra-base, which are more examples of sloppy play rather than defensive weakness. The CF fielding numbers measure his poor range and noodle-arm, rather than overt lapses of concentration - but it could be true to say that the lapses of concentration and the fielding metrics were both difficulties.
None of this is a problem for many ML teams. Fowler is a perfectly passable CF plug-in, especially on a one-year contract. However on the Astros, Fowler would probably be the fourth best defensive option as a CF, and profiles better as a LF on the Astros. Presley, Springer and Marisnick are all better defensive options than Fowler, and perhaps Grossman represents one as well.
Fowler's bat is a big-plus as a CF, but as a corner outfielder, that would not necessarily be the case. His OBP is great at any position, but most teams would likely want more power out of a corner outfielder. Fowler should not be keen to make the shift a corner position with one year to go before free agency, either, as it most likely diminishes his value considerably. So the Astros may have been keen for a defensive upgrade in CF, but would likely have faced some resistance from Fowler had he been asked to move to the corners.
Additionally, MMP has a giant CF to patrol, and a comparatively small LF - which is important for half of the game the Astros will play. Putting Fowler in left would not necessarily be a good use of what defensive virtues he does have. And he doesn't have the arm for right, so flipping the defensive positions of Fowler and Springer was never going to fly, either.
What this does - in terms of the Astros outfield situation - is very interesting. Prior to the Rasmus signing - which has just been made official - it likely raised the possibility of a platoon between Marisnick and Presley or Marisnick and Grossman. That platoon could exist either in CF or RF, with Springer manning the other position. One assumes that Gattis will man LF, but this is also subject to confirmation, and there appears to be a non-zero possibility that Carter will be traded and Gattis never sets foot in the outfield. Gattis remains listed on the 40-man as a catcher, but this means precisely nothing at the moment. And if Gattis is considered an outfielder then I would think that the Astros will want to carry four others on the active roster for reasons of allowing both rest and defensive substitutions.
The complexity of all of this makes my head spin, and much depends on any personnel moves in the next few weeks. But what the Astros have created is the possibility of a very flexible outfield alignment, with legitimate ML bats being able to be plugged in at one of a number of positions. Which acts as a nice segway to the main spoils of the trade, infielder Luis Valbuena, who also happens to have a good bat (or at least did in 2014), and offers considerable positional flexibility.
Valbuena seems like an... uh, expressive ballplayer, whose various (sometimes hypothetical) bat-flipping antics (and his awesome own appeal to the third base umpire) have gained him a bit of a following in Chicago. Much like Fowler, he has considerable appeal that falls short of all-round awesomeness, and he is in an organisation which has a lot of league-minimum depth at his position(s). His strong points include a degree of positional flexibility, batting left-handed, patience (walk rate at least 11.9% since 2012) and some recent power (.435 slugging in 2014) - albeit at the expense of contact (20.7% strikeout percentage in 2014 - the highest of his career). This makes him ideal to plug in at third base on the 2015 Astros, potentially as part of a platoon with Dominguez. His drawbacks include a short track record of success, middling (read: probably below average) defence and a lack of speed. And again, as with Gattis, the Astros are gambling on recent track-record being more indicative of future performance in a player in their late-20's, and this seems like a good guy to take a gamble on.
The other part of the trade - Dan Straily - is an interesting pitcher - a soft-tosser who has previously had some success in the AL West based on solid strikeout rates. However, he can be somewhat homer-prone and gives up a lot of walks, which has led to some rough periods throughout his career. He had a solid but short 2012 in the Majors - when he threw 39.1 innings - and a good 2013 - when he threw 152.1 innings of league-average ball, both for a contending Oakland team. Last year represented a large slide backwards in terms of results (6.75 ERA, 5.32 FIP in 52 major-league innings) despite no real change in peripherals. Straily has suggested that he had some mechanical issues last year, which potentially bodes well for a bit of Brett Strom magic. But at this time he is probably best thought of as a pitching project who lives on a knife-edge even when throwing well, and has no real margin for error. Brad Peacock, anyone?
The Rasmus signing perhaps adds a little to the Front Office's thinking behind the Fowler trade, but that is a subject for another article. For now, I like this trade, mostly because Fowler represented a poor defensive CF option or a powerless corner option for the Astros, and the Astros had a number of other superior defensive options to patrol CF in the 81 games at MMP. The loss of the OBP may be significant, but the Astros are now close to fielding a team where every player in the regular batting lineup (aside from the current AL batting champ) could hit 20 homers. Which is what they seem to be aiming for, and which is another reason why Fowler perhaps didn't fit.
Looking at this trade purely from the Astros' perspective - and ignoring any judgment about who "won" the trade - it is evident that this trade was one that needed to be completed. The loss of what Fowler brings to the table is significant, as he is a solid player who likely would have played well enough for a qualifying offer at the end of the year. But subtracting him for an infielder who can be a league-average bat at the left side of the infield is also an idea of considerable merit.
Lets start by looking at what Fowler is. He is a solid source of on-base percentage, and a great baserunner (but not necessarily a base stealer). OBP is vital for the Astros, who seem to be hell-bent on assembling a lineup of high-strikeout power-hitters. OBP turns solo homers into crooked-number innings. OBP ratchets up the pressure on the pitchers, who must deliver strikes when players are on-base, perhaps making the chances of a fat, hittable pitch more likely.
Fowler, and his career .366 on-base percentage, was an ideal switch- and leadoff-hitter on the Astros. With the Astros, he struck out at an average-to-slightly-superior clip (21.4%), walked a lot (13.1%) and stole a few bases (11, versus 4 caught-stealings). As mentioned above, most of his measured base-running value is in taking the extra-base and going first-to-third, rather than base-thievery, so he should be seen as an intelligent baserunner, rather than an out-and-out burner like Jose Altuve.
Fowler plays a moderate CF. His defensive numbers - depending on whether you choose to believe them or not - peg him as a fairly awful CF compared with other major-leaguers, which is a combination of a poor range and weak throwing arm. I also recall that he botched a number of plays late in the season last year, including a dropped fly-ball, a couple of outfield bobbles, and a slow throw into second that allowed the opponent to take an extra-base, which are more examples of sloppy play rather than defensive weakness. The CF fielding numbers measure his poor range and noodle-arm, rather than overt lapses of concentration - but it could be true to say that the lapses of concentration and the fielding metrics were both difficulties.
None of this is a problem for many ML teams. Fowler is a perfectly passable CF plug-in, especially on a one-year contract. However on the Astros, Fowler would probably be the fourth best defensive option as a CF, and profiles better as a LF on the Astros. Presley, Springer and Marisnick are all better defensive options than Fowler, and perhaps Grossman represents one as well.
Fowler's bat is a big-plus as a CF, but as a corner outfielder, that would not necessarily be the case. His OBP is great at any position, but most teams would likely want more power out of a corner outfielder. Fowler should not be keen to make the shift a corner position with one year to go before free agency, either, as it most likely diminishes his value considerably. So the Astros may have been keen for a defensive upgrade in CF, but would likely have faced some resistance from Fowler had he been asked to move to the corners.
Additionally, MMP has a giant CF to patrol, and a comparatively small LF - which is important for half of the game the Astros will play. Putting Fowler in left would not necessarily be a good use of what defensive virtues he does have. And he doesn't have the arm for right, so flipping the defensive positions of Fowler and Springer was never going to fly, either.
What this does - in terms of the Astros outfield situation - is very interesting. Prior to the Rasmus signing - which has just been made official - it likely raised the possibility of a platoon between Marisnick and Presley or Marisnick and Grossman. That platoon could exist either in CF or RF, with Springer manning the other position. One assumes that Gattis will man LF, but this is also subject to confirmation, and there appears to be a non-zero possibility that Carter will be traded and Gattis never sets foot in the outfield. Gattis remains listed on the 40-man as a catcher, but this means precisely nothing at the moment. And if Gattis is considered an outfielder then I would think that the Astros will want to carry four others on the active roster for reasons of allowing both rest and defensive substitutions.
The complexity of all of this makes my head spin, and much depends on any personnel moves in the next few weeks. But what the Astros have created is the possibility of a very flexible outfield alignment, with legitimate ML bats being able to be plugged in at one of a number of positions. Which acts as a nice segway to the main spoils of the trade, infielder Luis Valbuena, who also happens to have a good bat (or at least did in 2014), and offers considerable positional flexibility.
Valbuena seems like an... uh, expressive ballplayer, whose various (sometimes hypothetical) bat-flipping antics (and his awesome own appeal to the third base umpire) have gained him a bit of a following in Chicago. Much like Fowler, he has considerable appeal that falls short of all-round awesomeness, and he is in an organisation which has a lot of league-minimum depth at his position(s). His strong points include a degree of positional flexibility, batting left-handed, patience (walk rate at least 11.9% since 2012) and some recent power (.435 slugging in 2014) - albeit at the expense of contact (20.7% strikeout percentage in 2014 - the highest of his career). This makes him ideal to plug in at third base on the 2015 Astros, potentially as part of a platoon with Dominguez. His drawbacks include a short track record of success, middling (read: probably below average) defence and a lack of speed. And again, as with Gattis, the Astros are gambling on recent track-record being more indicative of future performance in a player in their late-20's, and this seems like a good guy to take a gamble on.
The other part of the trade - Dan Straily - is an interesting pitcher - a soft-tosser who has previously had some success in the AL West based on solid strikeout rates. However, he can be somewhat homer-prone and gives up a lot of walks, which has led to some rough periods throughout his career. He had a solid but short 2012 in the Majors - when he threw 39.1 innings - and a good 2013 - when he threw 152.1 innings of league-average ball, both for a contending Oakland team. Last year represented a large slide backwards in terms of results (6.75 ERA, 5.32 FIP in 52 major-league innings) despite no real change in peripherals. Straily has suggested that he had some mechanical issues last year, which potentially bodes well for a bit of Brett Strom magic. But at this time he is probably best thought of as a pitching project who lives on a knife-edge even when throwing well, and has no real margin for error. Brad Peacock, anyone?
The Rasmus signing perhaps adds a little to the Front Office's thinking behind the Fowler trade, but that is a subject for another article. For now, I like this trade, mostly because Fowler represented a poor defensive CF option or a powerless corner option for the Astros, and the Astros had a number of other superior defensive options to patrol CF in the 81 games at MMP. The loss of the OBP may be significant, but the Astros are now close to fielding a team where every player in the regular batting lineup (aside from the current AL batting champ) could hit 20 homers. Which is what they seem to be aiming for, and which is another reason why Fowler perhaps didn't fit.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Astros trade Dexter Fowler to Cubs
So the Astros were back at it again today, trading Dexter Fowler and his .375 OBP (and injury concerns) to the Cubs for pitcher Dan Straily and utility infielder Luis Valbuena.
Since we're Astros fans, and have been conditioned to think of the financial aspect first, let's take a look at that. Fowler, who was arbitration-eligible for the final time and would be a free agent at the end of the season, had asked for $10.8m. The Astros had offered $8.5m. Valbuena settled his arbitration case last Friday for $4.2m, So at the very minimum, the Astros saved themselves $4.3m in 2015.
What is Houston getting in return?
1. 26-year old RHP Dan Straily, a 2009 24th Round draft pick (think: Billy Beane's devil magic) traded to the Cubs last July in the Addison Russell/Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel deal. Straily was bonkers in the minors, striking out 11.2 batters/9inn in 2011. He made 27 starts for Oakland in 2013, allowing 132H/67ER with 124K:57BB in 152.1IP. In 2014, that number came down to 9.4, and he posted a 4.42 ERA/1.35 WHIP in 118IP between Triple-A Sacramento and Iowa.
He's young, yes. Those are some glittery minor-league numbers, yes. Last year was not good, yes.
2. 29-year old utility man Luis Valbuena. He has a career .229/.313/.374 slash line in the majors. Before you vomit blood, 2014 was his first season of getting more than 400 MLB plate appearances, and he hit .249/.341/.435 for the first >100 OPS+ season of his career. Valbuena hit 33 doubles and 16 homers with 113K:65BB in 547 PAs. So that's not bad, right? 124 of his games for the Cubs in 2014 were at 3B, so Matt Dominguez is officially on notice.
But let's take a wider-angle view of this and see what has happened over the last five days:
The Astros have traded Dexter Fowler, Mike Foltynewicz (who, I thought, was a lock for SP5 in 2015), Rio Ruiz, and Andrew Thurman for Evan Gattis, James Hoyt, Dan Straily, and Luis Valbuena.
Hey, those look like moves from a team ready to do some "competing" in 2015. Valbuena won't be a free agent until 2017, Gattis won't be a free agent until 2019, and Straily is under team control until 2020, so it's not as though the Astros went all Randy Johnson trade in the last week, because there isn't anywhere close to a Randy Johnson in these deals. But they have traded young, controllable assets for not-as-young, controllable MLB players. By "MLB players" I simply mean that they are players who have played in the Majors.
Three questions I currently have:
1) Is Straily an upgrade over Foltynewicz?
2) Is Gattis an upgrade over Fowler?
3) Is Colin Moran better than Rio Ruiz?
Because the Astros believe they have answered all of these questions with a Yes this week. It's impossible to evaluate now if the Astros won the trades, or won anything at all. It might only be when Rio Ruiz turns into the 2nd Coming of Chipper Jones in Atlanta before we know. But the Astros have done Some Things this week that make them better in 2015.
Since we're Astros fans, and have been conditioned to think of the financial aspect first, let's take a look at that. Fowler, who was arbitration-eligible for the final time and would be a free agent at the end of the season, had asked for $10.8m. The Astros had offered $8.5m. Valbuena settled his arbitration case last Friday for $4.2m, So at the very minimum, the Astros saved themselves $4.3m in 2015.
What is Houston getting in return?
1. 26-year old RHP Dan Straily, a 2009 24th Round draft pick (think: Billy Beane's devil magic) traded to the Cubs last July in the Addison Russell/Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel deal. Straily was bonkers in the minors, striking out 11.2 batters/9inn in 2011. He made 27 starts for Oakland in 2013, allowing 132H/67ER with 124K:57BB in 152.1IP. In 2014, that number came down to 9.4, and he posted a 4.42 ERA/1.35 WHIP in 118IP between Triple-A Sacramento and Iowa.
He's young, yes. Those are some glittery minor-league numbers, yes. Last year was not good, yes.
2. 29-year old utility man Luis Valbuena. He has a career .229/.313/.374 slash line in the majors. Before you vomit blood, 2014 was his first season of getting more than 400 MLB plate appearances, and he hit .249/.341/.435 for the first >100 OPS+ season of his career. Valbuena hit 33 doubles and 16 homers with 113K:65BB in 547 PAs. So that's not bad, right? 124 of his games for the Cubs in 2014 were at 3B, so Matt Dominguez is officially on notice.
But let's take a wider-angle view of this and see what has happened over the last five days:
The Astros have traded Dexter Fowler, Mike Foltynewicz (who, I thought, was a lock for SP5 in 2015), Rio Ruiz, and Andrew Thurman for Evan Gattis, James Hoyt, Dan Straily, and Luis Valbuena.
Hey, those look like moves from a team ready to do some "competing" in 2015. Valbuena won't be a free agent until 2017, Gattis won't be a free agent until 2019, and Straily is under team control until 2020, so it's not as though the Astros went all Randy Johnson trade in the last week, because there isn't anywhere close to a Randy Johnson in these deals. But they have traded young, controllable assets for not-as-young, controllable MLB players. By "MLB players" I simply mean that they are players who have played in the Majors.
Three questions I currently have:
1) Is Straily an upgrade over Foltynewicz?
2) Is Gattis an upgrade over Fowler?
3) Is Colin Moran better than Rio Ruiz?
Because the Astros believe they have answered all of these questions with a Yes this week. It's impossible to evaluate now if the Astros won the trades, or won anything at all. It might only be when Rio Ruiz turns into the 2nd Coming of Chipper Jones in Atlanta before we know. But the Astros have done Some Things this week that make them better in 2015.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Astros were close to acquiring Evan Gattis before the Barves got all crazy
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Astros were interested in acquiring Braves catcher Evan Gattis this past summer. When the Astros re-engaged talks earlier this off-season, the Braves wanted the Astros to take 30-year old B.J. Upton, and the 3yrs/$46m-ish remaining on his contract.
The Braves were interested in receiving Dexter Fowler, plus a pitcher, and maybe Carlos Corporan, as well. But the Astros apparently weren't interested in replacing Fowler with that contract and the -0.2 WAR Upton put up in 2013 and 2014 combined.
Rosenthal described the Astros as still being interested in Gattis, whom they could use at a variety of positions - including DH - which would then allow the Astros to move Chris Carter. The Astros, of course, want to upgrade the left side of the infield and bolster their bullpen with Andrew Miller or David Robertson.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Phew! Presley Avoids Arbitration!
Alex Presley signs for a cool million. Thank goodness he is locked up!! Another vital cog in the Astros rebuild in Houston for another year!
Unnecessary snark aside - and only written to support the headline - this is quite an interesting development. Lets start at the beginning, as I see it.
The Astros' 2015 roster has been taking shape for a few years now, and I am pretty sure most AC readers would be able to guess what most of it looks like next year. That guy Altuve will get a look. As will Springer and Singleton. Chris Carter had a great half-season, and with the scarcity of RH power in the Majors at the moment, he can also expect to be staying. The starting pitching is starting to sort itself out, with three slots pretty much decided for next season, barring injury. And in the 'pen, Fields, Qualls and Sipp form the backbone, with a bunch of other live arms getting the chance to establish themselves.
I find the outfield situation most fascinating at the moment. I count five outfielders for four or five slots, with a couple of potential guys knocking on the door. Springer, barring ongoing quadriceps issues, has RF locked up. Presley has just signed for a mil - perhaps that portends a trade, but it probably signals that he will be the fourth or fifth OF next year. Fowler is an established major-league player, and as Batguy elegantly pointed out, he was pretty decent offensively for an AL CF last year. Marisnick has nothing more to prove at AAA, and boasts better D - via both the eye and the stats - than Fowler. Grossman has been given a bunch of chances, and has managed to tease with elite OBP for decent periods that sandwich suckitude during his short career. The FO seems resistant to giving up on him.
L.J. Hoes and Domingo Santana round-out the 40-man outfielders - the former seems to be used as a contact-first platoon bat, and the latter seems to be the LF of the future, if he can get his strikeout percentage below 80%. Joe Sclafani - who has been taking some OF reps in the AFL - and Preston Tucker are also outside candidates to bolt onto the 40-man, and onto the active roster either at the start of the season, or part way through 2015.
As opposed to the rotation (where there is clearly room for an upgrade) or the infield (which desperately needs an upgrade), there is a plethora of similar talents in the outfield. All players there have their warts. A couple are capable of carrying a team offensively. The remainder need to have a go, so that Baseball can work out what the rest of their careers look like. Springer, Presley, Marisnick and Grossman are all cheap. Fowler projects to earn in the 10-million range in arbitration. Much can happen during Spring Training to upset the proverbial applecart, including injuries.
Gosh, this conversation would be quite different with one Julio Daniel Martinez still on the roster.
I am fascinated with Fowler. He is arguably the fourth best defensive CF on the roster. The Astros traded for him last year, and he has proven he can hit away from Coors Field. He has one year to go to free agency - which can be a bonus (qualifying offer) or loss (not going to be around for long), depending on your point of view. But trading Fowler means losing valuable production in an outfield where perhaps only Springer is the only other good candidate for an above-average bat. Fowler also isn't going to agree to a move away from CF anytime soon - that would cost him millions in free agency next year - so he is not going to suddenly agree to a move to LF to allow Marisnick to get the starts there.
Anyhow, what also makes the Presley signing interesting is that the Astros need to finalise the 40-man very shortly. The deadline is midnight ET, Thursday night, for the 40-man to be set, otherwise they would risk losing unprotected eligible players in December's Rule V draft.
By my count, the 40-man stands at 38. Continuing the maths, there are two players that are highly likely to be added to the 40-man: Vince Velasquez and Delino DeShields, who would take up the remaining two slots. Harder decisions will need to be made with catcher Roberto Pena, short-statured and young utility-man and infielder Ronald Torreyes and flame balling starter Michael Feliz. I would be a little surprised if two other eligible players - Danry Vasquez and Jandal Gustave - are added in the next 36-odd hours, especially at the expense of the five guys mentioned earlier in this paragraph. That is all I can think of that is worth a mention - please comment below if I have missed anyone important.
Of course, even if an unprotected player does get selected from the Astros, there is probably a greater-than-even chance they get returned - usually prior to the end of Spring Training. Roster spots are valuable, and aside from a couple of famous Rule V wins and losses, the Draft normally nets either useful pieces, like Marwin Gonzalez, or is a brief holiday for the player drafted before being returned to his original team.
If you want to add more than Valasquez and DeShields to the 40-man, then more spots would need to be created. Looking a little shaky with regards to being put through waivers - and obviously currently on the 40-man - are Marc Krauss, Anthony Bass, Sam Deduno, Jake Buchanan and Hoes, I would think. But that is pure speculation on my part, and I have been wrong before.
The wildcard in all of this 40-man spot creation is the catcher situation. Russell Martin just signed with the Jays for a cool 5-and-82, leaving a number of wealthy teams waiting at the alter. The Pirates, Cubs and Dodgers were all publicly linked to Martin, although none of those teams desperately need a catcher, with some probably-acceptable in-house options available. A bunch of other teams not mentioned could certainly use a catcher upgrade.
The Astros have four catchers on the 40-man, and not enough playing time to distribute between them, so that could create another 40-man slot, potentially via a trade, or a DFA. Obviously Castro and Conger aren't candidates for a DFA, but certainly are for a trade.
Lastly, with reference to the 40-man and Rule V draft, this year likely represents the first year in a while where the Astros will probably not be looking to draft Rule V players from other clubs. Technically, they passed on the opportunity to draft last year as well, because they consummated the Bass trade with the Padres immediately after grabbing someone with the 1-1 pick. But I would certainly be surprised if the Astros took anyone in the draft, and if they do, it will be a targeted player that they consider a direct upgrade over what they have available. Most likely a bullpen piece or infielder.
Going to be interesting.
Unnecessary snark aside - and only written to support the headline - this is quite an interesting development. Lets start at the beginning, as I see it.
The Astros' 2015 roster has been taking shape for a few years now, and I am pretty sure most AC readers would be able to guess what most of it looks like next year. That guy Altuve will get a look. As will Springer and Singleton. Chris Carter had a great half-season, and with the scarcity of RH power in the Majors at the moment, he can also expect to be staying. The starting pitching is starting to sort itself out, with three slots pretty much decided for next season, barring injury. And in the 'pen, Fields, Qualls and Sipp form the backbone, with a bunch of other live arms getting the chance to establish themselves.
I find the outfield situation most fascinating at the moment. I count five outfielders for four or five slots, with a couple of potential guys knocking on the door. Springer, barring ongoing quadriceps issues, has RF locked up. Presley has just signed for a mil - perhaps that portends a trade, but it probably signals that he will be the fourth or fifth OF next year. Fowler is an established major-league player, and as Batguy elegantly pointed out, he was pretty decent offensively for an AL CF last year. Marisnick has nothing more to prove at AAA, and boasts better D - via both the eye and the stats - than Fowler. Grossman has been given a bunch of chances, and has managed to tease with elite OBP for decent periods that sandwich suckitude during his short career. The FO seems resistant to giving up on him.
L.J. Hoes and Domingo Santana round-out the 40-man outfielders - the former seems to be used as a contact-first platoon bat, and the latter seems to be the LF of the future, if he can get his strikeout percentage below 80%. Joe Sclafani - who has been taking some OF reps in the AFL - and Preston Tucker are also outside candidates to bolt onto the 40-man, and onto the active roster either at the start of the season, or part way through 2015.
As opposed to the rotation (where there is clearly room for an upgrade) or the infield (which desperately needs an upgrade), there is a plethora of similar talents in the outfield. All players there have their warts. A couple are capable of carrying a team offensively. The remainder need to have a go, so that Baseball can work out what the rest of their careers look like. Springer, Presley, Marisnick and Grossman are all cheap. Fowler projects to earn in the 10-million range in arbitration. Much can happen during Spring Training to upset the proverbial applecart, including injuries.
Gosh, this conversation would be quite different with one Julio Daniel Martinez still on the roster.
I am fascinated with Fowler. He is arguably the fourth best defensive CF on the roster. The Astros traded for him last year, and he has proven he can hit away from Coors Field. He has one year to go to free agency - which can be a bonus (qualifying offer) or loss (not going to be around for long), depending on your point of view. But trading Fowler means losing valuable production in an outfield where perhaps only Springer is the only other good candidate for an above-average bat. Fowler also isn't going to agree to a move away from CF anytime soon - that would cost him millions in free agency next year - so he is not going to suddenly agree to a move to LF to allow Marisnick to get the starts there.
Anyhow, what also makes the Presley signing interesting is that the Astros need to finalise the 40-man very shortly. The deadline is midnight ET, Thursday night, for the 40-man to be set, otherwise they would risk losing unprotected eligible players in December's Rule V draft.
By my count, the 40-man stands at 38. Continuing the maths, there are two players that are highly likely to be added to the 40-man: Vince Velasquez and Delino DeShields, who would take up the remaining two slots. Harder decisions will need to be made with catcher Roberto Pena, short-statured and young utility-man and infielder Ronald Torreyes and flame balling starter Michael Feliz. I would be a little surprised if two other eligible players - Danry Vasquez and Jandal Gustave - are added in the next 36-odd hours, especially at the expense of the five guys mentioned earlier in this paragraph. That is all I can think of that is worth a mention - please comment below if I have missed anyone important.
Of course, even if an unprotected player does get selected from the Astros, there is probably a greater-than-even chance they get returned - usually prior to the end of Spring Training. Roster spots are valuable, and aside from a couple of famous Rule V wins and losses, the Draft normally nets either useful pieces, like Marwin Gonzalez, or is a brief holiday for the player drafted before being returned to his original team.
If you want to add more than Valasquez and DeShields to the 40-man, then more spots would need to be created. Looking a little shaky with regards to being put through waivers - and obviously currently on the 40-man - are Marc Krauss, Anthony Bass, Sam Deduno, Jake Buchanan and Hoes, I would think. But that is pure speculation on my part, and I have been wrong before.
The wildcard in all of this 40-man spot creation is the catcher situation. Russell Martin just signed with the Jays for a cool 5-and-82, leaving a number of wealthy teams waiting at the alter. The Pirates, Cubs and Dodgers were all publicly linked to Martin, although none of those teams desperately need a catcher, with some probably-acceptable in-house options available. A bunch of other teams not mentioned could certainly use a catcher upgrade.
The Astros have four catchers on the 40-man, and not enough playing time to distribute between them, so that could create another 40-man slot, potentially via a trade, or a DFA. Obviously Castro and Conger aren't candidates for a DFA, but certainly are for a trade.
Lastly, with reference to the 40-man and Rule V draft, this year likely represents the first year in a while where the Astros will probably not be looking to draft Rule V players from other clubs. Technically, they passed on the opportunity to draft last year as well, because they consummated the Bass trade with the Padres immediately after grabbing someone with the 1-1 pick. But I would certainly be surprised if the Astros took anyone in the draft, and if they do, it will be a targeted player that they consider a direct upgrade over what they have available. Most likely a bullpen piece or infielder.
Going to be interesting.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Congratulations Giants: Hello Offseason
Any reasonable baseball fan would know that the World Series concluded in spectacular fashion last night, on a popup with the tying run standing 90 feet away. The Giants again do what the Giants do - play solid baseball as a team, minimise the effect of their roster weaknesses, and get some otherworldly performances from individuals. Obviously, series-MVP Madison Bumgarner was spectacular, but ex-Stro Hunter Pence and future-Stro (ha!) Pablo Sandoval consistently came up big on the offensive side of the ball. So, congratulations San Francisco, and for the fans of all other 29 teams, it is time to start thinking about the post-season.
For the Astros, this represents their most interesting offseason in recent times. After scaling the dizzy heights of 70 wins in 2014, and having some kind of core in place, the Astros now need to take the next step toward contention by cutting inadequate talent, and promoting or acquiring impact players to fill the voids.
What will make this interesting is the juggling of the roster. In the early phases of the Luhnow rebuild, the Astros clearly cashed in their pieces for flawed prospects with an area of strength from other systems. Matt Dominguez - considered a glove-first third baseman - and Robbie Grossman - an OBP LF with limited speed but solid defensive value - were the most obvious acquisitions that fill that description. The Astros didn't manage to acquire any Addison Russell's, but they also didn't have any Hunter Pence-sized pieces to let go. It will be interesting, in the inevitable, upcoming cull, whether the Astros make any J.D. Martinez-sized misjudgments.
Brian McTaggert has published a relatively generic primer on MLB.com, which contains all the standard quotes - yes, we are adding payroll; yes, we are going to look at the free agent market; yes, we are interested in trades; and yes, we want to add talent in the bullpen/starting rotation/everyday position player/on the bench areas.
But with a 40-man crunch happening, I can't see many upper tier free agents being pursued. If there are trades, I am thinking they will be of the 1-for-2-at-the-40-man-level variety (ála Dexter Fowler last year), or the trading away of an extra piece for a lottery ticket. I can see them looking for reasonably priced upgrades at 1B, 3B and LF, but these are also positions where prospects are likely to be opening the season at the MLB level, in AAA or in AA. The starting rotation was an area of relative strength last year, and there aren't many gaps available at the moment given that Scott Feldman is signed for 2 more years, and Keuchel and McHugh are going to be given the opportunity to further establish themselves.
And as for the 'pen, a quick reminder that (i) the two top free-agent acquisitions from last year pitched a total of 10 innings and (ii) the two team leaders in FIP either started the year with the team, or joined the team early on. Free agent acquisitions for the 'pen are a risky proposition, and at the moment, there is simply no need to take those kinds of risks with the Astros.
Most likely, the guys that are here will get the chance to make it happen in the first two months of 2015. But who knows.
My conclusion: I have no idea what the FO is thinking. However, I will be watching the offseason with interest. If I were forced, however, to make a call, I would be surprised whether arguably the 4-best fielding CF on the 40-man starts the year with the club. Dexter Fowler - in a weak free agent CF year - to a team that needs a CF, which at this stage (in the AL) seems to be the Blue Jays (who aren't trading at the moment) and the Tigers (who don't have the type of prospects that the Astros will want back).
So I am stumped. But very, very interested.
For the Astros, this represents their most interesting offseason in recent times. After scaling the dizzy heights of 70 wins in 2014, and having some kind of core in place, the Astros now need to take the next step toward contention by cutting inadequate talent, and promoting or acquiring impact players to fill the voids.
What will make this interesting is the juggling of the roster. In the early phases of the Luhnow rebuild, the Astros clearly cashed in their pieces for flawed prospects with an area of strength from other systems. Matt Dominguez - considered a glove-first third baseman - and Robbie Grossman - an OBP LF with limited speed but solid defensive value - were the most obvious acquisitions that fill that description. The Astros didn't manage to acquire any Addison Russell's, but they also didn't have any Hunter Pence-sized pieces to let go. It will be interesting, in the inevitable, upcoming cull, whether the Astros make any J.D. Martinez-sized misjudgments.
Brian McTaggert has published a relatively generic primer on MLB.com, which contains all the standard quotes - yes, we are adding payroll; yes, we are going to look at the free agent market; yes, we are interested in trades; and yes, we want to add talent in the bullpen/starting rotation/everyday position player/on the bench areas.
But with a 40-man crunch happening, I can't see many upper tier free agents being pursued. If there are trades, I am thinking they will be of the 1-for-2-at-the-40-man-level variety (ála Dexter Fowler last year), or the trading away of an extra piece for a lottery ticket. I can see them looking for reasonably priced upgrades at 1B, 3B and LF, but these are also positions where prospects are likely to be opening the season at the MLB level, in AAA or in AA. The starting rotation was an area of relative strength last year, and there aren't many gaps available at the moment given that Scott Feldman is signed for 2 more years, and Keuchel and McHugh are going to be given the opportunity to further establish themselves.
And as for the 'pen, a quick reminder that (i) the two top free-agent acquisitions from last year pitched a total of 10 innings and (ii) the two team leaders in FIP either started the year with the team, or joined the team early on. Free agent acquisitions for the 'pen are a risky proposition, and at the moment, there is simply no need to take those kinds of risks with the Astros.
Most likely, the guys that are here will get the chance to make it happen in the first two months of 2015. But who knows.
My conclusion: I have no idea what the FO is thinking. However, I will be watching the offseason with interest. If I were forced, however, to make a call, I would be surprised whether arguably the 4-best fielding CF on the 40-man starts the year with the club. Dexter Fowler - in a weak free agent CF year - to a team that needs a CF, which at this stage (in the AL) seems to be the Blue Jays (who aren't trading at the moment) and the Tigers (who don't have the type of prospects that the Astros will want back).
So I am stumped. But very, very interested.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Friday Morning Hot Links
Here are a few things with which you can destroy a Friday morning at work...
*HEY! Here's a plan that would turn CSN Houston into Root Sports Houston, co-owned by AT&T and DirecTV. The Astros and Rockets would be out as co-owners of the network, with AT&T owning 40% and DirecTV owning 60% of the network, but at least people would be able to see the Astros and Rockets. Of course, Comcast can object to the plan and drag this out until the earth crashes into the sun, but at least fans - however many are left - could begin actively watching Astros games in 2015.
*Jerome Solomon reacts to the potential deal.
*Interesting quote from Scott Feldman, in regards to Brett Oberholtzer (but maybe it's about so much more!):
He wasn't a real high pick so he's always had to outwork and outhustle everybody and just be a survivor. He's been doing a great job of that. I like that because I was the same way...you don't get the free promotions to Double-A and Triple-A, you've got to earn everything. He's earning his way and he's doing a good job.
(Ed. Note: OOOOOHHHHH)
*Jake Marisnick is feeling more comfortable with the Astros.
*Dexter Fowler will begin a rehab assignment with OKC today, and George Springer could be activated from the DL.
*HEY! Here's a plan that would turn CSN Houston into Root Sports Houston, co-owned by AT&T and DirecTV. The Astros and Rockets would be out as co-owners of the network, with AT&T owning 40% and DirecTV owning 60% of the network, but at least people would be able to see the Astros and Rockets. Of course, Comcast can object to the plan and drag this out until the earth crashes into the sun, but at least fans - however many are left - could begin actively watching Astros games in 2015.
*Jerome Solomon reacts to the potential deal.
*Interesting quote from Scott Feldman, in regards to Brett Oberholtzer (but maybe it's about so much more!):
He wasn't a real high pick so he's always had to outwork and outhustle everybody and just be a survivor. He's been doing a great job of that. I like that because I was the same way...you don't get the free promotions to Double-A and Triple-A, you've got to earn everything. He's earning his way and he's doing a good job.
(Ed. Note: OOOOOHHHHH)
*Jake Marisnick is feeling more comfortable with the Astros.
*Dexter Fowler will begin a rehab assignment with OKC today, and George Springer could be activated from the DL.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Friday Morning Hot Links
Here's what's going on as we head into the weekend...
*Dallas Keuchel tossed a baseball to a heckler with a special message. Click here for the original tweet.
*The Astros look as though they're holding on to Chad Qualls. Also in that link we get updates on Fowler (not close to returning), Albers (slow recovery) and Crain (surprise! slow recovery).
*Carlos Correa won't be ready to return from a broken leg for the Arizona Fall League, but the team hopes that he'll be ready for Spring Training. The Astros are also considering sending Rio Ruiz to the AFL, and also to Corpus.
*According to a Chronicle source, the MLBPA has filed a grievance against the Astros regarding their handling of the 2014 draft. No one is commenting on either side.
*SI's Ben Reiter has an in-depth piece on how the Astros lost Brady Aiken:
"A lot of people say they want to be a Hall of Famer," said another scout, "but I believe for this kid it's a realistic goal, to be one of the best pitchers of all time." The consensus was that Aiken could be pitching in the majors in just two and a half years - that is, as early as Opening Day of 2017.
*Mark Appel pitched last night, and lo, it was good. He threw 74 pitches in 6IP, 5H/2ER, 7K:0BB with a fastball that sat in the mid- to upper-90s. "I wasn't thinking about it, I wasn't really thinking about it at all. It was fun, it was, you know - I don't know. I'm not one to shy away from the frustrations of this season, but it's been a while since I had a game that was this fun."
*Aston Villa fan who visited 92 soccer grounds will be in Houston on Sunday to add to his MLB ballpark tour.
*Lance Berkman is returning to Rice as a student assistant.
*Happy Birthday, Billy Wagner, who somehow is only 43.
*Dallas Keuchel tossed a baseball to a heckler with a special message. Click here for the original tweet.
*The Astros look as though they're holding on to Chad Qualls. Also in that link we get updates on Fowler (not close to returning), Albers (slow recovery) and Crain (surprise! slow recovery).
*Carlos Correa won't be ready to return from a broken leg for the Arizona Fall League, but the team hopes that he'll be ready for Spring Training. The Astros are also considering sending Rio Ruiz to the AFL, and also to Corpus.
*According to a Chronicle source, the MLBPA has filed a grievance against the Astros regarding their handling of the 2014 draft. No one is commenting on either side.
*SI's Ben Reiter has an in-depth piece on how the Astros lost Brady Aiken:
"A lot of people say they want to be a Hall of Famer," said another scout, "but I believe for this kid it's a realistic goal, to be one of the best pitchers of all time." The consensus was that Aiken could be pitching in the majors in just two and a half years - that is, as early as Opening Day of 2017.
*Mark Appel pitched last night, and lo, it was good. He threw 74 pitches in 6IP, 5H/2ER, 7K:0BB with a fastball that sat in the mid- to upper-90s. "I wasn't thinking about it, I wasn't really thinking about it at all. It was fun, it was, you know - I don't know. I'm not one to shy away from the frustrations of this season, but it's been a while since I had a game that was this fun."
*Aston Villa fan who visited 92 soccer grounds will be in Houston on Sunday to add to his MLB ballpark tour.
*Lance Berkman is returning to Rice as a student assistant.
*Happy Birthday, Billy Wagner, who somehow is only 43.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
Get in on this before your annoying officemate...
*Odd story in the Chron about Mike Elias and the draft, which Drellich describes as Elias' sole job. "If it is necessary," Drellich adds later, "Luhnow has the final call on whom the Astros draft. He also handles the negotiations of the highest profile pick in the draft."
*The Astros are one of nine MLB teams to which Cliff Lee could be traded without his consent.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon sums up former Cardinal exec Jeff Luhnow.
*Scott Boras describes the difference between the Cubs and the Astros.
I deal with (Luhnow), so I don't know about other aspects of the Astros system, but Jeff has a very empirical formula and he has a very defined plan and he is, at this point in his career, he has a very...tight track of what he wants to do. It's a narrow track as far as his intentions. The Cubs have a plan that I think very much includes kind of what Theo's positioning is after his experiences in Boston.
*Mac Marshall on Friday's draft deadline:
We had to wait until 4pm, but once we found out I was just excited (about staying at LSU).
See! It all worked out for everybody (*sobs*)
*Mark Appel had his next scheduled start - originally tonight - pushed back in order to get extra bullpen work. Mike Elias:
As crazy as his numbers look, we're really not that worried about it internally because of what we know about him and what we expect of him.
*Dexter Fowler isn't very close to returning from his intercostal strain.
*"It's kind of weird to know that this is my third year, but I'm just now getting the hang of it."
-Collin McHugh
*"In addition to revealing the Astros as shitty jerks, the Brady Aiken saga has also reminded the world of the existence of one of the NCAA's silliest and most farcical rules..."
-Deadspin
*They're pretty much what we all thought the Astros would be, only we had the wrong team in Texas pegged as the biggest mess in the sport.
-New York Daily News, on the Rangers
*Odd story in the Chron about Mike Elias and the draft, which Drellich describes as Elias' sole job. "If it is necessary," Drellich adds later, "Luhnow has the final call on whom the Astros draft. He also handles the negotiations of the highest profile pick in the draft."
*The Astros are one of nine MLB teams to which Cliff Lee could be traded without his consent.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon sums up former Cardinal exec Jeff Luhnow.
*Scott Boras describes the difference between the Cubs and the Astros.
I deal with (Luhnow), so I don't know about other aspects of the Astros system, but Jeff has a very empirical formula and he has a very defined plan and he is, at this point in his career, he has a very...tight track of what he wants to do. It's a narrow track as far as his intentions. The Cubs have a plan that I think very much includes kind of what Theo's positioning is after his experiences in Boston.
*Mac Marshall on Friday's draft deadline:
We had to wait until 4pm, but once we found out I was just excited (about staying at LSU).
See! It all worked out for everybody (*sobs*)
*Mark Appel had his next scheduled start - originally tonight - pushed back in order to get extra bullpen work. Mike Elias:
As crazy as his numbers look, we're really not that worried about it internally because of what we know about him and what we expect of him.
*Dexter Fowler isn't very close to returning from his intercostal strain.
*"It's kind of weird to know that this is my third year, but I'm just now getting the hang of it."
-Collin McHugh
*"In addition to revealing the Astros as shitty jerks, the Brady Aiken saga has also reminded the world of the existence of one of the NCAA's silliest and most farcical rules..."
-Deadspin
*They're pretty much what we all thought the Astros would be, only we had the wrong team in Texas pegged as the biggest mess in the sport.
-New York Daily News, on the Rangers
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Moar Tranzactionz!
Our fearless Masked Marvel was correct in one prediction, that Enrique Hernandez is being promoted from OKC to take Jonathan Villar's spot. But joining him on the flight to Houston will be LHP Kevin Chapman, and the biggest surprise: 21-year-old outfielder Domingo Santana.
Hernandez, 22, is a righty-hitting super-utility guy who will be making his first trip to the big leagues. This season for the RedHawks, he's been hitting a robust .337/.380/.508, with 8 HR and 31 RBI in 264 AB. He has played all four infield positions and all three outfield positions for OKC this year, but he's spent the majority of his time in the minors at 2B (357 games total), followed by SS (46 games) and LF (40 games). He was the Astros' 6th-round draft pick in 2009 out of American Military Academy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Chapman, 26, we know from his 3.2 IP of 12.27 ERA with Houston back in April this year, following a 1.77 ERA in 20.1 IP last August/September. But he's been pretty darn solid since the Astros sent him down after April 16, to the tune of a 0.94 ERA in 28.2 IP, with 37:21 K:BB, good for a sweet 11.6 K/9, and a less sweet 6.6 BB/9.
Santana is a surprise because Jeff Luhnow said two days ago that he "still has some developing in Triple A." But he is Houston's #7 prospect, according to MLB.com, and he's acquitted himself quite nicely at OKC so far, putting up a .304/.383/.502 slash line with 13 HR and 52 RBI in 319 AB, while only 5.7 years below the league average age (!). The strikeouts are a problem - 99 this year, and 714 in 2079 Minor League AB, good for a 34.3% career K rate - but Astros fans really ought to be used to that by now. Santana, of course, is the last remaining piece of the 2011 Hunter Pence trade to reach the majors, alongside fellow current Astros Jarred Cosart, Josh Zeid, and Jonathan Singleton. So we can conclude from this that Ruben Amaro, Jr. was clearly responsible for the Ground Control hack (with some Ed Wade assistance), and this is Luhnow exacting revenge by making Amaro cry in his oatmeal again.
So Anthony Bass replaces Jerome Williams (as expected), and Hernandez replaces Villar. But no word yet on corresponding moves for Chapman or Santana. With Dexter Fowler already having missed the last four games due to back issues, Santana's rushed promotion could be a sign that Fowler is DL-bound. Chapman could be replacing most anybody, though possibly Dallas Keuchel is also DL-bound and Brett Oberholtzer is still around to take Keuchel's rotation spot. We shall see.
UPDATE: The Astros have made the promotions official, as well as placing Fowler on the DL. No official word on Anthony Bass yet, interestingly, though he also just said he's back in Houston. So for now it's just Hernandez/Santana/Chapman in, and Williams/Villar/Fowler out.
UPDATE #2: Evan Drellich says Bass is still "a day or two away."
Hernandez, 22, is a righty-hitting super-utility guy who will be making his first trip to the big leagues. This season for the RedHawks, he's been hitting a robust .337/.380/.508, with 8 HR and 31 RBI in 264 AB. He has played all four infield positions and all three outfield positions for OKC this year, but he's spent the majority of his time in the minors at 2B (357 games total), followed by SS (46 games) and LF (40 games). He was the Astros' 6th-round draft pick in 2009 out of American Military Academy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Chapman, 26, we know from his 3.2 IP of 12.27 ERA with Houston back in April this year, following a 1.77 ERA in 20.1 IP last August/September. But he's been pretty darn solid since the Astros sent him down after April 16, to the tune of a 0.94 ERA in 28.2 IP, with 37:21 K:BB, good for a sweet 11.6 K/9, and a less sweet 6.6 BB/9.
Santana is a surprise because Jeff Luhnow said two days ago that he "still has some developing in Triple A." But he is Houston's #7 prospect, according to MLB.com, and he's acquitted himself quite nicely at OKC so far, putting up a .304/.383/.502 slash line with 13 HR and 52 RBI in 319 AB, while only 5.7 years below the league average age (!). The strikeouts are a problem - 99 this year, and 714 in 2079 Minor League AB, good for a 34.3% career K rate - but Astros fans really ought to be used to that by now. Santana, of course, is the last remaining piece of the 2011 Hunter Pence trade to reach the majors, alongside fellow current Astros Jarred Cosart, Josh Zeid, and Jonathan Singleton. So we can conclude from this that Ruben Amaro, Jr. was clearly responsible for the Ground Control hack (with some Ed Wade assistance), and this is Luhnow exacting revenge by making Amaro cry in his oatmeal again.
So Anthony Bass replaces Jerome Williams (as expected), and Hernandez replaces Villar. But no word yet on corresponding moves for Chapman or Santana. With Dexter Fowler already having missed the last four games due to back issues, Santana's rushed promotion could be a sign that Fowler is DL-bound. Chapman could be replacing most anybody, though possibly Dallas Keuchel is also DL-bound and Brett Oberholtzer is still around to take Keuchel's rotation spot. We shall see.
UPDATE: The Astros have made the promotions official, as well as placing Fowler on the DL. No official word on Anthony Bass yet, interestingly, though he also just said he's back in Houston. So for now it's just Hernandez/Santana/Chapman in, and Williams/Villar/Fowler out.
UPDATE #2: Evan Drellich says Bass is still "a day or two away."
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*Jim Crane is negotiating left and right with anybody who'll listen about CSN Houston. The next "potentially significant" status update is in two weeks.
*Dexter Fowler talked to Evan Drellich about his approach at the plate.
*Here's a great profile on Bo Porter from Randy Harvey.
*George Springer was "playing on ice skates" until Bo Porter gave him the day off on May 3 in order to let him soak in the speed of the game.
*"What (the Astros) are doing, I think it's good and I respect it and I understand it." - Joe Maddon.
*The Astros are hosting an open tryout at Whataburger Field in Corpus on June 26.
*Dexter Fowler talked to Evan Drellich about his approach at the plate.
*Here's a great profile on Bo Porter from Randy Harvey.
*George Springer was "playing on ice skates" until Bo Porter gave him the day off on May 3 in order to let him soak in the speed of the game.
*"What (the Astros) are doing, I think it's good and I respect it and I understand it." - Joe Maddon.
*The Astros are hosting an open tryout at Whataburger Field in Corpus on June 26.
Monday, June 9, 2014
The Week That Was: June 2-8
It's been three weeks since we last did a Week That Was (Memorial Day one week, Traveling last week), so let's start this back up...
Standings-wise, the Astros have the 5th-worst record in baseball, better than the Diamondbacks (whom the Astros play four times this week), Cubs, Phillies, and Rays. As far as overall wins go, the Astros have as many wins as the Padres, Mets, and Red Sox.
Streaking:
Over their last 30 games, the Astros are 18-12, tying them with the Angels and Indians for the 4th-best record in baseball. In that span they are nine games better than the Rays, eight games better than the Phillies, five games better than the Tigers, four games better than the Rangers.
Over their last 20 games, the Astros are 12-8, tying them with the A's, Pirates, and Cubs for the 4th-best record in baseball.
FanGraphs now gives the Astros a projected end-of-season record of 72-90, still the worst overall record in baseball, but tied with the Phillies and one game behind the Mets and Cubs. The Astros' playoff chances remain firmly at 0.4%.
Comparison to the 2013 Astros (through 64 games):
The Week That Was!
June 2: Off.
June 3: 7-2 win vs. Anaheim
June 4: 0-4 loss vs. Anaheim
June 5: 8-5 win vs. Anaheim
June 6: 5-4 win @ Minnesota
June 7: 0-8 loss @ Minnesota
June 8: 14-5 win @ Minnesota
So the Astros go 4-2 last week with the only losses coming in shutouts, and it gives the Astros a perfectly symmetrical 14-18 record both at home and on the road. This is notable in that the Astros only won 24 games at home and 27 games on the road in 2013. They outscored their opponents 34-28.
The Astros are now 4-6 against the Angels on the season, and 14-19 against the AL West. Given that the Astros had a .329 Win% against the AL West in 2013, a .424 Win% thus far is mighty nice.
Houston has also won or split their last five series. To find the last time the Astros accomplished such a feat, you have to go back to August 30-September 19, 2010 when the Astros won or split six series against the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers, Brewers, and Reds.
Of course the most notable win of the week was Sunday's 14-5 win at Minnesota in which both Chris Carter and Jon Singleton hit grand slams. Those 14 runs were the most runs for the Astros since a 16-9 win at Seattle on April 9, 2013. ALSO the last time two Astros hit grand slams in a game was July 30, 1969 when Jimmy Wynn and Denis Menke both did it in the same inning.
The Week In Hitting A Ball: 231 PAs, 255/.357/.434, 16 XBH, 51K:26BB
FanGraphs WAR Leader: Jose Altuve at 1.8 WAR
(Min. 10 PAs)
Hitter of the Week: Come on. Dexter Fowler went off this week. For the season he's hitting .277/.393/.395 with 50K:40BB. Five of his six games this week saw him get two hits, and in two of those games he added two walks. And that's how you raise your OBP 27 points in six games.
*George Springer has a four-game hitting streak, after going hitless in the opening two games of the Angels series. On May 2, after the 15th game of his career his OPS bottomed out at .467. Since then, Springer is hitting .287/.389/.639.
*Chris Carter drew four walks in the June 5 win against Anaheim, accounting for 22.2% of his walks on the season. He had drawn four walks in his previous 76 PAs combined.
*Matt Dominguez's three hits on June 6 were a season-high - he had 3+ hits seven times last season.
*In his last ten games, Jason Castro is hitting .237/.293/.289 with a .290 BABIP.
*Jose Altuve leads the league in games played (64), Plate Appearances (292), At-Bats (270), Hits (85), and Stolen Bases (23). Altuve is riding a seven-game hit streak, and has hits in 52 of his 64 games. He's been on base in 56 of those 64 games.
The Week in Throwing A Ball: 53IP, 50H/24ER, 51K:24BB, 4.08 ERA/1.40 WHIP
FanGraphs WAR Leader: Dallas Keuchel at 2.2 WAR.
*All three of Feldman's runs were unearned.
Starter line: 28.2IP, 25H/9ER, 27K:13BB; 2.83 ERA/1.33 WHIP.
Bullpen
Bullpen line: 24.1IP, 25H/15ER, 24K:11BB; 5.55 ERA/1.48 WHIP
Pitcher of the Week: Josh Fields. Nine of his fourteen outs came via the strikeout, and he's really turned things around since his demotion.
*Dallas Keuchel has run his Quality Start streak to six games, and has Quality Starts in 10 of his 12 games. The Astros are 8-4 when he starts, and his 2.2 WAR is ranked 9th in the Majors behind Felix, Kluber, Darvish, Tanaka, Wainwright, Lackey, Strasburg, and Lester.
*Since getting lit up at Oakland for 7ER in 0.1IP, Jarred Cosart has a 2.96 ERA/1.36 WHIP.
*Brad Peacock has walked just one of the last 47 batters he faced.
*In his last two starts (7IP), opponents are hitting .387/.462/.613 on a .385 BABIP against Scott Feldman.
*Collin McHugh walked a career-high five batters in Sunday's win over Minnesota. The last time he walked five batters in a start was June 29, 2011 for Double-A Binghamton.
*Since blowing G18 at Oakland with 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB in the bottom of the 9th, Chad Qualls has allowed 7H/0ER, 16K:1BB in 15.2IP (17 appearances). He has faced 59 straight batters without allowing an unintentional walk.
*Jerome Williams has allowed at least one earned run in each of his last five appearances, six of his last seven, and twelve of his 19 games.
*Since getting recalled from OKC, Josh Fields as thrown 13.1IP, allowing 7H/1ER, 22K:2BB, and opponents are hitting .149/.184/.213.
*Darin Downs has a six-game scoreless appearance streak and hasn't allowed a run in 13 of his 15 appearances.
Standings-wise, the Astros have the 5th-worst record in baseball, better than the Diamondbacks (whom the Astros play four times this week), Cubs, Phillies, and Rays. As far as overall wins go, the Astros have as many wins as the Padres, Mets, and Red Sox.
Streaking:
Over their last 30 games, the Astros are 18-12, tying them with the Angels and Indians for the 4th-best record in baseball. In that span they are nine games better than the Rays, eight games better than the Phillies, five games better than the Tigers, four games better than the Rangers.
Over their last 20 games, the Astros are 12-8, tying them with the A's, Pirates, and Cubs for the 4th-best record in baseball.
FanGraphs now gives the Astros a projected end-of-season record of 72-90, still the worst overall record in baseball, but tied with the Phillies and one game behind the Mets and Cubs. The Astros' playoff chances remain firmly at 0.4%.
Comparison to the 2013 Astros (through 64 games):
| Year | Record | RDiff. | GB |
| 2014 | 28-36 | -39 | 11.5 |
| 2013 | 22-42 | -98 | 16.0 |
The Week That Was!
June 2: Off.
June 3: 7-2 win vs. Anaheim
June 4: 0-4 loss vs. Anaheim
June 5: 8-5 win vs. Anaheim
June 6: 5-4 win @ Minnesota
June 7: 0-8 loss @ Minnesota
June 8: 14-5 win @ Minnesota
So the Astros go 4-2 last week with the only losses coming in shutouts, and it gives the Astros a perfectly symmetrical 14-18 record both at home and on the road. This is notable in that the Astros only won 24 games at home and 27 games on the road in 2013. They outscored their opponents 34-28.
The Astros are now 4-6 against the Angels on the season, and 14-19 against the AL West. Given that the Astros had a .329 Win% against the AL West in 2013, a .424 Win% thus far is mighty nice.
Houston has also won or split their last five series. To find the last time the Astros accomplished such a feat, you have to go back to August 30-September 19, 2010 when the Astros won or split six series against the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers, Brewers, and Reds.
Of course the most notable win of the week was Sunday's 14-5 win at Minnesota in which both Chris Carter and Jon Singleton hit grand slams. Those 14 runs were the most runs for the Astros since a 16-9 win at Seattle on April 9, 2013. ALSO the last time two Astros hit grand slams in a game was July 30, 1969 when Jimmy Wynn and Denis Menke both did it in the same inning.
The Week In Hitting A Ball: 231 PAs, 255/.357/.434, 16 XBH, 51K:26BB
FanGraphs WAR Leader: Jose Altuve at 1.8 WAR
(Min. 10 PAs)
| Fowler | .524/.630/.857 | 2K:6BB |
| Carter | .200/.429/.600 | 7K:4BB |
| Grossman | .385/.500/.462 | 1K:3BB |
| Springer | .190/.357/.476 | 10K:4BB |
| Singleton | .200/.231/.480 | 10K:1BB |
| Altuve | .280/.321/.360 | 3K:1BB |
| Gonzalez | .154/.154/.385 | 5K:1BB |
| Dominguez | .200/.259/.320 | 7K:2BB |
| Castro | .188/.188/.188 | 3K:0BB |
Hitter of the Week: Come on. Dexter Fowler went off this week. For the season he's hitting .277/.393/.395 with 50K:40BB. Five of his six games this week saw him get two hits, and in two of those games he added two walks. And that's how you raise your OBP 27 points in six games.
*George Springer has a four-game hitting streak, after going hitless in the opening two games of the Angels series. On May 2, after the 15th game of his career his OPS bottomed out at .467. Since then, Springer is hitting .287/.389/.639.
*Chris Carter drew four walks in the June 5 win against Anaheim, accounting for 22.2% of his walks on the season. He had drawn four walks in his previous 76 PAs combined.
*Matt Dominguez's three hits on June 6 were a season-high - he had 3+ hits seven times last season.
*In his last ten games, Jason Castro is hitting .237/.293/.289 with a .290 BABIP.
*Jose Altuve leads the league in games played (64), Plate Appearances (292), At-Bats (270), Hits (85), and Stolen Bases (23). Altuve is riding a seven-game hit streak, and has hits in 52 of his 64 games. He's been on base in 56 of those 64 games.
The Week in Throwing A Ball: 53IP, 50H/24ER, 51K:24BB, 4.08 ERA/1.40 WHIP
FanGraphs WAR Leader: Dallas Keuchel at 2.2 WAR.
| McHugh | 9.1IP | 5H/3ER, 10K:7BB |
| Cosart | 6.2IP | 8H/3ER, 8K:1BB |
| Keuchel | 6IP | 5H/0ER, 6K:2BB |
| Peacock | 5IP | 6H/3ER, 1K:1BB |
| Feldman | 1.2IP | 1H/0ER*, 2K:2BB |
*All three of Feldman's runs were unearned.
Starter line: 28.2IP, 25H/9ER, 27K:13BB; 2.83 ERA/1.33 WHIP.
Bullpen
| Williams | 5IP | 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB |
| Fields | 4.2IP | 5H/1ER, 9K:0BB |
| Downs | 4.1IP | 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB |
| Qualls | 3IP | 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB |
| Clemens | 3IP | 4H/5ER, 2K:6BB |
| Farnsworth | 2.1IP | 2H/2ER, 2K:3BB |
| Sipp | 2IP | 5H/4ER, 3K:0BB |
Bullpen line: 24.1IP, 25H/15ER, 24K:11BB; 5.55 ERA/1.48 WHIP
Pitcher of the Week: Josh Fields. Nine of his fourteen outs came via the strikeout, and he's really turned things around since his demotion.
*Dallas Keuchel has run his Quality Start streak to six games, and has Quality Starts in 10 of his 12 games. The Astros are 8-4 when he starts, and his 2.2 WAR is ranked 9th in the Majors behind Felix, Kluber, Darvish, Tanaka, Wainwright, Lackey, Strasburg, and Lester.
*Since getting lit up at Oakland for 7ER in 0.1IP, Jarred Cosart has a 2.96 ERA/1.36 WHIP.
*Brad Peacock has walked just one of the last 47 batters he faced.
*In his last two starts (7IP), opponents are hitting .387/.462/.613 on a .385 BABIP against Scott Feldman.
*Collin McHugh walked a career-high five batters in Sunday's win over Minnesota. The last time he walked five batters in a start was June 29, 2011 for Double-A Binghamton.
*Since blowing G18 at Oakland with 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB in the bottom of the 9th, Chad Qualls has allowed 7H/0ER, 16K:1BB in 15.2IP (17 appearances). He has faced 59 straight batters without allowing an unintentional walk.
*Jerome Williams has allowed at least one earned run in each of his last five appearances, six of his last seven, and twelve of his 19 games.
*Since getting recalled from OKC, Josh Fields as thrown 13.1IP, allowing 7H/1ER, 22K:2BB, and opponents are hitting .149/.184/.213.
*Darin Downs has a six-game scoreless appearance streak and hasn't allowed a run in 13 of his 15 appearances.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
From the Office of the County Clerk - G45: Astros v Angels
Dallas Keuchel (4-2, 2.84) versus Garrett Richards (4-0, 3.02)
aka: the Battle of the Surprise Starters in the AL.
Garrett Richards has been garnering some press recently as a guy who has a heap of talent, but who historically has had low strikeout rate that has been holding him back. Some technical changes, and boom, he has managed a fast transition to one of the best starters in theminors AL (damn jet lag).
Dallas Keuchel has been noticed around these parts as an integral part of the Astros starting rotation. He has garnished a little attention in the national press. But because he plays for the dis-Astros, and because a control lefty who has throughly dominated three straight good offensive teams (including tonight, and I include Texas because of their injury difficulties) doesn't fit the "they suck" press narratives, he has done it all relatively anonymously. Keuchel has reduced his walks and home-run rate, slightly increased his strikeouts (compared to 2013, but doubled it compared to 2012), and has kept the ball on the ground at an elite rate (circa-65%).
If you expected this to be a pitchers duel, then you would be mostly wrong. The Astros scored three in the first, one in each of the next two, then held on to win 5-2 over an hot Angels team (8-2 in their last 10, coming in to tonight's game).
On the Bump:
Well, I have kind of given the game away. Dallas Keuchel is the whole story tonight, with another ridiculous performance. He dominated a strong Angels lineup, neutering the RH power that Albert Pujols and Mike Trout brought to the table.
Keuchel was filthy-nasty again, with a final line not quite reflecting the level of dominance that he achieved: 8.2IP (128 pitches), 5H, 2R/ER, BB, 8K. He kept the ball on the ground again (14:2), and enticed Angels hitters into two double-plays.
Keuchel's last three appearances (against the Tigers, Rangers and Angels): 25.1IP, 18H, 4R/ER, 1HR, 1BB (!!), 22K, 46 ground balls, 17 fly balls, 3 wins, 1.42 ERA. Wow. In case you missed it - 1 walk in 25-plus innings.
He narrowly, narrowly missed another complete-game shutout, allowing a two-out infield single to Mike Trout, who only just beat the throw to first. Albert Pujols then singled off the glove of a diving Matt Dominguez at third (into the right-side shift), bringing Bo Porter out of the dugout for the switch. Josh Zeid then got to 1-2 on Howie Kendrick before Kendrick tripled to the RF corner, scoring both runners.
Zeid then ended the game by enticing C.J. Cron into a groundout to third base.
At the Plate:
The Astros O jumped all over Garrett Richards early, threatening to knock him out of the game. To his credit, however, Richards persevered, and saved his 'pen for the rest of the series.
The Astros scored in the first three innings, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after three. Opening the game, Altuve doubled, followed by a Springer wild-pitch walk, a two-base throwing error (to third base), a Fowler walk, a Castro RBI single, a Dominguez RBI single, then a fly out and a double play.
In the second inning, an Altuve 2-out single, a Springer single, and a Fowler single scored another run. Fowler got thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double moment before Springer touched home plate, to restrict it to a one-run inning.
In the third inning, a Castro lead-off double was followed by a one-out Carter single. Another Krauss double-play followed.
After that, the Astros managed two singles (Dominguez, Gonzalez) and one double play over the next four, with Richards facing one over the minimum. Hector Santiago finished for the Angels with two hitless innings, facing the minimum.
As a team, the Astros again managed double-digit (10) hits, and two walks, striking out only twice. Four for seven with Runners-in-Scoring-Position, three LOBbies.
Turning Point:
Garrett Richards gave away more runs that he could afford in the first. After giving up an Altuve double, then allowing him to advance to third on a full-count wild-pitch, Richards tried a pickoff move to third base that went horribly wrong. The errant throw allowed Altuve to score, and Springer to advance two bases, where he would later score on a Castro single.
Thanks to Dallas Keuchel, the three runs that the Astros scored in the first is all they would need.
Man of the Match:
Dallas Keuchel reeled off another stunning start, neutering a potent Angels lineup. Long may it last for the diminutive left-hander.
Goat of the Game:
If one were to use the retrospect-o-scope to assign a goat, then one could make an argument to give it to Bo Porter, who left Dallas Keuchel in the game, starting the ninth, at 107 pitches. Personally, I would have pulled Keuchel with two outs in the ninth, after 116 pitches, thus accurately predicting that the next two batters would score to be the only two runners on Keuchel's line.
But, due to the beauty of today's win, no Goat!!
aka: the Battle of the Surprise Starters in the AL.
Garrett Richards has been garnering some press recently as a guy who has a heap of talent, but who historically has had low strikeout rate that has been holding him back. Some technical changes, and boom, he has managed a fast transition to one of the best starters in the
Dallas Keuchel has been noticed around these parts as an integral part of the Astros starting rotation. He has garnished a little attention in the national press. But because he plays for the dis-Astros, and because a control lefty who has throughly dominated three straight good offensive teams (including tonight, and I include Texas because of their injury difficulties) doesn't fit the "they suck" press narratives, he has done it all relatively anonymously. Keuchel has reduced his walks and home-run rate, slightly increased his strikeouts (compared to 2013, but doubled it compared to 2012), and has kept the ball on the ground at an elite rate (circa-65%).
If you expected this to be a pitchers duel, then you would be mostly wrong. The Astros scored three in the first, one in each of the next two, then held on to win 5-2 over an hot Angels team (8-2 in their last 10, coming in to tonight's game).
On the Bump:
Well, I have kind of given the game away. Dallas Keuchel is the whole story tonight, with another ridiculous performance. He dominated a strong Angels lineup, neutering the RH power that Albert Pujols and Mike Trout brought to the table.
Keuchel was filthy-nasty again, with a final line not quite reflecting the level of dominance that he achieved: 8.2IP (128 pitches), 5H, 2R/ER, BB, 8K. He kept the ball on the ground again (14:2), and enticed Angels hitters into two double-plays.
Keuchel's last three appearances (against the Tigers, Rangers and Angels): 25.1IP, 18H, 4R/ER, 1HR, 1BB (!!), 22K, 46 ground balls, 17 fly balls, 3 wins, 1.42 ERA. Wow. In case you missed it - 1 walk in 25-plus innings.
He narrowly, narrowly missed another complete-game shutout, allowing a two-out infield single to Mike Trout, who only just beat the throw to first. Albert Pujols then singled off the glove of a diving Matt Dominguez at third (into the right-side shift), bringing Bo Porter out of the dugout for the switch. Josh Zeid then got to 1-2 on Howie Kendrick before Kendrick tripled to the RF corner, scoring both runners.
Zeid then ended the game by enticing C.J. Cron into a groundout to third base.
At the Plate:
The Astros O jumped all over Garrett Richards early, threatening to knock him out of the game. To his credit, however, Richards persevered, and saved his 'pen for the rest of the series.
The Astros scored in the first three innings, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after three. Opening the game, Altuve doubled, followed by a Springer wild-pitch walk, a two-base throwing error (to third base), a Fowler walk, a Castro RBI single, a Dominguez RBI single, then a fly out and a double play.
In the second inning, an Altuve 2-out single, a Springer single, and a Fowler single scored another run. Fowler got thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double moment before Springer touched home plate, to restrict it to a one-run inning.
In the third inning, a Castro lead-off double was followed by a one-out Carter single. Another Krauss double-play followed.
After that, the Astros managed two singles (Dominguez, Gonzalez) and one double play over the next four, with Richards facing one over the minimum. Hector Santiago finished for the Angels with two hitless innings, facing the minimum.
As a team, the Astros again managed double-digit (10) hits, and two walks, striking out only twice. Four for seven with Runners-in-Scoring-Position, three LOBbies.
Turning Point:
Garrett Richards gave away more runs that he could afford in the first. After giving up an Altuve double, then allowing him to advance to third on a full-count wild-pitch, Richards tried a pickoff move to third base that went horribly wrong. The errant throw allowed Altuve to score, and Springer to advance two bases, where he would later score on a Castro single.
Thanks to Dallas Keuchel, the three runs that the Astros scored in the first is all they would need.
Man of the Match:
Dallas Keuchel reeled off another stunning start, neutering a potent Angels lineup. Long may it last for the diminutive left-hander.
Goat of the Game:
If one were to use the retrospect-o-scope to assign a goat, then one could make an argument to give it to Bo Porter, who left Dallas Keuchel in the game, starting the ninth, at 107 pitches. Personally, I would have pulled Keuchel with two outs in the ninth, after 116 pitches, thus accurately predicting that the next two batters would score to be the only two runners on Keuchel's line.
But, due to the beauty of today's win, no Goat!!
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Week That Was: May 12-18
Well now. That was way more fun, no? The Astros are now four games up on the 2013 Astros after 44 games.
May 12: 0-4 loss vs. Arlington
May 13: 8-0 win vs. Arlington
May 14: 5-4 win vs. Arlington
May 16: 2-7 loss vs. Chicago White Sox
May 17: 6-5 win vs. Chicago White Sox
May 18: 8-2 win vs. Chicago White Sox
So the Astros have won four of their last five and, starting with Keuchel's CGSHO vs. Detroit, have won six of their last ten games. The week also included two one-run wins to improve their one-run record to 5-9. FanGraphs is now projecting a 67-95 record by the end of the season, three games behind the Cubs, five behind the Twins.
The Astros outscored their opponents 29-22 on the week to close the gap on their run differential to -53, which is actually better than the Diamondbacks, who have a -60 run differential.
Despite dropping the series opener against the Rangers, the Astros responded with an 8-0 thrashing the next game. That 8-run margin was a season-high for the Astros, and the largest margin of victory since a 13-2 win at Seattle on September 10, 2013. It was the largest win over the Rangers since a 7-0 win on June 30, 2011, and the Astros beat the Rangers by 8+ runs for the first time since a 12-3 win in Arlington on June 20, 2003.
The Astros hit three homers in Sunday's win over Chicago, the fifth time that's happened this season. When the Astros hit 2+ home runs, they're 12-3 - and two of those losses were thanks to a shaky bullpen against Seattle on May 3 and 4. Matt Dominguez hit 835 feet of homers on Sunday (427' and 408') for his first 2+ HR game since May 2013.
The Astros have drawn 5+ walks in ten games this season - three of those were this week, and they have four 5+ BB games since May 11. This - and the power surge - has contributed to the Astros raising their OPS by 30 points to .695 in the last week. The last time the Astros' team OPS was .695? After Game 4, an 11-1 loss to Anaheim.
In the May 14 win vs. Arlington, Scott Feldman posted a 33 Game Score. That's the lowest Game Score in an Astros win since Dallas Keuchel's 32 in a 9-7 win against Anaheim on September 13, 2013. The Astros have had 57 games in which the starting pitcher posted a 39 Game Score or lower since the beginning of 2013, and they're 7-50 in those starts, with two of those wins coming this week - Feldman and Cosart on May 17 (39).
Team Leaders, WAR:
Position Player: Jose Altuve, 0.8 WAR (FanGraphs); Matt Dominguez, 1.0 WAR (B-Ref)
Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, 1.2 WAR (FanGraphs), Keuchel, 2.0 WAR (B-Ref)
The Week in Hitting A Ball: .303/.383/.495, 21XBH, 61K:26BB, 2 GIDPs.
(Min. 10 PAs)
Hitter of the Week: Dexter Fowler
*Via JJO, we find that Dexter Fowler has at least one walk in eight consecutive games - the longest streak of any Astros hitter since Morgan Ensberg walked in nine straight games in August 2006.
*Carlos Corporan has seven hits on the season. Four of them have been homers.
*Jason Castro has been on base at least once in 27 of his 35 games.
*Jose Altuve's 15 SB lead the American League, and he has an 83.3% success rate. During his ten-game hit streak, he's hitting .391/.417/.522.
*Matt Dominguez has had multi-hit games in six of his last nine games.
*In May, Dexter Fowler is hitting .322/.467/.441 with 11K:15BB. He has a 16-game on-base streak, and has reached base in 26 straight games.
*When batting in the 2-hole, George Springer is hitting .259/.412/.444 with 11K:7BB.
*Chris Carter has a five-game streak of striking out 0-1 times, his longest of the season.
The Week in Throwing A Ball: 54IP, 53H/19ER, 57K:21BB, 3.17 ERA/1.37 WHIP.
Starters
Starter line: 37IP, 40H/17ER, 35K:15BB; 4.14 ERA/1.49 WHIP.
Bullpen
Bullpen line: 17IP, 10H/2ER, 22K:4BB; 1.06 ERA/0.82 WHIP
Pitcher of the Week: Dallas Keuchel
*For the week, Astros pitchers inherited ten runners and only one scored.
*Dallas Keuchel has thrown a Quality Start in five of his eight starts, and has a Game Score of at least 48 in seven straight starts. His last two starts: 16.2IP, 13H/2ER, 14K:0BB.
*In two starts since coming off the DL, Scott Feldman has allowed more ER (6) than he did in his first four starts of the season (5). He has faced 48 batters in his last two starts, and only walked one (10 walks to 153 batters this season).
*Tony Sipp has faced 20 batters as an Astro and retired all of them, 11 by strikeout.
*Chad Qualls has run his scoreless streak to 10 games (8.2IP), and has thrown 71% of his pitches for strikes.
*Since rejoining the team, Josh Fields has struck out five of the eight batters he has faced.
May 12: 0-4 loss vs. Arlington
May 13: 8-0 win vs. Arlington
May 14: 5-4 win vs. Arlington
May 16: 2-7 loss vs. Chicago White Sox
May 17: 6-5 win vs. Chicago White Sox
May 18: 8-2 win vs. Chicago White Sox
So the Astros have won four of their last five and, starting with Keuchel's CGSHO vs. Detroit, have won six of their last ten games. The week also included two one-run wins to improve their one-run record to 5-9. FanGraphs is now projecting a 67-95 record by the end of the season, three games behind the Cubs, five behind the Twins.
The Astros outscored their opponents 29-22 on the week to close the gap on their run differential to -53, which is actually better than the Diamondbacks, who have a -60 run differential.
Despite dropping the series opener against the Rangers, the Astros responded with an 8-0 thrashing the next game. That 8-run margin was a season-high for the Astros, and the largest margin of victory since a 13-2 win at Seattle on September 10, 2013. It was the largest win over the Rangers since a 7-0 win on June 30, 2011, and the Astros beat the Rangers by 8+ runs for the first time since a 12-3 win in Arlington on June 20, 2003.
The Astros hit three homers in Sunday's win over Chicago, the fifth time that's happened this season. When the Astros hit 2+ home runs, they're 12-3 - and two of those losses were thanks to a shaky bullpen against Seattle on May 3 and 4. Matt Dominguez hit 835 feet of homers on Sunday (427' and 408') for his first 2+ HR game since May 2013.
The Astros have drawn 5+ walks in ten games this season - three of those were this week, and they have four 5+ BB games since May 11. This - and the power surge - has contributed to the Astros raising their OPS by 30 points to .695 in the last week. The last time the Astros' team OPS was .695? After Game 4, an 11-1 loss to Anaheim.
In the May 14 win vs. Arlington, Scott Feldman posted a 33 Game Score. That's the lowest Game Score in an Astros win since Dallas Keuchel's 32 in a 9-7 win against Anaheim on September 13, 2013. The Astros have had 57 games in which the starting pitcher posted a 39 Game Score or lower since the beginning of 2013, and they're 7-50 in those starts, with two of those wins coming this week - Feldman and Cosart on May 17 (39).
Team Leaders, WAR:
Position Player: Jose Altuve, 0.8 WAR (FanGraphs); Matt Dominguez, 1.0 WAR (B-Ref)
Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, 1.2 WAR (FanGraphs), Keuchel, 2.0 WAR (B-Ref)
The Week in Hitting A Ball: .303/.383/.495, 21XBH, 61K:26BB, 2 GIDPs.
(Min. 10 PAs)
| Fowler | .450/.621/.750 | 5K:9BB |
| Hoes | .400/.455/.900 | 2K:1BB |
| Springer | .318/.464/.545 | 9K:6BB |
| Carter | .348/.375/.609 | 6K:1BB |
| Dominguez | .292/.346/.542 | 6K:2BB |
| Guzman | .333/.467/.417 | 4K:3BB |
| Altuve | .367/.367/.500 | 2K:0BB |
| Castro | .235/.316/.471 | 6K:2BB |
| Krauss | .222/.300/.222 | 5K:1BB |
| Villar | .235/.278/.235 | 8K:1BB |
| Presley | .200/.200/.200 | 2K:0BB |
Hitter of the Week: Dexter Fowler
*Via JJO, we find that Dexter Fowler has at least one walk in eight consecutive games - the longest streak of any Astros hitter since Morgan Ensberg walked in nine straight games in August 2006.
*Carlos Corporan has seven hits on the season. Four of them have been homers.
*Jason Castro has been on base at least once in 27 of his 35 games.
*Jose Altuve's 15 SB lead the American League, and he has an 83.3% success rate. During his ten-game hit streak, he's hitting .391/.417/.522.
*Matt Dominguez has had multi-hit games in six of his last nine games.
*In May, Dexter Fowler is hitting .322/.467/.441 with 11K:15BB. He has a 16-game on-base streak, and has reached base in 26 straight games.
*When batting in the 2-hole, George Springer is hitting .259/.412/.444 with 11K:7BB.
*Chris Carter has a five-game streak of striking out 0-1 times, his longest of the season.
The Week in Throwing A Ball: 54IP, 53H/19ER, 57K:21BB, 3.17 ERA/1.37 WHIP.
Starters
| Peacock | 12.2IP | 13H/6ER, 16K:6BB |
| Keuchel | 9IP | 7H/0ER, 7K:0BB |
| McHugh | 5.1IP | 3H/4ER, 7K:4BB |
| Feldman | 5IP | 10H/4ER, 3K:1BB |
| Cosart | 5IP | 7H/3ER, 2K:4BB |
Starter line: 37IP, 40H/17ER, 35K:15BB; 4.14 ERA/1.49 WHIP.
Bullpen
| Clemens | 4IP | 5H/0ER, 4K:2BB |
| Downs | 2.2IP | 1H/0ER, 3K:0BB |
| Sipp | 2.2IP | 0H/0ER, 4K:0BB |
| Fields | 2.1IP | 1H/0ER, 5K:0BB |
| Zeid | 2IP | 3H/0ER, 2K:2BB |
| Qualls | 1.2IP | 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB |
| Williams | 1IP | 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB |
| Farnsworth | 0.2IP | 2H/2ER, 0K:2BB |
Bullpen line: 17IP, 10H/2ER, 22K:4BB; 1.06 ERA/0.82 WHIP
Pitcher of the Week: Dallas Keuchel
*For the week, Astros pitchers inherited ten runners and only one scored.
*Dallas Keuchel has thrown a Quality Start in five of his eight starts, and has a Game Score of at least 48 in seven straight starts. His last two starts: 16.2IP, 13H/2ER, 14K:0BB.
*In two starts since coming off the DL, Scott Feldman has allowed more ER (6) than he did in his first four starts of the season (5). He has faced 48 batters in his last two starts, and only walked one (10 walks to 153 batters this season).
*Tony Sipp has faced 20 batters as an Astro and retired all of them, 11 by strikeout.
*Chad Qualls has run his scoreless streak to 10 games (8.2IP), and has thrown 71% of his pitches for strikes.
*Since rejoining the team, Josh Fields has struck out five of the eight batters he has faced.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Monday Lunchtime Hot Links
Here are a few items of interest as you get ready to eat your anger and drink a cup of your own tears:
*Dexter Fowler has been working with Barry Bonds over the last few months. On what? "It's a plethora of things...mentally, it's physically, it's everything...We might just sit there and talk for an hour." Good luck getting into the Hall of Fame, now, Dexter.
*Jason Castro expects the team to be better this year.
*Assistant GM David Stearns is not surprised by Jon Singleton's start at OKC.
*Here's an interesting piece on how Quad Cities is using the running game to power their offense.
*Dexter Fowler has been working with Barry Bonds over the last few months. On what? "It's a plethora of things...mentally, it's physically, it's everything...We might just sit there and talk for an hour." Good luck getting into the Hall of Fame, now, Dexter.
*Jason Castro expects the team to be better this year.
*Assistant GM David Stearns is not surprised by Jon Singleton's start at OKC.
*Here's an interesting piece on how Quad Cities is using the running game to power their offense.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Dexter Fowler hasn't eaten in three days
Everyone got an update on Dexter Fowler this morning:
*He hasn't eaten in three days (bubbleguts).
*No, he didn't watch the Astros over the weekend, because he doesn't have Comcast. Fowler told McTaggart: "I don't know what's going on with this TV deal...we gotta fix something."
*Fowler said they're still running tests. "I'm just happy I'm here and it's behind me, literally." Which is funny.
*He hasn't eaten in three days (bubbleguts).
*No, he didn't watch the Astros over the weekend, because he doesn't have Comcast. Fowler told McTaggart: "I don't know what's going on with this TV deal...we gotta fix something."
*Fowler said they're still running tests. "I'm just happy I'm here and it's behind me, literally." Which is funny.
Fowler out indefinitely with gastroenteritis
CF Dexter Fowler was hospitalized over the weekend with gastroenteritis, and is home resting "indefinitely." Bo Porter:
We don't know how much longer it's going to be, we just know that the doctors are treating him.
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines resulting in vomiting and The Diarrhea. The CDC says that symptoms can last from one to ten days, depending on the strain of virus, and the biggest risk is dehydration. Thing is, it's contagious, though Porter said Sunday that there was not a risk of other members of the team getting it. Seems as though you get it from either someone who already has it, from improperly washing your hands after going potty, or eating sketchy shellfish.
The Astros will fly to Toronto following today's finale with the Angels, and then head to Arlington over the weekend.
We don't know how much longer it's going to be, we just know that the doctors are treating him.
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines resulting in vomiting and The Diarrhea. The CDC says that symptoms can last from one to ten days, depending on the strain of virus, and the biggest risk is dehydration. Thing is, it's contagious, though Porter said Sunday that there was not a risk of other members of the team getting it. Seems as though you get it from either someone who already has it, from improperly washing your hands after going potty, or eating sketchy shellfish.
The Astros will fly to Toronto following today's finale with the Angels, and then head to Arlington over the weekend.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Rockies "better off" without Dexter Fowler
The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla has a column up today about how the Rockies are better off without the man who was 5th on the team in WAR last season, a column which came out of Evan Drellich's Sunday article on Fowler and his contentious time with the Rockies.
Eight days before the Astros traded Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes for Fowler, Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told a radio station that Fowler has "to get tougher...He's got to show up and play with an edge every day, not just when he thinks he has to."
Fowler responded to Drellich a sentiment familiar to Rockies fans: he doesn't even really know who the Rockies' GM is: Dan O'Dowd or Bill Geivett. He also told Drellich that the Rockies basically forced him to play while injured:
I pressured myself into playing back last year with my finger, then I messed up my wrist, then I strain my (knee). Towards the end of the year they were like, 'Hey, you need to get out there and play.' I mean, my knee doesn't even feel stable. I don't think that's the best decision for my career to be out there. I understand that you want me out there. Don't get me wrong, I want to be out there more than anybody.
So 24 hours after Drellich's piece runs, here comes Kiszla talking about "toughness" and "grit" and "dirt-bag attitude."
Fowler is a good man, with a gentle spirit and an infectious smile. But Fowler was not the kind of player Weiss needs on a team that must grind out victories in the National League West against more free-spending rivals...Colorado was 100 percent correct in dumping Fowler and re-investing the money in new first baseman Justin Morneau. After five seasons with the Rockies, it seemed obvious Fowler could not be a centerpiece in a winning franchise. He simply isn't tough enough.
Notably, Kiszla mentions an August road trip in which the Rockies lost nine of ten games leading into a closed-door meeting in which manager Walt Weiss talked about competing hard, grinding, and ownership of performance, a meeting which Kiszla says marked the beginning of the end of Fowler with the Rockies ("Fowler never earned enough of Weiss' trust for the manager to go to the wall for him.")
Weiss even chimed in:
The ability to compete through difficult circumstances and still believe you can play up here even when you get beat up by the game...the self doubt, even though it does creep in, if you can deal with that and still succeed, it's the X factor.
In other words, typical NL West. Weiss and Kirk Gibson apparently spent the offseason training to pry the caps off beer bottles with their teeth, punching kittens to see what fire was in their bellies, and eating raw eggs.
But I do feel as though Kiszla is out of line. Since I don't care about the Rockies, I didn't pay attention to any of their games and can't comment on the severity of Fowler's injuries. That the Astros could acquire a 2+ WAR leadoff centerfielder for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes - neither of whom (sweet as they are) were locks to make the Opening Day roster - shows just how disillusioned the Rockies were with Fowler.
The best-case scenario is that Fowler comes into the season mad as hell as ready to prove the Rockies wrong. But it's pretty shady of Kiszla, and Weiss, to note that Fowler dealt with hand, wrist, and knee injuries and question his ability to play through it.
Eight days before the Astros traded Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes for Fowler, Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told a radio station that Fowler has "to get tougher...He's got to show up and play with an edge every day, not just when he thinks he has to."
Fowler responded to Drellich a sentiment familiar to Rockies fans: he doesn't even really know who the Rockies' GM is: Dan O'Dowd or Bill Geivett. He also told Drellich that the Rockies basically forced him to play while injured:
I pressured myself into playing back last year with my finger, then I messed up my wrist, then I strain my (knee). Towards the end of the year they were like, 'Hey, you need to get out there and play.' I mean, my knee doesn't even feel stable. I don't think that's the best decision for my career to be out there. I understand that you want me out there. Don't get me wrong, I want to be out there more than anybody.
So 24 hours after Drellich's piece runs, here comes Kiszla talking about "toughness" and "grit" and "dirt-bag attitude."
Fowler is a good man, with a gentle spirit and an infectious smile. But Fowler was not the kind of player Weiss needs on a team that must grind out victories in the National League West against more free-spending rivals...Colorado was 100 percent correct in dumping Fowler and re-investing the money in new first baseman Justin Morneau. After five seasons with the Rockies, it seemed obvious Fowler could not be a centerpiece in a winning franchise. He simply isn't tough enough.
Notably, Kiszla mentions an August road trip in which the Rockies lost nine of ten games leading into a closed-door meeting in which manager Walt Weiss talked about competing hard, grinding, and ownership of performance, a meeting which Kiszla says marked the beginning of the end of Fowler with the Rockies ("Fowler never earned enough of Weiss' trust for the manager to go to the wall for him.")
Weiss even chimed in:
The ability to compete through difficult circumstances and still believe you can play up here even when you get beat up by the game...the self doubt, even though it does creep in, if you can deal with that and still succeed, it's the X factor.
In other words, typical NL West. Weiss and Kirk Gibson apparently spent the offseason training to pry the caps off beer bottles with their teeth, punching kittens to see what fire was in their bellies, and eating raw eggs.
But I do feel as though Kiszla is out of line. Since I don't care about the Rockies, I didn't pay attention to any of their games and can't comment on the severity of Fowler's injuries. That the Astros could acquire a 2+ WAR leadoff centerfielder for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes - neither of whom (sweet as they are) were locks to make the Opening Day roster - shows just how disillusioned the Rockies were with Fowler.
The best-case scenario is that Fowler comes into the season mad as hell as ready to prove the Rockies wrong. But it's pretty shady of Kiszla, and Weiss, to note that Fowler dealt with hand, wrist, and knee injuries and question his ability to play through it.
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