Chacin released

Today is the end of the reign of King Hippo. The Astros have released Gustavo Chacin.

Chacin was 2-2 for the Astros in 2010, with a 4.70 ERA/1.85 WHIP (44 games). He posted a 5.13 ERA/1.58 WHIP for Oklahoma City, allowing 81H/38ER, 37K:24BB in 66.2IP in 2011.

The RedHawks activated Jeff Fulchino from the DL.

Eddie's Farm: June 18

Oklahoma City (29-41)

OKC got the final three runs of the game - and had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, but Drew Locke flied out. Chris Sampson notches the win for New Orleans in a 4-3 win. Gustavo Chacin threw 6IP, 7H/2ER, 3K:2BB; Ross Wolf allowed 3H/2ER, 1K:2BB; Wesley Wright walked one in 0.2IP, and David Carpenter extended his ER-less streak to 15IP.

The RedHawks only got five hits - two from Brian Bogusevic (2B, BB), two from Brian Esposito, and one from Anderson Hernandez. 5-8 in the lineup went for a combined 0x13.

Man of the Match: Chacin

Corpus (24-43)

Kyle Greenwalt gave up a three-run homer in the top of the 13th as Frisco beat the Hooks, 9-6. Jonnathan Aristil allowed 9H/4ER, 2K:2BB in 5.1IP; Matt Nevarez allowed 1H/0ER, 0K:2BB in 1.2IP (throwing 10 of 24 pitches for strikes). Arcenio Leon allowed 3H/2R (1ER) in 1IP; Sam Gervacio allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:1BB in 2IP, and Greenwalt gave up 4H/3ER, 1K:2BB in 3IP of relief.

Jon Gaston was 3x6 with an RBI, and Emerson Frostad hit his 1st homer as a Hook, going 2x4 with a walk. Jose Altuve and J.D. Martinez were each 1x6.

Man of the Match: Jon Gaston

Lancaster (28-40)

Despite being down 4-0 to Inland Empire at the middle of the 1st, the JetHawks got seven runs in the bottom of the 2nd, and worked it for a 14-8 win. Jake Buchanan allowed 8H/7R (6ER), 1K:1BB in 3.2IP while Mike Ness got the win with a shutdown 3.2IP, 2H/0ER, striking out eight of the 13 batters he faced. David Berner allowed 2H/1ER in 1.2IP.

Okay. Jay Austin (2B, 3RBI) and Jose Carlos Thompson (2B) had three hits each. Austin Wates (HR, 4RBI), Kody Hinze, Ben Heath (HR, 2RBI), Jonathan Meyer (BB, RBI) and David Flores (2B, grand slam, 4RBI) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Going with Mike Ness here.

Lexington (34-35)

Dramatic! Lexington scores four in the top of the 10th for a 14-10 win over Rome for the Legends' 5th straight win. Alex Sogard gave up 7H/7R (4ER), 0K:1BB in 1.1IP. Murillo Gouvea allowed 4H/1R (0ER) in 3.2IP; Juan Minaya allowed 3H/2ER in 3IP, and David Martinez got the win with 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB in 2IP.

Jhonny Medrano (RBI), Tyler Burnett (two doubles, BB, 2RBI), Ben Orloff (2RBI), Roberto Pena (2B, 2RBI), and Emilio King (2B, RBI) had two hits each. Delino DeShields was 0x4 with two walks, and is now hitting .202.

Man of the Match: Tyler Burnett

Tri-City (1-1)

And...that's total domination as the ValleyCats bounce back for a 10-0 win against Vermont, scoring ten runs on nine hits. Jonas Dufek allowed 2H/0ER, 2K:2BB in 3IP, while Dayan Diaz gave up a hit and three walks in 3IP; Travis Smink allowed 2H/0ER in 3IP to close it out.

Drew Muren was 2x3 with 2BB, Zach Johnson was 2x4 with an RBI, and Kellen Kiilsgaard was 2x3 with a double, homer, two walks, and 2RBI. Matt Duffy was 1x3 with 3RBI, and John Hinson drew two walks. Justin Gominsky, John Hinson, and Drew Muren also stole bases.

Man of the Match: Gotta go with Kiilsgaard.

Which one of these players is a pitcher in the Astros' organization?

OR

OKC rotation update

In an interesting note, Darren Headrick says that OKC has shifted Gustavo Chacin from the bullpen to the rotation, and Doug Arguello will move to the bullpen.

More Tranzactionz

Okay, via Twitter:

Sent to Eddie's Farm are:

Gustavo Chacin
Carlos Corporan
Anderson Hernandez
Oswaldo Navarro
J.B. Shuck (whom the Astros would rather get regular playing time than a handful of ABs off the bench)
Jose Valdez
Henry Villar
Ross Wolf

Non-Tender Deadline recap

So here's the awesome part about being sick. I was asleep at 6:45 last night. So we totally missed the news about whom the Astros offered contracts, and whom they did not.

The Astros tendered offers to Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Clint Barmes, and Jeff Keppinger.

Who does that leave out? Sammy Gervacio, whom the Astros would still like to bring back. Wade:

“We want Sammy to be part of our club, but we wanted the protection from having to keep him on our major league DL. We were prepared to tender everyone else on the roster.”

More Wade:
"It's really a move of economics more than anything because of the uncertainty of his status going into Spring Training. Had he been injured coming into Spring Training and unable to perform, we would have had to carry him on the Major League disabled list. While we're protecting ourselves with respect to the tender, we still want Sammy to be part of our picture going forward."

Levine says the Astros plan to offer Gervacio a deal later in the off-season, but given Gervacio's injury history - which basically started about 15 minutes after the season began - might be trying to fill his spot externally before deciding on bringing him back.

We also learn what most of you probably heard last week - but Astros County was on radio silence - Tim Byrdak and Gustavo Chacin have both opted for free agency, instead of taking the assignment back to Oklahoma City.

Recap for G48: Astros @ Reds

Astros lose 15-6

Why They Lost

Because Zach Levine at the Chronicle had a chance to grab the "briefly unattended head of Mr. Redlegs spotted near the press box and [make a run to] the Kentucky border with it," but failed to do so. Couple that with a "good feeling" from Deputy Jason and you have a recipe for disaster. At this point the Astros fate was sealed. Utterly craptastic performances from the Astros pitching staff were just logical outcomes from the aforementioned gaffes.

Astros Pitching

Road Wandy: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 86 pitches (49 strikes)

Chacin: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 37 pitches (18 strikes)

Fulchino: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 15 pitches (9 strikes)

Byrdak: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 17 pitches (8 strikes)

Lopez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 22 pitches (15 strikes)

Kevin Cash (yes that Kevin Cash): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 10 pitches (8 strikes)

Pence spotted Wandy a 1-run lead with a home run in the top of the first, but after that it was all downhill for the Astros. If you really want to know what happened during the rest of the "game," feel free to read Levine's recap. Personally I have no desire to put you through yet another description of it... Bottom line: the Astros' pitching got pounded. Don't believe me, then take a look at the pitching lines above...

Man of the Match: Hard to believe, but there was one. Kevin Cash (yes backup catcher Kevin Cash) came in to pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning for the Astros. Featuring a 64 - 72 mph knuckleball, he held the Reds to only one run. Cash saved a couple of bullpen arms (or more, considering how the pen had pitched thusfar during the game), and considering that Brian Moehler is not likely to pitch more that 3-4 innings tomorrow, potentially saved a couple of arms from being DustyBaker'ized.

Goat of the Game: So very many to choose from here. Pedro Feliz for his 0-5 performance was a possibility, as were Fulchino and Byrdak (the latter serving up a grand-slam for former Astros farmhand Drew Sutton). Nevertheless, the Goat of the Game goes to Wandy Rodriguez for letting the Reds absolutely hammer him, and for lasting only 3.1 innings knowing full well that the pen was going to be used heavily on Saturday. Mr. Rodriguez, you sir are the Astros County Goat of the Game!

Bud to the DL

Norris hits the 15-day DL with a diagnosis of bursitis and elbow tendinitis. Lefty Gustavo Chacin was recalled from Round Rock to fill his roster spot. Perhaps assuming a short start from Brian Moehler on Saturday, the Astros also called up LHP Wesley Wright from Round Rock and optioned Oswaldo Navarro back to Round Rock.

For those taking a break from math for the Memorial Day weekend, that makes 12 position players and 13 pitchers on the Astros current roster (including 3 lefties in the pen).

Byrdak activated and Chacin (?) sent down

What the heck? Tim Byrdak has been activated from the DL.

So who gets sent down? Not Moehler. Not Wilton Lopez. But Gustavo Chacin, and his 2nd-lowest ERA (or eight hits in 5.1IP). I kind of get it. But maybe not. So talk me out of being pissed about this.

Lineup for G26: Astros v. Diam'ndba'''

Alyson Footer has your lineup for G26 vs. Arizona:

1. Bourn - CF
2. Keppinger - 2B
3. Lee - LF
4. Berkman - 1B
5. Pence - RF
6. Feliz - 3B
7. Manzella - SS
8. Quintero - C
9. Oswalt - P

And if you look at the picture, you'll see that Gustavo Chacin is on the card. With Byrdak out, the Astros needed a lefty, and Chacin meets that need. When/If Chacin gets into the game, it will be his first major-league appearance since April 28, 2007.

McTaggart also notes that this will be the first game that Towles and Oswalt haven't worked together:

Oswalt and Towles appeared to have trouble communicating in his previous start, but Oswalt has been terrific this year.

Roster moves!

So Brian McTaggart has the lowdown on three roster moves made last night:

-Tim Byrdak sent to the DL with a strained hamstring. Ed Wade:
"[Head athletic trainer] Nate Lucero called me after he came out of the game tonight and said Tim said he had trouble finishing his pitches, and Nate went back and looked at video of last year compared to this year and it was apparent to him he was really having trouble coming down on his landing leg. It seemed apparent he was trying to compensate for the hamstring."

-Astros purchase Gustavo Chacin's contract from Round Rock:
"I talked to [Round Rock manager] Marc Bombard and he said he Chacin could handle the role in the bullpen and [pitching coach Brad Arnsberg] is familiar with him from Spring Training and their days together in Toronto,"

Wade also explained that Wesley Wright was a candidate to come up, but that he pitched last night, so it wouldn't have made much sense. And it also wouldn't have made any sense, as Wright is being transitioned to a starting role, and Chacin is apparently headed to the bullpen.

-Astros option Gervacio to Round Rock, recall Wilton Lopez.

Eddie's Farm: April 19

Round Rock

Evan Englebrook gave up two doubles in the top of the 11th to take the result in a 4-3 loss to New Orleans. Gustavo Chacin threw 5.2IP, 5H/1ER, 6K:1BB while Sam Gervacio - in his rehab appearance - gave up 1H/1ER, 1K:1BB in the 7th, Majewski gave up a run in the 8th, Daigle threw two scoreless, and Englebrook did his thing. The Express' offense was 2x20 w/RISP (2x20!) and couldn't take advantage of three Zephyr errors. Matt Kata was 3x6, Yordany Ramirez was 3x4, Chris Shelton was 2x4, and Brian Bogusevic threw three walks.

Man of the Match: Gustavo Chacin

Corpus Christi

The bullpen nutted it last night, turning a 4-3 lead going into the 9th into a 6-4 loss in 10 innings to NW Arkansas. Sergio Perez gave up 7H/3ER, 4K:3BB, and Matt Nevarez and recently-signed Nelson Payano (who was sent to Corpus before the game) threw three scoreless, though Nevarez walked three batters in his 1IP. Danny Meszaros gave up the tying run in the 9th, and Erick Abreu took the loss with 1IP, 2H/2ER. Good offensive news, though, Lou Santangelo and Koby Clemens hit homers off Royals prospect Aaron Crow. Jack Shuck was 2x4, and Wladimir Sutil had two hits and an RBI.

Man of the Match: Koby Clemens

Lancaster

Ross Seaton got his first win of the season with 6IP, 6H/1ER, 6K:1BB, leading a 6-1 win over High Desert. Pat Urckfitz, Edwin Walker, and Kyle Godfrey combined for 3IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:0BB. Albert Cartwright was 3x4, Jay Austin (with a triple), Brandon Wikoff, and David Flores had two hits each, and Mark Ori had a bases-clearing double.

Man of the Match: Ross Seaton

Lexington

This time it was Greenville who came out on top of the Legends in a 6-3 win. Juan Minaya threw 5.1IP, 4H/3ER, 2K:2BB for the loss, while Wander Alvino allowed a run, Colton Pitkin gave up two (one earned on Jonathan Meyer's eighth error of the season), and Dan Sarisky shut it down for 1H/0ER in 2IP. Meyer overcame the error with another 2x4 day (now hitting .396), catcher Rene Garcia was 2x4 with a 9th inning, two out, three-run homer (now hitting .387). J.D. Martinez was 0x3, but with a walk, so the on-base streak remains intact.

Man of the Match: Rene Garcia

The Screw-gee

So the dreaded cuts came today for nine, and I'll agree with The Crawfish Boxes, some of them don't make sense.

Here are your nine:
RHP Wilton Lopez
RHP Casey Daigle
RHP Gary Majewski
RHP Gustavo Chacin

IF Drew Meyer
1B Chris Shelton
IF/OF Edwin Maysonet

C Jason Castro
C Kevin Cash

McTaggart notes that Majewski, Chacin, Meyer, Shelton, and Cash were reassigned to minor-league camp, but will stay with the Big Club through the end of Spring Training.

Lopez, Maysonet, Castro, and Daigle are reassigned to Minor League camp immediately.

So this likely means the following:
Towles will be your Opening Day catcher (though Footer notes that the Astros are saying it's between Towles and Quintero.)
Gervacio has his spot in the bullpen.
Cory Sullivan is your OF5.

I'm most surprised by Lopez, Maysonet, and Daigle's reassignment. Lopez didn't allow an earned run all Spring. Maysonet got playing time in LF yesterday, and was given a nice review by Mills, so I'm not sure what that guy has to do to stick with the Big League team. Daigle has been lights out this Spring, while Moehler and Byrdak have taken their sweet time to get ready for the season to start (though I understand Byrdak's predisposition to throwing with his left arm is a reason why he's a roster lock). Hopefully with the performances shown this spring by these three, that means there's a short leash on the big league guys.

Chacin resigned to his fate

In Fallas' Notes Column, we see that Chacin is a man who knows what's coming:

think I made good pitches, but they made good swings, and that wind blew the balls out. I battled and tried to mix things up. I'm here to pitch. If they send me down, I'll go down or see if somebody else offers me something.”

If the Astros option him to Triple-A, I imagine he heads to the Hill Country. It's not as though Chacin has dazzled this Spring, and could be an option if injuries mount later in the season.

Chacin: Invitee to indispensable?

MLB.com's Doug Miller throws together a list of players who could go from non-roster invitees to indispensable cogs in the team's...wheel (right metaphor?).

And Gustavo Chacin makes that list:

In 2005, while with the Blue Jays, Chacin finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting after going 13-9 with a 3.72 ERA in 203 innings at the age of 24. He wore glasses on the mound. He had style. Injuries and eventual shoulder surgery in 2007 slowed him down, but he re-emerged in the Phillies organization in 2009 and was healthy enough to pitch 115 1/3 respectable innings, carving out a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts.

A note on Brett Myers

The question that I think we're all asking with the signing of Brett Myers is, "Just how much will the Astros pay him?"

Myers is coming off a three-year deal with the Phillies (and it was Ed Wade who drafted Myers in the 1st Round of the 1999 draft) worth $25.75 million.

But he was hurt in 09 - with a torn/frayed labrum and a strange eye injury - and pitched in only 18 games, with 10 starts, and missing time from May 27 to September 5. Upon returning from the DL, Myers pitched solely in relief.

Given the injury history, I can't imagine Myers getting more than a 2-year deal, with a lower base salary and heavy on the incentives. But the bigger question is what the Astros' rotation will look like.

Seeing as how the Astros already have Moehler locked up, this probably means Paulino is out of the rotation and back in to the bullpen, and those minor-league deals to which the Astros signed Josh Banks and Gustavo Chacin are exactly that.

SP1: Roy
SP2: Wandy
SP3: Myers
SP4: Norris
SP5: Moehler

Astros re-sign Jason Michaels, sign Gustavo Chacin

Alyson Footer is tweeting that the Astros have re-signed Jason Michaels to a one-year deal worth $800,000 with a club option for 2011. Let's do the splits on Michaels:

2009 Splits!

Split	ABs	BA/OBP/SLG	K:BB	XBH-RBI
Season	135	.237/.322/.430	38:16	17-16
vs LHP	56	.268/.317/.446	13:4	8-4
vs RHP	79	.215/.326/.418	25:12	9-12
Home	59	.271/.394/.559	19:11	11-11
Away	76	.211/.259/.329	19:5	6-5
Bases Empty	70	.243/.354/.471	20:11	9-3
Runners On	65	.231/.286/.385	18:5	8-1
w/RISP	37	.216/.293/.378	12:4	4-12
April	19	.263/.391/.474	6:3	4-2
May	20	.100/.182/.150	5:2	1-0
June	28	.179/.207/.286	8:1	3-3
July	19	.263/.300/.526	4:1	2-2
August	31	.355/.375/.742	9:1	6-8
Sept/Oct	18	.222/.462/.278	6:8	1-1
1st Half	74	.176/.256/.324	21:7	9-6
2nd Half	61	.311/.400/.557	17:9	8-10
On 1st Pitch	16	.313/.313/.688	x:x	4-1
After FPS	68	.235/.278/.397	23:4	7-8
After FPB	51	.216/.375/.392	15:12	6-7

Season Total
K:BB Ratio: 2.38
K/PA %: 25%
XBH/H %: 53.1%

So that's interesting. As Footer tells us:
Before everyone blows a gasket on the Michaels signing, consider his second half #s -- .311 (19x61) with 3 HR and 10 RBIs.

We've considered his second-half numbers. And I'm more impressed with his August 5-9. Four games in which Michaels went 6x13 with 4XBH and a slash line of .462/.500/1.077. Michaels raised his average 32 points. Then it was back to a .222 average in September/October (though those walks were nice enough to push him over a .400 OBP.

McTaggart said:
I like Michaels return. He's cheap, relatively speaking, can play all 3 OF spots, had a good 2nd half and has good makeup.

Brad Mills had this to say about Michaels:
He was in the minor leagues when I was in Philadelphia, and he was highly thought of. His reputation in baseball is very solid as being a very solid clubhouse presence and a solid player.”

And Ed Wade:
He is a solid guy. We’ve lost some guys through free agency, and the leadership element is important.”

The leadership element. There it is again.

So I won't blow a gasket, and $800,000 is baseball peanuts (just don't do the math on how long it will take you to make $800,000. It's 100 of something, but it ain't games. You'll just depress yourself.). But I won't be jumping up and down like Mariners fan today.

-

In another note, the Astros signed Gustavo Chacin to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. As The Crawfish Boxes astutely note:
The Astros also get a very interesting project in Chacin with previous experience under Arnsberg.

Chacin posted the best season of his career in 2005, Arnsberg's first year with Toronto, Chacin went:
13-9 (34 starts), 203IP, 3.72 ERA/1.39 WHIP, 121K:70BB, finishing 5th in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting.