Friday Morning Link Dump

Hear's wot u knead to no on this Friday:

*Luhnow told MLB Network Radio yesterday that he wouldn't hesitate to call-up Carlos Correa or Mark Appel straight from Corpus, "if the need arises."

*12,000 (!) fans showed up to the Fresno Grizzlies' opener last night.

*Fresno Manager Tony DeFrancesco had Jon Singleton and Matt Dominguez hitting 6th and 8th, respectively, as a chance for them "to figure it out." DeFrancesco: "Eventually, they're all going to tell me where they're hitting."

*34-year old former Houston minor-leaguer Jose Capellan was found dead in his hotel room. In 2009, Capellan threw 98IP for Round Rock.

Capellan FTW

Cap tip to Dominican Baseball Guy for pointing out that Jose Capellan got the win last night for Gigantes, throwing six scoreless innings over Escogido.

Eddie's Farm: August 15

Round Rock
Round Rock pounded out 10 runs on 14 hits as the Express beat the Reno Aces 10-4. Reggie Abercrombie was 3x4 with 4R, a triple, and a homer. Edwin Mayonset had two hits, and 4RBI, while Saccomanno and Manzella had two hits each. Jose Capellan started the game, but gave up 4H/3ER, 1K:5BB in 3IP. Josh Muecke came in in relief, threw 3IP, 4H/1ER for the win. Chad Paronto got his 20th save.

Corpus
Corpus scored the final four runs of the game, defeating Springfield 5-2. Drew Meyer was 3x4, Collin DeLome 2x4 with 3RBI, and Wladimir Sutil also had two hits on the night. Sergio Perez threw 6IP, 6H/1ER (2 total), while Meszaros, C-Lo, and Evan Englebrook combined for 3IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB.

Lancaster
Bakersfield took it to Lancaster with a 5-run 3rd, and rode it out for a 9-3 win. Matt Weston and Ronald Ramirez had two hits each (Ramirez: 2RBI), and Brandon Barnes hit a solo homer in the 1st. Chris Salamida threw 2.2IP, 7H/6ER, 4K:0BB (3HR) for his first loss in Lancaster. Bryan Hallberg threw the next 5.2IP, holding the Blaze to 5H/2ER.

Lexington
West Virginia scored two in the top of the 9th, and Lexington could only get one back in a 5-4 loss. The Legends managed just seven hits, but four of those were courtesy of Brian Pellegrini, and two of those hits were solo homers. Chris Jackson was 2x4, as well, though he struck out looking with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. David Duncan threw 6.1IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:0BB, while Arcenio Leon and Brian Wabick combined for 2.1IP, 3H/2ER (3 total, one scored as a result of Wabick's wayward throw), 1K:2BB. The game-winner scored on Urckfitz' wild pitch.

Who will take that ball on Friday?

Citizen German posted a comment wondering who would start on Friday against the Brewers. That is a question that has no answer.

ESPN's schedule says Wandy is the guy. So does Astros.com. That probably won't happen, as the Chronicle is saying he's optimistic about Saturday.

So who's it going to be? It surely won't be Roy. Paulino pitched (kind of) last night, so he's unavailable for Friday. I doubt the Astros will reverse course on bringing up Yorman Bazardo for a spot start, as Wade explained he would have to clear waivers to go back to Round Rock. Bud Norris pitched on Sunday, which would give him another start on the fifth day after his last start. I would be surprised if he wasn't given the start at home on Friday.

However, would there be a spot start available from someone else at The Rock? (I don't know the options remaining on these starters, so keep that in mind.)

-Mark McLemore. 3-7 with a 4.24 ERA in 12 starts with a 1.24 WHIP, 42K:22BB. Last pitched on July 31.
-Jose Capellan. 2-9 with a 7.67 ERA in 11 starts. Brutal numbers, but he struggled early in the season, inflating his numbers. He has given up 3ER in his last two starts (11IP), but pitched Monday night.
-Josh Muecke. 5-8 with a 5.04 ERA in 16 starts. 2.66 ERA in his last ten games, and he last pitched on August 1.

This is all completely unfounded speculation, so keep that in mind. I'm going with Norris for Friday, and will scream and cry if The Troof doesn't get the start.

Eddie's Farm: July 29

Don't forget to vote for Astros County's 1st Annual Adopt-a-Player. Greeneville's Aaron Bray has a 42-vote lead over Corpus' Drew Locke. So we're pretty close to projecting a winner here in this one. Aaron Bray, expect a box o'goodies in the mail next week. I'll just send it to the team, care of you. Okay?

Eddie's Farm goes 3-2 last night, (Greeneville's game was postponed, and the GCL Astros were off). Probably in anticipation of the results of the vote.

Round Rock
Out of nowhere, Jose Capellan (remember when he was a serious candidate for SP5?) was El Hombre in a 3-1 win over Memphis. Saccomanno kept up his torrid pace with a 3x4 night, including a 2-run shot in the 1st. Brian Bogusevic was 2x4, and is now hitting .280. Capellan got two hits, and threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 5K:1BB. Geary, Gervacio, and Daigle threw 3IP of 0H relief. Khalil Greene was 0x3 in another rehab start.

Corpus
Drew Locke had five RBI with a 2x4, 2HR night, raising his RBI total to 92 (!), while Jason Castro and Mark Ori were both 3x4 on the night in an 8-1 win over San Antonio. All five of Locke's RBI came with 2 outs. Kenny Baugh got his 2nd win of the season with 6IP, 3H/1ER, 5K:1BB (note: that's exactly the same line as Capellan. It's not a typo.), and Danny Meszaros got his first save of the season with 3IP, 0H relief.

Lancaster
Despite allowing five runs in the 8th, the JetHawks emerged victorious with a 10-7 win over High Desert. Koby Clemens was 4x5 with a homer, and Jon Gaston hit a two-run shot (his 29th of the season). Jack Shuck was 3x5. Casey Hudspeth threw 7IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:4BB, while all five runs were racked off of Ashton Mowdy, who didn't record an out. Jordan Powell and Francisco Abad mopped it up with 2IP of hitless relief.

Lexington
Lexington had a 3-1 lead, but it kind of fell apart as Hagerstown won again 5-3. Brandon Wikoff was 2x3, and is hitting .455 since being called up from Tri-City, while Brian Pellegrini was 3x4 with a three-run homer in the 5th. Robert Bono pitched 5.2IP, 7H/2ER, 1K:2BB, and Brian Wabick threw 2.1IP, 3H/1ER (though 3 total) for the loss.

Tri-City
Lowell only needed runs in the 5th and 6th - though there were eight of them, to defeat Tri-City 8-1. J.D. Martinez and Jake Goebbert were both 2x4, with Martinez providing the lone RBI. Brandt Walker threw 4.1IP, 2H/2ER, 4K:6BB for the loss, but errors led to five unearned runs, with Mike Modica getting an unearned run, and Nathan Pettus getting four of 'em. Max Fearnow and Scott Migl threw 2.1IP of scoreless relief to close the game.

YotD: May 27

Round Rock
Jose Capellan dropped his record to 1-7 on the season, allowing 7ER in 4IP (with 3WPs and 4BBs), and the Express couldn't overcome the deficit. Tommy Manzella, Chris Johnson, and Jason Smith (!) all had multi-hit games.

Corpus Christi
Arkansas absolutely shut Corpus down, giving up just three hits in a 4-1 win. Mark Ori, Brian Esposito, and Mitch Einertson got the three hits - Esposito's homer accounting for the run. Douglas Arguello went 8.2 innings, and was pulled after an Arkansas 3-run HR.

Lancaster
The JetHawks made a valiant run at it, scoring four in the 7th and two in the 8th, but fell short in a 7-6 loss to Rancho Cucamonga. Jason Castro was 2x4 with two doubles and 2RBI. Eric Suttle provided a two-out, two-RBI single, as well.

Lexington
Robert Bono threw 6IP of earned run-less baseball with 5K:1BB and lowered his ERA to 1.98 in a 3-1 win over Savannah. Michael Diaz, Andrew Simunic and Ronald Ramirez had two hits each.

YotD: May 11

Round Rock
The Express scored four runs in the final three innings to defeat Oklahoma City 6-5 last night. Jose Capellan threw 6IP and gave up just 2ER; Edwin Maysonet was 2x4 with a run and 2RBI, but the YotD goes - again - to Yordany Ramirez. 2x4 with 2 runs and an 8th inning homer to tie the game at 5-5.

Corpus Christi
Corpus beat San Antonio 5-2 at home last night, thanks to pitcher Casey Hudspeth, who threw a complete game, allowing just two runs on nine hits.

Lexington
Lexington used six pitchers to get back into the win column, 3-2 last night against Charleston. Robert Bono threw 5IP with 8H/2ER, but the YotD goes to catcher Federico Hernandez: 3x6 with his 4th HR of the season and 2 RBI.

Lancaster
Off yesterday.

Young'uns of the Day: May 6

Round Rock
So did Jose Capellan just lose the will to live when he didn't make the rotation? Because I don't know if he noticed, but the rotation isn't exactly set right now. Capellan gave up 8H/4ER in 5IP last night in a 7-3 loss to New Orleans. YotD for The Rock goes to Lou Santangelo, 2x4 with two 2Bs. The Express were 1x12 with RISP.

Corpus Christi
Douglas Arguello threw a complete game 7H/1ER, 6K:0BB performance last night as Corpus beat Midland (do they play anybody else? It's like Siena/Iona down there...) 4-1. Drew Locke and catcher Jonathan Fixler each hit homers (Fixler's a 3-run shot) to account for all Corpus' runs.

Lexington
Kyle Greenwalt had a rare rough outing, giving up 4ER in 6IP as Lexington lost to Rome 4-2. Brandon Barnes went 2x4 with a triple to earn YotD honors.

Lancaster
The JetHawks beat the piss out of Lake Elsinore, getting 25 hits and 17 runs in a 17-4 whoopin. Lots of candidates for YotD here, but it goes to Jonathan Gaston, who went 5x5 with 3HR and 7RBI. Chia Jen-Lo threw three scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.00.

Final Personnel Moves

Astros reassigned some guys to Round Rock in advance of Sunday's deadline.

Russ Ortiz was named SP5, officially. Jason Smith is IF5.
Jose Capellan, Reggie Abercrombie, Chris Johnson, and Lou Santangelo were sent to The Rock.

Catching situation is as follows:
C1 - Pudge
C2 - Quintero
C3 - Towles
C4 - Santangelo
C5 - Palmisano
C6 - Castro

Hang on. The Astros lost to the Hooks?

At least it wasn't Wandy's fault. To quote baseball historian Randy Jackson, "Dude blew it out the box."

Check it out:
Wandy: 6IP, 1H, 0R, 11K
Capellan: 1IP, 4H, 4ER, 5BB, 1K (ouch)
Salamida: 0IP (2BF), 2H, 2ER

For the Hooks:
Felipe Paulino: 6IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K

And Brian Esposito cracked a 2-run trot-off off Chris Salamida for the Hooks win, 6-5.

Good capsule from George Vondracek, who pointed out that three Hooks homers went to right field, where a 19-mph wind was blowing out. But who did that not affect? Wandy.

And Coop also made apologies and explanations for the Curse of Tim Purpura:
“Well, you know what, I think they’re all dead wrong. I’ve heard all the talk,” Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. “We had a chance this spring to see a lot of our young kids play. Yes, we do have some young kids in the system, we do have somewhat of a void at a couple of the levels. But it’s just because we didn’t sign a lot of guys in ’06 and ’07.”

The Astros, of course, are going to insist that life in the sub-major league level isn’t as dire as Baseball America contends — i.e., No. 30 out of 30 organizations. The numbers from last season can’t be ignored, however, because the six Houston affiliates combined for a 278-422 record.

“Well, I think there’s no doubt we’re thin or probably as thin as we’ve been in a long time with our minor-league system,” admitted Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, who served as Houston’s designated hitter Thursday night. “But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still have guys that are talented that are going to be knocking on the door and helping us out.

“Right now I think for so long our system has had so many good players in it. Inevitably every system is maybe going to go through a little bit of some hard times,” Berkman said. “But there are some guys out there that are going to be competitive at a high level.”

Why make decisions now when you can make them later?

Because I'm sure the stress of being a Major League Baseball player isn't enough. Why don't we make them sweat for a few more days? That's the mindset of Easy Eddie.

“I’m a believer, particularly in major decisions, you use as much time as you have to make the right decision,” general manager Ed Wade said. “I can see us breaking here (Thursday) with more than 25 players and still a couple of decisions left to make.”

Well, when you put it like that... but what are these decisions?

SP5:
“I think Capellan has thrown well and has put his best foot forward in every outing he’s had down here, as has Ortiz. Russ’ innings have been cleaner than Capellan, but Jose has done a nice job.”
That's the "you're a nice girl, and all..." line. I've used it once or twice - okay, once - in my life. Expect Capellan at The Rock.

IF5:
“You kind of want more defense, but one guy kind of carries that tag of being a good offensive player (Smith), and the younger guy carries a tag of being a more defensive player (Maysonet),” Cooper said. “I think they both have done pretty well on both ends. They’ve both swung it good and played good defense. Ideally you want a guy who can catch the ball. More times than not, he’s going to play second, short and maybe third base, maybe even the outfield. He’ll pinch run. He’s got to be able to do all those things and do them well.”
Just to be clear, The Kid is Chris Johnson. The Younger Guy is Edwin Maysonet. This one really will come down to the weekend.

3B1:
And Chris Johnson can keep his fingernails squarely between his teeth. Regard:
“If he’s with us, he’s not going to sit on the bench, that’s for sure,” Cooper said. “I don’t think that’s what you do with a young kid.”
Indicating that Johnson is either going to start, or he's going to The Rock.

Capellan wasn't exactly inspiring today

The Astros lost for the first time in a week ("streaky" is an adjective we ought to get used to) to the Nationals 6-3, and Berkman was held out due to some soreness in his bicep - but could be back in action tomorrow.

The Astros scored their three runs on nine hits, while the Nationals scored their six runs on eight hits. Bourn and Michaels had two hits each; Matsui, Newhan, Pence, Johnson and Capellan accounted for the other five.

Pitching line:
Capellan: 5IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 4K
Byrdak: 2IP, 1H, 1R (0ER), 1BB, 1K
Wright: 1IP, 2H, 1BB, 1K

Notice Wright allowed three baserunners in an inning and did not give up a run. Capellan, however, may be fading at the wrong time. That's two starts in a row in which he has given up five earned to push his ERA to 4.58. Here's your race for SP5 as of tonight:

Ortiz: 22.1IP, 19H, 8ER, 9BB, 16K, 3.22 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
Capellan: 19.2IP, 20H, 10ER, 4BB, 11K, 4.58 ERA, 1.22 WHIP

Ortiz has allowed one earned run in his last two starts (11 innings). Still think Ortiz, because of the clause in his contract saying he can opt-out if he doesn't make the team, has the inside track while Capellan may start out in Round Rock.

32 players fighting for 25 spots...this isn't going to end well

By my count - which could be off - there are 32 players on the roster right now who have a shot at making the OD09 roster. That means it has to be trimmed by seven.

Let's take a look at how this could shake out.

Rotation: 6
Roy, Wandy, Hampton, Moehler, Ortiz, Capellan

Bullpen: 10
Arias, Brocail, Byrdak, de la Vara, Fulchino, Geary, Hawkins, Sampson, Valverde, Wright

Catchers: 3
Pudge, Quintero, Towles

Infielders: 7
Berkman, Blum, Johnson, Matsui, Maysonet, Smith, Tejada

Outfielders: 6
Abercrombie, Bourn, Erstad, Lee, Michaels, Pence

-
We can trim one from the rotation automatically. I think Ortiz is SP5 due to the nature of his opt-out clause and the fact that Capellan could be signed and sent to Round Rock. Cut? Capellan

Coop took eight for the bullpen on OD08, meaning we can project taking two off of this list. de la Vara is a Rule 5 pick with an 0-2 record and an 8.38 ERA, giving up five homers in 9.2 innings. So it comes down to Arias and Fulchino. Both have been impressive. Fulchino is 0-1 with a 2.19 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00. Arias has been perfect, 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA and nine baserunners (7H, 2BB) in 8.1 innings. It's hard to say, but given that Fulchino has been given more innings and opportunities, it seems like Coop is leaning towards letting him lose a job. But he's done very well. It's a toss-up, but I'll give the nod towards Fulchino making the team with Arias and de la Vara out. And I could be totally wrong.

Update: Within this piece JJO says it's unlikely Arias will break camp with the Astros.

I'm also going to say Towles heads to Round Rock, in what seems to be kind of a no-brainer, for now.

We're going to have to cut two, maybe three from the infield as the outfield seems set with five and Abercrombie is the odd man out. Coop has talked about the backup needing to be able to play short, and Alyson Footer, surprisingly mentions Chris Johnson starting the season in Round Rock. So she's closer to the situation than I am - I don't like the idea, but we'll trim Johnson from the list. Between Maysonet and Smith, it's a toss-up. Up until Maysonet's two homer day, he showed no stick, and Smith hasn't shown much of a glove. It could go either way, but I'll say that since Smith signed a minor-league contract back at the beginning of January, Maysonet will get the nod - at least initially.

To recap, here are the projected seven trimmed from the roster (as of March 23): Capellan, de la Vara, Fulchino, Towles, Abercrombie, Johnson, Smith. But who knows?

That's a win, and we may have our SP5

Edwin Maysonet answered the earlier post on the concern about his offense by hitting two jacks and a triple (5 RBI) against Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays, as the Astros won 9-7 after trailing 5-1. Lou Santangelo also went 2x4 with a homer.

The Astros collected 12 hits and did not, repeat did not commit an error.

Capellan threw five innings and gave up his first earned run of the Spring. Problem was, he also gave up four more earned runs after that first one on seven hits and a walk. Neal Musser threw one inning and gave up a walk. Alberto Arias threw two innings and struck out three, while Tim Byrdak let things get interesting in one inning giving up four hits and two earned runs with a strikeout.

"There were a few pitches that I left up in the zone and they took advantage," he said. "I feel good. Anybody can miss on a certain day. It was just that one bad inning. In the other innings I felt good and I was throwing the pitches where they called them."

Cecil Cooper, who still considers Capellan a strong candidate for the fifth spot, praised the righthander for rebounding well from the five-run inning with a scoreless frame in the fifth.

Excellent point. Capellan has thrown 17.2 innings this Spring, and has been scoreless for 16.2 of those. Even Coop says today doesn't really influence him one way or the other:

"You see what happened in the next inning," Cooper said. "He went right back out, and boom, boom, boom."

One important note on this SP5 question is that Russ Ortiz has a clause in the deal he signed with the Astros that allows him to opt out of his contract if he doesn't make the club out of Spring Training.

McTaggart updates his projected Opening Day roster

Blog post from Tags where he updates his projection for Opening Day roster. Regard:

Catcher
Ivan Rodriguez
Humberto Quintero
The signing of Pudge pushes Lou Palmisano out the door. The question is if the Astros have seen enough to try to keep Palmisano in the organization somehow.

Infield
Lance Berkman
Kaz Matsui
Miguel Tejada
Chris Johnson
Geoff Blum
Jason Smith
I still see Jason Smith as the backup, especially with Tommy Manzella gone.

Outfield
Carlos Lee
Hunter Pence
Michael Bourn
Jason Michaels
Darin Erstad

Rotation
Roy Oswalt
Wandy Rodriguez
Mike Hampton
Brian Moehler
Russ Ortiz

Bullpen
Wesley Wright
Tim Byrdak
Chris Sampson
Geoff Geary
LaTroy Hawkins
Doug Brocail
Jose Valverde

-

I'm surprised that de la Vara wasn't included on this list - but again, I'm not sure who he would bump from that bullpen. After all, the bullpen is the only solid portion of the club that I feel pretty strongly about. And it'll be interesting to see what they do with Capellan and Backe.

Another day, another...wait, what?

Hey a win! Russ Ortiz threw six shutout, one-hit innings with two strikeouts as the Astros have a one game winning streak with a 4-2 win over the Reds.

Sampson came in for two innings and gave up two hits with no runs and a strikeout. Fulchino got two outs, while Bud Norris got one out, but gave up two hits, two runs, a walk and a strikeout.

Berkman hit a two-run jack, while Newhan, Erstad, Matsui, Tejada, Blum, Abercrombie, Quintero and Ortiz added hits as well.

Russ Ortiz said this: "In this game you have to make adjustments," Ortiz said. "From last start to this start the whole time in between, I was just trying to make adjustments on the things that I needed to. I think most of it was just mental. Last game, I was trying to fix things while trying to get major league hitters outs. That's too hard to do. I was just working on the things I needed to and just going out there and just focusing on just attacking the zone."

JJO, the other Ortiz, said the following:
At this point, it would be surprising if Ortiz weren't the Astros' fifth starter.

Jose Capellan will pitch tomorrow to try to match Ortiz...

Ortiz and Capellan ready to duel to the death

In non-Pudge/Pedro news, Russ Ortiz and Jose Capellan are ready to duel for SP5 in the rotation. Or if the Astros sign Pedro, they're ready to participate in somewhat meaningless activities.

Ortiz will pitch Friday, Capellan Saturday, and someone's getting bumped out of deference to getting Roy back on his schedule for Opening day.

“They’re going to just continue to go on a regular routine,” Cooper said. “Each one has his own day, and they will continue to go on those times.”

And in Meat Wagon news, Alberto Arias is feeling better and threw a light bullpen session after getting cracked on the knuckles by a Hideki Matsui line drive.

Someone just...make it stop

Another day, another L - that's how we do. This time, though at least we had a lead, but lost it in the 8th inning, and lost to the Braves 3-2.

A couple of positives: Jose Capellan threw 4.2 scoreless and gave up four hits. That runs his ER-less streak to 9.2 innings this spring. JJO says SP5 is now between Russ Ortiz and Jose Capellan.

After today, here's how the stats stand:
Ortiz: 0-1, 11.1IP, 13H, 7ER, 7BB, 10K, 5.56 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, .432 SLGA, .396 OBA
Capellan: 0-0, 9.2IP, 7H, 0ER, 0BB, 7K, 0.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, .235 SLGA, .229 OBA

Back to today's loss, Tejada and Erstad had two hits each while Santangelo and Capellan added one each.

In addition to Capellan's strong outing...
Paulino: 1IP, 1H
Graves: 1IP, 0H
Byrdak: 1IP, 4H, 3ER (and the L)
Wright: .1IP, 1H

Astros see no reason to panic, because it's March

In a fire-extinguishing article in the Chronicle, the headline reads "Despite Spring struggles, Astros see no reason to panic" - but what else are they going to say? "Turn in your season ticket package for a 2005 Highlight DVD?"

The games have been, according to Easy Eddie, "sloppy and choppy" and this weekend the games should get more crisp as the leading candidates will get more opportunities to play.

There's a positive/negative aspect of the article. JJO lists these positives:

Mike Hampton's arm hasn't withered yet.
Russ Ortiz and Jose Capellan are making the Astros think.
Alberto Arias is good, too.

But here are the negatives:
Nieve, Paulino, Backe and Hensley really nutted it this spring.
And I'll go ahead and add that Astros catchers are 4x39 so far.

Anybody want to add anything to either column?

Make it stop

Another day, another loss, another opportunity to figure out who belongs in Round Rock. Unfortunately, there's a lot of 'em.

The Astros lost to the Reds 8-2 this afternoon. Jeff Fulchino threw two innings, gave up five hits and four runs (two earned, because, surprise! the Astros commited two errors - one by Fulchino, the other by Newhan). Nieve got two outs, but also gave up a hit and two walks - leading to two runs (one earned). Bud Norris threw one inning, gave up two hits and two earned runs. Neal Musser got one out, and recorded one walk. Alberto Arias threw two scoreless innings and gave up three hits. But one of those guys who impressed - on paper, at least - was Gil de la Vara. Two innings, no runs, one walk.

Berkman, Smith, Blum, Sutton, Pence, Manzella and two from Bogusevic accounted for all eight hits. Sutton's two-run jack made up the runs. In the Race for Round Rock, Palmisano went 0-for-3, Quintero 0-for-1.

Despite this, pitching coach Dewey Robinson who has red hands from all the wringin', remains optimistic, because really, what else can he do?

"You start looking at our core guys, and I'm optimistic," Robinson said. "We're throwing six, seven, eight guys a game, and one or two have bad outings, and it weighs on you. But each night, I try to evaluate each pitcher individually. I've been excited about four or five guys who are consistently throwing well."

Robinson also mentions Russ Ortiz and Jose Capellan pulling away for the SP5 spot. Who do you want in there?