Random random Astro - John Mizerock

In today's RRA, let's look back at John Mizerock. Mizerock was the Astros 1st round pick in 1979 and caught in the Houston system from 1979 through 1986, including stints in the big leagues in 1983, 1985, and 1986.

Coming up through the minors, John showed a decent walk rate and low strikeout rate at the plate, but not much else. Caught stealing rates for catchers are not available for Mizerock's time in the minors. At the major league level, Mizerock's consistent talent was his ability to take a walk. His slash line in 248 plate appearances for Houston was .181/.316/.268. Combine that with his below average 29% caught stealing rate and it's easy to see why he didn't get much playing time.

That's not to say that John wasn't capable of having a good game. On September 13, 1985 while catching Mike Scott, Mizerock went 1x2 with a walk and an RBI double that gave Houston the 3-2 lead that would end up being the final score in that game against the Padres. He also caught Jerry Royster stealing second in the first inning that day.

The Astros released John Mizerock following the 1986 season. After spending a few months on the Expos roster he ended up in the Braves organization where he would play out the remainder of his career until his retirement following the 1990 season.

After his playing days John spent several seasons managing in the Royals system, including an eight game stint as interim manager for Kansas City in 2002 in which the team went 3-5. He is currently the hitting coach for the Phillies High-A affiliate in Clearwater.

Random random Astro - Roger Cedeno

In this installment of RRA we'll discuss a player I honestly forgot had spent time in Houston, outfielder Roger Cedeno. Roger would spend just one season, 2000, with Houston before moving on.

In December of 1999 Cedeno was traded to Houston from the Mets along with young starter Octavio Dotel and minor leaguer Kyle Kessel in exchange for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton. Cedeno had just come off an age 24 season with the Mets in which he stole 66 bases with a .396 OBP.

Houston used Roger almost equally across all three outfield positions while batting him first or second, utilizing his strong on-base ability and speed. Unfortunately, a broken hand suffered sliding head first into first base cost him two and a half months on the disabled list. Still, in 74 games Cedeno hit .282/.383/.398 with 25 steals.

Two games in particular show the ability Roger was able to flash. On April 22 against San Diego, Cedeno went  2x3 with two walks, a double, one run scored, two RBI on a game tying two-out single in the sixth inning, and an amazing four stolen bases in a 10 inning 8-6 loss. Three weeks later, Roger targeted the Reds on May 12. He would contribute to all three Houston runs in a 7-3 loss as he went 5x6 with one run, two RBI, and another three stolen bases.

Cedeno would suffer his injury two weeks later, which opened up a spot in the outfield for a young Lance Berkman. Berkman's emergence allowed Houston to trade Cedeno to Detroit along with Chris Holt and Mitch Melusky for Brad Ausmus, Doug Brocail, and reliever Nelson Cruz.

Roger would spend another five seasons in the majors without ever returning to the level of success he experienced with the Mets. He was last seen in uniform during a comeback attempt with Baltimore in 2007. After reportedly arriving to camp weighing in at 274 pounds he was released during spring training.

Random random Astro - Scott Servais

This installment of RRA is all about catcher Scott Servais. Scott was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round of the 1988 draft. After a couple of rough seasons in the minors, he put together a solid season in AAA Tucson in 1991 and earned a call-up. He would stay with the major league club until June of 1995 when he was traded along with Luis Gonzalez to the Cubs for catcher Rick Wilkins. Scott re-signed with Houston for 2001 when he split the season between Houston and AAA New Orleans. It would be his last season in the majors.

For his Houston career Scott hit .225/.284/.357 and caught 23% of base stealers. His best season with the Astros was 1993, when he hit .244/.313/.415 with 11 homers in 291 plate appearances while finishing 3rd in the National League in fielding percentage among catchers at .996.

A pair of games for Servais stand out as strong individual efforts. On May 26, 1992 the Astros went to Montreal to take on the Expos. That afternoon Scott went 3 for 3 at the plate with two doubles and two RBI before being removed in the 7th inning for a pinch runner. Both RBI came on a two run double off of Montreal starter Chris Nabholz in the second inning that gave the Astros an early lead as Houston went on to win 9-4.

Arguably the best game of his Astros tenure came on June 11, 1993. On that night Houston went to play the expansion Colorado Rockies in Colorado for the first time. Scott was 3 for 3 with two runs scored and one RBI on a solo homerun. That homerun came in the eighth inning off Rockies reliever Jeff Parrett and tied the game back up at 4-4. Unfortunately Houston would end up losing that came 5-4.

Scott is currently assistant GM for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Prior to that he was senior director of player development for the Texas Rangers.

Random random Astro - Denny Lemaster

It's time for the long awaited next installment in Random random Astro. In this post, let's reminisce about left handed pitcher Denver "Denny" Lemaster.

Denny pitched for Houston from 1968-1971 after being traded from Atlanta following an All-Star season with Denis Menke for Chuck Harrison and Sonny Jackson. He spent the first two and a half seasons with Houston as a starter before converting to relief to finish his career. Overall with Houston he was 30-46 with six saves and a 3.40 ERA.

His first two seasons with Houston were the two best of his career and included a few outstanding starts. On May 2, 1968 Lemaster faced a St. Louis team led by Orlando Cepeda that would go on to the World Series. Denny gave up just three hits and one walk, striking out five as he shutout the Cardinals for a 4-0 victory.

Two months later, the Reds came to Houston to face Lemaster. On July 2, 1968 Denny gave up just four hits and one walk while striking out seven, including Johnny Bench twice, as he shutout Cincinnati for a 2-0 victory.

1969 saw some changes in the National League, as the Astros joined the newly formed NL West. In a June 22 game against new division rival San Diego, Lemaster locked into a pitcher's duel with Joe Niekro as neither of the two would allow a run through the first six innings. In the end the Astros rode Denny's arm to victory, winning 2-0. Denny scattered five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts for his last career shutout.

Following the 1971 season, Lemaster was sold to the Montreal Expos.

These days Denny Lemaster can be found around Lincoln County, Georgia spending his days fishing and wood carving.

Random random Astro - Mike LaCoss

It's time for another installment of random random Astro, where at random time throughout the season random players from random eras will be discussed. Today's player is swingman Mike "Bunny" LaCoss.

Mike pitched for the Astros from 1982 to 1984 after being claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. He made 118 appearances for Houston over those three years, including 43 starts. He compiled an 18-18 record with 4 saves and a 3.83 ERA. These days that ERA would look pretty good, but in the lower scoring early 80's it was only good for a 87 ERA+. His first season with Houston, 1982, was his best. That year he went 6-6 with a 2.90 ERA while appearing in 41 games including 8 starts.

Mike seemed to alternate stretches of effectiveness with stretches where he let everyone score, but a couple of good games stand out, both starts. On September 14, 1982 LaCoss started in Atlanta against a Braves team that was battling for the division lead. Mike gave up just two 2nd inning singles as he pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out three and walking two, to earn the victory as the Astros won 4-0.

On July 5, 1984 Mike pitched another gem against the Expos. Facing a lineup that featured Tim Raines and Gary Carter, LaCoss went eight innings allowing one unearned run and three hits while striking out six and walking  three. The Astros would win 2-1, giving Mike a 4-0 record to that point in the season.

LaCoss would sign with Kansas City as a free agent in 1985. After one season with the Royals, Mike would spend six seasons in San Fransisco to finish out his playing career. He is signed on this season to be the pitching coach of the independent San Rafael Pacifics.

Random random Astro - Mark Ross

In this episode of RRA, we take a look at a little used relief pitcher from the early to mid 80's, Mark Ross. Mark was the Astros 7th round pick in 1979 out of Texas A&M where he was a two-time all SWC pitcher.

After a moderate amount of success in the minors, Mark made his major league debut September 12, 1982 against the Dodgers, coming in to pitch the 8th and 9th innings and giving up two hits and one run with one strikeout in a 7-3 loss to L.A. He would finish his cup of coffee with a 1.50 ERA in six innings across four games with four strikeouts and no walks.

After spending all of 1983 on the farm Mark would get a couple refills on that cup in 1984, when he pitched in just two games, and 1985, when he made 12 appearances. His Astros career spanned three seasons of short call-ups, totaling 21.1 innings in 14 games. Mark compiled a 1-2 record with one save, eight strikeouts, two walks, and a 3.38 ERA.

It's tempting to say the highlight of his brief Astros career would be either his one win or his one save, but let's look at things a little differently. On September 22, 1982, Mark came in for Frank DiPino the top of the sixth against Atlanta with the Braves leading 2-1. Facing the heart of the lineup against a Joe Torre led Braves team that would win the NL West that year, Mark pitched two scoreless innings, inducing six ground-outs while allowing just one single. With Mark holding the line the Astros were able to regroup for a comeback victory as they scored two runs after Ross left the game.

Mark's transactional history is interesting, as he's listed as having been sent to the Cardinals as part of a conditional deal in December of 1985, but was returned to the Astros in March of 1986. Essentially he spent his winter break in St. Louis. After spending the 1986 season in Tucson, Mark was granted free agency by the Astros. He would get a few more innings in the majors with the Pirates and Blue Jays before hanging up his spikes following the 1991 season.

Strangely, Mark's early ups and downs with the Astros were tied to J.R. Richard as Richard was attempting his comeback from the 1980 stroke that struck him down as he was entering his prime. Prior to the 1982 season they were optioned to the minor leagues the same day. Then, he and Richard were called up the same day that September.

Mark has recently been a part of the Astros scouting organization as West Coast Supervisor.

Random random Astro - Jeriome Robertson

In this installment of RRA, let's look at pitcher Jeriome Robertson. Jeriome was a left handed starting pitcher with Houston in 2002 and 2003.

Jeriome was drafted by the Astros in the 24th round in 1995. He steadily worked his way up the ranks until his first major league start in September of 2002. His first outing was a rough one as he lasted just 2.2 innings against Texas, giving up six hits and two runs to start his career 0-1. Jeriome spent the rest of 2002 in the bullpen, and finished the season with a 6.52 ERA over 9.2 innings.

Jeriome spent almost all of 2003 as a member of the Astros' major league rotation. In 32 games, 31 starts, he compiled 160.2 innings with 99 strikeouts, 64 walks, and a 5.10 ERA.  Despite that 86+ ERA, he managed a 15-7 record and finished 7th in rookie of the year voting. Two games stand out when looking for his Astros highlights, both from 2003. On April 10th at home against the Reds, Jeriome gave seven innings of two hit ball, including eight strikeouts, three walks, and one run to earn the victory as the Astros won 4-2. Later in the season, on July 22nd, Robertson pitched another strong game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. In that outing he threw 7.1 innings of shutout ball with two strikeouts and two walks while giving up just three hits. He also had an RBI single off Salomon Torres, scoring Lance Berkman as the Astros went on to win 2-0.

Just before the start of the 2004 season, he was traded to Cleveland for Luke Scott. Jeriome would throw just 14 innings in the majors for Cleveland and never appeared in the big leagues again.

Jeriome Robertson was killed in a motorcycle accident May 29, 2010.

* As reader AstroBrit has pointed out in the comments, Houston also retained the rights to that offseason's Rule 5 draft pick Willy Taveras in order to keep him in AAA for most of the 2004 season.

Random random Astro - Al Osuna

Today we'll go back and look at left-handed reliever Al Osuna. Al was the Astros 16th round pick in the 1987 draft and in 1990 he made the jump from the AA Columbus MudCats to Houston. He converted a few save opportunities in 1991, then spent the next two seasons in Houston as middle reliever with an unusual reverse platoon split as he had more success against right-handed hitters than lefties.

Over the span of his Houston days Al was, on the whole, a below average pitcher. He appeared in 193 games and 180 innings, putting up a 3.75 ERA with 132 strikeouts and 103 walks. While that ERA may not look bad by today's standards, in the early 90's it only equates to a 94 ERA+. If Al had ever managed to get those walks under control he would have been much better for us.

While he was mediocre on average, he oscillated between good seasons and bad seasons. His final season in Houston was his best, as he appeared in 44 games and just 25.1 innings. It was that strong reverse split that led to this success, as he held opposing right-handed batters to a .452 OPS that season. He finished the year with a 3.20 ERA and 21 strikeouts against 13 walks.

Al's best game with the Astros is arguable, but we'll go with his appearance on June 16, 1991 against the Mets. Al was called upon to pitch in the bottom of the 8th with the Astros leading 5-4. The Mets went three up, three down in the 8th as the Astros clung to their lead. Osuna came back out to pitch the ninth and, after a leadoff single to Rick Cerone, retired the next three batters to earn a two inning save, ending the game when Daryl Boston stuck out looking.

Before the 1994 season Al was traded to the Dodgers for prospect Jimmy Daspit, who never appeared in the majors.

An interesting non-Astros related note, Al appears to have become a right-handed pitcher for his final season with the Padres in 1996. Details and/or verification of this unusual change are difficult to find, so if any readers have more information please comment.

Edit* The 1996 RHP listing may be a mis-classification. Baseball Almanac lists him as a LHP, Baseball-Reference lists him as a RHP. I'll keep digging.

Edit #2* I've verified with long time Padres blogger and current Baseball Prospectus writer Geoff Young that the RHP listing is indeed a typo by Baseball-Reference. Al Osuna was a still a LHP in 1996. On a side note, that's probably the most research anyone's done on Al Osuna in 15 plus years.

Random random Astro - Billy Goodman

In this installment of Random random Astro, we're going all the way back to the first year of the franchise's history as we look at former Colt .45 Billy Goodman.

Billy was signed a month into Houston's inaugural season, 1962, after being released by the Chicago White Sox. He would be released by Houston after the season, ending his major league career. He hit .255/.306/.292 with Houston while playing first base, second base, and third base. Earlier in his career he was a perennial .300 hitter including winning a batting title with the Red Sox in 1950 when he hit .354 and finished second to Phil Rizzuto in MVP voting.

The highlight of his short time with Houston would be June 7th in a game against the Milwaukee Braves. Billy appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at two, two outs, and runners on first and second. Against reliever Hank Fischer, who had been brought in to face Goodman, Billy hit a game winning walk-off single scoring Al Spangler and bringing the young team's record to 23-30.

Following the 1962 season, Billy stayed with the organization as a player/manager for the 1962 and 1963 Durham Bulls and manager of the Cocoa Astros in 1964.

Random Random Astro - Mark Portugal

In this installment of Random Random Astro, we'll take a look at Mark Portugal. Mark was a starting pitcher for Houston from 1989 to 1993.

Mark was traded to Houston from Minnesota, where he had been a very mediocre reliever, for a player to be named later in December of 1988. That PTBNL ended up being minor league reliever Todd McLure, who spent one season in the Minnesota farm system before his professional career was over, so Houston basically got Mark for nothing.

Houston decided to turn him into a starter and his career blossomed with the Astros. During his tenure with the team, Mark went 52-30 with a 3.34 ERA. He also hit is only two career home runs while playing for the Astros, one his first season in Houston and the other his last. The best year of Mark's career came in his final season with Houston, 1993, as he went 18-4 with a 2.77 ERA, led NL pitchers in win percentage (.818) and finished 6th in Cy Young voting.

While Mark obviously had several good outings for the Astros, two in particular stood out. July 11th, 1991 Mark threw 10 shutout innings while giving up six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in an eleven inning 1-0 win over the Phillies. He even went 1-3 at the plate with a double that game.

Another of Mark's best performances came September 21st, 1993 against the Giants. Mark went the distance for a shutout in the 6-0 victory. He allowed just three hits and one walk with six strikeouts. Again, Mark had a good day hitting as well, going 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

Mark became a free agent after that 1993 season, eventually signing with those same San Francisco Giants. As compensation for losing Mark, the Astros received the Giants 1st round draft pick in 1994, as well as a compensation pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds. With the first compensation pick the Astros drafted pitcher Scott Elarton. With the sandwich pick Houston selected infielder Russ Johnson.

Random Random Astro - Mike Brumley

This is the first of a new series here at Astros County. The premise is simple; at random times throughout the coming year, we'll look at a random player from the Astros' 50 year history. Today's random random Astro is Mike Brumley.

Brumley actually had two extremely brief tours in Houston in the mid 90's, primarily as a pinch hitter and utility defensive replacement. He first came to the Astros as a minor league free agent in 1993. After an impressive season in AAA Tucson where he hit .353/.419/.471 with 0 homeruns and 24 steals as a SS/OF, he was called up to Houston in September. In 11 plate appearances spread across 8 games he hit .300/.364/.300. Brumley did get one start in right field that season, in game #162. His highlight of the season was October 2nd when, as an 8th inning pinch hitter, he hit a 2 RBI single to give Houston a 3-1 victory over the Mets. Houston placed Brumley on waivers October 4th.

Brumley's second stint with Houston was 1995 when he was once again signed to a minor league deal. Through two call ups that season, Brumley managed a .056/.056/.222 line over 18 games with 18 plate appearances, including one start in left field. Brumley again had one good pinch hitting appearance. September 28th against the Cubs he game to the plate in the top of the 11th inning and swatted a solo HR, temporarily giving the Astros the lead before the team lost 12-11 in the bottom of the same inning.

After spending the entire 1996 season in Tucson, Brumley's career ended. In his two seasons as an Astro, Brumley totaled a .143/.172/.250 line while appearing as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and RF.