Former Astro Tranzactionz

So...the Mets signed Tim Byrdak and the Rays signed 2010 Express member Jonah Bayliss, to a minor-league contract.

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.

Meat Wagon updates

Brian Bogusevic had that surgery on his right foot, and Tim Byrdak is scheduled to have surgery to deal with the sports hernia today in Massachusetts.

Both are, of course, expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Fulchino's surgery successful

Jeff Fulchino's elbow surgery was successful as doctors cleaned out inflammed tissue and a bone spur.

Bogusevic goes to see the doctor today, while Tim Byrdak will wait another week and let that sports hernia grow and fester before seeing Dr. Brian Buscani.

Most likely Astros off-season destination? The OR

Brian McTaggart is reporting that two Astros already have surgeries scheduled:

Jeff Fulchino, tomorrow - elbow surgery
Tim Byrdak, October 14 - sports hernia surgery

Brad Mills sees the silver lining

Brad Mills has some encouraging words for his young team regarding the pleasure of watching the Reds dance around like it's Lord of the Flies in front of them:

"There's no doubt. Any time you experience something like this and go through it, you become better off for it. You'd like to be on the other side of it, but at the same time it's good for these guys to go through it and learn to go through it like they did."

Byrdak:
"You never want to see that. We wanted to come in here and win all three of these games and force them to win a game against somebody else. You never want to see that. You want to be in the playoff race. That's why you play this game, to go out there and win. It does [stink] today."

Wallace:
"It was a great atmosphere and the fans were loud. The biggest thing for us is it can serve as motivation. We want to play in games like that when we're at home with an opportunity to clinch. It's one of those things -- we'll keep our heads down and keep playing hard. We played well the whole time and they got a big hit at the end. It just shows us what we're capable of and what we can play for."

I envision the Astros' rookies working out in a dank weight room, wearing a German swimsuit, crying while lifting weights, and looking at the Cincinnati Enquirer's front page taped to the ceiling. Trust me, I don't want to envision it. But I do.

Byrdak may need off-season surgery, Lindstrom stubborn

Tim Byrdak is dealing with some abdominal/lower back issues that may need some off-season surgery.

Byrdak (and McTaggart):
"It's nothing I can't handle, but it's a nagging deal. If it's tight [near his lower abdomen], it's pulling at other places. If I could get that to relax, maybe everything else would relax and maybe it takes the focus off that more. I've never had anything like this."

Byrdak, who had cortisone shots in May and then again in early June to help his back, hopes to get an MRI at some point to help diagnose the problem. He said he might have even explore having surgery in the offseason to fix the problem.

"It's responded pretty well, but it's a nagging thing. You want to wake up and feel pretty good. You just want to wake up and not feel anything and be good to go. We're still going to get to that point and making adjustments here and there and doing what I can do."
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We also read that Lindstrom was a little stubborn in addressing his back injury:
"You don't plan on things like this happening. I probably should have tried to get it fixed a little bit earlier, but I've been stubborn. There are certain things you can battle through and certain things you can't, and this is one of those things."

McTaggart notes that Lindstrom was dealing with back problems for "weeks."

Byrdak is back. /kazoo

Oh hooray. Tim Byrdak is back.

Byrdak:
“My front leg wasn't doing what it was doing before the injury happened. It was collapsing a little bit (when throwing). It's been a nightmare having to try to pitch 100 percent and having to deal with this problem."

Can I use this space to whine and moan about Wesley Wright? It's more related than you think. Wright could have made the team out of Spring Training, but no, he needed to go to Round Rock to get stretched out as a starting pitcher. This was after the Astros sent him to the Dominican to learn hot to start. He made nine starts as a starter for Round Rock, and over Memorial Day weekend, when Norris was placed on the DL, Wright got called up. I know it has to do with having a lefty in the bullpen, but the Astros burned an option to bring him up to Houston so he could throw 6IP? How's his development coming now? Did they decide that, after an offseason and nine starts, screw it - we need him as a lefty specialist?

It felt like a short-sighted move then, and it still feels like a short-sighted move. I'd rather keep Byrdak in there (now that he's healthy) and move Wright on back to Round Rock where he can continue his development as a starter. Ridiculous.

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!

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.

McTaggart's Notes

McTaggart has a new post up and there are interesting things beyond the impending trade of Roy:

Byrdak is looking at a Tuesday return. Mills:
"He said he felt really good and threw the ball well, and he'll take the mound again tomorrow for another inning."

Also, you'll note that Pedro Feliz is not in the lineup tonight, and McTaggart says it was not an injury-related decision.

Byrdak working his way back

Tim Byrdak will throw a full bullpen session today, two days after throwing 20 fastballs.

Byrdak update

Late afternoon Byrdak from Alyson Footer:

He has an irritation of the L5 disc in his back. He'll remain in Houston until Friday, when he will receive an injection and he'll then fly to SF to rejoin the team."

Bernardo Fallas says the DL stint will last more than 15 days.

Byrdak "not getting any better"

Bernardo Fallas' Notes column this morning tells us that Tim Byrdak isn't any closer to returning, having been on the DL since May 4.

Byrdak:
“It really hasn’t been getting any better. I’m still getting the radiating pain from the glute down to the hammy and stuff in the back of the knee. Nate did some functional stuff to see kind of where the back is, and he just thinks there’s something else going on there.”

He'll see back specialist Dr. Michael McCann in Houston, the same doctor who treated Roy.

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.

Levine: Sending Wright down was the right move

And I agree with him:

This is not a situation, though, where the Astros are likely to be ruining his career by stretching him out. He was at times very capable, but definitely on the fringes of holding down a big league job as a reliever.

He'll now head down to Class AAA Round Rock and build up his stamina. He'll also continue develop a changeup, which the Astros want him to use against righties and lefties, in hopes of completing an arsenal suited to making a few trips through a lineup.

It will leave Tim Byrdak (who has had tremendous BABIP luck in the last couple years) as the only lefthander in the Astros' bullpen, but a team without a true lefty specialist probably would have been without one even if Wright had made the bullpen.

So the main concern is this: what will happen if Byrdak's BABIP regresses to the mean, and he's not as effective as he has been? Of course the better infield defense will keep that BABIP lower than it would have been had the Astros kept Blum/Tejada on the left side of the infield. And as Byrdak is a lefty, hitters will be pulling the ball between Matsui and Berkman/Whoever Is At 1B (which, oh yeah, might be Blum). There wouldn't be another lefty in the bullpen...can the Astros handle that?

DL Notes

Brian McTaggart explains how the DL works in Spring Training in his new article.

Essentially, the earliest a player can be put on the DL is Friday. If a player appears in a game in which admission is charged after he is put on the DL, it affects that player's eligibility. So it's not like the Astros could put him on the DL on Saturday, have him play the exhibition games at Minute Maid against the Blue Jays, and then go back on the DL. That's why this weekend is so big for Lance: if he responds well to his rehab, he may not have to go on the DL. If it doesn't, and he goes on the DL, he'll miss the first four games of the season for sure.

Alberto Arias is also likely headed to the DL, but those two are the biggest DL risks as of now.

One guy who looks like he's pitching with a noodle arm is Tim Byrdak, but Brad Mills ain't scurred:
"No. 1, you're always kind of wondering, but at the same time he's really shown flashes of how he throws during the season. Looking back at his spring history, he hasn't had the best Spring Trainings in the past but really throws the ball well during the season. You don't want to overlook what's happening this spring, but if there's some adjustment that can be made, [pitching coach Brad Arnsberg] is making those adjustments the best he can. At the same time, you can't put all the stock in what' happening this spring."

Dave Raymond has some observations

Dave Raymond notices a few things about these Astros.

Positives:

Offense
As a team, the Astros have a .305 batting average and a .501 slugging percentage. Both of those are the best in the Grapefruit League.

Defense
I've talked to several coaches from other clubs who have told me that they voted for Feliz to win the Gold Glove last year at third base. He's that good. Meanwhile, Manzella has shown quite a bit more range than Miguel Tejada did the past two seasons.

Felipe Paulino
New pitching coach, Brad Arnsberg, has worked diligently with the enigmatic right-hander to "clean up" his delivery. Keep in mind that Arnsberg has worked with guys like Roy Halladay, Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett and says Paulino has "as good an arm as I've been around in a long time."

Negatives:

Injuries

Oswalt hasn't pitched much
This is only a very small concern. Oswalt has felt great and is throwing even better.

Lefties
Numbers for relievers can be deceiving -- especially given the scarcity of innings in the cases of Byrdak and Wright. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is a veteran of this process and seems confident that all will be fine by April 6th.

I think the less Oswalt throws in the Spring (aside from what he needs to get ready, of course), the better.

Astros not interested in Joe Beimel, and why would they be?

Alden Gonzalez tweeted this morning that Ed Wade said the Astros are "more than adequately covered" in the bullpen, and don't need to bring in reliever Joe Beimel.

And good for them. With Byrdak entrenched in the bullpen, the Astros have a lefty reliever who had a much better 2009 than Beimel, anyway. And there's a possibility of Wright making the team in the bullpen (though it sounds more like he'll go to Round Rock to continue his development into a starter).

It would be nice to have another LHP in the 'pen, but not at what it might cost/force out of the team to get Beimel.

Nocturnal Emissions: Vol. 6

Richard Justice chimes in with a fluff piece on reliever Tim Byrdak:

Tim Byrdak had finished a bullpen session the other day when new Astros coach Jamie Quirk approached him and smiled.

"So what clicked with you?" Quirk asked.

They’d met a dozen years earlier when Quirk was a coach for the Kansas City Royals and Byrdak was beginning what he hoped would be a long and successful major league career.

Simple question, complicated answer. Byrdak could have talked for an hour and not told Quirk the whole story. About all the times he’d been released, traded and injured or had doubted.

About 15 years in the minor leagues and the long bus rides, cold showers and trays of cold cuts. About all the pitches he tried and junked and sometimes tried again.

Byrdak is still around because he refused to believe all the people who doubted him. You don’t think I’m good enough? OK, you’ll see.

His wife, Heather, believed, too. She’s a huge part of this story. She once waited tables during the day and worked in a mall store at night while pregnant. Why? Tim’s dream became her dream...

...During those 15 years in the minors, Byrdak got up almost every day thinking he was one pitch away, maybe one opportunity away. An injury killed him here, a bad inning there.

There were tough times. Like when he was pitching for an independent league team in Joliet and making $2,000. That’s not even the worst of it. When Pete Rose Jr. was signed, there was one more veteran player than league rules allowed. Guess who the odd man out was.

"They were going to put me on the disabled list so I could keep getting paid," Byrdak said, "but I told them, ‘No, this isn’t where I want to be. I’m trying to get out of this league.’ I remember one year a guy in another organization coming up to me in Double-A and saying, ‘You’re way too old, and you’re making too much money. You either figure this out, or your tail is going to be at home.’ "