PreStros Farm Report: April 10

PreStros: April 10

Oklahoma City (5-1) 

The RedHawks combined good pitching with timely hitting to beat Nashville (MIL) 5-1.

Paul Clemens earned the win with 5 strong innings scattering 5 hits and 1 walk to allow 1 unearned run with 4 K. Mickey Storey struck out 3 in two perfect innings. Fernando Abad and Jose Valdez each struck out 1 in their 1 perfect inning each.

SS-Jed Lowrie was 1x3 with 2 RBI in his first rehab game as he works back from the DL. PH-Justin Ruggiano had a 2 RBI double and scored 1 R. C-Landon Powell was 1x1 with 2 BB and 2 R. CF-JB Shuck went 1x3 with 1 BB, 1 SB, and 2 R.

Man of the Match: Paul Clemens

Corpus Christi (3-3) 

The Hooks tried to rally but couldn’t overcome an early outburst by Tulsa (COL) as they lost 6-3.

Henry Villar was responsible for all the runs allowed as he lasted just 3 innings giving up 9 H, including 2 HR, and 1 WP with 3 K. Arcenio Leon pitched 3 scoreless innings with 2 H, 2 BB, 1 WP, and 2 K. Jonnathan Aristil had 4 K in 2 IP with 2 H.

SS-Jonathan Villar was 2x4 with 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 CS, and 1 error. LF-John Singleton went 2x4 with 1 BB, 1 R, and 1 RBI. CF-Brandon Barnes was 4x5 with a 2 run HR.

Man of the Match: Brandon Barnes

Lancaster (1-5) 

Lancaster took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning, but ultimately lost 7-5 to Rancho Cucamonga (LAD).

David Martinez pitched well in 6 innings, allowing 2 BB and 4 H, including a 2 run HR, with 5 K. Andrew Robinson and Brian Streilein combined to allow the 5 runs in the 8th inning.

SS-Jio Mier was 3x5 with 1 R. CF-George Springer was 2x4 with 1 2B, 1 R, and 1 RBI along with an OF assist. LF-Telvin Nash continued his destruction at the plate as he went 2x4 with 2 HR, 2 R, and 3 RBI. Nash has 5 HR through the JetHawks first 6 games.

Man of the Match: Telvin Nash

Lexington (1-5) 

Lexington got blown up by Hagerstown (WSH) 16-8, and the game didn’t even seem as close as the score.

Carlos Quevedo went 3 innings and gave up 8 H, 2 HR (including a grand slam), and 7 R with 6 K and 1 BB. Nathan Pettus had 4 IP and allowed 6 H, 1 HR, and 4 R with 3 K, 1 BB, and 4 WP. Scott Zuloaga pitched the final inning and gave up 5 R on 4 H, including another grand slam, while allowing 1 BB and 1 HBP.

DH-Zach Johnson was 2x5 with 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, and 3 RBI. 1B-Tyler Burnett went 2x5 with 1 HR, 2 R, and 2 RBI. C-Mike Kvasnicka was 2x5 with 1 R and 1 RBI but allowed 2 SB. LF-Jordan Scott was 1x2 with 3 BB, 3 R, and 1 SB.

Man of the Match: Zach Johnson

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted.

Here's a ridiculously detailed scouting report of Mark Appel

The Hardball Times have an insane scouting report on potential June 1-1 Mark Appel.

Whether or not I'd pick Appel with the first choice in the 2012 MLB draft isn't an opinion I'm willing (or qualified) to form, but there are a lot of issues surrounding him that need to be examined before announcing his name. The teams picking at the top of the draft have their homework cut out for them.

From the Office of the County Clerk - G5: Braves (0-4) @ Colt .45s (3-1)

Tommy Hanson (0-1, 1.80) v.s. Kyle Weiland (0-0, 0.00)

The Houston Colt 45s first took the field 50 years ago today, on April 10, 1962. The Astros paid tribute to their history by hitting the field as the Colt 45s tonight against the Braves - original hats & jerseys included. The 1962 45s beat the Cubs 11-2 behind Bobby Shantz in the first ever Major League Baseball game in Houston.

The 45s didn't have that same magic tonight however as they fell behind the Braves early and never recovered, dropping a 6-4 decision. The Braves improve to 1-4 while the Astros fall to 3-2.

*Kyle Weiland got the start for the .45s tonight and took the loss in a tough outing. His line: 5.0 IP / 8 H / 4 ER / 2 BB / 5 K. He gave up 2 homeruns in the loss.

*The bullpen was ok but not great tonight. Carpenter and Lopez each gave up a run to keep the game just out of reach at all times.

*Weiland did have some bad luck in the top of the 3rd. He got a quick 2 outs and seemed to be on cruise control before he gave up a single to Brian McCann. Dan Uggla then came up and doubled off the wall in left-center, setting up a very close play at the plate which McCann was safe on. Schafer had a bit of trouble with the bounce off the wall - had he fielded it cleanly he might have got McCann and got out of the inning with no damage done. To make things worse, Chipper Jones - back in the lineup for the first time this season - came up next and delivered a 2 run homer to right. In an inning that could have ended with the Astros still protecting a 1-0 lead, the Braves instead took a 3-1 lead, and they led for the rest of the game.

*I have been impressed with the Astros agressive baserunning so far this season, but tonight was a bit of a mixed bag. Chris Johnson did have a nice agressive run in the 2nd when he stretched a single into a double (barely). But in the bottom of the 3rd with runners on corners and none out, JD Martinez hit a bit of a screwball to 1st - Schafer was on third and should have broke for the plate on contact, but instead held up. Freeman had a bit of trouble with the ball at 1st and Schafer would have scored easily. The Astros ended up loading the bases that inning with 1 out and yet didn't push one single run across. A huge blown opportunity.

*In that same inning, Bogey had the bases loaded with 1 out and 2-1 count - where he should reasonably be expecting a fastball. He can even sell out to it and still be in good shape if he gets caught on a breaking pitch. He did get a fastball and was very late on it and fouled it off, before striking out on a terrible ball in the dirt on the next pitch. I've noticed a few times this season in obvious fastball counts where we are way behind on the pitch. In certain situations it doesn't hurt to sell out a bit and get agressive, especially if you are struggling like Bogey has been.

*How good did that Mac N' Cheese Burger on that they showed on FSN Houston look? Those of you who get to attend live games are spoiled, the food at Minute Maid Park looks awesome. On the subject of things looking good, I absolutely loved the Colt 45s jerseys tonight. Very sharp.

*Am I the only one who notices that Michael Bourn has a lot more hustle and heart while playing for the Braves? I remember him pretty much walking to 1st on groundouts, and taking some pretty careless swings. But in this series he has looked absolutely intense. A guy like that forces a lot of errors with his speed. He did try stealing twice tonight - Chris Snyder threw him out once, but he did get one SB in.

*I've noticed a lot of groundballs barely squeaking between 1st and 2nd already this year, and there was another tonight in the bottom of the 8th. Lee laid out but couldn't make contact with the ball (has he knocked one down yet on a diving attempt?) and Altuve didn't even both to try diving although it looked like he would have had a good shot at it if he had. I know it is a small sample size, but Altuve seems almost afraid to dive or jump for any balls that are just out of his reach.

*Despite his one bad play on Uggla's bounce off the wall in the 3rd, Schafer looked great tonight. He made a couple of great running grabs out near Tal's Hill, he went 3 for 5 at the plate, scored 2 runs and even stole 3 bases. You have to love his passion as well. The other night he threw his helmet on the ground after a tough strikeout, and tonight he was absolutely fired up after stealing 2nd for the first time in the bottom of the 3rd. Not to say that throwing your equipment is a good thing, but as a manger you have to love to see your players fired up and wanting to do good for the team. I felt Schafer lacked emotion last year but he has been great to watch so far this year.

*Carlos Lee has also looked great at the plate so far this year, going 3 for 3 tonight with 2 walks and driving in another couple of runs. He is hitting .389 on the young season so far. When he comes up to the plate this year, you know he is going to have a good at bat.


Turning Point:
This is a new feature that I plan to use every night now. It is basically the one play or group of plays that I feel was the biggest factor in the end result of the game. Tonight's Turning Point was Uggla's double off the wall with 2 out in the bottom of the 3rd to score McCann. Had Schafer fielded it a bit cleaner, he may have had a shot at McCann and got Weiland out of the inning with a 1-0 lead. Instead the inning continued and the Braves ended up taking a 3-1 lead that they would never relinquish.


Man of the Match:
Part of me wants to go with Schafer here on a pretty solid performance, but he did have that bobble in left and a costly baserunning error. Ultimately i'm going to stick with Carlos Lee. 3 for 3, 2 walks, 2 RBI, raising his average on the year to .389. Lee looks dangerous at the plate this year, which is very nice to see.


Goat of the Game:
Tough to have to pick a Goat tonight - it was a hard fought game by the Astros and a pretty fun one to watch. But I have to go with Kyle Weiland. He's our #5 starter and he basically pitched like a #5 starter tonight. Anytime your starter gives up 4 runs you know your offense is going to have to have a pretty solid night to pick up a W. Weiland left too many balls up in the zone, and he was too erratic. Of his 99 pitches, only 58 were strikes. He had a tough task tonight, being a #5 pitcher facing the Braves ace, but he could have been sharper.

Astros hit with a lawsuit

Dewey Powell, of Spring, was enjoying himself at a day game at Minute Maid Park on April 7, 2010 (10-4 loss to the Giants), when he slipped down a ramp. He's now suing the Astros for damages and court costs for failure to provide fans with a safe stadium environment.

Powell says on April 7, 2010, he sustained injuries when he slipped and fell down a wet ramp while walking to his seat during a Houston Astros game. According to the brief, a security guard came to his aid and apologized for staff who failed to put up a sign warning of the dangerous condition of the ramp.

A kid asked Glenn Davis for an autograph, and got From Hell to Houston

Josh Pahigian, who wrote The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip 2 sent AC a tweet last week. When he was a kid, he sent an autograph request to Glenn Davis. This is what he received:

Jed Lowrie in OKC's lineup tonight

Jed Lowrie will be making his 1st rehab start tonight against Nashville in Oklahoma City. Paul Clemens gets the start for the RedHawks.

We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son

This was said by Colt .45s catcher Hal Smith after the inaugural game - an 11-2 win over the Cubs - 50 years ago today. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why "We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son" isn't the 2012 slogan.

Now go out and get your appropriate hot weather juice and enjoy the game tonight.

When 'With all due respect' is fairly disrespectful

Perhaps I'm being over-sensitive. I mean, I certainly didn't expect the Astros to be 3-1. They didn't win their 3rd game until Game 11 in 2011, or Game 12 in 2010. And the Astros have a longer recent history of being flat-out ignorant than they do of being a "Good Franchise."

Public perception is what it is, and the Astros earned the joke status they have carried over into 2012, largely because of their actions from 2007-11. The Astros have become the team you measure yourself against, but not in a good way. They're the, "If we don't beat the Astros, we've got some real problems" franchise - Everybody's homecoming.

Still, Rockies and Braves fans are collectively tearing their hair out because the Astros' record is at their expense.

Mile High Sports:
Sure, the Rockies are a disappointing 1-2, having dropped their last two games to the lowly Houston Astros, but they aren’t alone when it comes to getting the season off to a slow start...

Tomahawk Take:
With all due respect to an Astros franchise devoid of talent because of bad management and horrible contracts over the past seven years, they are essentially a AAAA team in mass rebuilding mode. The only recognizable major league talent in their lineup last night were the aging, lumbering Carlos Lee, Atlanta reject Jordan Schafer and pitcher J. A. Happ. If they win more than 75 games this year they will consider it a success. Contending teams should take every series against them yet, they were the team that played competent, solid, fundamental baseball while the Braves looked like a trailer for the new Three Stooges movie.

Well, that's not very respectful, at all.

I get it, I really do. But I wonder how many wins it's going to take - if any - for the Astros to make it back in everyone else's eyes. Or if that even matters to anyone, at all.

Know Your Enemy: April 10

*6'6" 220lb RHP Tommy Hanson
*Was baseball's #1 prospect heading into the 2009 season.
*After throwing 202.2IP in 2010, only threw 130IP in 2011.
*12.5% of his fly balls went for homers.
*Had a career-high 9.83 K/9 in 2011, striking out 142 in 130IP.
*Hanson was 2-0 in 2011 against Houston, striking out 24 batters in 14IP, with a 1.29 ERA/0.64 WHIP.
*He struck out double-digit batters three times in 2011, and two of them came against the Astros: 10 on May 16 and a career-high 14 on June 12.
*In his first start of 2012, he took the hard-luck loss, going 5IP, 4H/1ER, 4K:3BB in a 1-0 defeat at New York on Opening Day. 50 of his 83 pitches went for strikes, and he got five swinging strikes.
*His velocity for his fastball was way off last week, with his fastball averaging 88.7mph, down 2.5mph off his 2011 fastball.
*Only Carlos Lee has 10+ PAs against Hanson, but has a .928 OPS in 15 PAs. Matt Downs is 2x5 with a double, homer, walk, and 2RBI (.400/.500/1.200) off Hanson in 6PAs.

*Nobody on Atlanta's roster has faced Kyle Weiland!

Stadium Journey reviews Kissimmee

Hey, over at Stadium Journey, they've added Osceola County Stadium to their list of reviews - and it got a 4.0.

PreStros Farm Report: April 9

PreStros: April 9

Oklahoma City (4-1) 

The RedHawks used just one inning to beat the Sounds 4-2 Monday night. After being no-hit through four innings, OKC scored all four runs in the 5th as they batted around in the inning.

Henry Sosa pitched well through 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts and picking a runner off 1st before giving way to a quartet of OKC relievers. Not all at once, of course; that would be against the rules.

The RedHawk batters managed just 5 singles all game, but thankfully they were all bunched together. LF-Fernando Martinez was 1x3 with 2 RBI and 1 BB. C-Landon Powell was 1x2 with 1 R and 1 BB. 2B-Jimmy Paredes went 1x3 with 1R/1RBI.

Man of the Match: Henry Sosa

Corpus Christi (3-2) 

After being down 4-1 in the 6th inning, Corpus stormed back to win 7-4 on a walkoff 3R HR by Jacob Goebbert

Starter Jake Buchanan battled through 5.1 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and 1 BB with 6 K. Kevin Chapman threw 1.2 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit with 3K/1BB and went 1x1 at the plate with a single. Josh Zeid finished the game for the win with 2 no-hit innings with 3K/1BB.

LF-Austin Wates continued his assault on AA pitching as he went 3x5 with 1 R. CF-TJ Steele was 1x4 with a 2R HR and 3K. RF-Jake Goebbert went 2x5 with 2R/3RBI and 1 HR.

Man of the Match: Jake Goebbert

Lancaster (1-4) 

Lancaster got their first win of the season at Rancho Cucamonga as the shutout the Quakes 6-0.

Wes Musick pitched well through 5 scoreless innings as he gave up 4 hits and 1 BB with 6K. Pat Urckfitz, Kirk Clark, and Jorge De Leon finished out the shutout.

1B-Rafy Valenzuela was 2x5 with 1R. DH-Telvin Nash went 3x5 with 1 2B and 1R/1RBI. 3B-Jonathan Meyer was 3x5 with 2R/3RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB, and 1 error.

Man of the Match: Wes Musick

Lexington (1-4) 

After battling back from an early 6-1 deficit, Lexington lost another heart-breaker 8-7 in 11 innings.

Starter Kyle Hallock lasted just .2 innings giving up 2 hits, including a Grand Slam, with 4 BB. Nicholas Tropeano came on in the 4th inning and turned in 5 strong innings as he gave up 1 run on 4 hits with 1 BB and an outstanding 10 K. Dayan Diaz struck out the side with 1 BB in his 1 IP. Luis Cruz took the loss after pitching 1.2 innings with 2 K, 3 hits, and the fateful final run.

2B-Delino DeShields went 2x5 with 2 R, 1 BB, 1 2B, and 1. SS-Alex Todd went 3x6 with 2 2B and 2R/2RBI. 1B-Zachary Johnson was 3x5 with 3 RBI.

Man of the Match: Nick Tropeano

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted.

What They're Saying: Game 4 vs. Braves

Here's what they're saying in Atlanta following last night's loss to Houston:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien:
It had been nearly a quarter of a century since the Braves started a season with four consecutive losses, and Monday night it was newest Braves who were largely responsible for getting them back to that place they did not want to be.

Fredi Gonzalez:
“We’re not real pretty to watch right now as a team, but we’ll get it going."

Brian McCann:
“That was a game we kind of gave away. We’ve just got to bounce back tomorrow and be ready to play…. They found the holes when they needed to. It stinks. Tomorrow’s a new day. We’ve got to get a win.”

Michael Bourn:
“They played pretty good tonight once they found that opening. They pitched OK. We didn’t take advantage of everything. But we’ll be back tomorrow, you better believe that.”

Capitol Avenue Club:
If you’re panicking now, you should have been panicking before the season started. If you thought the team was fine before the season started, you should think they’ll be fine now. If you’re legitimately angry and your life is worse because some dudes you don’t know scored fewer runs than some other dudes you don’t know, well, reevaluate some things in your life. That’s not being a sports fan, that’s being bad at life.

How Justin Maxwell scouted the Astros

Zachary Levine writes that Justin Maxwell learned about the Astros in a unique way:

Newest Astro Justin Maxwell said he learned about his team through the wonder of “MLB Extra Innings,” which happened to be having a free preview weekend. That’s the life on the waiver wire, going from New York to home and bored to Houston in less than a week and reporting for duty Monday after his quick study.

From the Office of the County Clerk - G4: Braves (0-3) @ Astros (2-1)

Brandon Beachy (0-0, 0.00) v.s. J.A. Happ (0-0, 0.00)

Don't look now, but the Astros are 3-1! Houston beat Atlanta tonight by an 8-3 score, moving the Braves to 0-4 to start the season. While the game looked bad at the start, as Atlanta was knocking J.A. Happ around and took an early 3-0 lead, the Astros fought back and took the lead - and never looked back.

*J.A. Happ got the Win tonight with his line of 6.0 IP / 6 H / 3 ER / 1 BB / 5 K. Happ struggled for the first 3 innings and got hit around pretty good, but really turned it around after that and put in a pretty nice performance.

*Justin Maxwell made his Astros debut in a pinch hitting role in the bottom of the 8th. He was behind in the count at 1-2 when he reached out and knocked one out of the park in left for a 2 run homer.

*Jeff Luhnow looks like an absolute genius tonight. His waiver claim (Maxwell) hits a 2 run bomb in his first at bat with the Astros, and the pitcher that he cut at the end of Spring Training - Livan Hernandez - came in for the Braves and got knocked around. Hernandez gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 2 innings of work.

*JD Martinez got the night off and Travis Buck took his place in left. I was slightly surprised to see Buck take Martinez' #3 spot in the batting order as well, but it's not a bad choice by any means - everyone gets to keep their spot in the lineup and Buck gets a chance to drive in some runs.

*Which is just what he did with a 2 run double in the 3rd.

*JD did come into the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 6th and promptly delivered an RBI single.

*Marwin Gonzalez had his best offensive performance as an Astro. He just missed a homerun when he hit the base of the wall in right in the 4th inning. It did turn into a double and he scored right away on an RBI single by J.A. Happ - out there helping out his own cause. Gonzalez ended up 3 for 4 with 3 runs on the night.

*The Astros ended up with a total of 11 hits from 9 different batters tonight. Castro and Bogusevic were the only Astros who didn't get a basehit.

*Speaking of Castro, FSN dubbed him 'Castro the Astro' tonight - which is surprisingly simple, and I wish I had thought of it. Because I love it.

Man of the Match:

Marwin Gonzalez has been great with the glove so far, but he finally got his bat going tonight with an impressive 3 for 4 night, including scoring 3 runs. He almost had his first homerun in the 4th as well.

Goat of the Game: 

Castro the Astro is a candidate here, as he still doesn't have a hit on the season, but he did end up scoring a run tonight after he reached on a fielders choice. So i'll go with Bogusevic. For as good as the Astros have been offensively so far this year, I'm not sure how much longer we can roll with Bogey in the #5 spot. He went 0-4 tonight and is now batting only .133 for the season.

Lowrie to OKC

And so Jed Lowrie is on his way to OKC, but only for some rehab starts in advance of his projected activation from the DL on Friday.

Abad optioned to OKC

So the Astros have optioned Fernando Abad to Triple-A Oklahoma City. It's not a surprise - the Astros had too many relievers, and Abad had a bad (heh) Friday night.

As was mentioned by Subber and AstroBrit, this leaves Wesley Wright as the only lefty in the bullpen.

Crawfish Boxes, on the Brothers/Bogusevic AB

Here's some great work by the Crawfish Boxes on the crucial Brian Bogusevic vs. Rex Brothers AB from yesterday.

Fragile things are not safe in our presence

You won't believe this, but Travis Buck is taking J.D. Martinez's place in the lineup tonight against Brandon Beachy.

Alyson Footer:
Mills has stated that he wants to work in the bench guys early for a start. That is likely why Buck is playing in addition to being LH.

So it's:
1. Schafer - CF
2. Altuve - 2B
3. Buck - LF
4. Lee - 1B
5. Bogusevic - RF
6. Johnson - 3B
7. Castro - C
8. Gonzalez - SS
9. Happ - P

Righties have hit Beachy for a .238/.300/.363 line, while lefties hit him for a .241/.313/.388, an OPS difference of 37 points favoring LHBs.

Seton Hall retires Craig Biggio's number

Must be a slow news day, because here is a video of Seton Hall retiring Craig Biggio's number on Saturday.

ESPN, on #1 pick

Jason Churchill has an (Insider-Only) post up on ESPN about the 1-1 pick in the June Draft.

Money quote:
(Mark Appel) struck out just three batters in this start, and despite a fast start in this department, has fanned less than a batter per inning this season. Has Appel's lack of answers to those questions opened the door for (Byron) Buxton with the Astros? It's still too early to tell, but one has to believe the new front office in Houston is considering multiple players, and will for the coming weeks.

Know Your Enemy: April 9

RHP: Brandon Beachy
6'3" 215lbs

*Beachy was undrafted, and signed as a free agent with the Braves in 2008.
*Beachy just barely won the last spot in the rotation in Spring Training.
*In six career April games, Beachy has thrown 36.1IP, 26H/14ER, 36K:10BB.
*He has never faced the Astros, or anyone currently on the team.
*With RISP, Beachy has allowed a .215/.315/.393 line.
*In 658 plate appearances, Beachy has only allowed two homers when he's been ahead in the count.

*J.A. Happ is quite familiar with the Braves - having pitched against them seven times. In those seven games (six starts), he's 2-0 with a 2.09 ERA/1.09 WHIP. But he didn't face Atlanta in 2011.
*That said, Matt Diaz and Martin Prado own him. Diaz has a 1.455 OPS against Happ in 17 PAs; Prado a .985 OPS in 13 PAs.
*Brian McCann is 2x14, 3K:2BB against Happ.

More on this attendance thing, or lack thereof

Look, I know it was nice outside yesterday in Houston. And I also know it was Easter. But I'm still baffled by how only 14,195+ people show up for a Sunday game - the third game of the season. So let's see some things about attendance.

*Amazingly, yesterday's Astros/Rockies game was not the worst-attended game of the day in the Majors - 10,518 showed up for the Toronto @ Cleveland game (but it was 51 and windy at Whatever The Stadium Is Called). 14,738 were at the Minnesota @ Baltimore game.

*Average attendance among 14 games yesterday was 25,706.

*Average attendance in April 2011 was 25,257. Factor out Opening Day, and average April attendance in 2011 was 24,205. The 2nd/3rd games of this Rockies series averaged 19,075.

*Average Sunday attendance in 13 Sunday home games at Minute Maid Park in 2011 was 24,773 - 10,195 higher than yesterday's paid attendance.

So the Astros have a real problem. I thought attendance would be down, but not like what we saw yesterday. That said, if the Astros can continue playing hard, win more than they did last year, and run enough promotions, then things can bounce back - but the early returns do not look good.

PreStros Farm Report: April 8

PreStros: April 8

Oklahoma City (3-1) 

Jordan Lyles outdueled top Cardinals pitching prospect Shelby Miller and Brett Wallace took out some of his frustrations against his former organization as the RedHawks beat Memphis 8-1 Sunday.

Lyles threw six strong innings scattering 7 hits and 1 walk to allow just 1 run with 5 K. He also went 1x2 at the plate with 1 RBI. Mickey Storey, Enerio Del Rosario, and Jose Valdez each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to seal the victory.

3B-Scott Moore was 2x4 with 1 2B, 1 R and 2 RBI. 1B-Brett Wallace was 3x4 with 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, and 3 RBI.

Man of the Match: Jordan Lyles

Corpus Christi (2-2) 

The Hooks lost a back and forth game against Tulsa 9-7 to fall back to .500 on the season.

Starter Brett Oberholtzer had a rough outing as he lasted 4.1 innings giving up 8 hits and 4 walks leading to 4 runs (3 earned) with 2 K. Chris Hicks was roughed up in his 1.2 innings giving up a Grand Slam following 3 hits and 1 HBP. Erick Abreu finished up the final 3 innings giving up just a solo HR with 1 K.

LF-Austin Wates is playing out of his mind to start the season. He went 2x3 with 2 doubles, 1R/1RBI, and 2 BB. 2B-Jose Martinez went 2x4 with 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R and 3 RBI. CF-Brandon Barnes was 0x3 with 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB, and 2 OF assists.

Man of the Match: Jose Martinez

Lancaster (0-4) 

Lancaster leaves High Desert still searching for their first victory after dropping the series finale 8-6.

Starter Bobby Doran threw 4 innings giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits, including 2 HR, with 3K/4BB. Alex Sogard pitched 2.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits with 2K/1BB. Brian Steilein finished up with 1.1 IP allowing 1 hit with 2 K, though he did let one inherited runner (from Sogard) score.

The offense did their best to keep up but it ultimately wasn’t enough. CF-George Springer was 3x5 with 1 SB and 1R/1RBI. 1B-Rafy Valenzuela was 2x5 with 1 2B and 1 R. LF-Telvin Nash went 2x5 with 2 HR and 2R/3RBI. 3B-Jonathan Meyer went 1x3 with a two run HR.

Man of the Match: Telvin Nash

Lexington (1-3) 

Lexington’s defense was decidedly un-legendary as the team committed 6 errors en route to a rough walk-off 9-8 loss.

Starter Jonas Dufek lasted 4 innings giving up 6 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits with 4 BB with 2 K.

2B-Delino DeShields went 3x4 with 2R/1RBI, 1 BB, and 1 SB but had 2 errors. LF-Jordan Scott was 3x4 with 2R/1RBI, 1BB, and 3 SB. 1B-Zachary Johnson was 2x5 with 1 HR. 3B-Matt Duffy was 2x5 with 2 RBI, 1 SB, and 1 error. C-Miles Hamblin was 1x3 with 1 HR, 1 BB, and 2 R.

Man of the Match: Jordan Scott

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted.

From the Office of the County Clerk: G3 vs. Colorado

The Astros closed out the opening series with a 3-2 win over the Rockies for their first Opening Series win since 2006.

*First off: Attendance was bad. Really bad. 14,195 in paid attendance, which you can pretty much guarantee was a decent amount higher that who was actually there. The lowest attendance in 2011 was 19,250 (Monday, August 29 vs. Arizona). The lowest Sunday attendance in 2011 was 21,621 (September 25 vs. Colorado).

*The previous low in attendance at Minute Maid Park was on Tuesday, April 8, 2003, when 18,594 "paid" to see the Reds. The Astros have only played home games on two Easters at Minute Maid Park, but drew 38,695 on Easter 2000 (opening year of Minute Maid) and 36,273 on Easter 2007.

*Anyhow, the Astros are over .500 for the first time since July 29, 2009, when they were 51-50, or a period of 984 days.

*The Astros were down 2-1 at the beginning of the 8th inning, and got a timely error by the Rockies, and timely hits from the offense to take a 3-2 lead into the 9th. The Astros' record when trailing to begin the 8th inning in 2010-11: 15-155.

*Bud Norris threw 7IP, 4H/2ER, 8K:3BB. The only mistake was a 4th inning 2-run homer to catcher Willin Rosario, who hit his 4th career MLB homer - and 2nd HR against the Astros (Fernando Rodriguez gave up his 3rd career homer on 9/22/11).

*Norris' 8Ks were the highest in a game since he struck out 10 Giants on 8/28/11.

*Date of Brett Myers' last Save: September 27, 2007, vs. Atlanta.

*Myers allowed a double to Michael Cuddyer, the first batter he faced of the game. Which makes total sense, because the first batter he faced in 2011 collective hit .586/.647/.862. Also, Myers' 1st inning in 2011: .369/.407/.631 against.

*Astros starting pitchers this series: 20.1IP, 13H/2ER, 14K:5BB, 1HR (0.89 ERA / 0.89 WHIP).

*Congrats to Brian Bogusevic, who got his first career RBI against a left-handed pitcher. And congrats to Jeff Luhnow, for giving Brad Mills no other options on the bench than to leave him in. Before Bogusevic's AB, he had been 2x17 with 5K:1BB.

*Man of the Match: Brian Bogusevic.

*Goat of the Game: Brett Myers. Seriously, I'm going to have a heart attack.

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.

Astros claim Justin Maxwell

The Astros have claimed OF Justin Maxwell off waivers from the Yankees. He'll report on Monday, which will necessitate a corresponding roster move.

McTaggart:
Maxwell will give the Astros a right-handed option off the bench in the outfield, something they've been without since trading Jason Bourgeois. The Astros currently have four outfielders on their roster, though infielders Brian Bixler and Matt Downs can play the outfield.

Maxwell (28yo, 6'5" 235lb RHB) was a 4th Round pick of the Nationals in 2005, and was traded in February 2011 to the Yankees. In 260 PAs at the Major-League level, Maxwell has hit .201/.319/.379, with 43K:25BB, and 9HR.

For the 2011 season Maxwell was at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he hit .260/.358/.588, with 25 extra-base hits in 204 plate appearances for a career-high .945 OPS for the season.

It'll be interesting to see who the Astros send to Oklahoma City, what with Maxwell joining the team tomorrow, and Lowrie set to return on Friday. There will likely be one reliever heading down (Fernando Abad, perhaps?), but I wonder if one of the lefty bench bats will head north to see what wonders the Pacific Coast League has to offer.

Know Your Enemy: April 8

*RHP: Juan Nicasio
*25 years old, 6'3" 200lbs.
*Made his MLB debut on May 28, 2011 - threw 7IP, 6H/1R (0ER), 2K:2BB against the Cardinals.
*In 2011, RHBs hit .205/.239/.356, while LHBs lit him up at a .313/.369/.490 clip.
*Nicasio hasn't won a game on the road yet. In six career road games, Nicasio is 0-3, with a 7.04 ERA/1.60 WHIP (1.98/1.02 at home), allowing 38H/24ER, 30K:11BB.
*He's vulnerable to the first-pitch. In 25 instances of hitters going after the first pitch, they're hitting .458/.458/.708.
*When Nicasio gets ahead, he limits hitters to a .140/.149/.215 line.
*Jordan Schafer is the only Astro to face Nicasio, and he went 2x5, 2Ks against him.
*This will be Nicasio's first start since August 5, 2011, when Ian Desmond smacked a line drive off the right side of Nicasio's head, breaking his neck

*The Rockies lit up Bud Norris on August 23, 2011. Norris went 5IP, 6H/5R (4ER), 6K:4BB in an 8-6 loss.

Texas League president flexes nuts

In Greg Rajan's recap of last night's Hooks game, we get a note about a request denied.

See, what with the Astros moving to the AL West next season, Jeff Luhnow asked that the Hooks be exempt from pitchers having to hit against NL affiliates this season. Texas League president Tom Kayser denied that request, after consulting with the three other NL-affiliate teams.

Kayser:
"They were not enthused. It answered itself. I understood why Houston asked, but I also understood why the other NL clubs weren't enthusiastic about losing opportunities for their pitchers to hit."

Somehow I'll find a way to connect it to Bud Selig...

Jason Lane, pitcher

Former Astro Jason Lane has officially made the transition from outfielder to reliver.

Lane:
“I wasn’t getting many at-bats the last few seasons as an outfielder and I was a little frustrated. I felt like the last couple years I spent in Triple-A haven't come with too many opportunities to play, so when Kevin Towers gave me an opportunity I decided to take it.”

Here's an interesting note:
(Lane) swung the bat so well he was drafted as an outfielder by the Astros in the sixth round.

Lane was told at the time if it didn’t work out as a hitter he could go back to pitching. It worked out, as Lane made it to the major leagues in 2002 and hit 26 home runs for Houston in 2005, when the Astros went to the World Series.

PreStros Farm Report: April 7

PreStros: April 7

Oklahoma City (2-1) 

Despite Juan Abreu’s best efforts to give away the game, the RedHawks won 5-4 against Memphis.

Starter Dallas Keuchel pitched well in the win, going 6 IP allowing just 2H/0ER with 3K:0BB. He also induced an impressive 12 ground outs to just 3 fly outs. Brought in to close out the game with a 5-0 lead, after getting out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th, Abreu gave up 4 ER on 3 H including 2 HR with 1K:1BB in the 9th. As proof of what an important stat it is, Abreu got the save.

2B-Scott Moore was 2x3 with 2 R, 1 SB and 1 BB. 1B-Mike Hessman went 2x4 with 2 R.

Man of the Match: Dallas Keuchel

Corpus Christi (2-1) 

The Hooks rode a big 4th inning to beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7-2 to take the opening series.

Jose Cisnero avoided potentially self-inflicted damage for 4 shutout innings as he allowed just 1 hit but walked 4 with 3 K. Henry Villar followed with 3 innings giving up 2 hits and 1 run on a solo HR. Kevin Chapman, brought over from the Kansas City franchise in the Bourgeois/Quintero trade, gave one scoreless inning with 2 hits and 1 K. Josh Zeid pitched the final inning giving up 1 run on 2 hits with 1 K.

LF-Austin Wates continued his hot hitting, going 3x4 with 1R/1RBI and 1 BB. DH-Kody Hinze was 2x5 with 1 double and 1 run. 1B-Jonathan Singleton went 2x4 with 1 double and 1R/1RBI. 2B-Jose Martinez was 2x4 with 2 doubles and 1R/2RBI.

Man of the Match: Jose Martinez

Lancaster (0-3) 

The JetHawks have yet to win this season, dropping their third straight against High Desert 16-2.

Starter Zach Grimmet couldn’t get an out in the 5th and finished with 4 IP giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk with 3 K. Andrew Robinson was next, going 1.2 innings allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, including 2 HR, with 3K:1BB. Gabriel Garcia continued helping High Desert with batting practice as he lasted just .2 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits with 1K:1BB. Jose Trinidad took his turn playing the victim in his 1.2 innings as he allowed 4 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks.

1B-Rafael Valenzuela went 2x3. RF-Adam Bailey was 1x4 with 1 2B and 1 R. C-Rene Garcia was 1x3 with 1 R and 1 BB.

Man of the Match: Adam Bailey

Lexington (1-2) 

After losing the first 7 inning game of the day’s doubleheader 11-1, the Legends won the second 5-3.

In the first game, starter Tanner Bushue struggled mightily through 2.1 innings giving up 9 hits and 7 runs with 1K:1BB. Luis Cruz failed to stop the bleeding as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in just 2.2 innings while striking out 5. On offense, not much happened outside of LF-Jordan Scott going 2x3 and SS-Alex Todd going 1x2 with 1 BB and 1 triple with 1 run scored.

Man of the Match: Alex Todd

In the second game, starter Carlos Quevedo went 4 innings allowing 6 hits and 3 runs with 4K:1BB. Dayan Diaz threw 2.1 scoreless innings giving up 1 hit and 2 walks with 2 K. Jason Chowning got the save with .2 IP and 1 K. The offense was carried by LF-Jordan Scott, who went 2x3 with 3 RBI, and CF-Drew Muren, who went 2x3 with 1 double, 1 SB, and 2 R.

Man of the Match: Jordan Scott

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted.

Mills might send a reliever down come Friday

In Zachary Levine's post on tonight's game, Mills gave a clue as to who might get sent down when Jed Lowrie is activated on Friday (presumably):

Mills:
“I like having an eight-man bullpen, but I don’t like the strappings it puts on the ballclub in other areas. What we have now is probably an eight-man bullpen for the first six games and then we’ll see how we go from there.”

It's far too early to speculate on who it might be (hint: it won't be Rhiner Cruz), but the bullpen is going to be competing for a job over the next five days.

From the Office of the County Clerk: G2 - Astros v. Rockies

Hey! The Astros beat the Rockies 7-3 tonight!

*They got their first win of the season in G2 (obviously). But in 2011, it took until G6 to get that first win. And until G9 in 2010.

*The Astros got 10 hits off the Rockies tonight, meaning that eight of their last thirteen games (dating back to 2010) against the Rockies have been games in which the Astros got double-digit hits.

*Tonight Jordan Schafer and J.D. Martinez went yard against Colorado, marking the first time the Astros have had back-to-back multi-HR games since August 22-23, 2011 - against Colorado.

*Jordan Schafer's HR came as the lead-off batter for the Astros. Houston had two lead-off homers in all of 2011. It was the first lead-off homer of Schafer's career, and his 5th career HR. Jamie Moyer became just the 2nd non-Astros pitcher to give up a homer to Schafer, joining San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong, with Brett Myers, J.A. Happ, and Brandon Lyon as the trio of Astros pitchers to allow a Schafer homer.

*Travis Buck got himself a pinch-hit triple - the first pinch-hit triple since, yes, April 7, 2010 when Cory Sullivan got one against Matt Cain and the Giants.

*J.D. Martinez had a big game - going 2x4 with 3RBI (the 6th 3+ RBI game of his career). But he also had a career-high 2 GIDPs, after having four in his time with the Astros, and the third multi-GIDP game of his professional career (both with the Hooks).

*Chris Johnson got two doubles on the night, his 3rd career 2-2B game.

*Congrats to Marwin Gonzalez and Lucas Harrell on their first career MLB hit.

*But perhaps the most impressive piece of the game was Lucas Harrell, who went 7IP, 3H/0ER, 4K:0BB for his 2nd career MLB win. It wasn't hard to achieve, but Harrell set a career-high in IP, and got his 2nd quality start of his career. 31 of his 93 pitches were non-contact strikes (26 called, 5 swinging).

*Harrell got out to a 2-0 count four times, and held the Rockies to 1x4 - with Michael Cuddyer's 2nd inning double as the only hit following the 2-0.

*Things sort of fell apart for the bullpen, allowing 3ER in the last six outs - including Brandon Lyon's outing. Lyon allowed a homer to Michael Cuddyer - the first batter he faced. Dating back to April 30, 2011, Lyon has allowed homers in five of his last six outings (30 batters faced).

*Wesley Wright allowed 2ER in 0.2IP, after allowing 2ER in 21 appearances (12IP) total in 2011. I know he's had limited playing time, but it's the first time he's allowed multiple ER in relief since June 18, 2010 (vs. Texas).

*Still, the Astros' pitching staff emerged from G2 having allowed no walks, something they accomplished just nine times in 2011, and twelve times since the beginning of the 2010 season.

Man of the Match: Going with Lucas Harrell here.

Goat of the Game: First win of the season? No Goat.

Lineup for G2 vs. Rockies

Some changes for tonight's lineup against the Rockies:

1. Jordan Schafer - CF
2. Brian Bixler - 2B
3. J.D. Martinez - LF
4. Carlos Lee - 1B
5. Chris Johnson - 3B
6. Brian Bogusevic - RF
7. Chris Snyder - C
8. Marwin Gonzalez - SS
9. Lucas Harrell - P

Brian Bixler's career slash line as a starter? .178/.238/.220

Know Your Enemy: April 7

So the Astros will be facing the Ancient Mariner himself, Jamie Moyer.

*LHP Jamie Moyer
*49 years old, 6'0", 185lb
*Drafted by the Cubs, 6th Round, 1984
*Made his MLB debut before Rhiner Cruz, Kyle Weiland, Jason Castro, Marwin Gonzalez, J.D. Martinez, and Jordan Schafer were born.
*Jamie Moyer's wife is the daughter of Digger Phelps.
*Active career leader in wins (267), and a win against the Astros today would make him the oldest pitcher to record a win. Also, active leader in losses (204)
*Career leader in homers allowed (511).
*Allowed 10+ ER on August 9 and 14, 2000, joining Jose Lima as the only two pitchers since 1950 to allow 10+ ER in consecutive starts.
*Did not pitch in 2010.
*15 appearances against Houston, allowing a .261/.323/.381, 54K:27BB line. 5-4 against Houston, with 3.97 ERA/1.32 WHIP. 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA/1.28 WHIP at Minute Maid Park
*Carlos Lee has faced Moyer more than any other Astro. In 35 PAs, Lee is hitting .212/.257/.424 with 2HR, 4K:2BB.
*Chris Snyder is 1x10 with a homer off Moyer.

*Astros starter Lucas Harrell has only faced three current Rockies, for a total of 6 PAs. Erick Young is 0x2 with an HBP. Jordan Pacheco is 2x2, and Marco Scutaro is 0x1.

What The Mills?

So whenever it's called for, we'll run a little feature called "What The Mills?" where we examine a particular scenario from the previous game and try to figure out just what Mills was thinking.

For Game 1 (and the County Clerk alluded to this in his recap): Letting Fernando Abad throw to Troy Tulowitzki.

The Situation: Top of the 9th, two outs, Rockies lead 4-3. Tulowitzki up.

The Outcome: Tulowitzki hit a monster home run to put the game just out of reach.

What The Mills: For his career, Tulowitzki has hit .319/.399/.555 against LHPs, hitting a homer in 4.5% of his PAs against LHPs (compared to a .283/.351/.489 line, and 4.0% homer rate against RHPs). In 2011, Tulowitzki's line against LHPs was .349/.418/.631 - the 1.049 OPS tying him for 4th-highest against lefties in all of baseball (behind Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, and Matt Wieters).

Furthermore, Abad isn't so good at getting RHBs out. In 54 PAs against RHBs in 2011, Abad only got 28 of them out, allowing a .381/.472/.786 line. Lefties don't fare nearly as well, with a .630 OPS against Abad. But those righties...

Rationale #1: Why you gotta bring up old crap? All that was 2011. Don't know if you noticed, but it's 2012.

Rationale #2: Tulowitzki faced Wandy (also a LHP, naturally) four times, and walked, hit a sac fly, flied out to left, and popped up to 2nd. So leaving Abad out there wasn't much of a risk, since Tulowitzki hadn't really done much in the way of major damage to that point in the game.

Rationale #3: Abad was looking pretty good, and just needed one more out to send it to the 9th. Abad needed five pitches to get Dexter Fowler to ground out back to the pitcher. Carlos Gonzalez popped up to short on the 2nd pitch of the AB. So Abad had only thrown seven pitches when Tulowitzki came up with two outs. Maybe he'll get lucky.

Of course it didn't work out, Tulowitzki hit a 400' homer, and MLB's Twitter account decided it would be appropriate to compare it to the Pujols homer off of Brad Lidge. And, as McQuid mentioned in the recap, a 4-3 game in the bottom of the 9th is quite different than a 5-3 game in the bottom of the 9th.

Verdict: Silly risk that bit Mills squarely on his beanbag.

PreStros Farm Report: April 6

Oklahoma City (1-1)

OKC took a 5-0 lead after two innings, and then added a 6-run 7th for a 12-3 win over Memphis. Aneury Rodriguez threw 5IP, 7H/3ER, 9K:1BB, with a WP, HBP, and HR. Adalberto Flores allowed three hits, but no runs, in 1.2IP; Jose Valdez inherited two of Flores' runners, but got the final out of the 7th with a K, and Sergio Perez allowed a hit and two walks, but no runs in the final 2IP as Memphis was 0x10 with RISP and left 13 LOBsters (captip to Street for the name).

Justin Ruggiano was 3x4 with a double, walk, and 2RBI. Fernando Martinez hit his first homer in the organization with a three-run shot in the first. Brett Wallace and Angel Sanchez were both 2x4 with a walk. Collin DeLome got the RF start over J.B. Shuck, who was 0x1 with a walk and an RBI.

Man of the Match: Justin Ruggiano.

Corpus Christi (1-1)

NW Arkansas had a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th, and the Hooks managed to make things marginally interesting, but dropped it, 5-3. Ross Seaton gave up 7H/4R (2ER), with 1K:0BB in 5IP, allowing three runs via the longball. Arcenio Leon added a 2H/1ER, 1K:1BB line in 2IP, and Jason Stoffel struck out one and allowed no baserunners in 2IP.

Kody Hinze hit his first homer - a 2-run shot - in the 8th to finish 2x4 with 2RBI; Brandon Barnes was 2x4 with a double and a stolen base; and Jordan Kreke got two hits while committing two errors at 3B. Jose Carlos Thompson went to the plate three times, and walked back to the dugout three times, feeling shame after striking out.

Man of the Match: Kody Hinze.

Lancaster (0-2)

The JetHawks took a 5-4 lead with two runs in the top of the 8th, but turned around and gave up five in the bottom half of the inning, for a 9-5 loss at High Desert. Ruben Alaniz allowed 5H/2R (1ER), 4K:3BB in 4.2IP; Pat Urckfitz gave up 4H/2ER in 1.1IP; Jorge De Leon took the loss and the Ugly, with 3H/5ER, 3K:1BB in 1.2IP; Kirk Clark finished off the last batter.

Ben Heath was 3x4 with a double and 3RBI; George Springer was 2x4 with a run; Rafael Valenzuela and Telvin Nash drew two walks; Jio Mier was 1x4 with a walk and a caught stealing; Dan Adamson got the Golden Sombrero, striking out four times in four ABs.

Man of the Match: Ben Heath.

Lexington (0-1)

Greensboro wore Lexington out, scoring five runs in the 3rd for an easy 7-0 win over the Legends in the season opener (Thursday's game was rained out). Mike Foltynewicz allowed 8H/6R (2ER), 4K:1BB in 2.2IP (but threw 25 of his 30 pitches for strikes); Evan Grills threw 3.1IP in relief, and allowed 3H/0ER, 2K:2BB, HBP, WP; Murilo Gouvea gave up 3H/1ER, 3K:0BB, HR (all of his 16 pitches were strikes).

Jordan Scott, Zach Johnson, Matt Duffy, and Roberto Pena provided all your hits; Delino DeShields and Mike Kvasnicka drew walks. Jimmy Howick was 0x3 and committed the error that led to four unearned runs.

Man of the Match: Evan Grills

From the Office of the County Clerk - G1: Rockies @ Astros

The Houston Astros got back to back homeruns from Carlos Lee and Brian Bogusevic in the bottom of the 4th, but it wasn't enough to overcome 4 errors and the Astros dropped their Season and Home Opener to Jeremy Guthrie and the Colorado Rockies 5-3.

*Wandy Rodriguez had a rough start to his night, leaving pitches up in the zone and struggling with his control, but he really settled in after the first couple of innings and turned in a nice outing. His line:

6.1 IP -- 6 H -- 3 R (0 ER) -- 2 BB -- 2 K

Wandy was the first southpaw to get the Opening Day nod for the Astros since Dave Roberts back in 1974.

*Jed Lowrie was placed on the DL prior to the game. Marwin Gonzalez got his first major league start in his place at shortstop.

*I love to hate umpires, but the base umpires made some great calls tonight. There were a couple of bang-bang plays at first tonight and a throw by Castro that looked to have got pinch runner Eric Young at 2nd, but the umpire got it right when it was shown that the tag was missed. In a game that seemed full of close plays, the only full out miss was when Jordan Schafer was clearly picked off at first, but was called safe. At least we got the break!

*I can't be nearly as kind to home plate umpire Gary Cedarstrom, whose strikezone changed about 4 times during the game.

*Chris Johnson had another error on a fairly routine play tonight, and both he and JD Martinez still look lost with the bats. Both are lacking patience and are free swinging up there. JD did get a double tonight but was quiet otherwise.

*Jason Castro had by far the worst play of the game in the top of the 8th. He caught Eric Young stuck between second and third. He only took one step forward and then quickly fired it to second, where it flew into the outfield and allowed Young to score. The bad throw was one thing, but it should be second nature for a catcher at this level to move towards the runner and force his hand - and in the worst case, fire the ball to third so he can't advance a base. This was the worst case scenario x 100.

*I'm not sure why Eric Young found it necessary to taunt Jason Castro and the Astros very deliberately after scoring that run. His baserunning error could have/should have resulted in an out - he just got lucky. Perhaps he will get a pinch hit at bat yet this series and he can take a good old fashioned plunking.

*A very questionable move by Brad Mills in the top of the 9th tonight - with Troy Tulowitzki up to bat, Mills allowed left hander Fernando Abad to stay in the game and face him. Tulowitzki quickly turned on a ball and deposited it over the train tracks in left. A quick look at Tulowitzki's stats versus left handed pitchers last season shows why this was perhaps a bad idea:

.349/.418/.631 -- 1.049 OPS

This compared to a still very good but much more reasonable line of .284/.354/.510 with a .864 OPS versus righties. The difference between a 1 run game and a 2 run game in the bottom of the 9th inning is huge. 

*Fernando Rodriguez took the tough luck loss tonight, pitching pretty effectively, but being the victim of Jason Castro's absent minded play which resulted in the winning run.

Man of the Match

Carlos Lee had an RBI single in the first inning, cashing in Altuve, and added on a monster homerun over the Crawford boxes in the fourth. He finished 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, and did a solid job at first base with a couple of nice picks on low thrown balls.

Goat of the Game: 

While this could go to the entire defense (errors by Altuve, Johnson, Wandy and Castro), it was ultimately Castro's play which broke the tie and allowed the Rockies to take a late lead that they would never relinquish. 

Lowrie to DL

So I guess that thumb isn't ready to hold a bat, as the Astros placed him on the DL retroactive to March 29. This means he'll be eligible to come off the DL on April 13. Brian Bixler has been recalled to take his place.

Ultimately, it's the right call. As much as you'd like to see Lowrie out there, it's better to let him rest it for another week than run the risk of further injury. Obviously.

Xavier Cedeno to the DL

Via MiLB's transaction feed, Oklahoma City has placed Xavier Cedeno on the 7-Day DL. Jonnathan Aristil has been brought up from Corpus to take his roster spot.

Know Your Enemy: April 6

*The last time the Rockies opened the season in Houston (2003), they lost 10-4.
*The Rockies were 73-89 in 2011, going 17-8 in April, and 56-81 from May-end of the season.
*They were 35-46 on the road in 2011.
*5-2 against Houston in 2011 (2-2 at Minute Maid)
*The Rockies claimed Wandy off waivers last August, but (of course), a deal didn't get done. If you recall, had the deal been completed, Wandy would have pitched against the Rockies on Wednesday, and joined the team on Thursday.

*RHP: Jeremy Guthrie
*32 years old, 6'2", 205lb
*Traded on February 6, 2012 by Baltimore to Colorado for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom
*Has only faced the Astros once (June 18, 2008), but threw 8IP, 3H/1ER, 8K:1BB.
*Led the AL in losses in 2011, with 17
*Has allowed 86 homers from 2009-11
*Career 47-65 record, with 4.19 ERA/1.29 WHIP, 4.68 FIP, 4.61 xFIP
*In 2011, had a 39.6% ground-ball rate, and a 39.5% fly-ball rate.
*According to FanGraphs, threw his fastball 62.6% of the time at 92.3mph average in 2011
*Threw a slider 17.7% at 83.1mph; changeup 10.5% at 83.5mph; curveball 9.6% at 73.4mph
*With the batter ahead in the count, opponents hit .287/.437/.447
*With Guthrie ahead, opponents hit .270/.279/.476
*Travis Buck has the most success against Guthrie: In 8PAs, he has 4H, 2B, RBI, .500/.500/.625.
*Guthrie's last three season openers: 20.1IP, 18H/6ER, 15K:6BB
*Guthrie's career April splits: 4-11, 4.43 ERA/1.36 WHIP. .277/.325/.455.

*Vs. Wandy, current Rockies have a career .344/.410/.589 line. Todd Helton, in 28PAs, has a .440/.500/.600 line.
*Troy Tulowitzki runs a .300/.462/.600 line against Wandy.

Minor League Capsules

No, not the little pill shaped sponges you put in water and watch grow. If only it was that easy to grow a major league team.

Baseball America has a quick run-down on the Astros minor league system. It's a good, information packed little piece.

Why are you still reading this? Go check it out!

PreStros Farm Report: April 5th

Farm Report: April 5

Oklahoma City (0-1) 

The RedHawks lost their season opener against the Memphis Redbirds in dramatic fashion 4-3. Heading into the bottom of the ninth OKC was down 4-1 but rallied back to trail 4-3 with the bases loaded and no outs. After 1B-Mike Hessman struck out swinging 3B-Brett Wallace grounded into a game ending double play.

Starter Paul Clemens pitched well in the loss, going 6 IP allowing 6H/2ER with 4K:2BB. Mickey Storey went 2 IP in relief giving up 2H/0R with 2K.

LF-Fernando Martinez was 3x4 with 1 2B and 1 BB. 1B-Mike Hessman went 2x4 with 1R/1RBI on a solo HR with 1BB/2K. SS-Angel Sanchez was 1x4 with 1BB and 2RBI on 1 2B.

Man of the Match: Paul Clemens

Corpus Christi (1-0) 

The Hooks beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 9-0 to open the season in impressive fashion on the strength of a seven run sixth inning.

Jared Cosart threw 4.1 IP giving up 4H/0R with 5K:3BB. Erick Abreu looked strong in 2.2 IP in relief allowing just 1H with 5K:1BB. Chris Hicks finished things up with 2 scoreless innings with 1K and 1 HBP

SS-Jonathan Villar was 2x5 with 1 2B, 1RBI, and 2 SB. LF-Austin Wates was 3x5 with 1 2B, 1 3B, 1R/3RBI. All three of Wates’ RBI came on a bases loaded triple in the Hooks big inning. CF-Brandon Barnes was 2x4 with 1R/2RBI. RF-T.J. Steele went 2x4 with 1 3B and 2R/1RBI. 2B-Jose Martinez went 0x2 with 2BB and 2R and had an outstanding diving defensive play to save a run early in the game.

Man of the Match: Austin Wates

Lancaster (0-1) 

The JetHawks lost to the High Desert Mavericks 9-7 in their season opener.

David Martinez had a rough opening start, going 4 IP allowing 8H/6ER including 2 HR with 1K:1BB. Brian Streilein was the only Lancaster pitcher to escape the night unscathed as he turned in 2 IP giving up 1H with 2K/1BB.

LF-Telvin Nash was 2x4 with 1BB and a solo HR. 3B-Jonathan Meyer went 2x4 with 1 2B and 2R. CF-George Springer went 2x4 with 1R/5RBI and his first professional HR, a Grand Slam to tie the game at 7-7 in the sixth inning.

Man of the Match: George Springer

Lexington (0-0) 

Postponed due to rain

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted.

I like this Ron Thibodeaux fella

The New Orleans Times-Picayune's Ron Thibodeaux has a great column up about the Astros and their history in New Orleans.

I’m as conflicted about all this as any of them. I’ve been an Astros fan just about all my life — specifically, since July 25, 1965, when, at age 7, I traveled with my dad, grandpa and uncle from down the bayou to Houston to get a look at that newfangled domed stadium, widely hailed as the “eighth wonder of the world.” The game featured three future Hall of Famers — Joe Morgan, Frank Robinson and Tony Perez — as well as Pete Rose, whose Hall-worthy career was ultimately eclipsed by off-the-field misdeeds. Cincinnati beat Houston 3-1 that day, but it hardly mattered. We were captivated by the Astrodome, the million-dollar scoreboard, the field crew that dragged the infield dressed like astronauts and, oh yes, the baseball team. I was hooked...

...Meanwhile, once Houston moved its AAA affiliate from New Orleans to Texas and then to Oklahoma years ago, it stopped marketing itself in this part of Louisiana. I couldn’t tell how many years it’s been since the Astros’ preseason “caravan” of players and coaches stopped in New Orleans.
The reality is, the Astros moved on from here a long time ago. The switch to the American League next year will only distance them even farther. Call me a fanasaurus, but I’m inclined to stick with the “real baseball” of the National League and all those other teams I’ve been watching for the past 47 years.

It's Friday morning, do you know where Lowrie's thumb is?

Still no word about Jed Lowrie's thumb, and his availability for tonight's opener against the Rockies. But at least he's happy:

“Considering I could barely pick up a bat four days ago, I’m really happy with the progression.”
-
Levine also gives us some insight into how Abad and Wright will be used - mainly Abad as the LOOGY, and Wright coming in for full innings.

Someone get me a drink!

Baseball America has named the Corpus Christi Hooks as the 8th-most talented team in the minors.

It has been a long time since the Astros could assemble enough talent to fill a roster like this, but last year's trades have helped make up for the organization's minor league talent deficiency. 1B Jonathan Singleton (No. 34) and RHP Jarred Cosart (No. 50) both came over in last summer's Hunter Pence trade. Fellow Phillies' pickups SS Jonathan Villar ahd RHP Josh Zeid are joined by ex-Brave LHP Brett Oberholtzer on what may be the Astros' most talented minor league club in a decade.

Five Highest winning percentages by an Astros affiliate (stateside only), 2002-11:
2004 Tri-City Valley Cats: .667 (50-25). Hunter Pence, Drew Sutton, Ben Zobrist
2003 Martinsville Astros .646 (42-23). Felipe Paulino, Juan Gutierrez, Mitch Talbot
2004 Round Rock Express: .614 (86-54). Ezequiel Astacio, Wandy Rodriguez, Luke Scott, Willy Taveras, Fernando Nieve, Chris Sampson.
2002 Martinsville Astros: .612 (41-26). Matt Albers, Mark McLemore, Fernando Nieve
2004 Greeneville Astros: .612 (41-26). J.R. Towles, Troy Patton, Felipe Paulino.

Still nobody knows what to do about Lowrie

The Astros still don't know what to do about Jed Lowrie's thumb. So he's taking BP in the tunnel (not with his mates, so they don't make fun of him if he screams like a banshee, presumably) today.

Mills, who has already made out the lineup card, and has Lowrie on it:
“I don’t know exactly how good it is until after we talk to him after taking some swings and after taking ground balls and doing his work today. With as much as it has improved these last couple of days, there’s definitely a real good chance.”

Wandy won't necessarily go out of his way to help you

There's a funny little quote from J.D. Martinez on Wandy Rodriguez, the longest-tenured Astro.

Martinez:
"He's not afraid to help you. Not so much that he'll go out of his way, but if he sees something, he'll talk to you if he sees you down and he'll tell you something. It's always nice to have guys like that. If he sees something, he'll let you know, but he's not an all-over-the-top-of-you type of guy, which is cool."

Here are your longest-tenured Astros:
1. Wandy - 2005
2. Carlos Lee - 2007
3. Wesley Wright - 2008
4. Bud Norris - July 29, 2009
5. Chris Johnson - Sept 9, 2009

They're the only players on the Opening Day roster to make their team debut prior to 2010.

Nice little profile on Keith Bodie

Hooks manager Keith Bodie has been dealt a nice little hand, what with Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Jake Buchanan, and company, and he knows it.

Bodie:
"The challenge is taking all of these pieces and meshing them together and making a cohesive unit that live and work and compete and thrive together. I like the pieces, I love the pieces and I'm excited about the pieces. I know when they step on a baseball field each and every night I'm going to be proud to be standing in that box watching the way they treat the game of baseball. And if that relates in more wins, that's fantastic. I can't tell you how many games we're going to win. But I can tell you every time we go on that field we're going to expect to win."