We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Moehler set for bullpen session
Brian Moehler will throw a bullpen session today or tomorrow in preparation for a rehab start, should his groin hold up.
Source close to Express confirms what we all expect
The Austin American-Statesman has confirmed the least surprising rumor in all of Minor League Baseball:
After 11 years as a minor-league affiliate of the Houston Astros, Round Rock will join the Texas Rangers' farm system, according to a source close to the Express. The source said Round Rock will maintain its name and its Triple-A affiliation with the Pacific Coast League in 2011. The team, however, will be the one now playing as the Oklahoma City RedHawks, which is the Texas Rangers' current Triple-A team.
And writer Avery Holton has caught the same disdain about the Express that The Oklahoman's Ryan Aber has been spreading like chlamydia:
Round Rock and Oklahoma City begin a series (Saturday) at Dell Diamond, a matchup that might appeal to beleaguered Express fans, whose team stands 20 games under .500. For the next four games, the home fans can scout the RedHawks, who have the best record in the PCL's American South Division.
After 11 years as a minor-league affiliate of the Houston Astros, Round Rock will join the Texas Rangers' farm system, according to a source close to the Express. The source said Round Rock will maintain its name and its Triple-A affiliation with the Pacific Coast League in 2011. The team, however, will be the one now playing as the Oklahoma City RedHawks, which is the Texas Rangers' current Triple-A team.
And writer Avery Holton has caught the same disdain about the Express that The Oklahoman's Ryan Aber has been spreading like chlamydia:
Round Rock and Oklahoma City begin a series (Saturday) at Dell Diamond, a matchup that might appeal to beleaguered Express fans, whose team stands 20 games under .500. For the next four games, the home fans can scout the RedHawks, who have the best record in the PCL's American South Division.
LA Times: Pissed at the Dodgers? Go to Lancaster!
Nice little shoutout to the JetHawks in the LA Times today, offering beleaguered Dodgers fans who are sick of the McCourts and Matt Kemp's agent an alternative...in Lancaster.
The LA Times' Chris Erskine:
That's right, Lancaster — last gas before Nevada. Basically, you drive until you start seeing trailer parks and mules. When the L.A. radio stations get all fuzzy, hang a left. That's Clear Channel Stadium, ironically enough. Locals also call it the Hangar.
It's a gem of a little stadium too, as many of these minor league parks are. For 13 bucks, you get the very best ticket and all the slices of Americana you could ever devour.
The LA Times' Chris Erskine:
That's right, Lancaster — last gas before Nevada. Basically, you drive until you start seeing trailer parks and mules. When the L.A. radio stations get all fuzzy, hang a left. That's Clear Channel Stadium, ironically enough. Locals also call it the Hangar.
It's a gem of a little stadium too, as many of these minor league parks are. For 13 bucks, you get the very best ticket and all the slices of Americana you could ever devour.
Great stat by Levine
In Zach Levine's G121 recap, he has a great stat:
In fact, with 1,756, (Carlos) Lee has played more games in his career than the rest of Friday's Astros starters combined (1,362).
In fact, with 1,756, (Carlos) Lee has played more games in his career than the rest of Friday's Astros starters combined (1,362).
Tranzactionz
Lots of transactions for you from Saturday:
Corpus
Placed Kody Kirkland on the 7-Day DL, and activated Jose Vallejo from the temporarily inactive list.
Lancaster
Bryce Lane assigned to Lancaster from the GCL Astros.
Lane, drafted in the 41st Round this past June, was hitting .202/.232/.213 in 37 games for Greeneville before getting sent to the GCL, where he hit .333/.429/.367 in eight games. So this is curious.
Lexington
Placed pitcher Yordany Ramirez and outfielder Brian Kemp on the temporarily inactive list.
Tri-City
2010 3rd Round pick Austin Wates was assigned to Tri-City.
Corpus
Placed Kody Kirkland on the 7-Day DL, and activated Jose Vallejo from the temporarily inactive list.
Lancaster
Bryce Lane assigned to Lancaster from the GCL Astros.
Lane, drafted in the 41st Round this past June, was hitting .202/.232/.213 in 37 games for Greeneville before getting sent to the GCL, where he hit .333/.429/.367 in eight games. So this is curious.
Lexington
Placed pitcher Yordany Ramirez and outfielder Brian Kemp on the temporarily inactive list.
Tri-City
2010 3rd Round pick Austin Wates was assigned to Tri-City.
Eddie's Farm: August 20
Round Rock
Look at that! Four runs scored, all in the 9th inning, and the Astros come away with the win over Portland, 3-1. Andy Van Hekken threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 6K:2BB; Chris Sampson got the win with a hit and a walk in 1IP, and Roy Corcoran gave up 2H/1ER for the save. German Duran was 2x4, with Shuck, Bogusevic (BB), Maysonet (RBI), and Shelton getting your other hits. Van Hekken even drew two walks. And for a guy hitting .033, this is inexcusable on the Beavers' part.
Man of the Match: Andy Van Hekken.
Corpus
Despite getting ten hits, the Hooks got whooped (and swept) 9-3 at the hands of Springfield. Jeremy Johnson threw 3.2IP, 5H/5R (3ER), 5K:3BB. Bubbie Buzachero, who had previously allowed 1ER in 11.1IP, gave up 5H/4ER in 1.1IP on four days rest. Arcenio Leon struck out three in 2IP, and Jose Valdez held Springfield to one hit in 2IP. Wladimir Sutil was 3x4 with two doubles, and J.D. Martinez was 2x4 with a double for your multi-hit games. Koby Clemens collected his 80th RBI of the season - fourth in the Texas League. Gaston and Federico Hernandez had the other RBIs. Albert Cartwright was 1x3 with a walk and a stolen base (and an error).
Man of the Match: Wladimir Sutil.
Lancaster
Old-fashioned butt-whoopin at the hands of Stockton as the Ports beat the JetHawks 13-1. Edwin Walker threw 1.2IP, 5H/7R (6ER), 1K:4BB in the start; Ashton Mowdy threw 2.1IP, 3H/3ER, 0K:3BB; Mike Modica allowed an unearned run, Kyle Godfrey let in two earned, and Jose Trinidad threw a perfect 8th. Brandon Barnes was 2x3 and Brian Pellegrini provided the lone run with a solo homer.
Man of the Match: Brandon Barnes
Lexington
Greenville broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the 8th for a 4-3 win over Lexington. Zach Grimmett threw 6IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB; Yordany Ramirez allowed two hits and a walk in 0.1IP; Mike Schurz allowed 1H/1ER, 4K:2BB, 2WP in 1.1IP. That's right, he got strikeouts in all four of his outs. Colton Pitkin closed it out with 1.1IP. Renzo Tello was 3x4 with a double, and a solo homer. Jiovanni Mier was 0x4, but with 2SBs. Jonathan Meyer also hit a solo homer, and Our Boy Bubby Williams was 1x3 with a double. Jake Goebbert was 1x4, and got an outfield assist.
Man of the Match: Renzo Tello.
Tri-City
Come on! Aberdeen beats Tri-City in 10 innings, 1-0. David Martinez allowed just 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB in 7IP, Alex Sogard walked one in 1IP, and Brandt Walker allowed 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB in 2IP on a homer to David Anderson. Ben Orloff, Dan Adamson, Marcus Nidiffer (SB), Buck Afenir, and Adam Bailey got your hits, with Orloff and Tyler Burnett drawing walks.
Man of the Match: David Martinez - who has allowed 3ER in his last 22.1IP.
Greeneville
Greeneville got a double-header in!
Game 1: Greeneville was down 3-0 heading into the 3rd, and whooped up on Danville 13-5. Euris Quezada allowed 6H/4ER, 0K:1BB in 2.1IP. Garrett Bullock allowed 4H/0ER in 2.2IP, and Paul Gerrish gave up 3H/1ER in 2IP. Delino DeShields was 4x4 with two doubles, a walk, and 2RBI; Hector Rodriguez was 3x4 with 2RBI; Telvin Nash was 2x3 with a double, homer, walk, and 4RBI, and Rafael Valenzuela was 2x4 with 2RBI.
Man of the Match: Telvin Nash
Game 2: And it turned into a pitchers duel in Game 2, with Greeneville coming out on top, 1-0. Gabe Garcia threw 4IP, 0H/0ER, Ryan Cole threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, and Brian Streilein broke up the combined (and shortened) perfect game, and then no-hitter, with two outs in the bottom of the 7th with a walk and a hit. Jonathan Merritt was 2x2 with a triple. DeShields was 1x4 and scored the winning run on Danville's wild pitch.
Man of the Match: Delino DeShields.
Look at that! Four runs scored, all in the 9th inning, and the Astros come away with the win over Portland, 3-1. Andy Van Hekken threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 6K:2BB; Chris Sampson got the win with a hit and a walk in 1IP, and Roy Corcoran gave up 2H/1ER for the save. German Duran was 2x4, with Shuck, Bogusevic (BB), Maysonet (RBI), and Shelton getting your other hits. Van Hekken even drew two walks. And for a guy hitting .033, this is inexcusable on the Beavers' part.
Man of the Match: Andy Van Hekken.
Corpus
Despite getting ten hits, the Hooks got whooped (and swept) 9-3 at the hands of Springfield. Jeremy Johnson threw 3.2IP, 5H/5R (3ER), 5K:3BB. Bubbie Buzachero, who had previously allowed 1ER in 11.1IP, gave up 5H/4ER in 1.1IP on four days rest. Arcenio Leon struck out three in 2IP, and Jose Valdez held Springfield to one hit in 2IP. Wladimir Sutil was 3x4 with two doubles, and J.D. Martinez was 2x4 with a double for your multi-hit games. Koby Clemens collected his 80th RBI of the season - fourth in the Texas League. Gaston and Federico Hernandez had the other RBIs. Albert Cartwright was 1x3 with a walk and a stolen base (and an error).
Man of the Match: Wladimir Sutil.
Lancaster
Old-fashioned butt-whoopin at the hands of Stockton as the Ports beat the JetHawks 13-1. Edwin Walker threw 1.2IP, 5H/7R (6ER), 1K:4BB in the start; Ashton Mowdy threw 2.1IP, 3H/3ER, 0K:3BB; Mike Modica allowed an unearned run, Kyle Godfrey let in two earned, and Jose Trinidad threw a perfect 8th. Brandon Barnes was 2x3 and Brian Pellegrini provided the lone run with a solo homer.
Man of the Match: Brandon Barnes
Lexington
Greenville broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the 8th for a 4-3 win over Lexington. Zach Grimmett threw 6IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB; Yordany Ramirez allowed two hits and a walk in 0.1IP; Mike Schurz allowed 1H/1ER, 4K:2BB, 2WP in 1.1IP. That's right, he got strikeouts in all four of his outs. Colton Pitkin closed it out with 1.1IP. Renzo Tello was 3x4 with a double, and a solo homer. Jiovanni Mier was 0x4, but with 2SBs. Jonathan Meyer also hit a solo homer, and Our Boy Bubby Williams was 1x3 with a double. Jake Goebbert was 1x4, and got an outfield assist.
Man of the Match: Renzo Tello.
Tri-City
Come on! Aberdeen beats Tri-City in 10 innings, 1-0. David Martinez allowed just 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB in 7IP, Alex Sogard walked one in 1IP, and Brandt Walker allowed 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB in 2IP on a homer to David Anderson. Ben Orloff, Dan Adamson, Marcus Nidiffer (SB), Buck Afenir, and Adam Bailey got your hits, with Orloff and Tyler Burnett drawing walks.
Man of the Match: David Martinez - who has allowed 3ER in his last 22.1IP.
Greeneville
Greeneville got a double-header in!
Game 1: Greeneville was down 3-0 heading into the 3rd, and whooped up on Danville 13-5. Euris Quezada allowed 6H/4ER, 0K:1BB in 2.1IP. Garrett Bullock allowed 4H/0ER in 2.2IP, and Paul Gerrish gave up 3H/1ER in 2IP. Delino DeShields was 4x4 with two doubles, a walk, and 2RBI; Hector Rodriguez was 3x4 with 2RBI; Telvin Nash was 2x3 with a double, homer, walk, and 4RBI, and Rafael Valenzuela was 2x4 with 2RBI.
Man of the Match: Telvin Nash
Game 2: And it turned into a pitchers duel in Game 2, with Greeneville coming out on top, 1-0. Gabe Garcia threw 4IP, 0H/0ER, Ryan Cole threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, and Brian Streilein broke up the combined (and shortened) perfect game, and then no-hitter, with two outs in the bottom of the 7th with a walk and a hit. Jonathan Merritt was 2x2 with a triple. DeShields was 1x4 and scored the winning run on Danville's wild pitch.
Man of the Match: Delino DeShields.
Friday, August 20, 2010
From the Office of the County Clerk - G121: Astros @ Marlins
Good grief. Astros get rocked in innings 6-8, and lose 9-0.
*The loss drops the Astros to 2-2 on the year against the Marlins. But they've lost nine of their last ten in Whatever The Hell The Name Is Of Where The Marlins Play. This name could change by tomorrow night.
*On the road, the Astros dropped to 21-35, with 222 runs scored and 309 runs against. Only the Nationals, Pirates, and Diamondbacks have fewer road wins.
*It's also the 12th time this season the Astros have been shutout. It's the sixth time the Astros have been held to three hits or less.
*Happ had a decent game, certainly not worth losing. It would be great to be able to assign wins and losses to other pitchers. More on this later.
*Happ threw 6IP, 5H/3ER, 6K:2BB, WP. That's the lowest number of walks Happ has posted in an outing this season. Including the August 4 game at St. Louis, where he lasted an inning.
*Both of those walks came in the 6th inning, and both of those runners scored. Five of his last seven unintentional walks have come around to score later in the inning.
*In his last three games, Happ has gotten 27 flyball outs, 11 groundball outs, and 17 strikeouts.
*But it was Jeff Fulchino who got his crap rocked tonight, allowing 4H/4ER, and recording two outs. This is despite throwing first-pitch strikes to five of the six batters he faced.
*Since Fulchino returned on August 3, he's allowed 9H/5ER, 8K:3BB in 8.1IP. Of course, four of those runs were tonight.
*Poor Fernando Abad. Though he made his second career appearance in as low-stress of a setting as he could (down 7-0), he still gave up back-to-back homers to Hector Luna and Brett Hayes.
*Happ, Fulchino, and Byrdak all threw wild pitches, as well.
*The offense was about as remarkable as the pitching. Johnson, Manzella, and Castro provided your hits. The Marlins had more hits w/RISP (four) than the Astros had all night.
*Brett Wallace was 0x3 with 3Ks. It's been eleven games since he drew a walk (14Ks).
*So what happened? The Marlins only needed 114 pitches to get through the game. 39 of them were non-contact strikes (23 called, 16 swinging). The Astros only walked one time.
*How about this - it's the 39th time this season the Astros have drawn one - or zero - walk(s).
*The Astros got to a 3-ball count one time - which led to the walk by Carlos Lee.
*Pitch Count Hero: Michael Bourn (0x4) - 19 pitches in four PAs.
*Pitch Count Punk: Jason Castro (1x3) - Nine pitches in three PAs.
*Man of the Match: Do we have to? J.A. Happ. It's his third straight quality start, and his fourth in five starts with the Astros.
*Goat of the Game: Anyone have a problem with this going to Jeff Fulchino? It's too hard to find a Goat on offense.
*The loss drops the Astros to 2-2 on the year against the Marlins. But they've lost nine of their last ten in Whatever The Hell The Name Is Of Where The Marlins Play. This name could change by tomorrow night.
*On the road, the Astros dropped to 21-35, with 222 runs scored and 309 runs against. Only the Nationals, Pirates, and Diamondbacks have fewer road wins.
*It's also the 12th time this season the Astros have been shutout. It's the sixth time the Astros have been held to three hits or less.
*Happ had a decent game, certainly not worth losing. It would be great to be able to assign wins and losses to other pitchers. More on this later.
*Happ threw 6IP, 5H/3ER, 6K:2BB, WP. That's the lowest number of walks Happ has posted in an outing this season. Including the August 4 game at St. Louis, where he lasted an inning.
*Both of those walks came in the 6th inning, and both of those runners scored. Five of his last seven unintentional walks have come around to score later in the inning.
*In his last three games, Happ has gotten 27 flyball outs, 11 groundball outs, and 17 strikeouts.
*But it was Jeff Fulchino who got his crap rocked tonight, allowing 4H/4ER, and recording two outs. This is despite throwing first-pitch strikes to five of the six batters he faced.
*Since Fulchino returned on August 3, he's allowed 9H/5ER, 8K:3BB in 8.1IP. Of course, four of those runs were tonight.
*Poor Fernando Abad. Though he made his second career appearance in as low-stress of a setting as he could (down 7-0), he still gave up back-to-back homers to Hector Luna and Brett Hayes.
*Happ, Fulchino, and Byrdak all threw wild pitches, as well.
*The offense was about as remarkable as the pitching. Johnson, Manzella, and Castro provided your hits. The Marlins had more hits w/RISP (four) than the Astros had all night.
*Brett Wallace was 0x3 with 3Ks. It's been eleven games since he drew a walk (14Ks).
*So what happened? The Marlins only needed 114 pitches to get through the game. 39 of them were non-contact strikes (23 called, 16 swinging). The Astros only walked one time.
*How about this - it's the 39th time this season the Astros have drawn one - or zero - walk(s).
*The Astros got to a 3-ball count one time - which led to the walk by Carlos Lee.
*Pitch Count Hero: Michael Bourn (0x4) - 19 pitches in four PAs.
*Pitch Count Punk: Jason Castro (1x3) - Nine pitches in three PAs.
*Man of the Match: Do we have to? J.A. Happ. It's his third straight quality start, and his fourth in five starts with the Astros.
*Goat of the Game: Anyone have a problem with this going to Jeff Fulchino? It's too hard to find a Goat on offense.
Houston Press on the Feliz trade
John Royal has a post discussing the Feliz trade. Mainly, it's "Ed Wade is still an idiot."
Wade was widely and correctly mocked during the off-season for the Feliz signing as it appears that he was the only one who didn't know how to read a stat sheet, thus rendering him unable to figure out that Feliz was going to suck this season. But a guy who had trouble hitting with the Phillies and struggled to get RBI's in a lineup featuring Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth was clearly not going to be able to hack it with the Astros, especially if he was making $4.5 million.
Maybe this move is an indication that Wade is finally figuring this whole GM thing, and that's he is finally figuring out how to read and understand baseball stats. But I seriously doubt it. The saying is, after all, that a broke clock is right twice the day, and seeing as how Chris Johnson had to play in the minors most of the season because of Feliz, I'm counting this trade as one of those two times where the broken clock is right.
It is worth pointing out that CHONE predicted that Feliz would hit .256/.299/.407. Not great, but not .221/.243/.311. When the Astros signed Feliz, we said that it was entirely too much money, and apologized to Chris Johnson.
So while I don't think too many people were jazzed up about the signing, his OPS from 2001-2009 was .716. It's .555 this year. I don't think anyone foresaw an OPS-dropoff of 161 points.
Wade was widely and correctly mocked during the off-season for the Feliz signing as it appears that he was the only one who didn't know how to read a stat sheet, thus rendering him unable to figure out that Feliz was going to suck this season. But a guy who had trouble hitting with the Phillies and struggled to get RBI's in a lineup featuring Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth was clearly not going to be able to hack it with the Astros, especially if he was making $4.5 million.
Maybe this move is an indication that Wade is finally figuring this whole GM thing, and that's he is finally figuring out how to read and understand baseball stats. But I seriously doubt it. The saying is, after all, that a broke clock is right twice the day, and seeing as how Chris Johnson had to play in the minors most of the season because of Feliz, I'm counting this trade as one of those two times where the broken clock is right.
It is worth pointing out that CHONE predicted that Feliz would hit .256/.299/.407. Not great, but not .221/.243/.311. When the Astros signed Feliz, we said that it was entirely too much money, and apologized to Chris Johnson.
So while I don't think too many people were jazzed up about the signing, his OPS from 2001-2009 was .716. It's .555 this year. I don't think anyone foresaw an OPS-dropoff of 161 points.
The Oklahoman can't forgive the Astros for 2007
Ryan Aber must hate the Astros. The writer for the Oklahoman isn't letting it go about the Astros farm team:
While the Houston Astros were at one time considered a logical choice to move their affiliate to Oklahoma City, it now appears unlikely it will be that easy...But the Astros' player development has been less than spectacular in recent years. Poor drafts, including 2007, when Houston failed to sign any of its picks before the fifth round, have hurt the organization.
Three words: Let. It. Go.
We do find out, however, that the first day teams can negotiate with minor-league franchises is September 16.
While the Houston Astros were at one time considered a logical choice to move their affiliate to Oklahoma City, it now appears unlikely it will be that easy...But the Astros' player development has been less than spectacular in recent years. Poor drafts, including 2007, when Houston failed to sign any of its picks before the fifth round, have hurt the organization.
Three words: Let. It. Go.
We do find out, however, that the first day teams can negotiate with minor-league franchises is September 16.
Middle Infield update
Bernardo Fallas' Notes Column tells us that Geoff Blum will get the majority of his time at 2B, while Sanchez will get the majority of time at SS - though could see time at 2B himself.
Mills, on Blum:
"We're going to be in a situation where it's going to be tough to get Blummer in there all the time. We don't want to kill this guy either. He's been a guy that will do a great job for us, but to put him out there every day might be asking an awful lot of him."
On Sanchez at SS:
"I think (Sanchez) has earned a shot to play there quite a bit."
Mills, on Blum:
"We're going to be in a situation where it's going to be tough to get Blummer in there all the time. We don't want to kill this guy either. He's been a guy that will do a great job for us, but to put him out there every day might be asking an awful lot of him."
On Sanchez at SS:
"I think (Sanchez) has earned a shot to play there quite a bit."
Call to the Pen not so excited for the Cardinals
Here's a good breakdown of the Feliz trade from Call to the Pen:
On Carpenter:
Carpenter, 25, is a converted catcher who throws 91-94 with his heater. Like many converted players, his offspeed stuff is pretty raw. He still has managed to whiff 8.25 batters per nine this year in High-A. He has good command and keeps the ball down. Sometimes these converted guys wind up exploding onto the scene at some point. I wouldn’t go crazy projecting that for Carpenter, but he’s got some skills that could work out in the higher levels, and he’s still new to pitching, so he could make some real improvements.
On what it means for the Cardinals:
That the Astros got anything for Feliz is a miracle. As for the Cardinals…I see the whole “Tony La Russa can revive veterans” argument, and maybe he can. But when you have Ruben Gotay in AAA, there’s no excuse to acquire an inferior player in Feliz (with the additional cost of having to send a C-grade prospect away for him) to man the hot corner in St. Louis. No excuse, and it speaks to a lack of creativity in the organization that they’d rather go with the worst of retreads than one of the best players in Triple-A. The Cardinals are a great organization, and the Astros are not, but Ed Wade fleeced John Mozeliak on this one.
On Carpenter:
Carpenter, 25, is a converted catcher who throws 91-94 with his heater. Like many converted players, his offspeed stuff is pretty raw. He still has managed to whiff 8.25 batters per nine this year in High-A. He has good command and keeps the ball down. Sometimes these converted guys wind up exploding onto the scene at some point. I wouldn’t go crazy projecting that for Carpenter, but he’s got some skills that could work out in the higher levels, and he’s still new to pitching, so he could make some real improvements.
On what it means for the Cardinals:
That the Astros got anything for Feliz is a miracle. As for the Cardinals…I see the whole “Tony La Russa can revive veterans” argument, and maybe he can. But when you have Ruben Gotay in AAA, there’s no excuse to acquire an inferior player in Feliz (with the additional cost of having to send a C-grade prospect away for him) to man the hot corner in St. Louis. No excuse, and it speaks to a lack of creativity in the organization that they’d rather go with the worst of retreads than one of the best players in Triple-A. The Cardinals are a great organization, and the Astros are not, but Ed Wade fleeced John Mozeliak on this one.
Nice interview with David Carpemter
David Carpenter - who was assigned to Lancaster this morning - is predictably excited about coming to Houston.
Carpenter:
“I was surprised but then after talking with some people I am very excited. It is nice to know that the Astros look at me as a prospect and will give me opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Major Leagues."
Carpenter:
“I was surprised but then after talking with some people I am very excited. It is nice to know that the Astros look at me as a prospect and will give me opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Major Leagues."
FanGraphs evaluates the 2010 draft
Hey, so FanGraphs has exactly what we said in the title. Here's what they said about the Astros' Top 10 picks:
There was probably more pressure on the Astros to draft well — four of the first 58 picks, bad farm system — than any other team in baseball. They went for upside and potential, so it’s definitely too early to judge their haul. Kvasnicka’s early struggles are the most disconcerting, but easily written off given the defensive demands asked of him. And, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not the best college hitter the team drafted, between Heath and Austin Wates. But the key for the draft will be the three top 60 high school guys, who come at an investment of more than $4 million.
There was probably more pressure on the Astros to draft well — four of the first 58 picks, bad farm system — than any other team in baseball. They went for upside and potential, so it’s definitely too early to judge their haul. Kvasnicka’s early struggles are the most disconcerting, but easily written off given the defensive demands asked of him. And, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not the best college hitter the team drafted, between Heath and Austin Wates. But the key for the draft will be the three top 60 high school guys, who come at an investment of more than $4 million.
Eddie's Farm: August 19
Round Rock
Round Rock scored four in the 1st inning, and two in the 5th, and by then it didn't matter that Portland got two in the 7th. Express win 6-2. Shane Loux allowed 8H/2ER, 2K:1BB in 6.2IP (that's 5ER in his last 23.2IP). Jonah Bayliss allowed 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB in 1.1IP and Gary Majewski struck out three and walked one in 1IP. Six of the last seven Portland batters struck out. Jack Shuck (2x5) and Brian Bogusevic (2x5, HR, 2RBI) had your multi-hit games. Bogusevic and Drew Locke hit back-to-back jacks in the first inning. Locke was 1x2 with 2RBI and three walks.
Man of the Match: Drew Locke
Corpus Christi
Corpus struck first, but Springfield struck more, and the Hooks lose to the Cardinals 4-2. Dallas Keuchel allowed 5H/4R (1ER - two fielding errors by J.D. Martinez), 4K:0BB. Arcenio Leon gave up a run charged to Keuchel, and Evan Englebrook closed out the game with 2K in 1IP. The Hooks spread out six hits over six batters, with Albert Cartwright and Jon Gaston hitting triples, and Federico Hernandez getting a double. Freddy Parejo and Koby Clemens provided the RBIs.
Man of the Match: Dallas Keuchel.
Lancaster
Stockton took a 3-0 lead into the 7th, where the JetHawks got two back in the top of the inning. So Stockton answered with three in the bottom half, and won 6-2. Ross Seaton allowed 9H/3ER, 7K:1BB in 6IP. Brian Wabick allowed 4H/3ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP, leaving the bases loaded for David Berner, who got out of the bases loaded jam. The JetHawks only got five hits - two from Mark Ori, who also had the 2RBI. Brian Pellegrini, Jordan Comadena, and Brandon Wikoff had your other hits. Jay Austin drew two walks.
Man of the Match: Mark Ori
Lexington
Lexington allowed two runs in the first to Greenville, and that's how it stayed until the 7th, when the Legends scored four. Legends win 5-2. Jose Cisnero threw 6IP, allowing 4H/2ER, 6K:3BB. Colton Piktin threw two scoreless, and Wander Alvino - despite two walks - got his first save of the season. Renzo Tello got himself a three-run double, and Jimmy Paredes added an RBI. Paredes and Butera were the only Legends to get on base twice.
Man of the Match: Renzo Tello
Tri-City
Tri-City withstood a late Connecticut rally to hold on for the 3-2 win. Jake Buchanan allowed 4H/0ER, 2K:0BB in 6IP while a bullpen of Travis Blankenship, John Frawley, and Jorge De Leon held the Tigers to 4H/2R (1ER), 5K:1BB. Jorge De Leon has allowed one earned run this season (20.1IP) with 20K:9BB. Marcus Nidiffer hit his 3rd homer with Tri-City - a two run shot in the 4th. Orloff, Burnett, Adamson, Wallace, and Bailey added hits.
Man of the Match: Jake Buchanan.
Greeneville
It wouldn't be a normal day without a Greeneville game getting rained out.
Round Rock scored four in the 1st inning, and two in the 5th, and by then it didn't matter that Portland got two in the 7th. Express win 6-2. Shane Loux allowed 8H/2ER, 2K:1BB in 6.2IP (that's 5ER in his last 23.2IP). Jonah Bayliss allowed 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB in 1.1IP and Gary Majewski struck out three and walked one in 1IP. Six of the last seven Portland batters struck out. Jack Shuck (2x5) and Brian Bogusevic (2x5, HR, 2RBI) had your multi-hit games. Bogusevic and Drew Locke hit back-to-back jacks in the first inning. Locke was 1x2 with 2RBI and three walks.
Man of the Match: Drew Locke
Corpus Christi
Corpus struck first, but Springfield struck more, and the Hooks lose to the Cardinals 4-2. Dallas Keuchel allowed 5H/4R (1ER - two fielding errors by J.D. Martinez), 4K:0BB. Arcenio Leon gave up a run charged to Keuchel, and Evan Englebrook closed out the game with 2K in 1IP. The Hooks spread out six hits over six batters, with Albert Cartwright and Jon Gaston hitting triples, and Federico Hernandez getting a double. Freddy Parejo and Koby Clemens provided the RBIs.
Man of the Match: Dallas Keuchel.
Lancaster
Stockton took a 3-0 lead into the 7th, where the JetHawks got two back in the top of the inning. So Stockton answered with three in the bottom half, and won 6-2. Ross Seaton allowed 9H/3ER, 7K:1BB in 6IP. Brian Wabick allowed 4H/3ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP, leaving the bases loaded for David Berner, who got out of the bases loaded jam. The JetHawks only got five hits - two from Mark Ori, who also had the 2RBI. Brian Pellegrini, Jordan Comadena, and Brandon Wikoff had your other hits. Jay Austin drew two walks.
Man of the Match: Mark Ori
Lexington
Lexington allowed two runs in the first to Greenville, and that's how it stayed until the 7th, when the Legends scored four. Legends win 5-2. Jose Cisnero threw 6IP, allowing 4H/2ER, 6K:3BB. Colton Piktin threw two scoreless, and Wander Alvino - despite two walks - got his first save of the season. Renzo Tello got himself a three-run double, and Jimmy Paredes added an RBI. Paredes and Butera were the only Legends to get on base twice.
Man of the Match: Renzo Tello
Tri-City
Tri-City withstood a late Connecticut rally to hold on for the 3-2 win. Jake Buchanan allowed 4H/0ER, 2K:0BB in 6IP while a bullpen of Travis Blankenship, John Frawley, and Jorge De Leon held the Tigers to 4H/2R (1ER), 5K:1BB. Jorge De Leon has allowed one earned run this season (20.1IP) with 20K:9BB. Marcus Nidiffer hit his 3rd homer with Tri-City - a two run shot in the 4th. Orloff, Burnett, Adamson, Wallace, and Bailey added hits.
Man of the Match: Jake Buchanan.
Greeneville
It wouldn't be a normal day without a Greeneville game getting rained out.
Anderson Hernandez called up
The Astros have called up Anderson Hernandez this morning, according to the MiLB's transactions page. I need to look at the 40-man roster to see how this shakes out with Manzella's activation, Abad's call-up, Feliz' trade, and now Hernandez.
From the Office of the County Clerk - G120: Astros v. Mets
Apparently The Constable said Carlos Lee would hit that home run before it happened. You can believe him if you want, but, um, I don't. Astros win 3-2, and split the series with the lowly Mets.
*Bud Norris pitched very well, but was inefficient. 123 pitches in seven innings, and he was at 108 after six innings. The 123 pitches are a season-high, and the 26 batters faced were his lowest in three starts.
*That said, Norris has thrown 6+ innings in eight of his last nine innings, and is 4-1 since the All-Star Break.
*Norris has thrown 1876 pitches (62% of them for strikes) this season to 469 batters. This is an average of exactly 4.00 pitches per batter faced, but 5.86 pitches per out.
*Norris' 5.23 ERA is the lowest it's been since it was 4.26 on April 21.
*Wilton Lopez continues to impress. It's now been 17 appearances since he's allowed a run, and in those 17 games, he's got an 0.68 WHIP, striking out 16 and walking just one.
*There wasn't much going on offensively until the 7th inning. Consider innings 1-6, the Astros were 1x19 against Pat Misch. Pence doubled in the first, and then Misch got the next 16 consecutive batters. In the 7th, though, Sanchez singled to center, Pence singled to left, and then Carlos Lee took the first pitch he saw to left (and I don't care what ESPN says, that was not a 381' home run). 3-2. Ball game.
*McTaggart noted that last night's game was the 9th come-from-behind win in a row for the Astros.
*The Astros' 1-4 hitters (Bourn, Sanchez, Pence, Lee): 4x14, 3RBI. 5-8 hitters: 1x12.
*Chris Johnson is 0x(his last) 13. He last got on base in the 8th inning with an intentional walk in the 7th of the first game of the Mets series.
*Hunter Pence's double was his 25th of the season - he has at least 25 doubles in all four seasons he's played.
*On June 28, Michael Bourn went 4x6 at Milwaukee. Since then he's hit .217/.292/.283 with 32K:15BB, and a .275 BABIP.
*Since June 1, the Astros are 36-33.
*Pitch Count Hero: Sanchez (1x4) and Chris Johnson (0x3) - 17 pitches in three PAs.
*Pitch Count Punk: Geoff Blum (0x3) - 7 pitches in three PAs.
*Man of the Match: Carlos Lee!
*Goat of the Game: It's hard to have a lead-off man who can't get on base. Michael Bourn, this Goat's for you.
*Bud Norris pitched very well, but was inefficient. 123 pitches in seven innings, and he was at 108 after six innings. The 123 pitches are a season-high, and the 26 batters faced were his lowest in three starts.
*That said, Norris has thrown 6+ innings in eight of his last nine innings, and is 4-1 since the All-Star Break.
*Norris has thrown 1876 pitches (62% of them for strikes) this season to 469 batters. This is an average of exactly 4.00 pitches per batter faced, but 5.86 pitches per out.
*Norris' 5.23 ERA is the lowest it's been since it was 4.26 on April 21.
*Wilton Lopez continues to impress. It's now been 17 appearances since he's allowed a run, and in those 17 games, he's got an 0.68 WHIP, striking out 16 and walking just one.
*There wasn't much going on offensively until the 7th inning. Consider innings 1-6, the Astros were 1x19 against Pat Misch. Pence doubled in the first, and then Misch got the next 16 consecutive batters. In the 7th, though, Sanchez singled to center, Pence singled to left, and then Carlos Lee took the first pitch he saw to left (and I don't care what ESPN says, that was not a 381' home run). 3-2. Ball game.
*McTaggart noted that last night's game was the 9th come-from-behind win in a row for the Astros.
*The Astros' 1-4 hitters (Bourn, Sanchez, Pence, Lee): 4x14, 3RBI. 5-8 hitters: 1x12.
*Chris Johnson is 0x(his last) 13. He last got on base in the 8th inning with an intentional walk in the 7th of the first game of the Mets series.
*Hunter Pence's double was his 25th of the season - he has at least 25 doubles in all four seasons he's played.
*On June 28, Michael Bourn went 4x6 at Milwaukee. Since then he's hit .217/.292/.283 with 32K:15BB, and a .275 BABIP.
*Since June 1, the Astros are 36-33.
*Pitch Count Hero: Sanchez (1x4) and Chris Johnson (0x3) - 17 pitches in three PAs.
*Pitch Count Punk: Geoff Blum (0x3) - 7 pitches in three PAs.
*Man of the Match: Carlos Lee!
*Goat of the Game: It's hard to have a lead-off man who can't get on base. Michael Bourn, this Goat's for you.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Manzella activated
Tommy Manzella has been activated from the DL, and will likely make the trip to Florida to start the road trip.
Feliz traded
The experiment that was Pedro Feliz is now over as the Astros have traded him - not Blum - to St. Louis for RHP David Carpenter.
Carpenter is a 25-year old reliever, drafted in the 12th Round by the Cardinals in 2006. He's 5-3 in High-A Palm Beach of the Florida State League, where has posted a 2.36 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 49 games.
You're probably thinking that this isn't much of a return, but if Pedro Feliz is the missing piece as the Cardinals try to catch the Reds, then the Cardinals are playing with the wrong puzzle.
Carpenter is a 25-year old reliever, drafted in the 12th Round by the Cardinals in 2006. He's 5-3 in High-A Palm Beach of the Florida State League, where has posted a 2.36 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 49 games.
You're probably thinking that this isn't much of a return, but if Pedro Feliz is the missing piece as the Cardinals try to catch the Reds, then the Cardinals are playing with the wrong puzzle.
Cardinals interested in Blum
Jon Paul Morosi says there's "nothing serious at the moment," but the Cardinals are interested in Geoff Blum.
Now this trade to the Cardinals I could get on board with.
Now this trade to the Cardinals I could get on board with.
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