Just curious about your thoughts

Here's Richard Justice's new blog post. What do you think?

A bone thrown to Ed Wade?

I almost can't believe mine eyes. Is this a bone being thrown Ed Wade's way?

Ruben Amaro, on the Phillies' core of Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz:
"Our whole mantra when [former Phillies general manager] Ed [Wade] took over was to try to get a nice core together, and a lot of those guys are homegrown guys. Bring that core together and see where we'd go with them. It's great to have had that group of guys together."

Greeneville Astros: Garrett Bullock

Garrett Bullock
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent, signed July 2009
Stats: 6'3", 195 lbs, Throws: Left
Age as of April 1, 2011: 24
Birthplace/Hometown: Winston Salem, NC
Men of the Match: 1

2010 Overview

IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	BAA	K/9	BB/9
43	1.26/1.23	40:14	.245	8.4	2.9

Career (2009, GCL-Greeneville cumulative)

Year	IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	HR/9	K/9	BB/9
2009	19.1	3.26/1.76	15:13	0.0	7.0	6.1

What happened?

What happened? Garrett Bullock flat-out dominated the Appalachian League, that's what happened. Bullock had a break-out year in an App League reprise that came after a season in which he had already thrown a full season at Wake Forest.

His 1.26 ERA was the fourth-best in the Appy League - and his 43IP were 9.1IP more than the next-highest total in the three pitchers preceding him. Granted, ERA isn't the best way to judge a reliever, but 43IP are a decent indication that he limits those runs.

Last year, we noted that Bullock was going to need to work on those walks, and that's exactly what he did, walking over three batters fewer per nine innings than in 2009.

All this resulted in Bullock's being named Astros County's Greeneville Pitcher of the Year.

What went right?

What didn't? Let's start with August. It's been our experience that pitchers their first full season after college see a little bit of a jump in numbers towards the end of the season (we'll try to back that up at some point down the road), but that didn't happen to Bullock. In eight August appearances (21IP), Bullock allowed 19H/2ER, 19K:6BB, holding hitters to a .257 average.

Pitching with runners on. With runners on, Bullock allowed 15H with 25K:10BB in 25IP, and a .185 BAA. With RISP, Bullcok allowed 7H, with 15K:8BB in 15.2IP, and a .140 BAA.

Throwing to LHBs. Bullock allowed 19 baserunners (15H/4BB), getting 49 outs against lefties, and only two ER.

Groundballs. Bullock had a 1.47 groundout:flyout ratio on the season, including 2.20 w/RISP and 2.18 against lefties.

What went wrong?

If we had to pick something, July was a little bit rough - comparatively. He allowed 18H/4ER, with 13K:7BB in 15.1IP, and a .290 BAA before righting the ship in August.

Bases Empty. We talked about how shutdown he was with runners on, but that's partialy because he allowed 24 hits and four walks in 18IP with the bases empty, allowing hitters a .308 batting average.



Appy Astros says:
Bullock is able to keep runners close with an excellent pick off move that he refined to reduce the balks called on him. Bullock was too old for the Appy at 24. He was promoted to Tri Cities at the end of the season but didn't get to pitch. With his age, being a lefty with a good pick off move and his ability to keep the ball down (no home runs in a combined 62 1/3 IP for his career, I could see him landing in Lancaster next season but Lexington might be more likely.

I can't see Bullock simply moving up to Tri-City, and think he'll be in Lexington. A good stint to begin the season in Lexington, and he's probably off to Lancaster.

Drayton went to go give the young'uns a little pep talk

In Mark Berman's "Out-on-Loux" recap, we learn that Drayton took a trip to Kissimmee to talk to the Instructional League players.

"It's great to see the kids we are excited about. I wanted to see the 16-year old from the Dominican Republic who we paid $2.6 million."

Perhaps he means Ariel Ovando, the 17-year old.

DeShields has a Blum Elbow

Delino DeShields has been suffering from elbow soreness, which has limited his move to 2B, says Zach Levine.

Levine:
DeShields is expected to be recovered by the end of the month and by the end of Instructional League in Florida, where he is making the transition from the outfield. But the Astros want to be cautious, and he is going to be held out of throwing.

He has not been totally shut down, though, as he works to get comfortable with his footwork and plays some designated hitter in Instructional League games.

Astros out on Loux, kill Deputy Street's dreams

Ed Wade was all shuffling his feet and vague about it, but the Astros say they're out on free agent Barret Loux.

Wade:
"We've had further internal conversations and we're probably not going to pursue it. We talked long and hard about it and we wanted to make sure we did our advance work and tried to get an arm around the entire situation. At this point in time, it's something we're not going to pursue."

Mills ready to do this two, maybe three more times

Hey-Oh! The Astros have given Brad Mills an extension through the 2012 season, and added an option for 2013.

Mills:
"This is where I want to be. I'm committed to this organization and where we're trying to get. I think we made a lot of progress this year."

Wade:
“We can’t say enough about the job that Millsie has done for us. He brings every quality that you look for in a successful major league manager. All that he cares about is helping build a championship club."

Within Zach Levine's story, we find that Jeff Bagwell is expected to decide about his return this month. Regardless, we are 100% behind this extension.

Extreme Makeover: Home Plate Edition

This off-season the Astros are implementing their first renovation to Minute Maid Park since taking down that Enron sign.

Trying to keep up with the massive screen that shows us the taut skin of Jerry Jones to the north, they'll put in a 7,000 square foot HD video board in the outfield.

Drayton:
"We wanted to give fans the utmost experience...Fans have flat screen TVs and high-definition TVs at their homes, and now they'll have that at the ballpark. We need to constantly upgrade the ballpark especially in this era."

Pam Gardner:
"We've been researching this for the past 3-4 years. We knew we needed bigger, number one, because that's the trend, and we knew we needed HD."

A couple of things about this:

1. It took the Astros 3-4 years to decide on a tv. That says more than we can ever comment on. You give me $1000 and send me to Best Buy to get an HD tv, and I'll be watching Gladiator within the hour.

2. Sure, I buy the "It's been 10 years since we did anything to Minute Maid, so it was time to upgrade" rationale. We also can't discount that Drayton is basically staging his house, getting it all pretty to sell, with a cool new park and low payroll.

Thoughts?

Astros County's Playoff Rules

Meant to post this yesterday, in advance of the first day of the playoffs, but you'll just have to make do with these ten rules for watching the 2010 playoffs.

1. It is okay to watch every game, despite what your wife/girlfriend/partner says. After the playoffs, it'll be five months before meaningful baseball is played again.

2. It is even okay to watch more playoff games in October than you watched Astros games in September.

3. It is not okay to "pick a new team." You made your bed, now you have to lie in it, even if it has crabs.

4. It is okay to be pulling for a Yankees/Phillies World Series. The prospect of Roy Oswalt pitching to Lance Berkman is too much for me to bear, but it is okay to hope it happens. And it is also okay to be happy for Roy/Lance (but not Aubrey Huff). It is also not okay to be happy for the franchises.

5. It is not okay to pull for the Rangers "because they're from Texas." Screw that. Does the Silver Boot mean nothing to you!?

6. It is okay to pull for the Reds because they're in the NL Central. Let's face it, we need all the respect we can get, and if you have been beaten up and left for dead in an alley, and someone who has previously kicked the crap out of you defends your honor, so be it.

7. Despite that, it was totally okay to hope Roy Halladay no-hit the Reds, if only for the historical component.

8. If you have a friend who is a fan of a team currently playing, it is not okay to call them after a game, even if they are winning. They have earned the right to make initial contact.

9. If a friend is a fan of a team who has something bad happen (say, Roy Halladay throws a no-hitter), it is not okay to crack-a-lack a joke to them . At least their team made the playoffs. You must also wait until they call or text you.

10. It is okay to laugh at the Cardinals. Always.

Greeneville Astros: Ricardo Batista

Ricardo Batista
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent, signed prior to 2008 season
Stats: 6'1", 170 lbs, Throws: Left
Age as of April 1, 2011: 19
Birthplace/Hometown: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Men of the Match: 1

2010 Overview

IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	BAA	K/9	BB/9
48.2	6.29/1.79	35:23	.318	6.5	4.3

Career (2008-09)

Year	IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	HR/9	K/9	BB/9
2008	25.2	8.06/2.10	20:24	0.4	7.0	8.4
2009	34.2	5.97/1.85	22:18	0.3	5.7	4.7

What happened?

Batista has moved up a level in each of his three seasons in the Astros organizations, pitching in the DSL in 2008, the GCL in 2009, and making his way to Greeneville in 2010, where he...struggled.

Batista threw a (to-this-point) career-high in IPs this season, and his overall numbers actually improved across the board, save for his ERA. He was 0-5 in 12 starts, and after his 0-4 2009 season, it's now been since 2008 that Batista has won a game.

What went right?

Throwing at lefties. He recorded 35 outs against lefties, holding them to a 1.54 ERA, with 14 hits and two earned runs. Lefties also hit .298 - 27 points lower than against righties.

July. In six starts, he allowed 31 hits in 27IP.

August. In five August starts, Alaniz allowed 9ER - 4ER in one start against Johnson City - and posted a 1.09 WHIP. He also only walked three batters in 28.1 August IP.

Limiting damage via the long ball. Of the five homers Batista allowed, four of them came with the bases empty.

What went wrong?

Walks. Despite the BB/9 rate coming down from 4.7 to 4.3, that's still high.

Righties. 19 of the 23 batters he walked were RHBs, and he allowed 50H/32ER in 37IP against RHBs for a 7.78 ERA/1.86 WHIP.

Groundballs. Or lack thereof. Last year we said that "Batista doesn't get many groundballs, for more flyouts than groundouts, but he keeps the ball in the park." That wasn't necessarily the case this season. But we should still remember that Batista was 18 this season.

August 9. We've said this quite a few times, but we're dealing with a small sample size. So when he went out and gave up 6H/6ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP against Elizabethton, that's going to skew the numbers.

Appy Astros says:
I expect him to be back in Greeneville next year. Even though the numbers aren't great, they were improved from his time in the GCL. Control must continue to improve.

Once again - and it seems like this is a ritual - we agree with Appy Astros. If he's going to be a flyball pitcher, he needs to limit those walks, so that when a hitter gets a hold of one, the game doesn't crater around him.

Daigle, Majewski out

With a big captip to Farmstros, we learn that Gary Majewski and Casey Daigle have filed for minor league free agency.

Cecil Cooper has been working the phone

Addressing the vacancy at the helm of the Milwaukee Brewers, GM Doug Melvin is putting together a list of candidates. And he's heard from someone we all know:

Melvin said he has already heard directly from several would-be candidates, including former Brewers star and Astros manager Cecil Cooper, or from their agents.

Go get 'em, Coop!

Justice: Be patient

Nice column from Richard Justice today on the future of the Astros' organization.

Ed Wade, on Jason Castro and Brett Wallace:
"Offensively, Jason has to make the same types of adjustments that most kids have to make when they get to the big leagues, and we believe he will. He's bright, focused and dedicated. And, he's talented...

"Before getting to the big leagues, Brett never struggled offensively, and now he has. He, too, has to make adjustments. ... This kid is going to hit, and he already is a good first baseman. He and Castro will succeed."

Join me in letting out a sigh of relief for Wade's mention of Wallace at 1B.

Rene Cardenas a finalist for Ford C. Frick Award

Former Astros broadcaster Rene Cardenas is among 10 finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award - for excellence in baseball broadcasting - by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cardenas created the first Spanish-language broadcast for MLB in 1958, and was the Astros play-by-play guy for 16 years.

Citizen Ryan Goes to Fan Appeciation Day

Hey, so Citizen Ryan went to Fan Appreciation Day at Minute Maid Park, and sent along some photos.

Citizen Ryan:

As you would expect, Pence ate the thing up. He really is the kid living the dream. The Manzella/Kepp story is just too funny though, mainly because I did NOT see it coming:

My cousin (to me as players are coming by): I bet these guys get real tired of hearing "You had a good year!" when they really didn't.
Me (in response): OK. So we'll only tell a few players that, since only a few really had good years. Like Kepp and Myers.
So as Kepp comes by... (followed by Manzella right behind him)
Me (to Kepp): You had a good year. Really. I'm only saying this to a couple of players and you're one of them.
Manzella: You can't believe that guy. He told me that a few minutes ago.

Now that's comedy. On to some photos.

Remember, if you have pictures of Astros players, send them along. If you print off a Proof of Citizenship, take a picture holding it and send it in, we'll post it.

Comment of the Year

Here we pause for a second to post what is hands down the Comment of the Year, on the David Carpenter-to-the-AFL post. So naturally, we'll repost it, and add some commentary where necessary.

This comment has nothing to do with this article.

This is the first time I've stumbled upon this blog.

Welcome!

I just want whoever that runs this blog to know how much you suck.

If I actually cared, I would feel sorry for you. I don't get what you get out of this.

Given the 243-word unprompted comment, I'll disagree with you on the not caring part. But you do bring up a good point. What do we, collectively (the writers of Astros County), get out of this? Well, it's three-fold:

1. We would likely be reading articles about the Astros, anyway. So it's a nice little resource for Astros fans, much like us, who would like to follow along with news and random, occasional views.

2. It's a writing exercise. The County Clerk has eighteen unfinished novels about the Rape of Nanking sitting on his kitchen table. So it's good practice for him to actually be able to post something - anything - with a conclusion.

3. To engage Astros fans in conversation. Which, thanks to you, dear Citizen, we're doing!

Do you spend all day in mom's basement on the Internet researching local and national Astros articles?

No. All of us live above ground. Even in our own residences, which two of us own, and the other rents. I wouldn't call it so much "researching" as "having a pretty damn good Google Reader."

Then, you post them on a blog and make your personal opinion on the article known.

Actually, yep. That's the long and short of it.

What a creative name too, "Astros County"

Thanks!

Wow, was that the first thing that popped into your head?

No. Other failed blog titles were "Jeff Bagwell's Goatee," "The Ghost of Larry Andersen," "Hanging With Cecil Cooper," "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," "O, Pioneers," "Astros Blog: By Guys Who Are Unemployed Wannabe Real Sportswriters With A Big Dream In Life To Do Exactly That."

I'm guessing you're unemployed and a wannabe who's big dream in life is to be a real sportswriter.

Hey! How'd you know?! Actually, we're all quite happily employed in other capacities. The County Clerk is in politics, the Juvenile Court Clerk is a realtor, The Constable works for a non-profit organization. I run a camp for underprivileged kids. None of us have ever harbored a dream of spending 81 games on the road.

Since you're not and never will be, your jealous, wannabe nature goes after all the known Astros writers and either kisses up to them or tears them down.

That must be all that suppressed anger.

By nature, the only real options are to either kiss up to the writers, or tear them down. That varies by whatever they write. If it's a good article, sure, we'll give them a captip. If it's not, we'll respond accordingly. There isn't much room for anything in between.

Nobody even knows your name.

That means a lot, Anonymous. But it also brings up a good point. We don't post our names, because we all do aspire to climb up our corporate (or non-profit) ladders. Hopefully, when you do a Google search for our names, what comes up is work-related. Or in the case of the County Clerk, a misunderstanding regarding a hostage situation, Stockholm Syndrome, and a Chinese throwing star. And honestly, we didn't think it was that important.

I can only imagine how a conversation with a girl must go for you.

This ought to be good.

'what do u do for a living?'

So we're texting this conversation. Apparently.


'I sit around on my ass all day long surfing the Internet looking for Astros articles to put in my blog.'

It isn't all that much work, really. Especially when we can slide down the fireman's pole to the Blogging Room where we have emergency Editorial Conclaves.

'Oh, do you get paid for that.'

'No'

That's true. We don't get paid. It's called a hobby.


I think it's pathetic. Get a life, get a real job. It's one thing to be a fan, but this goes overboard.

You are the definition of 'loser.'

Is this still the conversation with the girl? Because while that was a word-for-word recreation up to the point where I asked my wife to marry me (you didn't happen to be in Seattle on New Year's Eve 2002, did you? Uncanny.), it's not all that overboard. Hanging off the edge of the starboard side, perhaps. But as long as we can maintain our families, wives, jobs, etc., we'll just keep doing what we do, and thank you for stopping by. I do apologize if your chosen web browser keeps automatically directing you to Hanging With Cecil Cooper Astros County.

David Carpenter to Arizona Fall League

Ernie Galusky is reporting that David Carpenter is headed to the Peoria Javelinas for the 2010 AFL season.

Minor league attendance figures

Congratulations to the Tri-City ValleyCats, who ranked 59th in all of minor-league baseball (160 teams) for 2010 attendance.

The ValleyCats were 18th in all of Single-A baseball. Meanwhile, the Lexington Legends ranked 13th in Single-A, and 49th overall.

Other affiliates:
Round Rock: 6th
Oklahoma City: 37th
Corpus Christi: 28th
Lancaster: 115th
Lexington: 49th
Tri-City: 59th
Greeneville: 139th

Despite Greeneville's low-ranking (comparatively), they did draw the highest average number of fans in the Appalachian League.

Rule 5 & Minor League Free Agents

Farmstros has your Rule 5 draft-eligible players and minor-league free agents:

Rule 5 Eligible:
Albert Cartwright
Koby Clemens
Collin DeLome
Drew Locke

Potential Minor-League Free Agents:
Doug Arguello
Arcenio Leon
Lou Santangelo

There are also some qualifications that Farmstros makes about a couple of other possibilities - click on over and read it for yourself.

Fulchino's surgery successful

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

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