Monday, December 31, 2012

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Caguas over Carolina 2-1
C Roberto Peña went 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout for Caguas. RHP Raul Rivera got a no-decision for Carolina as he pitched a very strong seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. C Rene Garcia was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout. Jobduan Morales came in to pinch hit for Yadier Molina and ended up staying in as DH for Carolina. Morales went 2-for-3 with a solo home run for Carolina.

Ponce over Mayaguez 6-4
*RHP Adalberto Flores pitched a scoreless ninth inning with one hit and one walk for Ponce and earned his first save of the winter season.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Mazatlan over Hermosillo 12-1
*RHP Erick Abreu gave up his first run since joining the Mexican Pacific League. He pitched one inning for Hermosillo, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Aguillas over Estrellas 4-3 in 11 innings
Aguillas is now 2-1 in the round robin playoffs while Estrellas has fallen to 0-3. Jonathan Villar came in as a pinch runner in the top of the ninth for Aguilas and scored the tying run. *RHP Enerio del Rosario pitched a scoreless one and two-thirds innings with one strikeout. His perfect ninth inning allowed the Aguilas team to take the game to extra innings where they ultimately prevailed.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/31

No future Astros and only one former Astro with a birthday today ~

RHP Brian Moehler (41)
Originally drafted by the Tigers in the sixth round in 1993, Moehler came to Houston as a free agent and played for the Astros in 2003 and again from 2007 to 2010. In 125 games (66 starts) for Houston, he was 21-28 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.482 WHIP. He is currently a scout in the Red Sox organization.

Tweet of the Day

Zach Johnson
Can't wait for baseball everyday

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Caracas over Zulia 2-1
RHP Rhiner Cruz showed up in Caracas after his Dominican winter league season ended. In his first appearance for Caracas, he only faced one batter and allowed one hit before leaving the game.

Magallanes over Caribes 5-3
*RHP Sergio Perez (W, 9-4) pitched seven innings of one hit ball with two walks and four strikeouts to get the win for Magallanes.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Carolina over Santurce 5-4 in 10 innngs
2B Kiké Hernandez was 2-for-5 with a strikeout for Carolina while Jobduan Morales got a start at third base and went 1-for-3 with a stolen base before being lifted for a pinch hitter. C Carlos Corporan was 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBI in Carolina's win.

Caguas over Ponce 3-1
C Roberto went hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout for Caguas.

AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE

Canberra over Perth 8-6
RHP Cameron Lamb pitched one and two-thirds innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts. He was charged with his first blown save and his first loss of the ABL season.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/30

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Wes Musick (26)
Obtained in the Matt Lindstrom trade with the Rockies in December 2010, Musick was originally drafted by that organization in the ninth round in 2009 out of the University of Houston. (He had been drafted by Houston earlier but did not sign.) Musick started the 2012 season with Lancaster, but due to a chain reaction starting with the Kyle Weiland injury, he was promoted first to Corpus Christi and then to Oklahoma City with good results at each level. In 14 games (12 starts) between the three venues, he was 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.216 WHIP before an injury derailed his season. He last pitched on June 19th.

CF Jose Monzon (21)
Signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela, Monzon spent his second season with the rookie level Greeneville Astros in 2012. In 45 games, he hit .214/.301/.282. He played winter ball in the Liga Paralela in Venezuela this off-season, hitting .213/.315/.340 in 16 games.

Tweet of the Day

Brady Rodgers
Time to hit the gym 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Magallanes over Margarita 10-1
After a very successful season with the Liga Paralela in Venezuela, RHP Carlos Quevedo made his first appearance for the Magallanes last night, pitching two scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and two strikeouts.

La Guaira over Aragua 7-5
Jose Martinez went 0-for-1 with two walks as the DH for Aragua before being lifted for a pinch hitter.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Mayaguez over Carolina 8-7 in 10 innings
2B Kiké Hernandez went 1-for-5 with a walk, strikeout, RBI and run scored for Carolina. C Rene Garcia went hitless in four at-bats with a strikeout.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Hermosillo over Mazatlan 5-2
*RHP Erick Abreu pitched another perfect inning of relief, striking out two. He hasn't allowed a hit, run or walk in his three appearances since joining the league.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/29

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Enderson Franco (20)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela, Franco was in his second season with the GCL Astros in 2012. In 10 appearances (seven starts), he was 3-2 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.540 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF James Mouton (44)
Drafted by the Astros in the seventh round in 1991, Mouton played for Houston from 1994 to 1997, hitting .249/.321/.338 in 411 games. He was traded to the Padres in January 1998.

IF Tomas Perez (39)
Perez signed with the Astros as a free agent in November 2007 and played in only eight games for Houston in 2008, hitting .200 in 10 at-bats.

Tweet of the Day

David Rollins
Spring training is coming in hot

Friday, December 28, 2012

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Mayaguez over Carolina 3-2
C Carlos Corporan went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in Carolina's loss while 2B Kiké Hernandez was hitless in five at-bats with a strikeout.

Caguas over Santurce 4-0
C Roberto Peña was 0-for-3 with an RBI for Caguas.

Ponce over Manati 11-9 in 15 innings
*RHP Adalberto Flores came in to face one batter and quickly induced a double play for Ponce. Former Astro Reggie Abercrombie finally ended the marathon in the 15th inning with a two-run home run.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Escogido over Aguilas 8-2
*RHP Enerio del Rosario stranded his two inherited runners and pitched one and a third perfect innings for Aguilas in the first game of the round robin playoffs.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Hermosillo over Mexicali 12-7
*RHP Erick Abreu pitched a scoreless inning in relief for Hermosillo, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out two.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/28

Happy Birthday to ~

C Ryan McCurdy (25)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2010, McCurdy played at three different levels in the 2012 season as he pitched in to cover as catcher injuries mounted up. In 55 games between Lancaster, Corpus Christi and Lexington, he hit .203/.348/.287.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Jose Sosa (60)
Signed by the Astros as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1970, Sosa pitched in 34 games for Houston in 1975 and 1976 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.636 WHIP.

1B/3B Ray Knight (60)
A 10th round pick by the Reds in 1970, Knight came to Houston in a December 1981 trade which sent Cesar Cedeno to the Reds. In 391 games played for the Astros from 1982 to 1984, he hit .283/.331/.393. Knight was an All-Star for the Reds in 1980 and for Houston in 1982. The Astros traded him to the Mets in August of 1984; he was World Series MVP for New York in 1986.

IF Bill Hall (33)
Originally drafted by Milwaukee in the sixth round in 1998, Hall signed with Houston as a free agent in December 2010. In 46 games for the Astros in 2011, he hit .224/.272/.340. Since being released by Houston, he has gone on to play in the Giants, Yankees and Orioles organizations. He is currently a free agent.

Tweet of the Day

Asher Wojciechowski
Almost ran over Bambi on my bike ride out here at kiawah
Embedded image permalink

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Mayaguez over Carolina 6-5
2B Kiké Hernandez went 2-for-5 with a double and scored a run for Carolina. C Rene Garcia went 0-for-3 with a strikeout before being pinch hit for by Carlos Corporan who went 1-for-1 and stayed in to catch.

Ponce over Manati 8-3
*RHP Adalberto Flores (W, 2-1) got the start for Ponce and pitched five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk with one strikeout to earn the win.

Caguas over Santurce 9-1
C Roberto Peña went 1-for-4 with a two-run single and a strikeout in Caguas' win.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Mexicali over Hermosillo 9-2
RHP Edgar Gonzalez pitched six innings in his start for Hermosillo, allowing one run on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts and got a no-decision. *RHP Erick Abreu, who had just finished up a very successful season with the Gigantes team in the Dominican Republic, pitched in his first game for Hermosillo. He pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/27

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Tyson Perez (23)
Drafted in the 17th round in 2011 out of Fresno Community College, Perez went from pitching his first season with the Rookie League Greeneville Astros in 2011 to pitching with the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks in 2012 when organizational injuries and promotions gave him an unexpected opportunity. In 21 starts for Lancaster, he was 9-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.508 WHIP. Perez was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in post-season pitching.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Norm Larker (died March 12, 2007 at 76)
Drafted from the Dodgers in the 1961 expansion draft, Larker played in 147 games for the Colt .45's in 1962, hitting .263/.358/.374. Larker was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1960 and won a World Series with that team in 1959.

OF Byron Browne (70)
Browne came to the Astros in a May 1968 trade with the Cubs and played in only 10 games for Houston that season, hitting .231/.412/.231, before being purchased by the Cardinals in February 1969.

CF Michael Bourn (30)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the fourth round in 2003, Bourn came to Houston as part of the November 2007 trade that sent Brad Lidge to the Phillies. In 541 games played for the Astros from 2008 to 2011, Bourn hit .271/.337/.359 with 193 stolen bases. He won Gold Gloves in 2009 and 2010 for Houston and was an All-Star in 2010. In July 2011, he was traded to Atlanta where he earned another All-Star bid in 2012. He is currently a free agent.

SS Craig Reynolds (60)
A first round pick by the Pirates in 1971, Reynolds came to the Astros in a December 1978 trade with the Mariners. In 1170 games played for Houston from 1979 to 1989, he hit .252/.286/.345. Reynolds was an All-Star in 1978 for Seattle and in 1979 for Houston.

LHP Nate Bland (38)
Originally drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 1993, Bland was drafted by Houston from the Mets in the December 2002 rule 5 draft. In 22 appearances for the Astros in 2003, he had a 5.75 ERA and a 1.672 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

Christian García

I have occasion to live in my own little world, but I can promise you it's a great place.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Tweets of the Day

No birthdays today and no Astros playing in winter league ball, so indulge in a few extra tweets of the day. Hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends.

Adam scott bailey

Nothin like wrapping at 630 am. Procrastination at its finest

JJ_Jankowski33's avatar

Merry Christmas to all the Astros people out there!

Rafael Valenzuela

Feliz Navidad a todos! Dios los bendiga

Kevin Comer

My gifts this year were so..... Mature. Weirddd

Andrew Robinson

I've learned and accepted my role on Christmas morning. Drive to the store and get ice.

kenny long

Heading over for my family Christmas gathering mandatory pajamas dress code

Austin Elkins

Happy happy happy Christmas 

Travis Ballew

Is that powered sugar falling from the sky? 

Justin Gominsky

Nothing like packing a bunch of Assyrians in one house for a party

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Happy Birthday - 12/25

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

2B Nellie Fox (died December 1, 1975 at 47)
Fox came to Houston in a Deccember 1963 trade with the White Sox and played in 154 games for the Colt .45's and the Astros in 1964 and 1965 at the end of his career, hitting .265/.317/.319. A 12-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and 1959 AL MVP, Fox was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1997.

IF Julio Gonzalez (60)
Gonzalez came to the Astros in a December 1976 trade with the Cubs and played for Houston from 1977 to 1980, hitting .235/.270/.288 in 296 games.

OF Telmanch "Ty" Gainey (52)
Drafted by the Astros in the second round in 1979, Gainey played in 57 games for Houston from 1985 to 1987, hitting .216/.293/.288.

CF Willy Taveras (31)
Taveres was drafted by Houston from Cleveland in the December 2003 Rule 5 draft and played for the Astros from 2004 to 2006, hitting .284/.329/.340. In 2005, he came in second in Rookie of the Year voting to Ryan Howard. In December of 2006, Tavares was included in a trade to the Rockies for he-who-must-not-be-named.

Tweet of the Day

Jose Altuve
Feliz Navidad para todosssssss

Monday, December 24, 2012

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

I'm re-posting this from last week now that it really is Christmas Eve.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS - ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE STYLE

'Twas the night before Christmas, when out on the field
Not a creature was stirring, all the entries were sealed.
The stockings were hung in the clubhouse with care,
In hopes that St. Luhnow soon would be there.

St. Luhnow - photo circa 2011
(before uniform color change from brick red to orange/blue)
Courtesy of our very own Andy aka Houston Sports Counterplot

The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
Dreams of major league call-ups danced in their heads.
As Rodney and Tony D. called it a night,
Bodie and Omar turned out the lights.

When out in the park there arose such a clatter,
The clubby arose to see what was the matter.
Away to the windows the Managers sped,
And looked out to find what had roused them from bed.

The moon hit the crest of the newly raked mound,
Amid glittering dewdrops which shone all around.
When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But a rocket-ship sleigh, and eight strapping reindeer.

Once spying this wonderous carriage on high,
They knew in a moment St. Jeff was nearby.
More rapid than fastballs his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Springer! now, Cosart! McCullers and Rio!
On, Houser! On, Carlos! On Folty and Lino!
Over the top deck and over the eye!
All my young rookies are learning to fly!"

Just as quickly as Singleton hits the ball out,
When a fastball meanders along the wrong route,
So up to the nose-bleeds the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of Prospects, and St. Luhnow too.

Then I heard high above o'er the upper deck seats
The clicking and clacking of copious cleats.
The Managers stood in awe and dismay
As St. Luhnow slowly arose from his sleigh.

He wore orange and blue and a bright shining star,
And his clothing was smudged with field dirt and pine tar.
Myriad scouting reports bulged from his pack,
With advanced analytics, stack after stack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his smile pearly white!
An affable nod told you all would be right!
His hair was all peppered with silver and gray.
An impression of confidence, he did convey.

A multi-function calculator held tight in his grip,
And a smart phone holstered alongside his hip.
He had a nice face and was fit as a fiddle,
After time in the gym (I'd say more than a little). 

He was calm and collected, in total control,
And all were encouraged, inspired by his goal! 
In the blink of an eye, to the clubhouse he sprang.
He drew towards the lockers where stockings did hang.

Stuffing them quickly with promise and dreams,
Success in the future and victorious teams.
St. Luhnow then suddenly bade us goodbye
As the home run spectacular flashed 'cross the sky.

He leapt in his sleigh, "Oye¡ Vamos! Let's go!"
And away they did fly o'er the field far below. 
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Seven weeks 'til Spring Training! Oh, what a delight!"

>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<

I'd like to wish all my readers a Very Happy Holiday Season,
and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Carolina over Manati 11-4 
For Carolina, 2B Kiké Hernandez went 2-for-4 with an RBI via a bases-loaded hit by pitch. He also scored two runs. C Carlos Corporan was 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and he scored two runs as well. Carlos Correa came into the game as a late inning defensive replacement at short and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout while teammate Jobduan Morales was also a late substitution at first base, but did not get any at-bats.

Mayaguez over Caguas 3-1
C Roberto Pena was 0-for-3 with a strikeout for Caguas.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Zulia over Aragua 12-8

2B José Martinez went 1-for-5 in Aragua’s loss.

Tweet of the Day

kenny long
Found this gem of a family pic  
Embedded image permalink

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Carolina over Manati 5-2 in 7 innings (Game 1)
Kiké Hernandez went 1-for-2 with a walk and scored two runs for Carolina while starting at second and ending at third base. C Rene Garcia went 1-for-2 with a solo home run. Carlos Correa came in as a defensive replacement at short and did not get an at-bat.

Carolina over Manati 4-1 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Kiké Hernandez started at second and moved to third in the second game as well. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and scored a run. Hernandez is now hitting .325/.385/.496 for the winter and .412 over his last five games. Carlos Correa came in to pinch run and stayed in to play short; he didn't get an at-bat. C Carlos Corporan was 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Escogido over Gigantes 5-2
*RHP Enerio del Rosario allowed an inherited runner to score, but wasn't charged with any runs of his own in one inning of hitless work for the Gigantes while teammate RHP Rhiner Cruz allowed one run on one hit and a walk with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning of work.

LIGA PARALELA

The Liga Paralela (which is more or less the Venezuelan equivalent of the minor leagues) had their championship final games on Thursday and Friday and the Magallanes team prevailed over Tampa Bay's Venezuelan team. Astros catcher Luis Alvarez was perfect behind the plate catching both of the games for Magallanes, and he was close to perfect at the plate as well. In the two games, he went 6-for-7 with two home runs, five RBI and scored three runs.

RHP Carlos Quevedo did not pitch in the finals, having pitched in the semi-finals, but was credited for helping the Magallanes get to the playoffs with his terrific season. In nine games (five starts), he was 5-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.949 WHIP. He had five walks to 35 strikeouts in 39 innings.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/23

Only former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Al "Bozo" Cicotte (died November 29, 1982 at 52)
Purchased from the Cardinals in October 1961, Cicotte pitched in five games for the Colt 45's in 1962 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.929 WHIP.

RHP Brad "Lights Out" Lidge (36)
A first round draft pick by Houston in 1998, Lidge played for the Astros from 2002 to 2007 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.197 WHIP and 123 saves in 378 games. He was an All-Star for Houston in 2005 when he had 42 saves in 70 games. Lidge was traded, along with Eric Bruntlett, to the Phillies for Mike Costanzo, Michael Bourn and Geoff Geary in November of 2007. In 2008 he was on the All-Star team for the Phillies and won a World Series with them. He last played for the Washington Nationals, but was released by them in June 2012. Lidge announced earlier this month that he plans to retire.

RHP Shawn Chacon (35)
Originally drafted by the Rockies in the third round in 1996, Chacon started 15 games for Houston in 2008, going 2-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.506 WHIP. He was an All-Star for the Rockies in 2003. For some reason, I can't help but get choked up whenever I think of Chacon.

Tweet of the Day

Joe Musgrove
So who am I payin to do my Christmas shopping next year? Hating life right now ?

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Roster Moves

The Astros announced on Friday that they had finalized the long-rumored deal to sign Free Agent Jose Veras. The right-handed relief pitcher has a major league career 4.01 ERA and 1.358 WHIP in 327 relief appearances scattered over seven seasons. He was first signed by Tampa Bay out of the Dominican Republic in 1998 and has played in the majors for the Yankees, Cleveland, Florida, Pittsburgh and, most recently, the Brewers.

The press release accompanying the announcement noted that Veras was tied for second in the majors in appearances over the last two seasons and that his strikeout rate and opponent batting average were in the top ten in the National League over the last three seasons. What they failed to note, however, was a high walk rate -- 4.9 walks per nine innings for his career and 5.4 walks per nine in 2012.

In order to make room for Veras on the 40-man roster, 3B/1B Brandon Laird was outrighted to Oklahoma City. OF Che-Hsuan Lin was also outrighted to Oklahoma City in order to make room for RHP John Ely who was picked up in a trade earlier this week. According to Brian Smith of the Chronicle, both Laird and Lin made it through waivers without being claimed.

I have updated the ongoing Off-Season Transaction list to reflect these moves.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Caracas over Magallanes 10-4
It was a rough night for 2B Jose Altuve who hit three flyball outs to right field before switching things up in his last at-bat and grounding into a force out for Magallanes.

Zulia over Aragua 5-0
2B Jose Martinez went hitless for Aragua with one strikeout.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Toros over Estrellas 4-3
*RHP Jose Trinidad, in his only appearance of the winter for the LIDOM, walked the only batter he faced for Estrellas. Regular season play ended last night for Estrellas.

Aguilas over Gigantes 6-4
SS Jonathan Villar went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Aguilas.

AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE

Perth over Adelaide 10-2
Perth has already played two games today (I feel like such a slacker) and RHP Cameron Lamb pitched an inning in a non-save situation and allowed no hits, no runs and one walk for Perth.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/22

Happy Birthday to ~

Charley Taylor, one of the 2012 GCL Astros coaching staff, turns 65 today.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RF Glenn Wilson (54)
Originally drafted in the first round in 1980 by the Tigers, Wilson came to Houston in an August 1980 trade that sent Billy Hatcher to Pittsburgh. In 146 games for the Astros in 1989 and 1990, he hit .238/.284/.357. His best season was his All-Star season for the Phillies in 1985 when he hit 39 doubles and drove in 102 runs.

RHP Michael Jackson (48)
A second round pick by the Phillies in 1984, Jackson signed with the Astros as a free agent in December 2000. In 67 games for Houston in 2001, he had a 4.70 ERA and a 1.304 WHIP. In 1998, he saved 40 games for Cleveland with a 1.55 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.

OF Jason Lane (36)
Drafted by the Astros in the sixth round in 1999, Lane played in 494 games for Houston from 2002 to 2007, hitting .241/.315/.458. He re-invented himself in 2011 as a left-handed pitcher with a little help from the Diamondbacks organization. After his release in May 2012 by Arizona, Lane pitched for the Independent Sugar Land Skeeters. In 18 games (17 starts), he was 9-5 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.057 WHIP. He signed as a free agent with the Twins last month.

Tweet of the Day

Asher Wojciechowski
Had a great 24th birthday! 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Caracas over Magallanes 10-5
2B Jose Altuve was hitless in four at-bats, but did draw a walk and score a run for Magallanes.

Lara over Aragua 4-3
2B Jose Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run for Aragua.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Caguas over Ponce 3-1
Roberto Pena came into the game as a pinch runner and scored a run for Caguas. He stayed in the game to catch and went 0-for-1.

Carolina over Manati 7-6
Kiké Hernandez started the game at second and moved to third in a defensive switch. He went 2-for-5 with a single and an RBI double. He also scored a run for Carolina. SS Carlos Correa came in as a defensive substitution and went hitless in two at-bats with a strikeout. C Rene Garcia went 1-for-4 and scored a run.

Happy Birthday - 12/21

Happy Birthday to ~

C Pedro Coa (20)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela, Coa spent his second season with the DSL Astros and really showed improvement over his first, hitting .256/.320/.311 in 37 games. He was one of the few offensive bright spots on the DSL team and also showed good selectivity at the plate. He only struck out five times all season and only struck out twice (to five walks) in 22 games in July and August.

RHP Asher Wojciechowski (24)
A first round pick by Toronto in 2010, Wojciechowski came to the Astros in the July 2012 10-player trade with the Blue Jays and made himself right at home. In eight starts with Corpus Christi after the trade, he was 2-2 with a 2.06 ERA and a 1.008WHIP. For the season, he was 9-5 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.146 WHIP.

LHP David Rollins (23)
Drafted by Toronto in the 24th round in 2011, Rollins also came to Houston in the big July 2012 trade. Following the trade, Rollins was 1-3 in six starts in Lexington with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.161 WHIP. For the season, he was 7-4 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.252 WHIP.

SS Austin "Catfish" Elkins (22)
A 19th round pick out of Dallas Baptist by Houston in the 2012 draft, Elkins spent his first professional season with Tri-City. In 66 games, he hit .272/.360/.398 with 13 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 stolen bases. A switch-hitter, Elkins had almost identical numbers from both sides of the plate.

RHP Phillip Humber (30)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the first round in 2004, Humber was claimed by the Astros off waivers from the White Sox at the end of November. In the last two seasons with the White Sox, Humber compiled a 14-14 record with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.317 WHIP in 54 appearances (42 starts). On April 21, 2012, he threw a perfect game against the Mariners in his second start of the season.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Howie Reed (died December 7, 1984 at 47)
Reed came to Houston in an October 1966 trade with the Angels. In four games (two starts) for the Astros in 1967, he was 1-1 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.145 WHIP. His best season was 1965 when he played for the World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

RHP Joaquin Andujar (60)
Andujar first came to Houston in an October 1975 trade with the Reds and pitched for the Astros from 1976 to 1981 and again in 1988.  In 202 games with the Astros, he had a 3.67 ERA and a 1.377 WHIP.  He was an All-Star with Houston in 1977 and 1979. Andujar made two additional All-Star appearances and won a Gold Glove with the Cardinals, and he earned his one World Series ring with them  in 1982.

RHP LaTroy Hawkins (40)
Originally drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1991, Hawkins came to Houston in a July 2008 trade with the Yankees. In 89 appearances for Houston in 2008 and 2009, he was 3-4 with a 1.71 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. He has currently pitched 18 seasons for nine different teams with the latest being the Angels in 2012. He is currently a free agent.

Tweet of the Day

kenny long
What do I watch on tv after tonight? Always Sunny, The League, Duck Dynasty, and Ink Master are done! 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Astros Minor League Style

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS - ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE STYLE

'Twas the night before Christmas, when out on the field
Not a creature was stirring, all the entries were sealed.
The stockings were hung in the clubhouse with care,
In hopes that St. Luhnow soon would be there.

St. Luhnow - photo circa 2011
(before uniform color change from brick red to orange/blue)
Courtesy of our very own Andy aka Houston Sports Counterplot

The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
Dreams of major league call-ups danced in their heads.
As Rodney and Tony D. called it a night,
Bodie and Omar turned out the lights.

When out in the park there arose such a clatter,
The clubby arose to see what was the matter.
Away to the windows the Managers sped,
And looked out to find what had roused them from bed.

The moon hit the crest of the newly raked mound,
Amid glittering dewdrops which shone all around.
When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But a rocket-ship sleigh, and eight strapping reindeer.

Once spying this wonderous carriage on high,
They knew in a moment St. Jeff was nearby.
More rapid than fastballs his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Springer! now, Cosart! McCullers and Rio!
On, Houser! On, Carlos! On Folty and Lino!
Over the top deck and over the eye!
All my young rookies are learning to fly!"

Just as quickly as Singleton hits the ball out,
When a fastball meanders along the wrong route,
So up to the nose-bleeds the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of Prospects, and St. Luhnow too.

Then I heard high above o'er the upper deck seats
The clicking and clacking of copious cleats.
The Managers stood in awe and dismay
As St. Luhnow slowly arose from his sleigh.

He wore orange and blue and a bright shining star,
And his clothing was smudged with field dirt and pine tar.
Myriad scouting reports bulged from his pack,
With advanced analytics, stack after stack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his smile pearly white!
An affable nod told you all would be right!
His hair was all peppered with silver and gray.
An impression of confidence, he did convey.

A multi-function calculator held tight in his grip,
And a smart phone holstered alongside his hip.
He had a nice face and was fit as a fiddle,
After time in the gym (I'd say more than a little). 

He was calm and collected, in total control,
And all were encouraged, inspired by his goal! 
In the blink of an eye, to the clubhouse he sprang.
He drew towards the lockers where stockings did hang.

Stuffing them quickly with promise and dreams,
Success in the future and victorious teams.
St. Luhnow then suddenly bade us goodbye
As the home run spectacular flashed 'cross the sky.

He leapt in his sleigh, "Oye¡ Vamos! Let's go!"
And away they did fly o'er the field far below. 
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Seven weeks 'til Spring Training! Oh, what a delight!"

>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<

I'd like to wish all my readers a Very Happy Holiday Season,
and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Magallanes over La Guaira 13-4
2B Jose Altuve padded his batting average to .356 with a 2-for-4 night for Magallanes, including a double, two RBI and two runs scored.

Lara over Aragua 7-6
2B Jose Martinez went 1-for-4 with a walk in Aragua's loss.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Licey over Gigantes 5-4
For the Gigantes, *RHP Erick Abreu came in to the game in the fourth inning with bases loaded and one out and quickly induced a double play. In the fifth inning he allowed one single while striking out two batters, but was charged with an earned run when he was lifted for RHP Rhiner Cruz who promptly hit two batters, and issued a single and a walk without recording an out. Cruz was charged with one run as well.

Toros over Aguilas 6-5
SS Jonathan Villar got a rare start last night and responded with a two-run triple in a 1-for-3 performance for Aguilas. He struck out once.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Manati over Caguas 4-1 in 7 innings (Game 2 of a double header)
C Roberto Peña went 1-for-3 for Caguas.

Santurce over Carolina 6-3
For Carolina, 2B Kiké Hernandez was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk. C Carlos Corporan was hitless, but scored a run after reaching on a hit by pitch.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

Hermosillo over Guasave 5-4
RHP Edgar Gonzalez got a no decision despite pitching six strong scoreless innings for Hermosillo. He allowed one single and one walk while striking out four.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/20

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B/3B/OF Aubrey Huff (36)
A fifth round pick by Tampa, Huff came to Houston in a July 2006 trade for Mitch Talbot and Ben Zobrist. In 68 games for the Astros in 2006, he hit .250/.341/.478. He went on to play for Baltimore where he earned a Silver Slugger, Detroit and San Francisco where he earned World Series rings in 2010 and 2012.

LF Keith Lampard (67)
Drafted by Houston in the second round in 1965, Lampard played in 62 games for the Astros in 1969 and 1970, hitting .238/.289/.393. In nine seasons in the minor leagues, he hit .289/.316/.470.

RHP Marc Valdes (41)
Originally drafted by the Marlins in the first round in 1993, Valdes came to Houston in a May 2000 trade with Tampa. In 53 appearances for the Astros in 2000, he was 5-5 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.659 WHIP. After playing, he became a coach in the Mets organization. In 2012, he was the pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.

MGR Cecil Cooper (63)
As manager of the Houston Astros for parts of 2007 and 2009 and all of 2008, he compiled a 170-170 record. Of all the things I could remember Cooper for, I actually most remember him for his freakishly large hands.

Tweet of the Day

Tballew18's avatar
If you wanna be best, you got to take out the best

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Roster Moves

The Astros announced today that they had acquired RHP John Ely from the Dodgers in exchange for LHP Rob Rasmussen. I didn't post about this move earlier partly because I wasn't sure how I felt about it and also because of that whole pesky day job thing getting in the way.

From what I had seen and read about Rasmussen since he came to the Astros in the Carlos Lee trade in July of this year, I liked him. A lot of it boils down to his pitching performance for the Hooks in a playoff game back in September against Frisco. I watched the game on the computer and there was a moment when he stepped off the mound, took a deep breath, cleared his head and then calmly extricated himself from a difficult situation. He showed great focus and maturity. That moment, along with the things that I had heard and read about him, made me want to see more of Rasmussen in 2013.

And what I saw about Ely didn't really wow me, other than his 2012 minor league stats which were quite good by any measure. But seeing as his limited time in the majors hadn't translated into much success yet and seeing as he is three years older than Rasmussen, I confess to being a little conflicted.

So I reached out to John Manuel of Baseball America to see what he thought of the deal. I wanted to get an outsider's impression on it. According to Manuel, "I like Rasmussen probably more than most. But Ely won the pitching triple crown in the PCL; that's pretty tough. I think he's a good place-holder, and Rasmussen is probably just a reliever on a championship team, or a back-of-the-rotation starter. I like Rasmussen; I had him 19 on my list for the Handbook. But Ely is a nice sleeper pickup, for me." He also pointed me to this Baseball America article from this past summer.

So there you have it. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable about the trade and Rasmussen is over the moon happy to be playing for the team he grew up watching.

Since Rasmussen wasn't on the 40-man roster, a corresponding move was necessary in order to make room for Ely. OF Che-Hsuan Lin who had been picked up off waivers from the White Sox earlier this off-season was designated for assignment. In other news, RHP Mickey Storey was again claimed off waivers from Houston, this time by the Blue Jays. In addition, although it has been widely rumored that the Astros are signing the free agent righty Jose Veras, the deal has not been finalized. Once it is (presuming it is), another 40-man roster move will need to be made.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Magallanes over Aragua 3-0
2B Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout. He is hitting .351 for the Magallanes team, .405 over the last 10 games. *RHP Sergio Perez (W, 8-4) got the start for Magallanes, pitching seven strong scoreless innings allowing six hits and two walks with two strikeouts for the win.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Gigantes over Estrellas 4-3
*RHP Enerio del Rosario was charged with a blown save for the Gigantes when he came in with one out and the bases loaded and gave up a two-run double to former Astro farm hand Brad Snyder. The Gigantes came back to win the game in the ninth.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Santurce over Caguas 5-4
LHP Xavier Cedeno earned the win for Santurce in relief as he pitched the eighth inning, allowing one hit with two strikeouts.

Carolina over Manati 1-0
2B Kiké Hernandez took matters into his own hands with a solo home run in the top of the ninth to give Carolina the lead and ultimately the win. Hernandez drew the only walk and one of only five hits allowed to the Carolina team in the pitcher's duel. C Rene Garcia and SS Carlos Correa went hitless in the game, as did pinch hitter Jobduan Morales, with each of those three striking out once.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/19

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Brandon Meredith (23)
Drafted out of San Diego State in the sixth round in 2011, Meredith spent his second professional season at Lexington in 2012. After being hampered somewhat by injuries in 2011, he showed what he can do when healthy this season as he hit .278/.377/.506 with 19 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs. 48 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 86 games.

Tom Lawless (56)
Lawless started the season as a roving coach for the Astros and ended it by managing the Oklahoma City Redhawks when Tony DeFrancesco took over as interim manager of the Astros in 2012.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Walt "No Neck" Williams (69)
Where have all the good nicknames gone? No Neck signed with Houston as an amateur free agent prior to the 1963 season. In 10 games for the Colt .45's in 1964, Williams went hitless in nine at-bats. He went on to play several more seasons with the White Sox, Indians and Yankees with a .270/.310/.365 career batting line.

RHP Joe Slusarski (46)
Originally drafted by Oakland in the second round in 1988, Slusarski came to Houston as a free agent in May 1998. In 65 games pitched for the Astros in 1999, 2000 and 2001, he had a 4.57 ERA and a 1.379 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

Nick Tropeano
I really wish I could teleport.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

An Interview with Astros Analyst Mike Fast

To call this an interview might be a bit misleading. My past interviews mostly consist of my asking questions and then shutting up and listening to the interviewee. When I talked to Mike Fast, former writer for Baseball Prospectus and Hardball Times, and current member of the Astros Decision Sciences brain trust, I'll admit it was more of a discussion than an interview as I interjected my thoughts and ideas into the conversation ... often.

I was granted this interview on the condition that I wouldn't try to ferret out any Super Secret Decision Science Proprietary Juju™, but frankly I think it would take the team from Leverage to penetrate Sig's inner sanctum.

But that wasn't my goal, anyway. What I wanted to hear about was using stats to judge minor league talent and the possibilities and pitfalls of so doing. I wanted to talk about exceptions to the "rules" that guide us in looking at minor league players.

What emerged was a very random discussion as we bounced from one topic to the next, but nevertheless a constant theme emerged. The following excerpts from our discussion were edited for brevity and clarity.

First we talked about relying too heavily on stats in general in judging minor league prospects without taking context into consideration. According to Fast, "Definitely there are pitfalls at all levels but more so in the minor leagues. Even in the major leagues, you have to look at parks. For example, Coors Field is sort of the one that everyone knows about. And that can be [a factor] in the minor leagues [as well], like our Lancaster park. I think most of our Astros prospect [followers] are aware that Lancaster’s a big hitter's park and so you have to give the pitchers the benefit of a doubt there and sort of take the hitter’s stats with a grain of salt.  The Tri-City park can be a little bit that way. And then even at the league level – the Pacific Coast league is more of a hitter’s league than the International league at the AAA level so there are all sorts of league and park contexts that you have to get an idea for."

Fast went on to other considerations that have to be factored in when looking at stats, "And the difficulty of the league itself. The age or experience of a player relative to the league. So if you’ve got a college player coming in to the Gulf Coast League or the Appy League, he’s more advanced than most of the players that he’s going to be playing against so he ought to do really, really well. He ought to be a man amongst boys really if he’s going to be at those levels. The New York-Penn league is more typically where college players come in after the draft. Nolan Fontana … he went to (LoA) Lexington. The fact that he was sort of able to hold his own there is a good sign. He’s playing against more advanced hitters who are in their second or third season of pro ball. That’s a level higher than what players typically go to out of the draft. And then the same thing, of course, applies generally in terms of looking at the age of a player relative to the level they’re in or if they’re repeating a level. If they’re old for a level or if they’re repeating a level, you sort of expect them to do well. Foltynewicz repeated this year at Lexington and he did really, really well and that’s a good sign. Same thing with DeShields. He came out and was sort of in a league where he was competing against tougher competition than he was used to and then when he repeated the level, he really stepped it up and that’s what you want to see. But if you have a player who is repeating and he did OK, he did better than last year but nothing special, that’s not a very good sign."

Always looking for the exceptions to the rule, I asked Mike about a particular starting pitcher who actually fit that description, one who had repeated a level and had a fairly pedestrian season, but was still young enough to merit more time to improve, at least in my opinion. He agreed that this pitcher was still a somewhat interesting prospect and went on to talk about starters vs. relievers as prospects, "One other thing that’s important to take into context with pitchers is that relievers will usually have better numbers than starters. If you take a guy from a starting role and put him into relief, he’s only going through the lineup once, he can throw maybe a mile or two per hour harder and you sort of expect their strikeout numbers to go up when they go into relief. I think it’s easy to look at [certain relievers] in our system, guys that we think are good prospects, but as a group, when you think of future major league value, the guys on the starting side who may be in that same class of prospects just in terms of perception are going to end up providing more major league value. The group of starters is much more likely to create major league value even though they’re not putting up the sexy numbers."

I specifically wanted to know whether or not there were any advanced metrics that he would recommend as something the average minor league follower could use to look at pitching talent. "One thing that I would be careful with, with those advanced pitching metrics … just looking at batted ball outcomes and whether it fell in for a hit or not is sort of a poor way to get an idea over the course of a season of a pitcher’s talent. That’s pretty true at the major league level. It’s less true in the minor leagues. The ability to prevent hits is a pretty good indicator of talent in the minor leagues. The farther you get away from the major leagues the more important that is. One way to think of it is that, at the major league level, pitchers who get there have sort of been screened for their ability to prevent good contact so if you’ve got a guy who gets hit hard, he’s never going to make the majors.  The guys who come to the majors are all at least pretty good at that. And there may be some differences between them but they’re all pretty good at preventing good contact because their stuff moves or they throw hard or they mix their pitches well, know how to locate, whatever. They’ve got some skills in that. And that’s less true particularly in the lower minors. If you have a pitcher in the low minors that just gave up a ton of hits, I don’t know that I’d be so quick to ascribe that 'Oh, he’s got bad luck or he had bad fielders behind him.' That might be true, but it’s also quite likely that the batters are just saying this guy’s stuff is not that hard to deal with."

What statistics would Fast encourage a casual fan to zero in on when looking at a minor league pitcher then? "I think strikeout rate and WHIP would probably be two sort of quick easy ones to look at. Strikeout rate – that’s showing that you’re fooling the batters and that’s hopefully something that would translate to a higher level. There might be reasons why it wouldn’t but, all things being equal, that’s a very good thing. And then  WHIP would be [the pitcher is] keeping base runners off the base paths, whether it’s by not permitting hits or by not walking guys. Those are pretty important."

Again, looking for the exception to the rule, I wondered if a high strikeout rate is crucial in a prospect's ability to succeed. According to Fast, "It’s really tough to make it in the big leagues without striking guys out. If he has other ways to succeed, if he’s not walking guys, he’s keeping the ball on the ground, I think there’s definitely a path to the majors for guys like that. They’re not going to end up being Justin Verlander, but there are definitely guys with that profile that end up with major league value. Jake Buchanan is kind of a guy along those lines. He doesn’t strike out a lot of guys but he doesn’t walk very many and he gets a ton of ground balls."

Does he think that Game Score can tell us anything beyond a quick look at the pitcher's effectiveness in a specific game? "The reason that Game Score is meaningful is because it’s incorporating hits and walks and strikeouts. It’s incorporating those other things that are important so if you add it up over a season, yeah, it’s going to reflect if you have a good pitcher or a bad pitcher, but I don’t know that it’s adding anything on top of that. It’s subject to the same league, level, park context. There’s nothing magic about Game Score. It’s just reflecting those other statistics. It’s a nice number for one game where you can easily see if the guy pitched a good game or not."

After Fast told me that a good strikeout to walk rate for a hitter is something that a casual fan can look at to gauge a hitter's talents, we got into a discussion about high strikeout rates for power hitters. Fast told me, "The higher the level you get, the more you feel they’re demonstrating power and the strikeouts are sort of the price of that. At the lower levels, it’s kind of a concern if pitchers are finding a hole in their swing. I think that’s true at the higher levels too, but if they’re still demonstrating the power you feel like, the pitcher may have found some holes but they can’t get them out all the time. But at the lower level, you worry that they’re sort of jumping on mistakes that they’re not going to see in the big leagues and if they’re striking out a ton, that’s worrisome."

The conventional wisdom is to ignore a pitcher's win-loss record when judging his abilities. Again, I wanted to know if there was anything that we could take away from a good win record. According to Fast, "As an analyst, I don’t really care about it. When we’re trying to pick one pitcher over another, that’s not something that we’re really paying attention to. You’d love to have the bulldog, the competitor, the guy who sort of figures out how to out think the opposition or pace himself or whatever to get the win. I think that that aspect is important but I think that’s tough to measure by looking at a win-loss record because there’s so many other things that go into that, [but] we’re definitely getting input from the coaches and the player development staff about their personal aspects – their work ethic, their gamesmanship and all that."

One basic theme had emerged by this point. It is something that I have come to understand clearly over time as I have studied the Astros minor league system and I articulated that idea at this point, "To me, you have to understand the whole player." Fast responded, "Yeah, definitely. This is true in the minor leagues but it’s true in the major leagues too. I keep coming back to the term work ethic but it comprises something bigger than that. Players, when players first get drafted or they first get signed in the Dominican, they are nowhere close to good enough to make it in the major leagues. And so that whole process of improvement – their personal character and their effort and all of that plays a big part in getting to the majors and also the teamwork aspect of that, coachability or however you want to say that. Being able to interact well with others and gain insight from coaches and from other teammates, being able to share what you learned with other teammates – that [plays] a big part in getting guys from where they’re entering the system to where they’re ready to be in the majors. And I think even once they’re in the majors, getting from the rookies … to really being an accomplished player, there are aspects of that which don’t show up in the stats but they’re still incredibly important."

You heard him right. For those of you who were worried that stats would become the sole guiding factor in looking at prospects under Sig Mejdal's esoterically named Decision Sciences group, Fast's statement should  serve to reassure you. He went on to tell me, "It’s been eye-opening for me being on the inside – the human piece of the business. Like when we’re making decisions on trades or promotions or releasing guys, whatever. This is somebody’s life and somebody’s career that we’re dealing with. And you get around some of these guys and they’re neat people and you cheer for them, you want them to succeed."

I asked Mike if he had any final words for my readers about what the Astros analytics group is all about. He answered, "I think most of your readers are probably aware, obviously we’re pulling scouting reports and player development reports together with the stats when we’re making decisions. Hopefully they recognize that. That’s something I think the broader baseball community isn't always aware [of]. They sort of think of the guys in their mother’s basement with their spreadsheets, picking out some guy with good numbers and sort of ignoring all the rest of it. It’s definitely an integrated operation where we’re constantly talking to our player development guys and our scouts and they’re talking to us. We’re sharing information and working together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many "rules" in evaluating prospects, but there are always exceptions to those rules. I suppose it's partly my tendency to root for the underdog that keeps me looking for those exceptions, but it's also based on looking at the total player – his stats, his trends, his personality, his work ethic and his interaction with other players – that keep me interested in the potential of players who may not be considered top prospects.

Interestingly enough, I often come to the same conclusions about a player as those who are privy to the Super Secret Decision Science Proprietary Juju™. Perhaps that is because, thankfully, they are also interested in looking at the entirety of a player. That is a good thing and very, very nice to know.

Thank you, Mike, for your time and thank you for always being happy to answer even the silliest of my questions along the way.

Off-Season Transactions

According to twitter sources and subsequently verified by Baseball America this morning, Free Agent RHP Aneury Rodriguez has been signed by the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization. Rodriguez struggled with the AAA Oklahoma City Redhawks in 2012 and became a free agent after the season. He started 8 games for the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League during the off-season with a 3-1 record, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.219 WHIP. He walked 8 while striking out 29.

According to my records, the following 2012 Astros minor leaguers remain unsigned free agents at this time:

RHP Erick Abreu
RHP Jorge de Leon
RHP Enerio del Rosario
RHP Dayan Diaz
C Jair Fernandez
RHP Adalberto Flores
OF Drew Locke
RHP Sergio Perez
C Landon Powell
RHP Jose Trinidad
RHP Henry Villar

I have updated the Off-Season Transaction list to include this signing.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Magallanes over Margarita 3-2
2B Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 and scored a run in Magallanes' win over Margarita.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Licey over Gigantes 7-3
Jimmy Paredes was still missing from the Gigantes lineup and since the Dominican Winter League ends on Friday, I wouldn't be surprised if he's been shut down for the season. RHP Jose Cisnero got the start for the Gigantes and only lasted a third of an inning against four batters and was charged with two unearned runs on one hit and a hit batsman. Also for the Gigantes, RHP Rhiner Cruz pitched one hitless inning of relief and allowed one walk with one strikeout and *RHP Enerio del Rosario pitched two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout.

All of the rest of the Astros Winter Leaguers had the day off.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 12/18

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Rudy Owens (25)
Originally drafted by the Pirates in the 28th round in 2006, Owens came to Houston in the 2012 trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh. In 27 starts this season (between the two organizations), Owens was 10-8 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.190 WHIP.

RHP Edison Frias (22)
Frias was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic and spent his first professional season with the DSL team in 2011. He made a good transition to the States with his 10 appearances (5 starts) for the GCL Astros in 2012. Frias was 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.273 WHIP in 46 and a third innings.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Mike White (74)
Originally drafted from the Angels in the minor league draft in 1961, White played in 100 games for the 1963 and 1964 Colt .45's and the 1965 Astros, hitting .264/.311/.321.

RHP Jim Clancy (57)
A fourth round pick by the Rangers in 1974, Clancy signed with Houston as a free agent in December 1988. In 96 games (36 starts) for Houston from 1989 to 1991, he had a 9-25 record with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP. His best years were for the Toronto Blue Jays for whom he pitched for 12 seasons and won his one All-Star nod in 1982.

RHP Willie Blair (47)
Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 11th round in 1986, Blair came to Houston in a December 1991 trade with the Indians. In 29 games (eight starts) pitched for the Astros in 1992, he was 5-7 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.258 WHIP. Most recently, he was a pitching coach in the San Diego Padres minor leagues in 2012.

Tweets of the Day

Jiovanni Mier
Tweeting only cause I havent tweeted in 3 days. 


Nick Tropeano
 tweeting at you cause I miss you. Is that fair?


Jiovanni Mier
 you always know the way to my heart