Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Man, The Myth, The Moustache

There is currently a friendly competition at Quad Cities as several of the players are working on the facial hair component of their games. I can only surmise that this was inspired by the legendary caterpillar of Michael Dimock.


Ryan Dineen's offering is coming along quite nicely.


As is Jesse Wierzbicki's (but he's not exactly helped out by the light blonde hair).


Daniel Minor impressed me with this Fu Manchu that he assures me is only two weeks in the making.


He is followed in the pecking order by Catfish Elkins. I might rank Elkins higher, but with a nickname like Catfish, he needs to have more impressive whiskers (but he's working on it).


Lance McCullers is working on his as well and should benefit from his darker hair color (he and Elkins posed for this quick shot on my phone).


After that, the quality drops off considerably. Thankfully, Carlos Correa is better at fielding his position than he is at growing moustaches.


And finally I bring you the Rio Ruiz moustache, a work in progress. After I took this photo, he asked to see it, and then he ran off excitedly into the dugout, "You can see it! You can see it!" Ummm, yeah, well, kinda ...


Carry on gentlemen. I wholeheartedly approve. The quality 'stache and baseball go hand-in-hand. And baseball is nothing without tradition.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

Oklahoma City over Nashville 9-8
It did not look good for Oklahoma City as Nashville took a 7-1 lead in the top of the second, but the RedHawks battled back with big innings in the second and the fourth to make this a tight one. Ross Seaton was charged with all seven of those runs and was chased after only one and two-thirds innings. Kyle Hallock then came on to do a beautiful job in four and a third innings. He stranded the two runners he inherited from Seaton and then went on to allow only two hits (both singles) and two walks in a scoreless outing and was rewarded with his first win with the 'Hawks. Eric Berger pitched a scoreless seventh, but allowed one run and bases loaded in the eighth without recording an out and was bailed out by Jose Valdez. Valdez stranded the runners and then pitched a perfect ninth as well for the save.

The RedHawks put up a run in the first inning on a Brett Wallace (2x5) RBI single and added three more in the second on a Jason Jaramillo RBI double and a Trevor Crowe (3x3 2BB 4R 3SB) two-run home run. Not to be outdone, my man Elmore (2x4 BB SB) hit his own two-run shot in the fourth and was followed by back-to-back triples from Jimmy Paredes (2x5) and Marc Krauss. Jonathan Villar (3x4 BB 2SB) finished things off in the fourth with an RBI single. Elmore then added an RBI triple to his resume in the fifth, a run which proved to be the difference maker in the game.

Frisco over Corpus Christi 4-2
Matt Heidenreich had his best outing since his first one, allowing only one unearned run in four innings on four hits. Pat Urckfitz bridged the gap to the tandem, issuing a lead-off double that quickly turned into a run, and was followed by R.J. Alaniz. Alaniz gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out two in his three innings. The Hooks got on the board with a two-run home run from George Springer in the third inning, his eighth of the season, but that was all they could muster offensively. Domingo Santana and Michael Burgess were both two-for-four for the day with Santana and Ben Orloff both contributing doubles to the effort.

Lancaster - Off Day

Quad Cities over Great Lakes 6-1
Brian Holmes (5IP 2H 1R/0ER 2BB 10SO) and Jordan Jankowski (4IP 2H 0R 0BB 4SO) combined to put the hurt on the Loons. All but one of the 14 strikeouts recorded by the duo were swinging strikeouts. The Quad Cities offense wasn't overwhelming in this one as they only recorded one extra-base hit, an RBI double from Jobduan Morales, but they just kept the line moving. Teoscar Hernandez and Joe Sclafani (RBI single) were both two-for-four, and Terrell Joyce contributed a two RBI single to the mix.

Player of the Day: Trevor Crowe not only went three-for-three, he also walked twice, stole three bases, drove in two and scored four times!

Pitcher of the Day: I really can't choose today because there were too many excellent outings. I'll make it a tie between Kyle Hallock and Brian Holmes with a tip of the cap to Jordan Jankowski and Jose Valdez. They are all worthy of the honor.

Happy Birthday - 4/30

No future Astros with birthdays today, but a few former Astros are celebrating ~

3B/2B Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner (64)
Originally drafted by Oakland in the first round in 1971, Garner came to Houston from Pittsburgh in an August 1981 trade. In 753 games for Houston from 1981 to 1987, Garner hit .260/.323/.389/.712. The three-time All Star played for five teams over 16 seasons and won a World Series ring while playing for the Pirates in 1979. Garner managed the Astros from 2004 until 2007 with a 277-252 record and led the team to a NL pennant in 2005.

1B Mark Saccomanno (33)
A 23rd round draft pick by the Astros in 2003, Saccomanno only got to the show for ten games, but his first game was memorable. On September 8, 2008, he became the 20th player in MLB history to hit a home run on the first major league pitch thrown to him. It was a pinch hit AB off Ian Snell. Who cares what else he did ... he can tell that one to his grandkids.

RHP Mike Barlow (65)
Barlow pitched in 16 games for Houston in 1976, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and a 2.000 WHIP.




Tweet of the Day

Nick Tropeano
I absolutely crush food samples at the mall.

Roster Moves

Since I've been travelling, it's been a few days since I've checked the transactions. Here's what I found over the last few days:

OKLAHOMA CITY
Rudy Owens placed on the 7-day DL, but effectively he is out for the season after having foot surgery yesterday

CORPUS CHRISTI
Domingo Santana activated from the DL
Austin Wates placed on the 7-day DL

LANCASTER
Tyson Perez activated from the Temporary Inactive list
Aaron West placed on the 7-day DL retroactive to 4/26

QUAD CITIES
*Colton Cain assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities
*Ariel Ovando assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training

*Note - There have been several phantom moves at Quad Cities as of late so don't read too much into these assignments back and forth to/from Extended Spring Training. The only real move so far appears to be the move from last week that sent Chase Davidson back to Extended Spring Training and brought Miles Hamblin from Extended to Quad Cities.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Sunday’s Games

Great Lakes Loons 10, Quad Cities River Bandits 6
Quad Cities fell behind early on Sunday and even after scoring six runs couldn't catch up. Colton Cain (0-2) took the start and the loss after going three and a third while giving up four runs on ten hits and walking one. Mitchell Lambson followed Cain and was the only Quad Cities pitcher not to give up a run, lasting one and two thirds and allowing one hit. Miles Hamblin hit two-for-four on Sunday with an RBI, scoring Carlos Correa for the last River Bandits run in the ninth. Austin "Catfish" Elkins went two-for-five with an RBI on the day as well.

Inland Empire 66ers 12, Lancaster JetHawks 7
Lancaster crept out to an early lead Sunday, but by the fifth they were playing catch-up at home. David Rollins (2-2) was the starter on Sunday and took the loss after pitching four and two thirds and giving up six runs on five hits and two walks. Rollins also struck out two in his time on the mound. Tyson Perez, who came on in the sixth, gave up five more runs on four hits while striking out one over two innings of work. Andrew Aplin got busy at the plate, hitting a huge grand slam in the third to get Lancaster on the board. Aplin finished one-for-four with five RBIs (22 all season), a run scored and a walk. Zach Johnson went two-for-five, picking up his 10th double.
  
Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Frisco RoughRiders 4
The Hooks took the lead right out of the gate at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, but stumbled in the seventh. David Martinez started the game at the helm and threw five scoreless innings, with four hits, a walk and two Ks. Asher Wojciechowski (2-1) came on next for Corpus Christi and after pitching a scoreless sixth, loaded the bases and gave up a game-clinching grand slam.  Wojciechowski picked up his first blown save and loss, finishing with four runs on four hits, a walk and a pair of strikeouts. The Hooks collected 4 hits all night at the plate and George Springer had two of them. Springer batted two-for-three, both hits for doubles, with a run scored, RBI and walked twice. 
New Orleans Zephyrs 3, Oklahoma City RedHawks 5
The RedHawks stayed ahead of the competition Sunday at home in Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark thanks to some steady offense and solid pitching. Brett Oberholtzer (1-2) took the start and the win after going six innings on the mound and giving up two runs on six hits and K-ing five. Kevin Chapman (2IP H 2BB 3SO) and Josh Zeid (1IP H ER 2BB) both earned holds, their third and second respectively, for their efforts following the starter. Jose Valdez tallied his sixth save after coming on for the last three outs, giving up a hit and striking out two. Jonathan Villar had a great game swinging the stick, hitting two-for-four with two runs scored and an RBI on his first homer of the year-a solo shot to cap OKC scoring in the seventh. Andrew Simunic also had a nice game, batting two-for-three with a run scored. 
Player of the Day: Rio Ruiz, Catfish Elkins and Miles Hamblin are sharing the prize today for their parts in a tremendous 5-4-3 triple play on Sunday in front of the home crowd. It was the 14th triple play in team history and the first since 2007.
Pitcher of the Day: Oberholtzer is the man today after recording the QS and win in OKC on Sunday. This was his first outing since rejoining the team last week and he did it in style. Good game, Oberholtzer. 

Quad Cities Random Thoughts

It will take me a little while to transcribe interviews and upload and label photos and videos from my Quad Cities trip this past weekend so let me leave you with some random thoughts for the time being.

The bridge as a backdrop at Modern Woodmen Park is what makes the stadium special. Without that view, it would be a fairly average minor league ballpark. I sat on the first row slightly to the left of home plate and, unlike other parks I have been to, there is literally nothing but net separating you from the action, about two inches from the knees with lots of give to it. I kept expecting to have Roberto Pena trying to catch a pop-up and ending up in my lap. Thankfully, that never happened.

I liked Teoscar Hernandez before. A lot. Now I really, really, really like him. He's an exciting young player to watch and he really could be one of those rarest of rare creatures ... a legitimate 5-tool player.

Teoscar Hernandez - April 2013
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Roberto Pena is locked in at the plate, and with his fantastic defensive abilities behind the plate, he appears to be on track. His floor is major league back-up catcher. If he hits, he can write his own ticket.

Vincent Velasquez was a joy to watch pitch. He appeared to get stronger as his outing went on. He's very aggressive and works quickly. Nothing was hit hard off of him in his five innings. Velasquez' tandem partner, Joe Bircher, had some balls hit hard off of him in his first inning of work, but then settled in very nicely to keep batters off balance the rest of the way.

There are no holes on the team defensively. In particular, the athleticism and energy from the left side of the infield is spectacular. If a ball is hit anywhere near Carlos Correa, he will get to it. Even more impressive to me is his arm and his instantaneous recognition of the game situation. Everything is very fluid with no wasted movement. And Rio Ruiz made one play on Friday, leaping to snag a ball that looked to be five feet over his head, that had the crowd gasping in appreciation.

Random random: Austin "Catfish" Elkins can motor, and he is very aggressive on the basepaths. Jobduan Morales' first name is a mash-up of the names of two or three relatives. Joe Sclafani is friendly, funny and very personable.

Personally, I don't like Lance McCullers game tempo, but since it seems to work for him, I'll let it go. His tandem partner Daniel Minor, on the other hand, works at a fast clip and keeps hitters off balance. He looked good on Saturday and appears to be building on that good freshman season at Greeneville.

I don't know what's going on with Colton Cain, but he just wasn't fooling anyone on Sunday. Mike Hauschild looked good, fast paced and aggressive, until he had base runners. After that, his pace slowed down a lot and he appeared to lose his aggressiveness.

The team as a whole is very loose and very confident. They know they have a ton of talent and they expect to win. Going in to the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, they were down 10-3, but they played as though they were only down by one run. They scored three before running out of outs and everyone was on the dugout rail, cheering on their teammates.


Happy Birthday - 4/29

No future Astros with birthdays today, but one of the Astros minor league coaches celebrates ~

Pitching Coach Hector Mercado (39)
Mercado was a lefty pitcher drafted by Houston out of Puerto Rico in 1992, but he never played in the big leagues for Houston. He pitched for the Reds and the Phillies from 2000 to 2003 and was still playing in the Mexican League up through 2008. In 2010 and 2011, he was the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Astros, and he will be back with the Gulf Coast League team this season after spending 2012 as pitching coach for the Greeneville Astros.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

IF Ron Washington (61)
Originally signed as a free agent by the Royals in 1970, Washington played in only seven games for Houston at the end of his major league career after having played for the Dodgers, Twins, Orioles and Indians. Despite hitting a rather impressive .320/.347/.447 for the Astros AAA affiliate, he only managed a .143/.143/.286 line for the big club. Rumor has it that, after his playing days, he was reduced to managing some team in the southern Oklahoma area - the Rangers, I believe.

1B/OF J.R. Phillips (43)
Phillip played 16 seasons of minor league and foreign ball from 1988 to 2005. You've got to respect the desire to keep playing. He saw limited action (242 total games) in the major leagues from 1993 to 1999, playing for the Giants, Phillies, Astros (49 games in 1997 and 1998), and Rockies.

OF Louie Meadows (52)
Meadows was drafted by Houston in the second round in 1982 and played for the Astros in 87 games in 1986 and 1988 to 1990.


Tweet of the Day

Allie Hewett
Super proud of . Just saw this on the website! Way to go brother!
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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps


Saturday’s Games


Lansing Lugnuts 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 3
The River Bandits didn't score a run until the fifth inning at Modern Woodmen Park, but solid pitching kept them in the hunt and they went on to win at home. Lance McCullers started the match and through five, recorded one run (0 ER) on two hits, walked one and struck out five. Daniel Minor (2-0) took the win after entering the game in the sixth. Minor gave up just two hits of his own, striking out six of the ten batters he faced. John Neely earned his third save after coming on in the ninth and giving up a run on three hits. Quad Cities had just three hits all night, but thanks to forcing a few errors and crafty baserunning it was plenty. Austin Elkins didn't even record a hit in the game (0X2 2BB), but after reaching on a fielding error, he advanced to second, stole third and scored for the third and final run of the game off of a RBI groundout by Jesse Wierzbicki (0X3 RBI).

Inland Empire 66ers 10, Lancaster JetHawks 7 (10)
This was a roller-coaster ride of a game Saturday at The Hangar. The JetHawks came out to an early, five-run lead, but by the ninth were tying the game via the long ball to force extra innings. Chris Devenski took the hill to start at home Saturday and through the first four was in excellent form, recording 1-2-3 innings in the second, third and fourth frames. Devenski pitched through the fifth and recorded three runs on two hits, a walk, five Ks and hit a batter on the night. Brady Rodgers came on for the next three and earned his third hold. Despite giving up eight hits, all singles, Rodgers allowed just one run and struck out a pair. Travis Ballew took the hill in the ninth and blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out a pair of his own. Jonas Dufek (0-1) took the loss after allowing four more runs on four hits in the tenth inning, he struck out one. Zach Johnson had a productive night swinging the bat. Johnson hit three-for-four with two runs scored, two doubles, two RBIs, a walk and a solo shot in the ninth inning to tie the game and force extra innings. Telvin Nash hit two-for-five and recorded a run scored and RBI on his own solo shot in the tenth. Unfortunately, this was the only offense the JetHawks managed in extras.

Corpus Christi Hooks 11, Frisco RoughRiders 0
Corpus Christi didn't score after the third inning on Saturday, but when you are riding an 11-run lead  after three frames and your pitching tandem records 11 strikeouts through nine shutout innings, it's usually not too hard to hold on to the lead. Bobby Doran (3-0) started on the bump and through his five frames allowed four hits, three walks and struck out four, earning him his third win of the year. Nick Tropeano finished out the game and collected his third tandem-save. Trope' gave up three hits and K-ed seven during his shift. On the offensive side of the plate Kiké Hernandez had a giant game, hitting three-for-five with a three-RBI triple in the first inning. Hernandez also scored two runs. George Springer went two-for-four at the dish with two runs scored and an RBI coming by way of his Texas League-leading, seventh homerun. Here's the rest of the box, just for fun:   




















New Orleans Zephyrs 1, Oklahoma City RedHawks 11
OKC put up 11 runs of their own on Saturday and went on to win back-to-back games at home. Jordan Lyles (2-2) took the win after pitching the first five and allowing the opposition's only run on 3 hits. Lyles also walked a pair and struck out twice as many. Wes Musick (H, 3), C.J. Fick and Eric Berger came on, respectively, after Lyles to pitch, all giving up a hit and a walk and all but Berger recording two Ks. Brett Wallace hit just one-for-four Saturday, but his one hit was his second homer of the year, a two-out solo shot in the eighth inning. Marc Krauss hit a homer as well, a two-run shot in the fifth. Krauss finished two-for-four with those two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and two stolen bases. Jonathan Villar and Andrew Simunic both hit two-for-four with doubles in the game. Villar had two RBIs and Simunic walked once.

Player of the Day: It's a tie between Zach Johnson and Superman, Mark Krauss. These guys accounted for something like 8 runs on Saturday among all the offense and personally I'm a little scared of them. So, if you honestly think one of them did better, you can tell them.
Pitcher of the Day: Trope' takes the cake after what can only be described as "whoopin' up on" Frisco Saturday. Tropeano struck out seven guys in the game and now has 29 Ks on the season. More impressive, he has only issued five walks in the same time and in three starts as the second half of a tandem he has K-ed 17 without issuing a single walk.  

Let The Kids Play!

When Astros GM Jeff Luhnow started picking up fringy starters like Phillip Humber and Erik Bedard in the off-season, I wasn't a fan of the moves, but I kept my mouth shut in hopes that he could find lightning in a bottle. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that the 30-year old Humber and the 34-year old Bedard are not upgrades over the Astros home-grown talent.

Could the team have a better record with the likes of Paul Clemens (25), Dallas Keuchel (25), Jose Cisnero (24), Brett Oberholtzer (23), Jarred Cosart (22) and Jordan Lyles (22) in the rotation? Maybe, maybe not. But why not find out? I would much rather see these guys get on-the-job major league training than to see Bedard and Humber, players who are widely acknowledged not to be a part of the future, spin their wheels.

Keuchel already has better numbers at the major league level than either Bedard or Humber have put up so far this season. Why is he in OKC? Lyles had one truly awful start for the RedHawks, but it was sandwiched  by two very good ones and he has significant major league experience that he can build on. Oberholtzer may not have the best numbers right now, but he can eat innings unlike the delicate flower Bedard. I actually like Cisnero as a bullpen arm more than as a starter so at least he's getting experience in that right now. Paul Clemens may eventually be a bullpen arm as well, but he is certainly as capable of starting for the Astros as Bedard and Humber are. Cosart may not be ready for prime time yet, but would he do worse?

What would happen if a couple of these guys were given the opportunity to start in lieu of Humber and Bedard? They would have some success and, at times, they would fail spectacularly. Clemens, in particular, with his aggressive style would be poised to have an outing here or there that would be cringe-worthy. You would see ups and downs similar to what we've seen from the 25-year old Brad Peacock thus far this season. But these players would get the valuable experience that they need under their belts. They would have the opportunity to make adjustments and get better. Some of them will ultimately succeed and some of them will ultimately fail, but now is the time to figure out that part of the puzzle. These players are potentially a part of the Astros future. Humber and Bedard are not.

And for those who think that a player can be broken by failure? Horse crap. Ask Clemens if he's afraid of failure. Ask Cosart. Ask Lyles. Ask Oberholtzer. Ask any of them. They will tell you one thing. BRING. IT. ON. If you can't deal with failure, then you are not cut out to be a major league baseball player.

This may sound harsh. I have nothing against Humber and Bedard personally, but they simply are not part of the future plans. So I am imploring Jeff Luhnow, please Let The Kids Play. At 7-17, they can't do much worse. And they may surprise us.

No Birthdays Today So How About a Bonus Tweet of the Day

Tyson Perez
Sorry bout it. G snuggie
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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday’s Games


Lansing Lugnuts 0, Quad Cities River Bandits 4
Quad Cities shutout the opposition at home at Modern Woodmen park on Friday. Vincent Velasquez (3-0) and Joe Bircher combined for the shutout win on Friday. Velasquez threw the first five frames for Quad Cities, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out eight during his shift. Joe Bircher picked up his second save while giving up just two hits and K-ing two batters of his own.  Teoscar Hernandez hit two-for-four in the game and scored two runs. Roberto Pena went three-for-three with a walk and scored a run. Terrell Joyce helped put up the last two runs for the River Bandits on Friday when he hit his first homerun of the season, scoring Pena. Joyce finished one-for-four on the day, with those two RBIs and a run scored of his own.

Inland Empire 66ers 2, Lancaster JetHawks 3
Lancaster didn’t get on the board until the seventh inning on Friday, but when they did it was enough to seal the victory. Blair Walters took the start and allowed two runs (1ER) on three hits, walked one and struck out five. Mike Foltynewicz (1-0) earned the win after coming on in the sixth to replace Walters. Folty gave up just a pair of hits and struck out six batters, retiring the last six batters of the game in order. Matt Duffy went just one-for-three at the plate, but his one hit was a bases loaded double, scoring all three baserunners for his 20th RBI of the year and extending his hitting streak to 13 games. Nolan Fontana also had a nice night at the plate, hitting two-for-two with two walks. Telvin Nash hit two-for-four.

Corpus Christi Hooks 4, Frisco RoughRiders 2
Corpus Christi took the lead early on the road Friday and never looked back. Carlos Quevedo (1-1) took the win after pitching the first five shutout innings. Quevedo allowed just two hits and struck out two during his time. Jason Stoffel collected save number five after coming on for and recording the last out of the game. Stoffel did allow a hit first however, scoring an inherited runner that was charged to his predecessor, Alex Sogard (1IP 2H SO). Domingo Santana got Corpus on the board on Friday in the second inning, hitting his third homer of the season, a solo shot. Santana finished at two-for-four with that RBI and that run scored. Erik Castro hit one-for-three on Friday, banging out a two-run homer in the seventh inning to seal the Hooks’ lead.

New Orleans Zephyrs 0, Oklahoma City RedHawks 2 (6)
The rain shortened this home game and it was called after six frames, but the RedHawks already had enough ticks on the scoreboard to take the win. Dallas Keuchel (1-0) was the only pitcher of the game for Oklahoma City and he took the win, giving up just two hits and striking out five batters along the way. Even with three less innings Marc Krauss still managed to hit two-for-three with a double and an RBI, his twentieth of the season. Jonthan Villar and Jimmy Paredes also hit two-for-three, scoring the only runs of the game.

Player of the Day: Erik Castro and Terrell Joyce are taking the honor today because they both hit their first homer of the year on Friday and went on to enjoy a “W” with their teams. Here’s to many happy returns, guys.
Pitcher of the Day: Vincent Velasquez earns the crown for his five frames in the shutout on Friday. Velasquez earned his third win and struck out eight guys on the way to collecting it. That’s impressive.

Baseball and My Father

[REPOSTING from 4/27/12]

I grew to love baseball because of my father. And not just any baseball. Astros baseball. When I was a young girl in northeast Texas, we always listened to the games on the radio on Sunday afternoons after church and a huge dinner. There was often napping involved, and I remember that whole time through a pleasant haze.

We made a couple of pilgrimages to Houston back then to see some baseball, but I'll admit that the Astrodome scoreboard made more of an impression on me than the games did at that particular point in my life.

We kept following the Astros pretty closely even after we moved away from Texas for a few years. When I moved back to Texas as a young woman, it was Houston that I chose to be my new home and I have never looked back.

Any time my parents visited during baseball season, we always caught a game or two in person (and watched the rest on TV), and we built more and more memories over the years.

After my mother died and my father moved back to South Dakota, I called Dad often and we would talk for hours. I always loved to talk to him during the summer because we often ran out of things to say during the winter. But not during baseball season. We never ran out of things to say during baseball season.

In October of 2005, we were in constant contact by phone or email. I printed out three of those emails and I'm so glad I did. After the Astros took a 3-1 lead in the NLCS, there was this one ~
CONGRATS-------------THE OLD ONE
On the night that Pujols "broke" Lidge and forced a game 6, there was this one ~
I get nervous when Opie or the Beaver get in trouble. Can you imagine what those Astros are doing to me?
And finally, on the night that the Astros won the NLCS and we knew we were going to the World Series, there was this one ~
Thank goodness---------I was running low on heart medicine. I'll get refills before Saturday.
My father passed away four years ago today. I still miss him, but I miss him the most during baseball season. He would have approved of my crazy little blogging hobby. He would be reading this site everyday and bragging to anyone who would listen about it and about me.

Baseball isn't about wins or losses or big bloated contracts or new stadium deals or television rights.  Baseball is about family and love and wonderful memories. Baseball is about taking a nap on a lazy Sunday afternoon with the sound of a baseball game playing in the background. May you always cherish your memories as much as I do mine.



Happy Birthday - 4/27

No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~

C Raul Antonio Bare "Tony" Eusebio (46)
Eusebio was signed by Houston as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1985. He played in 598 games for the Astros in 1991 and 1994 through 2001, and was used mostly as a back-up catcher except in 1995 and 1999. And 1995 was his best year at the plate as he hit .299/.354/.410 over 113 games. He hit a home run in the last game played at the Astrodome.

Tony Eusebio - Astros Spring Training 2013

Runelvys Hernandez (35)
Originally signed by the Royals as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1997, Hernandez came to Houston as a free agent in 1998. He only appeared in four games for the Astros that season.

3B Pedro Feliz (38)
Feliz was signed by the Giants as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1994 and came to Houston as a free agent in December of 2009. A .258/.288/.410 career hitter, he only managed to hit .221/.243/.311 in 97 games for Houston before being traded to the Cardinals in August 2010 for RHP David Carpenter.

Tweet of the Day

BOOSHOO
Just because you get powerade with your meal at McDonalds doesn't make it a healthy meal

Tweets of the Day

Late Thursday/Early Friday somewhere between Lake Elsinore and Lancaster with legendary bus driver Andy at the helm:

Travis Ballew
I feel like everybody I know goes to bed early and I'm always up late

Brady Rodgers
nope

Travis Ballew
oh hey man how's it going

Brady Rodgers
just stuck in some traffic..how you doing 2 rows up

Travis Ballew
oh ya know just hanging out wondering what's going on and sweating cuz it's hot

Brady Rodgers
yeah my guess is there's a standoff or a trucker had one to many cold ones and ran off the road

Travis Ballew
yea those are def two solid guesses

Zach Johnson
Frightening occurrence

Kenny Long
There is a police roadblock with only one car and us on the road. So we are deciding to reverse a mile back.

Jiovanni Mier
Annnnddddyyyyyyyyyyy

Drew Muren
Andy being ridiculous?

Zach Johnson
going reverse on the highway for about a mile lol

Drew Muren
wow. That's a new one


Friday, April 26, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

New Orleans over Oklahoma City 10-8 in 15 innings
New Orleans was leading 6-1 going in to the bottom of the ninth inning. The RedHawks came back to tie it up with a big five-run frame and they tied it up again in the 13th, but finally fell short in the 15th. Jarred Cosart got roughed up a little bit in this one, allowing five runs (four earned) in the first inning. He settled in quite nicely after that until he faced a bit more traffic in the fifth inning and one of his runs came across under Kyle Hallock's watch. The bullpen in the form of Hallock, Josh Zeid, Wes Musick and Kevin Chapman then shut the door on New Orleans, but Jose Valdez ended up allowing his first runs of the season and Lance Day was charged with the loss two innings later (and almost five hours after things got started). There were only two extra base hits in this one, doubles from Brett Wallace (2x6 BB R) and Trevor Crowe (1x6 BB R SB). As could be expected in a 15-inning affair, everyone got in the hit column, but the most productive players were Jimmy Paredes (3x6 2BB), Andy Simunic (3x7 2RBI) and Jonathan Villar (2x8 3RBI).

Midland over Corpus Christi 6-0
The pitchers weren't exactly helped out by errors as three of the six Midland runs were unearned in Thursday's game. Starter R.J. Alaniz allowed one unearned run in three and two-thirds and was followed by a scoreless frame from Jorge de Leon. Second half starter Matt Heidenreich did not fare as well as he was charged with five runs (three earned) in his two and a third innings. Andrew Robinson inherited a bases juiced situation to get the final two outs, but not before one of the runs scored. But it really didn't matter at that point because the Hooks offense could never really get any traction in the game as they were limited to seven singles and four walks. Carlos Perez (2x4) and Rene Garcia (2x3 BB) had the only multi-hit games. Jonathan Meyer stole a base and committed two errors in a one-for-four outing.

Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 9-8
Lancaster trailed 9-4 going into the ninth inning on the road in Lake Elsinore and came close to tying it up with a four-run outburst, but fell just short. Both halves of the tandem gave up big innings, Aaron West with a four-run fourth and Luis Cruz with a five-run seventh. In between, Jonas Dufek and T.J. Geith put up zeroes.  Tommy Shirley came in with bases loaded in the seventh to get the final out of the inning and stayed in to pitch an uneventful eighth. The 'Hawks got on the board in the second with an impressive solo home run from Telvin Nash, his first of the season, but were unable to get anyone else across until RBI doubles from Nolan Fontana (3x4 BB 2RBI R) and Andrew Aplin in the seventh. Matt Duffy and Preston Tucker (2RBI) started the scoring with two outs in the ninth on RBI singles, but despite a gallant attempt at a comeback, Lancaster came out on the losing side. Tyler Heineman was four-for-four with a double and a run scored in his first game since coming off the DL.

Lansing over Quad Cities 6-2
Jordan Jankowski had his best start of the season thus far, allowing one run on a home run in his five innings. Brian Holmes (2IP 3H 3R BB 2SO HR) and Michael Dimock (1IP 2H 2R BB SO) didn't fare quite as well and a 1-1 tie quickly turned into a 6-1 deficit. The Quad Cities crew scored their first run in the fifth due in large part to three wild pitches from Lansing starter Roberto Osuna (he had a total of four wild pitches, but still struck out eight batters), and then scored one more time in the ninth on a Ryan Dineen single. But the bats were mostly quiet as the Bandits collected only five singles and an Austin Elkins double. There were, however, four stolen bases -- from Elkins, Teoscar Hernandez, Dineen and Jordan Scott. Carlos Correa wore a golden sombrero for the evening.

Player of the Day: Tyler Heineman gets the nod for his excellent return from the DL.

Pitcher of the Day: Jordan Jankowski, come on down! Other than the solo homer, he only allowed five scattered singles, walked zero batters, picked off a runner at first and struck out three.


Happy Birthday - 4/26

Happy Birthday to ~

SS/2B Ben Orloff (26)
Drafted by Houston in the ninth round in 2009 out of UC Irvine, the California native split his 2012 season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi and hit a very solid .290/.361/.327. But it is Orloff's defense and leadership on the field that set him apart. In 15 games at Corpus Christi in 2013, he is hitting .293/.380/.317.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Mike Scott (58)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the second round in 1976, Scott came to Houston in a trade for OF/1B Danny Heep in December of 1982. In 263 games pitched for Houston from 1983 to 1991, he was 110-81 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.144 WHIP. But it was the magical 1986 season that made Scott a Houston folk hero as he won the Cy Young Award and went 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA and a 0.923 over 275.1 innings pitched. And there was the little matter of clinching the NL West by pitching a no-hitter.

In the NLCS that season, Scott was 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA and a 0.500 WHIP with 19 strikeouts. If the series had gone to seven games, Scott would have been the pitcher. Any Astros fan who was alive at the time (and most Met fans, if they're being honest) know in their hearts that it would have been the Astros facing the Red Sox in the World Series that year if Scott had gotten that opportunity.

Blum played for Houston during two stints, in 2002 and 2003 and again in 2008 to 2010. A seventh round draft pick by the Expos in 1994, he first came to Houston in a trade with the Expos for 3B Chris Truby before being traded away two years later to Tampa Bay for RHP Brandon Backe. The second time around Blum signed as a free agent. In a total of 580 games for Houston, he hit .259/.317/.394. Most Astros fans have a love-hate relationship with Blum. He was a very popular player in Houston, but he also hit a game-deciding home run against the Astros in the World Series in 2005 so there's that. He finished his career playing for the Diamondbacks in 2012 and is currently (allegedly) a television announcer for the Astros, reportedly broadcasting on some network called CSN Houston, but I have no way of independently verifying that since I have DirecTV.

Originally drafted by the Twins in the ninth round in 1981, Lombardozzi played in 23 games for the Astros in 1989 and 1990, hitting .211/.302/.421.

McFadden played in 62 games for Houston over 1968 to 1970, hitting only .215/.275/.240 before being traded to the Cardinals in June 1970.

A tenth round pick by the Expos in 1997, Strickland only pitched for Houston in five games in 2005 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

BOOSHOO
We never sound as good we think we sound singing a song. Accept it

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Roster Moves

OKLAHOMA CITY
2B Raoul Torrez assigned from Lancaster to Oklahoma City

LANCASTER
C Tyler Heineman activated from the DL
RHP Tyson Perez placed on the Temporary Inactive List

QUAD CITIES
DH Chase Davidson assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
LHP Colton Cain assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
3B Ryan Dineen assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities (just sent to EST 4 days prior)
C Miles Hamblin assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities

Also, Grant Hogue tweeted today that he was moving on. Hogue is a terrific individual that was well loved by teammates and fans alike. I met him on a couple of occasions and could see why. Those who are privileged to have Grant in their midst next will definitely be the richer for it.

Astros Minor League Snapshot - Who's Hot for Lancaster?

A quick look at some of the players with the Lancaster team who are having good stretches ~

Matt Duffy
In Duffy's last 10 games, he is hitting .385/.478/.692 with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.

Preston Tucker
Tucker has hit .333/.391/.571 with a double, three home runs and nine RBI in his last 10.

M.P. Cokinos
Cokinos has a .419/.471/.548 batting line in eight games.

Nolan Fontana
Fontana's BA and SLG over his last 10 games are down from his season average, but his OBP is up to .510. He has 13 walks in that stretch, 21 for the season.

Fontana Season - .348/.500/.565
Fontana Last 10 - .333/.510/.417

Andrew Aplin
Aplin is hitting .295/.373/.545 with four doubles, two triples, a home run and 12 RBI in his last 10 games. He has six walks to five strikeouts in that period.

Telvin Nash
Nash has only played in two games since being activated from the DL, but it is worth noting that he has three walks and only one strikeout thus far.

Brady Rodgers
In Rodgers' last three appearances, he has a 1.92 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP with two walks to 13 strikeouts.

Mike Foltynewicz
In Folty's last three outings, he has a 2.08 ERA and a 1.230 WHIP.

Travis Ballew
In six relief appearances, Ballew has a 1.35 ERA and a 0.900 WHIP. He has walked three batters while striking out 15.

David Rollins had an excellent outing last night. If you could erase his prior appearance, he would have a 0.00 ERA and a 0.647 WHIP.


Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Oklahoma City - Off Day

Corpus Christi over Midland 6-3
After 20 and a third innings, Asher Wojciechowski proved that he was human after all and gave up his first run of the season on a sac fly. According to the Hooks twitter account, his scoreless streak goes back through his final 13 innings of the 2012 season, giving him 33+ consecutive innings of scoreless pitching. His final line for the night - 5IP 5H 2R 2BB 6SO. Wojo was followed by David Martinez (3.1IP 3H 1R/0ER 2BB 2SO) who was awarded the win as the Hooks scored late. Jason Stoffel got the last two outs and his fourth save of the season.

The Hooks put up a four-spot in the seventh inning which started with a George Springer double and a Carlos Perez walk and was followed by singles from Jonathan Meyer (RBI), Rene Garcia, Jio Mier (two RBI) and a Michael Burgess fielders choice scoring Rene Garcia (3x4 2B R). Carlos Perez added an exclamation point in the eighth, hitting a two-run home run.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 8-4
Starter Tyson Perez got his first W of the season thanks in large part to timely offense. Perez allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five innings. He was followed by David Rollins who allowed one measly little single in four innings, walking zero and striking out three. The 'Hawks drew first blood with a Matt Duffy (3x5 BB 2R) RBI single in the first, but then started scoring in earnest with a four-run third and a three-run fourth powered in large part by doubles from Telvin Nash (2x3 2BB RBI 2R), Chris Epps (2x5 2-2B 2RBI R) and Preston Tucker (RBI BB R). Nolan Fontana (2x3 3BB R) drove in two with an RBI single. Brandon Meredith was hit by pitches twice and scored once.

Quad Cities - Off Day

Player of the Day: Chris Epps gets the nod for his two RBI doubles.

Pitcher of the Day: After a seriously tough outing his last go around, David Rollins was back on top of his game in a big way.

With that said, I also want to acknowledge Asher Wojciechowski with this ...


slow clap photo: Slow Clap orson_wells_Slow-Clap.gif


Happy Birthday - 4/25

Happy Birthday to ~

IF Carlos Perdomo (23)
Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela by the Phillies prior to the 2008 season, Perdomo signed with Houston as a minor league free agent during the off-season. He spent the last two seasons playing for the Phillies Low A affiliate. Perdomo played in five games with the Quad Cities squad, hitting .294/.429/.294 before being sent to Lancaster where he has appeared in four games thus far.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Chuck Harrison (72)
Harrison was the first major league player to have come out of Texas Tech University. He played for the Astros from 1965 to 1967. Although quite a slugger in the minor leagues where he hit 40 home runs in one season in 1964, he was never able to even come close to that kind of power in the Astrodome. He was traded to Atlanta along with Sonny Jackson in 1967 for Denny Lemaster and Dennis Menke.

RHP Bill Greif (63)
Drafted by Houston in the third round in 1968, Greif only pitched in seven games for the Astros in 1971 before being shipped to San Diego as part of a trade for LHP Dave Roberts. His first major league victory came when he went in to pitch in relief in the 20th inning of a 21 inning affair against the Padres.

Tweet of the Day

Jeff Luhnow
Welcome to the Big Leagues, Robbie Grossman... grab a bat, you are hitting first!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Astros Minor League Snapshot - Who's Hot for Corpus Christi?

Let's take a quick look at the Corpus Christi crew and see who's hot.

The pitching for the Hooks has been mostly exceptional thus far, but here are the best of the best.

Jake Buchanan
In five appearances, Buchanan has a 1.57 ERA and a 0.696 WHIP. He has walked only two batters and struck out twelve. Batters are hitting only .175 against him.

David Martinez
Martinez was perfect through five innings in his last start. Through four outings, he has a 1.88 ERA and a 0.698 WHIP and batters are hitting .157 against him.

Asher Wojciechowski
Wojo has not allowed a run, earned or otherwise, in his first four games and has walked four while striking out 19. He is holding hitters to a .157 batting average. His WHIP is 0.667

Alex Sogard
In five relief appearances, Sogard has a 0.00 ERA and a 1.167 WHIP.

And here's a look at how some of the hitters have fared in their last 10 games.

Austin Wates
Surprise, surprise. Austin Wates continues to hit, just like he always has. He is .333/.435/.538 with a double, two triples, a home run and six stolen bases in his last 10.

Carlos Perez
In the last 10 games, Perez has managed a .364/.417/.485 batting line with four doubles. He has a 50% caught stealing rate for the season.

George Springer
Springer is .306/.432/.667 over the last 10 with a double, four home runs, eight RBI and three stolen bases. He has walked seven times while striking out 12 times during that period.

Ben Orloff
Orloff is hitting .333/.371/.367 over his last 10.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Albuquerque over Oklahoma City 12-2
Jordan Lyles did his best impression of a recent Houston start as he allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk and only lasted one inning. Things didn't go much better for the rest of the pitching crew as C.J. Fick, Eric Berger and Lance Day combined to allow seven runs in the final seven innings. The RedHawks only managed to put up a couple of singletons on the scoreboard, one on a Jimmy Paredes home run. Paredes was two-for-four and scored two runs. Jake Elmore (3x5) and the newly promoted Robbie Grossman (2x5 2B) had good outings as well. Grossman was hitting .324/.452/.353 at the time of his call up.

Corpus Christi over Midland 7-6 in 10 innings
Starter Nick Tropeano dug an early hole for the team allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks in three innings while striking out three. That was followed with two very strong innings from Alex Sogard who has yet to allow a run this season. The Hooks scratched out a tenuous lead for Bobby Doran (2.1IP 3H 1R 2BB 4SO 1HR), but Jason Stoffel (1.1IP 2H 2R/0ER 2SO) couldn't hang on to it and the game went to extras. Pat Urckfitz (0H 0R 1BB 4SO) pitched the final one and a third and was rewarded with the win as Michael Burgess came home on a Ben Orloff sac fly in the 10th to take the lead once and for all. Orloff was one-for-four with two sac fly RBI and Eric Castro went two-for-three as he is starting to heat up at the plate. But it was pretty much the George Springer show as his two dingers of the night drove in three runs. Castro, Springer and Drew Muren each stole a base as well.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 5-4
Brady Rodgers provided solid starting pitching over five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts, and was followed by three innings from Chris Devenski. Devenski allowed two additional runs to come across which cut Lake Elsinore's deficit to one going into the ninth inning. Devenski pitched to one batter in the ninth before giving way to Kenny Long who had just been activated from the DL and promptly recorded his first save of the season. There were no extra base hits in this one, but Nolan Fontana collected three singles, a walk and a stolen base, and M.P. Cokinos had two hits, including a two-RBI single in the second. Telvin Nash was one-for-three with an RBI single and a walk in his first appearance since being activated from the DL.

Wisconsin over Quad Cities 9-1
Mike Hauschild had an excellent outing in his fourth appearance of the season. In five innings, he allowed one unearned run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. But things quickly started to unravel as Colton Cain and Gera Sanchez combined to allow eight runs on ten hits in the final three frames. The Bandits only mustered five hits with two of those belonging to Chase Davidson, whose solo homer in the sixth made up the entirety of the QC scoring output. Terrell Joyce was one-for-three with a double and stole two bases.

Pitchers of the Day: Relief pitchers are the unsung heroes of tight games, and lefty relievers Alex Sogard, Pat Urckfitz and Kenny Long were pivotal in getting W's for Corpus Christi and Lancaster on Tuesday.

Player of the Day: In the words of Morgan Ensberg, George Springer is a really good player, and his three-for-four, walk, two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base make for a really good night.