Happy Birthday - 9/22

Happy Birthday ~

LHP Alejandro Solarte (20)
Solarte came to the Astros system in a trade with the Blue Jays organization for Adron Chambers earlier this year. The young Venezuelan lefty is in his third professional season. In 17 bullpen appearances with the Gulf Coast League Astros this season, Solarte was 2-1 with one save, a 4.88 ERA and a 1.792 WHIP.

SS Carlos Correa (20)
The number one overall pick from the 2012 draft was doing swimmingly at High A Lancaster and was likely headed for a promotion to Corpus Christi shortly when he suffered a broken fibula on June 21st which required surgery and which, obviously, derailed the remainder of his season. In 62 games with the JetHawks, he hit .325/.416/.510 with 16 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 57 RBI, 20 stolen bases (four caught stealing), and 36 walks to 45 strikeouts.

OF Jordan Scott (23)
Drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Riverside High School in South Carolina, Scott was having a successful season with Lancaster when he suffered a thumb injury that ended up requiring surgery. Before he was shut down for the season, he hit .297/.355/.439 with 13 doubles, seven triples and one home run in 58 games at Lancaster.

RHP Luis Ordosgoitti (22)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Ordosgoitti spent the 2014 season with Tri-City. In 14 games (nine starts), he had a 4.53 ERA and a 1.324 WHIP. He walked 19 while striking out 53 in 59.2 innings pitched.

Outfield/Baserunning Coach Vince Coleman (53)
Coleman, the former All-Star outfielder for the Cardinals and perennial league stolen base leader, just finished his second season with the Astros organization working with players on their outfield and baserunning skills.

Three former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

RHP Larry Dierker (68)
Dierker signed with the Colt .45's prior to the 1964 season and made his major league debut on his 18th birthday that same year. Dierker pitched in 345 games for the Colt .45's and Astros from 1964 to 1976 with a 137-117 record, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.214 WHIP. He was a two-time All-Star for Houston. He also managed the Astros from 1997 to 2001, compiling a 435-348 record and being named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998.

LF Jeffrey Leonard (59)
Leonard came to Houston in a September 1978 trade with Los Angeles and played in 237 games for the Astros until his trade to the Giants in April 1981. During that time, he hit .265/.329/.349. He came in second in Rookie of the Year voting to Rick Sutcliffe and made the All-Star team for both the Giants and the Mariners. Probably the most awesome thing about Leonard is that he has three nicknames listed on Baseball-Reference: HacMan, One Flap Down and Penitentiary Face.

RF Charlton Jimerson (35)
A fifth round draft pick by Houston in 2001, Jimerson played in 18 games for Houston in 2005 and 2006 hitting .333/.333/.833 in six plate appearances.

Happy Birthday - 9/22

SS Carlos Correa (19)
The number one overall pick from the 2012 draft spent his first full season with the Quad Cities River Bandits. In 117 games during the regular season, he hit .320/.405/.467 (.432/.523/.550 vs. lefties) with 33 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 86 RBI. And he's just 19.

OF Jordan Scott (22)
Drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Riverside High School in South Carolina, Scott repeated the Low A level in 2013, spending his season with Quad Cities. In 125 regular season games, Scott hit .255/.342/.321 with 12 doubles, seven triples and 25 stolen bases.

RHP Luis Ordosgoitti (21)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Ordosgoitti spent the vast majority of his season in Kissimmee rehabbing from an injury. In six late season starts, Ordosgoitti was 1-0 with a 1.05 ERA and a 0.974 WHIP.

Three former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Larry Dierker (67)
Dierker signed with the Colt .45's prior to the 1964 season and made his major league debut on his 18th birthday that same year. Dierker pitched in 345 games for the Colt .45's and Astros from 1964 to 1976 with a 137-117 record, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.214 WHIP. He was a two-time All-Star for Houston. He also managed the Astros from 1997 to 2001, compiling a 435-348 record and being named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998.

LF Jeffrey Leonard (58)
Leonard came to Houston in a September 1978 trade with Los Angeles and played in 237 games for the Astros until his trade to the Giants in April 1981. During that time, he hit .265/.329/.349. He came in second in Rookie of the Year voting to Rick Sutcliffe and made the All-Star team for both the Giants and the Mariners. Probably the most awesome thing about Leonard is that he has three nicknames listed on Baseball-Reference: HacMan, One Flap Down and Penitentiary Face.

RF Charleton Jimerson (34)
A fifth round draft pick by Houston in 2001, Jimerson played in 18 games for Houston in 2005 and 2006 hitting .333/.333/.833 in six plate appearances.

Happy Birthday - 9/22

SS Carlos Correa (18)
The number one overall pick from the 2012 draft already has 50 professional games under his belt and is just now turning 18. In 39 games with the GCL Astros, Correa hit .232/.270/.355 with 11 doubles, one triple and two home runs. After a late season promotion to Greeneville, Correa fired the afterburners and hit .371/.450/.600 with three doubles, one triple and one home run (which I witnessed first hand, thank you very much!). He is currently participating in the fall instructional league.

OF Jordan Scott (21)
Drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Riverside High School in South Carolina, Scott was unable to recreate his great numbers from his 2011 season. In 110 games, he hit .230/.325/.280 for the Lexington Lo-A team this season. For some reason, Scott was more comfortable on the road this season as he hit .273/.357/.335 away from home. Known for his good approach at the plate, I look for Scott to have a rebound season in 2013.

RHP Luis Ordosgoitti (20)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Ordosgoitti got his first taste of Lo-A this season as he started 19 games for the Lexington Legends. Considering his young age, his 5-5 record with a 5.52 ERA and a 1.544 WHIP was certainly a decent result.

RHP Arcenio Leon (26)
Arcenio signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2005 and started playing in the Venezuelan Summer League that year. Now in his eighth season with the Astros organization, he spent his season at Corpus Christi where he had a 3-2 record with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.461 WHIP in 44 appearances.

Three former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Larry Dierker (66)
Dierker signed with the Colt .45's prior to the 1964 season and made his major league debut on his 18th birthday that same year. Dierker pitched in 345 games for the Colt .45's and Astros from 1964 to 1976 with a 137-117 record, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.214 WHIP. He was a two-time All-Star for Houston. He also managed the Astros from 1997 to 2001, compiling a 435-348 record and being named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998.

LF Jeffrey Leonard (57)
Leonard came to Houston in a September 1978 trade with Los Angeles and played in 237 games for the Astros until his trade to the Giants in April 1981. During that time, he hit .265/.329/.349. He came in second in Rookie of the Year voting to Rick Sutcliffe and made the All-Star team for both the Giants and the Mariners.

RF Charleton Jimerson (33)
A fifth round draft pick by Houston in 2001, Jimerson played in 18 games for Houston in 2005 and 2006 hitting .333/.333/.833 in six plate appearances.

Everything Old Is New Again

"What goes around comes around" could have been the theme of the "Talkin' Baseball" session at the end of Fan Fest Saturday.  Moderated by Alyson Footer, it featured J.R. Richard, Larry Dierker, Enos Cabell and Jim Deshaies in "A Look at 50 Years."  Part of the season-long celebration, fans were given the opportunity to ask questions of these former Astros stalwarts, but most of us just sat back and listened as they spun a web of baseball gold.

Jim Deshaies started it with a masterful look at an incredible three days in September 1986 in which JD struck out the first 8 batters the first day, Nolan Ryan and Charlie Kerfeld threw a 2-hit shutout the next and, as predicted by Alan Ashby, Mike Scott eclipsed the others with the no-hit clincher on the third.  "Freaking Ashby's a prophet," JD proclaimed.

Dierker talked about his no-hitter, those who missed it as they were in line for free beer, great plays by Cruz and Cabell to keep it alive and being shunned in the dugout as no one wanted to jinx him.  But his favorite memory was the end of the 1999 season.  Winning in the last regular game of the season to clinch, while also honoring the Astrodome Team of Honor as the team prepared to move to the new stadium, was described as being glorious in every aspect.  He recalled everyone drinking champagne and smoking cigars afterwards and stated simply,  "For me, that was baseball heaven."

J.R. Richard is a man of few words, but often stole the show with those few. In response to a fan who said, "I used to come to the games all the time just to watch you pitch," he responded, "Well, that was a good enough reason."

The best J.R. stories came from others.  Enos Cabell described refusing to hit against J.R., "No, I was smarter than all the rest of the guys."  Bruce Bochy took Cabell's turn at bat and ended up with a broken toe on the first pitch.  Dierker talked about liking to hit, but bailing out of the batter's box as J.R.'s first pitch went behind his head.  And J.D. reminisced about an Old Timer's game in which Joe Garagiola only lasted about seven pitches trying to catch J.R.

Enos Cabell spoke of his hatred for the Dodgers, "We hated the Dodgers ... We'd rather have a fight with them before the game than play the game."  And of playing in the 70's, he said, "All of our games were 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2, and if you went to the bathroom, you missed it... Back when we played if J.R. and Dierker and those guys didn't pitch shutouts, we'd tell them 'we're gonna get you one run; that's it, so you'd better pitch your ass off.'"

But Cabell addressed the Astros' future as well as the past.  In his position as Special Assistant to the GM, he is in the loop as far as what is needed and what the front office is trying to accomplish.  He talked about getting back to more emphasis on pitching and defense, and having two or three guys that can hit 20-25 home runs rather than relying on just one big home run hitter.  "We're trying to get back to a better mix," he said, "because it's going to last longer."  Dierker added, "My sense is that we're trying to get back to something that's like the baseball we remember before the home run derby started."  They both want to get back to an "exciting kind of baseball."

As the Astros organization honors its past, it is nice to see that they are looking at borrowing from it as well.  An emphasis on pitching and defense with a well-rounded, balanced team of players, would go a long way toward bringing excitement back to Minute Maid Park.

Next Up ~ The Smartest Guys in the Room

Happy Birthday - 9/22

OF Jordan Scott (20)
Drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Riverside HS in South Carolina, the lefty continued to show his prowess at the plate in his second season with the organization. In 79 games between Lexington, Greeneville and Tri-City, Jordan compiled a .323/.380/.406/.787 line.

LHP Adam Champion (24)
This big lefty from Indiana was drafted by Houston in the 24th round in 2010 out of the University of Arkansas Little Rock. In 15 games split between starting and relief pitching (mostly for Tri-City), he was 4-1 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.352 WHIP.

RHP Luis Ordosgoitti (19)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Luis is in his second season with the Astros organization. In 12 games (10 starts) for the GCL Astros, Greeneville and Tri-City, he was 2-5 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.358 WHIP.

RHP Arcenio Leon (25)
Arcenio signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2005 and started playing in the Venezuelan Summer League that year. Now in his seventh season with the Astros organization, he spent his season at Corpus Christi, with a late move to Oklahoma City for one game. Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, he was 3-4 in 48 appearances with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.800 WHIP.

Three former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Larry Dierker (65)
Played for the Colt 45's and Houston Astros from 1964 to 1976
Managed the Astros from 1997 to 2001

LF Jeffrey Leonard (56)
Played for Houston from 1978 to 1981

RF Charleton Jimerson (32)
Played 18 games for Houston in 2005 and 2006