Houston Astros Regular Season Thread

[KABrother88]

Alright...first I need to vent for a second...I'm getting sick and tired of the people complaining about the Astros trading everyone away...its obvious they are oblivious to to what exactly Luhnow has done with this team and I'll even give Ed Wade a little credit in what has happened since he was the man in charge when we acquired Jared Cosart, Jon Villar, and Domingo Santana via trade and drafted guys like Springer, Folty, DeShields and Velasquez...that's 8 of our top 12 prospects. Now I agree that the rebuilding process needed a guy like Luhnow to be completed but Wade did put it in motion. But back to the "fans", no one likes being the laughing stock of the league but there is something special brewing in Houston and I'll be the first one to tell them to keep their bandwagon rolling and don't stop in at MMP...this is probably falling on deaf ears cause I don't know if anyone besides us three even venture to this thread...but that's ok...its nice to be able to read posts from people who share my views of this organization and not from these "fan" who don't realize that Justin Maxwell in nothing better than a 4th or 5th OF and Norris who is a 4th to 5th starter for a contending team.

 

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, back to baseball. Amidst all the trade deadline chatter we failed to mention Villar's steal of home...Matt Wieters didn't even come out of his crouch and the throw actually hit Villar in the back...love the aggressiveness

 

Last night Brett Oberholtzer pitched great in his first career start and earned his first career win with Houston topping Baltimore 11-0. Oberholtzer has been shaky out of the pen in Houston and starting in OCK this year but he turned in 7 innings of three hit shutout ball with 6 K's and no walks...would be nice if he could continue to be reliable and bridge the gap to the wave that is coming in the next few years.

 

Also having big nights were Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez...Castro went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a grand slam and Dominguez went 4-5 with a HR.

 

Houston has recalled Jimmy Paredes from OKC to take Bud Norris' spot on the roster...kinda figured they might call up Brad Peacock but I guess not. This may be Paredes' last shot to prove he can play for Houston. He has hit very well in the minors the last few years but just can't seem to make it click in the bigs.

[Big T]

+1 Those who complain about the rebuilding process don't know how baseball is run. They look at the NBA and the NFL and to some extent NHL and see these guys getting drafted and coming in and contributing to their teams right away. Then they see the Astros trading guys like Bud and J Max and getting the first overall pick two consecutive years but don't see them contributing to the MLB team and think that the Astros aren't doing anything to improve. They don't realize that unlike the NBA and NFL, the game of baseball is so intricate and you can't just come in a contribute right away. These players have to go into the minors and completely relearn how to play the game at a completely different elite level. Then maybe they can become decent players and hopefully one, two, or even three will become superstars. But the casual fan doesn't know this so they complain about the process they know nothing about. It is very frustrating as a fan who does know and can see what the Astros are building and it's a pretty damn exciting time to be an Astros fan.

 

As for Villar, there is no doubt the guy brings some excitement to the field. But he seems to be all or nothing though. he's either 2-4 with a walk, double a couple RBIs and two stolen bases or 0-5 with three strikeouts. It's early but he needs to get a little consistency to his offensive game. His defense is stellar though. Nothing to complain about there.

 

I to thought Peacock or Wojo was going to get the call so I'm really surprised to see Paredes called up. Yes at one point I was high on Jimmy but I am no longer. I think they need to move on and Peacock deserves the call. They guy has been on fire at AAA OKC.

 

One last thing, I don't think we will see Springer this year after getting Hoes. I think we will see him compete for a spot in ST and get called up in June.

[KABrother88]

I could see them giving Springer a chance to get his feet wet with a few ABs in September but not much more than that...calling him up in June next year would be ideal delaying his arbitration clock and getting a little more out of him...at this time the only guys that are expected to be long term fixtures in Houston I could see getting a September call up is Springer, Wojo and maybe Folty...but I wouldn't just bet the farm he will be one of them...if Singleton gets things turned around and gets hot then they may call him up as well but as of now I wouldn't put him in a position to lose more confidence than he probably already has.

 

Also have a feeling Erik Bedard will be placed on waivers and traded sometime this month...was a little surprised he wasn't dealt before yesterday but I'm ok with that...he wasn't going to net a huge return but he would have value to a team in a playoff race...and you never know...Boston may see him as the next Larry Anderson...we all know how that worked out lol

[Guest eagle eye]

As life is often more freaky than fantasy even Hollywood would say, "yeah, right!" when it would be suggested that a guy is traded on Tuesday and is pitching against his old team on Thursday. Norris has had quite a few quality starts this year and he's pitched really well at times. He has had nights like tonight for Houston only to get a loss or no decision because the Astros can't generate enough offense to overcome a 2 run deficit. Norris may have been a little dicey for the locker room after he wondered aloud why he hasn't been traded sooner when he's seen a lot of his ex-teammates go on to greener pastures. Well, he's got his wish and I hope he gets what he's looking for. In the past he's been more intent on playing golf on his off days and I really think it contributed the blister issues on his pitching hand the last couple of years. This year he dedicated himself to baseball in a way he hadn't before and it has paid dividends.

I have to contend with so-called "fans" at work and even some of my friends won't listen to reason. All they have seen is the Astros play terrible for the past 4 years setting records for futility the past two. Unfortunately, it looks like it going to be 3 years in row. The worst thing is I'm going owe Big T a stupid hat because the Astros won't win 50 games this year. (I really don't care even though I really believed they would be better.) The shame of it all is Miami is a bigger joke than Houston because they have been to the mountain--twice--and then blew up the team--twice. I don't understand that thinking. When they beat Cleveland in the World Series I was soooooooo pissed because I didn't believe they deserved it. At least not like Cleveland deserved to win. An upstart expansion team beating a franchise that has been around forever with no luck deserved their day in the sun. But Miami won and then proceeded to blow up the team.

I agree Houston is looking toward the future and I am so hoping that they do what I told a coworker today. I told him, after he needled me about Houston being a loser despite the 11-0 win over Baltimore Wednesday night, that in four years Houston is going to beat the crap out of his favorite team, St Louis, in the World Series. Lord, I hope I'm right. This same guy bet me a few years ago that his favorite football team would win more games than Dallas and it was so sweet watching him walk around wearing a Cowboys hat all day at work. If I had lost he would got to watch me wear a Raiders hat all day. Lord, have mercy. Was that sweet or what! Houston's day is coming and it will make these dark days seem worth it.

BTW KABrother88, if you look at the hits on this post a lot more than you, Big T and I look in here. We just post more than they do. There seem to be a lot of Astros fans keeping it all on the down low for now. That's okay because we know they're there.

[Big T]

Another gem from Cosart! Another blown lead from the bullpen.

[Guest eagle eye]

After an initial splash Jonathan Villar has struggled at the plate. I'm not worried about it too much because his volume of at bats is low and it doesn't take much to alter a batting average. I am hoping Villar doesn't lose confidence, that would be bad.

With the departure of Bud Norris there was an opening in the starting rotation and it was filled right out of the box by Brett Oberholtzer whose first start for Houston was a gem against Baltimore that saw Houston shut out the O's 11-0. Oberholtzer's outing was so impressive Bo Porter officially named him a starter going forward.

Since being called back up to the big club Robbie Grossman has become a different player at the plate. When he was sent back down in May he was hitting .198 and hitting a lot of lame fly balls. When Houston sent him back to OKC he was told he needed to work on hitting line drives and eliminate hitting fly balls. Grossman took it to heart and since his recall he is hitting .583 with two doubles and a homer. In fact the only fly ball he has hit was that home run. Hitting line drives allows him to utilize his speed and that's something Houston needs more of.

Big T should be happy because Jimmy Paredes was called back up and last night he was in the lineup at 2nd base. He also had a SportsCenter play getting a ground ball deep up the middle that he snagged and made a really nice throw off balance going away from first base to complete the out. As posted earlier this could be Paredes last shot for Houston in the bigs. Hopefully he is able to hit the ball better than his previous stints with the big club.

With August here it won't be long until the rosters expand for the home leg of the season. Who will Houston bring up. That is a good question!

 

There were reasons for some hopeful signs for the team in May and June but Houston's July was a disaster. Their overall record was 6-18, the worst W/L for any month this year, and to make matters worse they only have 2 wins since the All Star break. There was an arguably a so-so deal for closer Jose Veras but they made a nice deal in a trade involving Bud Norris and a surprising deal involving Justin Maxwell. We saw the call up of Jared Cosart who has pitched pretty darn well. Chris Carter is still on the roster but Carlos Pena is not. Carter has had some nice and timely hits but he's not the future in the outfield and I see him riding pine a lot in September to see what the young players can do that are called up from the minors to finish the year. It would certainly be nice if Houston wins a little more in August.

[Guest eagle eye]

What happens when a team is bad as the dog days of August begin? They tend to get younger in hopes of seeing what they have coming up to make their team better. That's what Houston has done recently with trades of Bud Norris and Justin Maxwell and it's also what they have done by calling up some of their prospects. Within the last week Houston has called up Robbie Grossman who is hitting so well in his second stint in Houston that he was slotted in the leadoff spot today and went 2-5 at the plate. Bingo. They brought up P Jared Cosart and he has done nothing but impress. About a month ago Houston brought up OF Marc Krauss who has been pretty solid both at the plate and in the field. Bingo. Jordon Lyles was brought up some weeks ago and pitched very well for the most part. Bingo. About 2 weeks ago Houston brought up Jonathan Villar. He's been really good defensively but he has struggled some at the plate of late and as a fan I'm concerned his confidence as a hitter may be damaged but I liked the move anyway. You need to see what these guys have at some point. So yeah, Bingo.

Now, Houston has brought up a pitcher, Brad Peacock, that struggled in his first go-round in Houston. Maybe struggled is being kind but since his demotion back to AAA OKC he's gotten himself back on track over his last 13 starts. Today Peacock turned in the best performance of his career going 7 complete innings giving up 4 hits, 2 BB's and 3 earned runs. He did give up two home runs but if you only give up 3 runs as a starting pitcher going 7 strong you are giving your team a chance to win. Peacock gave up a 2-run shot in the first and a solo shot in the 7th but was more than solid in between logging a personal best 10 K's. It wasn't Peacock's fault the Astros offense was 2-9 with runners in scoring position.

The addition of Peacock who is 25 a really young starting rotation. To go along with Peacock the Astros have Jared Cosart (23), Brett Oberholtzer (24) and Jordan Lyles (22). The rotation is anchored by 34 year old Erik Bedard. A guy who has pitched well this season and offers real veteran leadership for such a young staff. It still isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he could be traded to a contending team before the August 31st deadline.

My point is, Houston is starting to see the fruits of the labors of GM's Ed Wade and now Jeff Luhnow who have been building the organization back to prominence by laying the foundation for long term success by building from the minor league up. We are seeing tangible evidence that the long road back to respectability is beginning to pay dividends. If you are an observant fan you know this already. It's disappointing to see Houston lose so much but it's encouraging to see players with real potential doing well. Pay attention because we will see more and more of these players come September. Despite their record the beginning of fall could be a very exciting time.

[Big T]

We are not going to see very many player be called up that haven't already been with the big club until September as to avoid starting arbitration clocks. Even then I don't think we will se either Springer or Singleton. The Astros are being very cautious with both of these players and Springer's K rate is still to high. If the Stros bring him up and he struggles he is going to take a huge hit to his confidence. Plus, If you don't think the Astros front office aren't looking over their shoulders at the ChiSox and see them looming in the rearview mirror for the number one pick then your crazy. And if you bring up Springer and Singleton and they do jump start this offense and the Astros lose the first round pick as a result, we will forever be regretting the day that we missed out on the biggest sure fire pitcher since Stephen Strausburg in Carlos Rodon. I think that they will get their shots in Spring training next year and that they both could very well break with the big league club.

[Big T]

Astros Farm System Update.

 

Its been a while since the draft so I just went and looked through some of the players numbers.

 

Mark Appel: in 19.2 Innings pitched over six games, 3.20 ERA with a K/BB ratio of 20/5 and a .247 BAA. The numbers aren't to shabby and he seems to be getting better every start.

 

Conrad Gregor: in 47 games, .244 AVG 2 HR and 4 2B with 42 hits. If you look at that line it's pretty unimpressive. Then you see his decent OBP of .353 with a K/BB ratio of 25/25! That is the epitome of the Luhnow system. The players may not be flashy but they get on base and score runs.

 

Anthony Kemp: IMO this was the steal of the draft by the Astros. I watched this guy all through out his college career and I have never seen a more exciting player than him. 48 games .282 AVG, 2 3B, 7 2B, 1 HR, 17 SB. OBP of .355 with a 21/29 K/BB ratio.

 

James Ramsay: 41 games .275 AVG, 3 3B, 1 2B, 2 HR. OBP .357 16/16 K/BB ratio.

 

Kyle Westwood: 6 games 24 innings pitched. 1.13 ERA, 18/3 K/BB ratio, .163 BAA. Mr. Westwood has looked mighty impressive.

 

Chris Cotton: 7 games .133 ERA, and check this out a 19/1 K/BB ratio! with a .221 BAA. The former LSU Tiger is putting up some dazzling numbers.

 

Jordan Mills: 10 games 5 games started 1.59 ERA in 34 innings, 35/8 K/BB ratio, and a .200 BAA.

 

Randall Fant: IMO this guy could turn out to another steal by the Astros out of Arkansas. 8 games 5 games started 3.56 ERA in 30.1 innings, 20/3 K/BB ratio, and a .285 BAA. While he is a little older than some of the guys drafted , he was a great pitcher for Arkansas and they have had a great top ten team year in and year out.

 

Zach Morton: 9 games 4 games started 1.93 ERA in 32.2 Inning pitched, 16/7 K/BB, with a .152 BAA.

 

Tyler White: 18 games 68 AB .365 AVG, 9 2B, 1 HR, .474 OBP with a 7/7 K/BB ratio.

 

Top 20 Prospects:

 

Carlos Correa: 90 games .326 AVG, 2 3B, 25 2B, 7 HR, 9 SB, OBP .409 with a 67/44 K/BB ratio. He has moved up from preseason number two in the system to now number one.

 

Jonathan Singleton: No doubt about it he has been struggling at AA OCK since coming off that 50 game suspension. He has picked it up a bit in the last ten games however so maybe he is starting to turn it around a bit. 65 games .234 AVG, 1 3B, 10 2B, 10 HR, .343 OBP with a terrible 85/39 K/BB ratio.

 

George Springer: 109 games .309 AVG, 3 3B, 25 2B, 29 HR, 89 RBI, with a .410 OBP and a terrible 96/42 K/BB ratio. How he maintains that OBP with all of the strikeouts I don't know but you really can't complain about any of his numbers.

 

Lance McCullers: 23 games 17 games started 94.3 innings pitched 3.04 ERA, 108/44 k/BB ratio, and a .238 BAA.

 

I'll post the rest of the list tomorrow.

[KABrother88]

Springer's 96/42 K/BB ratio is actually only for AA...in AAA it is 41/21 bringing it to a grand total of 137/63 in 401 total ABs...yes this is a red flag but his K rate has actually went down slightly...30% of PAs at AA and .28% at AAA...his walk rate has come up a percent from 13% to 14% with the move as well. These numbers don't suggest he has greatly improved his plate discipline but gives hope that he is making strides to get there...his last 10 games have seen only 10 Ks in 45 PAs vs 9 BB. He is probably able to maintain that higher OBP due to his speed helping beat out double plays and also forcing the infield to rush their play and cause errors.

 

Singleton showing signs of life is very encouraging...hopefully he will continue to progress and develop into the hitter most scouts predict

 

Big T I'll let you continue with you with your update but I just wanted to say Ive been waiting to post about a certain minor leaguer on an absolute tear but everytime i do that the player will hit a little slump...so I have refrained from commenting for now...sure you are already on top of it though

 

Have to post this though http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/astros-minor-leaguer-vinnie-catricala-strikes-one-pitch-182609577.html

[Guest eagle eye]

I would really like to see the Astros get serious with every player including George Springer and do whatever they can to eliminate all these damn K's. We all know how bad Houston has been offensively this year. If you follow this thread you KNOW I've documented the futility of the Astros at the plate. Well, here's another lesson in that futility--Houston has set a record as the team in MLB history to reach 1,000 K's in a season the fastest. With almost two full months left in the season! So when I see posts excusing Houston prospects for their K/BB ratio I want to hurl. Just like the game the other day when Houston out hit Minnesota 9-5 bit were only 2-9 with RISP. Houston whiffed 8 times in that game. I am so sick of seeing the futility at the plate I want guys who make the opposing team put them out because they put the ball in play. Who would you rather have, a player who hits .250 with 150 strike outs or a guy who hits .250 with only 85 K's and 100 walks? I'll tell you right now which I'd rather have. You want the former? We had him in Carlos Pena. Do you really want a guy like that? Houston didn't even want him. Clean up the K's Houston and don't rush players up until you do.

[Big T]

My bad on Springer. For some reason I took the top line instead of the bottom. However, 137/63 is nothing to be proud of in 109 games.

 

Mike Foltynewicz: 25 games 17 games started 197 innings pitched 2.94 ERA but a 2.67 in AA. 111/55 k/BB ratio and a ,237 BAA.

 

Delino DeShields Jr: This guys numbers, as impressive as they are, don't reflect just how scorching hot this guy has been lately. 90 games, 10 3B, 21 2B, 3 HR, 42 SB with a .314 AVG, and a OBP of .396, 80/46 K/BB ratio. But to show you how hot this guy has been month of July .342/.419/.711 and as of August 3 in his last ten games he's hitting .535/.565/.884!!!

 

Nolan Fontana: One of my favorite players in the Astros system. Once again he's not flashy but gets on base at an extraordinary clip. In 85 games ,272 AVG 5 3B, 16 2B, 6 HR, a k/BB ratio of 84/84!!! and an OBP of .426!!!!!! I have two words to describe him as......... David Eckstein.

 

 

[KABrother88]

My bad on Springer. For some reason I took the top line instead of the bottom. However, 137/63 is nothing to be proud of in 109 games.

 

Mike Foltynewicz: 25 games 17 games started 197 innings pitched 2.94 ERA but a 2.67 in AA. 111/55 k/BB ratio and a ,237 BAA.

 

Delino DeShields Jr: This guys numbers, as impressive as they are, don't reflect just how scorching hot this guy has been lately. 90 games, 10 3B, 21 2B, 3 HR, 42 SB with a .314 AVG, and a OBP of .396, 80/46 K/BB ratio. But to show you how hot this guy has been month of July .342/.419/.711 and as of August 3 in his last ten games he's hitting .535/.565/.884!!!

 

Nolan Fontana: One of my favorite players in the Astros system. Once again he's not flashy but gets on base at an extraordinary clip. In 85 games ,272 AVG 5 3B, 16 2B, 6 HR, a k/BB ratio of 84/84!!! and an OBP of .426!!!!!! I have two words to describe him as......... David Eckstein.

 

Ding ding ding...hitting .490 during his current 12 game hit streak bringing his average up from .284 to .314

 

And I compared Fontana to Eckstien to a friend the other day...a guy that will drive you batty cause he just always seems to be on base

[KABrother88]

I completely missed this but it's worth a look...Lancaster's box score from August 1st

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t491&t=g_box&gid=2013_08_01_lesafa_lncafa_1

 

Every starter had 2 or more hits except for 2 guys...and one of those was Fontana who drew 5 walks...that's insane

 

Brady Rodgers probably doesn't get enough discussion as he should...yes he has a 5+ ERA in A+ but that's pretty much expected in that league...he has made 2 starts out of there this season...1 in AA (5 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs with 6 Ks and 0 walks) and 1 in AAA (5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run with 4 Ks and 0 walks)

[Big T]

Anthony Kemp has been promoted to Quad Cities where last night he went 2-4 with a walk, double, and a run scored. This guy is really exciting and I expect him to do great things.

[KABrother88]

Anthony Kemp has been promoted to Quad Cities where last night he went 2-4 with a walk, double, and a run scored. This guy is really exciting and I expect him to do great things.

 

When the drafted Gregor in the 3rd I thought they should have taken Kemp but it worked out with him still being there the next round

 

Josh Hader also pitched 6 innings of 1 hit ball for QC last night

[Guest eagle eye]

The big club is playing the Red Sox and Brett Oberholtzer began the series with a shutout performance. He went 7 strong with 2 K's and 2 BB's. You go, boy-eee! Game two say Houston take a 7-3 lead into the 5th when the wheels came completly off. Houston allowed 10 runs in the 5th and 6th innings sinking their chances to win their second in a row from the Sox. Jordan Lyles gave up 8 runs, Dallas Kuechel gave up 4 and Jose Cisnero gave up 3 at the Red Sox bats came alive. Houston has a chance to win the series however as Jared Cosart takes the hill agianst Ryan Dempster.

 

Jonathan Villar is day to day with a sprained thumb last night vs Boston. There is a discrepency about when he hurt it. Villar says he injured it diving for a ground ball by David Ortiz in the sixth and manager Bo Porter says he did it when he was caught stealing third base in the fourth inning. Either way, Villar will ride pine for a couple of days at least.

 

Brandon Barnes won Houston's Heart and Hustle Award. The award is voted on by the MLB Alumni Association with close ties to the team. It rewards a player for his performance on the field as well as his contributions to the community. According to all who know him it is an award that is well deserved.

 

George Springer was named Minor League Player of the Month for July after he posted some awesome numbers, .344 BA, 9 HRs, 4 Dbls, 2 Tples, 27 RBI's and 10 stolen bases for the OKC Redhawks.

Asher Wojciechowski was Minor Leage Pitcher of the Month in AAA notching a 3-0 record with a 2.00 ERA in 27 innings in July.

 

In AA Pitcher of the Month was starter David Martinez who won for the second straight month. Martinez 2.01 ERA is second in AA among starters.

The Astros AA Player of the Month is Max Stassi took home Texas league honors for July.

 

Lefty Tommy Shirley and infielder Matt Duffy were July's best at Class A Advanced Lancaster. Righty Jordan Jankowski and infielder Rio Ruiz were the River Bandits recipients at Class A Quad Cities.

 

Overall, the Astros' combined Minor League mark of 369-270 (.577) is the best of any team in the Majors, a far cry from the last-place spot the affiliates aggregated for the 2010 and '11 seasons.

[Big T]

Bad game for Cosart. He only gave up the two runs but had five walks and seven hits in five innings. Despite all of that, the Astros had the 5-4 lead heading into the ninth where the closer for the night gave up a three run home run and the pen blew yet another lead. Astros lose yet again 7-5.

[Guest eagle eye]

I was listening to the game and the "closer of the night" was Josh Fields. His best pitch is his fast ball and he spent the whole inning throwing off speed pitches nibbling at the corners. That's why there were two men on base when Stephen Drew jacked the homer that proved to be the game winner. The guys on the radio said Drew was a good fastball hitter but apparently he's a pretty good hanging curve ball hitter too. Fields, or catcher Jason Castro, seemed like he/they were trying not to lose the game rather go and win the game. When I heard that the ball left the yard I went to bed.

 

I appears the Astros will have a new closer Friday night vs the Rangers. They have called up left handed reliever Kevin Chapman up from AAA OKC. Chapman, 25, was 1-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 45 appearances for the RedHawks, with two saves and 61 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings of work. In his past 10 games, he posted a 1.42 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings pitched. Chapman earned a save in his last appearance on Tuesday, throwing a scoreless inning against Colorado Springs. For the season, left-handed hitters are batting .193 against him.

 

To make room for Chapman the Astros have designated Travis Blackley for assignment. Despite some early success Blackley has struggled of late and it is probably for the best to send him down to relocate his mojo.

 

Talk about get younger, the Astros now have rookies in the bullpen with only Wesley Wright and Lucas Harrell the only vets. Chapman joins fellow newcomer Jorge De Leon who was called up before Wednesday night's game. Neither player has any big league experience and the next time they pitch it will be their MLB debut. The other rookies in the bullpen are Chia-Jen Lo, Josh Fields and Josh Zeid.

[Guest eagle eye]

It has got to be frustrating pitching as well as Brad Peacock and Erik Bedard did the last two games and watch as the bullpen gift wrap runs for the Rangers to cost them victories. It's no different that the last couple of weeks have been. It didn't matter if it was vets like Travis Blackley or Lucas Harrell. In fact it was the young guns just recently brought up in the past 10 days. On Friday it was Josh Zeid, Josh Fields and Jorge De Leon who gave up six runs in the last two innings to cost Houston a victory. Last night it was Kevin Chapman and Lucas Harrell who handed the Rangers a come from behind win. In fairness to Kevin Chapman both the runs he was credited with were unearned as SS Jake Elmore began the Rangers resurgence by booting a routine ground ball. Elmore is not a dependable SS and it seems like every time he plays he makes and error. He doesn't but it sure seems like it. It's a wonder manager Bo Porter doesn't go to post game press conferences with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Lord knows nobody would blame him.

[Big T]

This bullpen is setting records for futility. I honestly have never seen a bullpen this bad. On the bright side, the Astros have gotten to the bullpen with the lead quite a few times in the past couple of months. So in the offseason if they address the bullpen and we can hold onto those leads next year, the Astros could be sitting pretty come August and September next year. Am I saying they will be competing for a playoff spot? No, but they could be looking at .500 and I truly believe that. Get bullpen help, add a little offense, and bring up Springer and Singleton and things are looking a whole lot better.

[KABrother88]

Rangers completed the sweep against Houston taking the final game of the 4 game series 2-1 this afternoon. Yu Darvish had a no hitter through 7.1 when Carlos Corporan broke it up with a solo home run...Darvish finished the day with 15 Ks in 8 innings of work.

 

Also saw a report on Bleacher Report that Wesley Wright has been claimed by Tampa Bay and will be traded for cash considerations...haven't seen anything on Astros.com or ESPN but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. If so that would leave only Erik Bedard as the only player making over 1 million dollars on this team...by my calculations over half of this team are rookies and they may add another one to the mix now with an open roster spot. This season has been over for a while but these guys will have to grow up fast and Bo Porter isn't holding back on playing the rookies (not like he really has any other option though). I still wouldn't be surprised to see Bedard go before September 1st though...and I'm sure he would be more than happy to get outta town.

 

[KABrother88]

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130812&content_id=56759324&vkey=pr_hou&c_id=hou

 

Guess I just missed it...and they will recall Phillip Humber

[KABrother88]

I don't think it is a secret that I like to monitor our minor league often. Today I decided to take a look at the standings for each league and I came away even more excited for the future...here we go. (Note: AA, A+, and A seasons are split into first half and second half with winners of each making the playoffs, standings and records read overall, 1st half, and 2nd half)

 

Level League Team Standing Record

PCL AAA OKC 1st 69-54

TL AA CC 1st, 1st, 2nd 72-48, 42-28, 30-20 (1 GB 1st in 2nd half)

CAL A+ LAN 1st, 1st, 1st 70-50, 39-31, 31-19

MID A QC 2nd, 4th, 2nd 68-50, 38-31, 30-19 (1.5 GB 1st in 2nd half)

NYP A- TC 1st 32-22

APP R GRE 1st 33-18

GCL R GCL 3rd 22-23

DSL R DSL 3rd 31-29

 

Overall that puts our minor leagues at 397-294 (.574) which would equate to a 93-69 record in a 162 game season

[AceHigh]

2013 stats

 

Chris Carter - Salary this year $494,000

AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB AVG OBP SLG SO

360 48 76 155 14 1 21 54 50 .211 .312 .431 155(JEESH)

 

Josh Hamilton - Salary this year $17,000,000

AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB AVG OBP SLG SO

421 55 94 173 24 2 17 56 32 .223 .280 .411 116

 

Who's better for the money?