Houston Astros Regular Season Thread

[Guest eagle eye]

What is the friggin deal with these starting pitchers? This is a very disturbing trend. What trend you ask? The recent trend for the starters to give up somewhere between 4 and 8 runs early (like first inning) and put their team in a hole. The last couple of games the offense has staked the starters to early leads which was not appreciated at all considering their performance. Brad Peacock was the latest man to surrender 5 earned runs to the Red Sox in 3+ inning of work. That after being staked to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Oh well, hopefully they can take today's game to salvage some self respect.

[Big T]

We have 3 number five starters and two number three starters. That's what friggin wrong. At least this means that we will see some call ups here pretty soon.

[Guest eagle eye]

Okay. Finally we got a quality start in yesterday's finale vs the Red Sox. Quality? Starter Bud Norris gave up 5 runs. Yeah, he did but if you watched or listened to the game you know that only 3 of those runs were earned. After an error by SS Marwin Gonzalez kept an inning going Norris settled down and made the best of a bad situation. That was in the fourth. In the fifth Norris lost his mojo a little bit and gave up a pair of earned runs. 3 runs in six innings of work ain't bad. I'll take it especially considering the way the other starters except Lucas Harrell have been giving up runs early in games. All could have been forgiven if the top of the sixth had gone just a little different. The Astros had a bases loaded one out situation after 3 consecutive singles but Fernando Martinez struck out and Matt Dominguez hit into a fielders choice to end the inning. Fernandez just missed an RBI double by a few feet before going down swinging. Houston is still struggling to get that hit in the clutch that means the difference in many games. So, now Houston is 0-fer in Fenway and on a 9 game road losing streak. Hopefully, they can take one or two from the Yankees. I'd say they are due.

[Guest eagle eye]

Holy crap on a cracker! The Astros wheeled into the Bronx and opened up a can of whoop ass on the Bombers! Defeating the Yankees 9-1 after being swept by the Red Sox in four games this past weekend is just the tonic Houston needed. It also snaps a 9 game road losing streak. Lucas Harrell pitched 6-1/3 strong innings scattering 8 hits and walk with 4 K's to hold the Yankees to a single run. The win runs Harrell's overall record to 3-2 and probably takes some of the pressure off what has been a very disappointing start to the season. Carlos Corporan lead the offense with a career best night going 4-5 with 4 RBI's including a home run. Brandon Barnes had a big night at the plate too getting 3 hits and 3 RBI's on the night both being career highs. The Astros beat veteran and former Astro Andy Pettitte whose record falls to 3-2. Harrell breaks the string of poor beginnings to games suffered lately by Astros starters. Harrell did benefit from 3 double plays in the first four innings to maintain the 3-0 lead the Astros built in the first inning. Harrell may be a No 2 (Yes, Big T, I am paying attention) but he's been the Astros best pitcher the past two seasons and his youth is all the better for a rebuilding club. The Next matchup tomorrow night features the Astros Phillip Humber and the Yankees Hiroki Kiroda. Can the good guys make it two in row? Hope so.

[Big T]

He's a number three at best. Pettite in the old days was a number two starter.

 

On another note, it seems to be either feast or famine with this team. Either they lose by 6 or win by eight lol. It was a fun night even though I only caught a couple seconds of the game. The bad news however is that the Astros were on their way to loosing 117 games before tonight. That my friends is terrible!

[BigNasty92]

..and did anyone really expect this season to be any different?

[Guest eagle eye]

Big T, I think you under value Harrell. His is a good pitcher with a lot of upside and he's the best on the staff IMO. We'll just have to agree to disagree. Right now this team is still getting to know each other. This team just doesn't feel like the one that took the field the past two years. Just like last year at this time Houston was a .500 ball club but the first month season wasn't an indication of last year's team, I believe Houston will play better over the long haul. So, yes BigNasty92, I do expect more from this year's Astros.

[Big T]

If they were in the NLC then yes I would expect a little more. However with them being in the ALW then no this is exactly what I expected.

[Guest eagle eye]

According to the game recap Phillip Humber did a decent job starting against the Yankees last night. He did give up 4 runs in his six innings of work but considering how bad he looked in his last two starts it is definitely an improvement. The Astros offense is still looking for their mojo when it comes to getting a clutch hit or two on a consistant basis but I think they'll improve. Brad Peacock appears to have completely lost any mojo he had. Demoted to the bullpen after he really stunk up the join in his last start he came on in the the eighth inning and gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits including a solo home run by the Yankees Lyle Overbay. Peacock may be going back to AAA because the Astros have announced that pitchers Jordan Lyles and Dallas Kuechel will be called up. No word was given in regard to the roster moves the Astros would make to make room for them but I sure wouldn't be surprised if Peacock was headed to OKC.

[Guest eagle eye]

The Astros tried to overcome the deficit dug for them by starter Eric Bedard but when you only score one inning, even though it was 4 runs, you aren't going to win many games. Our starting pitching is a liability we can't seem to overcome. Astros lose the finale and the series with the Yankees. Last night the final score was 5-4.

[Guest eagle eye]

Okay, I think we can say that the Phillip Humber signing was not that great. In April he goes 0-fer in six starts and so far two batters into the fourth inning he's given up 8 earned runs on 8 hits including 3 long balls. Top of 4 and Houston is ready to stick a fork in them down 8 zip. Son of a bitch! You can't keep digging these holes. Nobody can overcome that. The Astros begin their longest home stand of the year by losing 4 straight to Detroit. The starting pitching is dreadful and it seems like Houston isn't playing anyone but division champs, defending AL champs, etc. Where do the also-rans show up on the schedule?

[Guest eagle eye]

Well, we finally won a game on this home stand. It was a nail biter with Houston hanging on for a 7-6 victory. Jordon Lyles got his first victory of 2013 in his second start going 5 innings and with the offense finally giving the pitchers some run support with a three run blast by Chris Carter in the fifth which gave Lyles the win opportunity. Jose Veras did his job and closed out the game to earn his 3rd save in 5 tries. This was Veras' first save opportunity after he blew a save vs Detroit last Friday night giving up a 2 run homer to a catcher who was hitting .171 going into the game.

 

Going into the game the Astros had made some roster moves after being swept by the Tigers.

Gone: Rick Ankiel - great clubhouse guy but never found his stick. Designated for assignment.

Fernando Martinez - wasn't getting the job done. Sent to AAA.

Additions: Trevor Crowe - he was a tough cut coming out of spring training

Jimmie Paredes - was doing well in triple A and adds more athletism to the outfield.

Along with Robbie Grossman who replaced an injured Justin Maxwell recently gives Houston a lot of options with their lineup. These three upgrade the overall athletism of the outfield. The fallout here is Chris Carter will likely DH and play 1B more since the outfield is getting a little full. Carter has power but his .207 BA and league leading strikeout rate don't look good.

 

One other tweek Bo Porter has made is put his best hitter in the three hole which is kind of where you best hitter should be. Jose Altuve and his .338 BA responded with a 2-3 night at the plate which included a solo home run in the bottom of the first. He also scored 2 runs and drove in 2. Since his break out year last year Altuve has backed that first season up with another gem so far. Altuve is a legitimate All-Star caliber player and he should be for years to come. Which ought to have AAA 2B DeLino DeShields Jr wondering when, if ever he'll break into the bigs. Altuve was just supposed to keep 2B warm until DeShields was ready to make the move up to the big club now that story may have to be rewritten.

[Big T]

More good news is that the cast has come off of Maxwell's arm/hand. He will probably get some starts at OKC coming up here in the next week or two. It's gonna be nice to get him back and healthy.

[Guest eagle eye]

The Astros make it two in a row! On the strength of a marvelous outing by Bud Norris who pitched into the ninth inning for the first time in his career and Jose Veras came on to finish the ninth for his 2nd save in as many nights. The Astros scored 3 runs including a solo shot from Chris Carter and that was enough to the beat the Angels 3-1 and guarantee a series win. Hopefully, Lucas Harrell can keep it going and help the Astros to their first series sweep of the season.

 

More roster moves;

 

> Phillip Humber is moving to the bullpen. After an 0-7 start to the season and very unhealthy 8.82 ERA and a 16.20 ERA in his last four starts Bo Porter felt the move would benefit Humber as much as it seems to have helped Eric Bedard. Humber has better stuff than he's shown so far in 2013 and the move sure can't hurt.

> Dallas Kuechel is taking Humber's spot in the rotation and he will get the start in the series opener vs the Rangers on Friday night. Kuechel has pitched well out of the bullpen since he was called up but this will be his first start of the 2013 season.

> Eric Bedard will move back into the starting rotation on Saturday night vs the Rangers. Bedard was 0-2 in 5 starts before being moved to the bullpen. He deserved a couple of wins early but Houston's offense was nearly nonexistant coming out of spring training. Bedard has pitched well out of the bullpen and Bo Porter felt he deserved another shot in the rotation. Porter also liked the matchup of lefties Kuechel and Bedard vs the predominantly left handed lineup of the Rangers.

 

Former Astros pitcher J A Happ got clocked by a line drive earlier this week. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution after being struck in the left side of his face and his ear. Several of Happ's former Astros team mates have reached out to Happ offer their prayers and well wishes. Happ has texted that he is feeling much better which is good news. Hopefully, Happ will be back on the mound for Toronto soon. This has rekindled the discussion about some sort of protective head gear for pitchers. Hopefully, something will come of it because pitchers are very vulnerable to line drives with almost no reaction time to protect themselves. My wish is something is done before someone is killed by a line drive.

[Guest eagle eye]

After coming in and getting totally blown up by the Texas Rangers pitcher Phillip Humber has been optioned by the Astros. Humber leaves with an 0-8 record with 7 starts and a 9.59 ERA. In his last five appearances his ERA was 16.94. Being optioned means the Astros have 10 days to either trade him, release him or designate him to the minors. The last straw for Humber came Saturday with Houston holding a 3-1 lead over the rangers in the 6th inning in relief of starter Erik Bedard who pitched a nice 5 innings before being lifted for Humber. Humber got the first batter he faced then all he threw was batting practice for the Rangers. He gave up a homer, a triple, a double, a walk, a triple, a pop fly out and a single giving the Rangers 6 runs 5 of which were charged to Humber. It's too bad and Humber has seen better days helping Rice to a College World Series title in 2003 and pitching a perfect game just one year ago for the White Sox. Give Humber credit, he took responsibilty saying he was giving his best effort but things just didn't work out for him. His fall is even more surprising since he did have a really nice spring training. There was no indication what has happened was even remotely possible.

 

Houston finishes their longest homestand of the season 2-8 after being swept by the Ranger over the weekend. This is not what the Astros looked like in spring training but I can't see any way but up for Houston going forward because it sure can't get any worse.

[Big T]

No, but it can stay the same. It's not going to get any better until Singleton, Cosart, Folty, Springer, DDJ, Fontana, and Corea are ready. I believe we will see both Singleton and Cosart called up when the rosters expand. DDJ should be in AA by the time that the season ends.

 

With that being said, besides the pitching staff this team is fun to watch. Jose at 2B, Dominguez at 3B is very quickly making me a fan, I like Carter despite his K ratio and think he will hit 40 Hrs this year, Brandon Barnes is just that all out scrappy home grown player, I like what I'm seeing out of Castro. There is a small nucleus in place here to build on and it won't be long till we are watching winning baseball in Houston again.

[KABrother88]

No, but it can stay the same. It's not going to get any better until Singleton, Cosart, Folty, Springer, DDJ, Fontana, and Corea are ready. I believe we will see both Singleton and Cosart called up when the rosters expand. DDJ should be in AA by the time that the season ends.

 

With that being said, besides the pitching staff this team is fun to watch. Jose at 2B, Dominguez at 3B is very quickly making me a fan, I like Carter despite his K ratio and think he will hit 40 Hrs this year, Brandon Barnes is just that all out scrappy home grown player, I like what I'm seeing out of Castro. There is a small nucleus in place here to build on and it won't be long till we are watching winning baseball in Houston again.

 

Another name to remember is AAA SS Johnathan Villar...started the season a dreadful .059 (2-34) but now is up .308 (44-143) with 8 doubles, 4 triples and 3 HRs with 13 steals

[Guest eagle eye]

The Astros have a lot of pitchers acquired over the last couple of years and they will need to start coming on. Right now, if our starters are not giving up six or seven runs the bullpen is taking up their slack and that's not a good thing. One guy who has been pretty consistant in a good way is Paul Clemens. The guy has really done a good job so far. Travis Blackley has been a pleasent surprise and in very limited work Josh Fields has shown up. The starting rotation really has to figure out how not to give 6-7 runs in 5 innings or less. Most of the time it's the big inning that is killing these guys. They'll put up goose eggs and around the fourth or fifth the bottom falls out or they get hammered in the 1st and recover to shut down the other team. The of the top twenty Astros prospects half are pitchers but when you have a guy ranked No. 10 in Brad Peacock who has been hammered in his 2013 stint in the bigs I have to worry. Yes, we have McCullers, Foltynewicz, Cosart and Tropeano among others. Most of these guys are still in AA or lower. Other than Cosart the only guy in the top twenty in AAA is Asher Wojciechowski. Reinforcements seem like a long way away. I like Lucas Harrell and Dallas Kuechel but they are learning how to be big leagers right now and taking their lumps in the process. I would like to see the offense wake up a little. Sometimes in the American League you have to win 10-9 or 11-8 and Houston isn't getting it done at the plate. Would you think that our starters would like to pitch with a 4 or 5 run lead once in a while? The effort is there. I like Bo Porter's approach and his aggressiveness. I just wish Houston could put it all together a little more often.

[Big T]

Astros won in a thriller today 7-5. They took the lead in the top of the ninth and had to hang on for dear life. Barnes saved the day with a great play in center. I tell you i'm very quickly becoming a fan of his. He reminds me a little of David Eckstein or Brian Roberts. I know they all play different positions but they all play or played with the same all out gritty style that Barnes plays with. Plus he is a product of the Astros farm system.

[Guest eagle eye]

Yesterday was a day off for the 'Stros before they play their first National League game of 2013 when they face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a former division foe, tonight at PNC Park but it doesn't mean there wasn't news.

 

The Astros hired a new team president and it's a name Astros fans are well aware of, Ryan. No it's not pitching legend Nolan but rather his son Reid. From a PR perspective this is a great deal because where Reid is you know Nolan isn't far behind. This doesn't mean Reid Ryan is just a figurehead. He's highly qualified in his own right. Here's a couple of articles from Astros.com about Reid Ryan.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130516&content_id=47709390&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130516&content_id=47738652&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou

 

 

In about 3 weeks, on June 6th to be exact, the Astros will be making the No 1 pick in the MLB draft for the second consecutive year. The way things are going we will be picking No 1 in the 2014 draft as well, but I digress. Here is an article from Astros.com about the possible choices for that No 1 pick. With no clear No 1 in this year's draft and the Astros not giving any hints, here's a look at the Astros list of possibilities. Who do y'all think the Astros should pick?

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130516&content_id=47711686&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou

[Guest eagle eye]

Is Jimmy Paredes trying to get his second base job base by injuring the competition or does he have a vendetta against 2nd basemen? For the second time in a week Paredes had a collision with his second baseman while playing right field. Last week he ran into Jose Altuve partially dislocating his jaw and sending Altuve to the 15 day DL. Now, last night, he crashed into 2nd baseman Jake Elmore despite Elmore being camped under a pop up waving his arms for what would have been the 3rd out in the ninth to send the game into extra innings by preserving a 4-4 tie but just before Elmore caught the fly ball Paredes crashed into him allowing the ball to drop harmlessly to the turf giving Pittsburgh a walkoff error to win the game. On top of that, Elmore had a sore back after the game. Paredes allowed the winning run to score with his gaff but the real culprit that cost Houston the opening game against the Pirates was the 2 run meat ball Hector Ambriz served up to Pedro Alvarez in the eighth inning that erased a 4-2 Houston lead. In a post game comment Ambriz said, "Too high and too middle," Ambriz said of the pitch. "With a game on the line like that, you can't make mistakes like that and he made me pay for it." It's bad enough that the pitching can't mesh between the starters and relievers now we are coming up with out-of-left field reasons for losing. Sheesh! Jordan Lyles had a quality start going 5 plus innings giving up only one run. Relief work by Paul Clemens, Travis Blackley and Wesley Wright got the Astros to the 8th allowing only one more run. Despite struggling in the 9th Edgar Martinez did a nice job of battling and he should have gotten out of the 9th unscathed but Paredes' error took care of that. That was one that definitely got away.

[Big T]

I'm leaning in the direction of a pitcher this year. The Stros have had some solid offensive pick ups in the draft the last couple of years but they desperately need some pitching. Going with my personal preference I would go with Gray over Appel, but with Appel being a senior they would have more leverage with signing him at a lower dollar amount leaving them extra money to go after some players that they originally would not be able to much like last year. However, I just do not think you can take a pass on a guy who throws triple in the 7th inning of games. Plus with his body type he should be pretty durable.

[Guest eagle eye]

Yesterday I posted that Jose Altuve was on the 15 day DL because of a partially dislocated jaw he received in the collision with Jimmy Paredes in the loss to Detroit last Monday. I assumed Altuve was on the DL because he hadn't been in the lineup since then. It was a false assumption on my part. Actually he has been on bereavement leave since Tuesday when the team allowed Altuve to travel back to Venezuela for his grandmother's funeral. He actually got back from Venezuela on Friday but Bo Porter told Altuve to rest on Friday at the team hotel in Pittsburgh. Altuve was very appreciative of the Astros for allowing him to attend his grandmother's funeral and also for the support his team mates have shown him. Altuve was back in the lineup Saturday for Houston's come from behind win over the Pirates going 3-5 with an RBI hitting in the 3 hole.

Speaking of the Astros win it was the first time in 27 tries that Houston won after trailing in the seventh inning. It was also a great moral victory for a team who blew a victory the night before. Eric Bedard had another quality start going six innings giving up only 2 earned runs while scatting 7 hits with 3 K's and no walks. Jose Cisnero went 3.2 innings of scoreless relief and Jose Veras got the save in an 11 inning game. Jason Castro scored the winning run on a Matt Dominguez groundout to 2B on a close but correct call at home plate. JD Martinez added an RBI single later in the inning. Cisnero got his first major league win as a result of his stellar relief job escaping a bases loaded jam in the 7th and retiring 9 of the next 10 batters he faced. Surrendering only 2 hits with a walk and 5 K's Cisnero really earned his first big league win.

Lucas Harrell goes to the hill today to try to lead the Astros to a series win over the Pirates.

[Guest eagle eye]

Lucas Harrell can't pitch much better. He gave Houston seven strong innings giving up only 4 hits with only one walk and 3 K's. Trouble was he made the mistake of the game giving up a solo home run to Pedro Alverez the Pirates third baseman in the 5th with one out. Why was it the mistake of the game? That solo shot was the only run of a 2 hour and twenty four minute game as the Pirates won the series finale 1-0. Pitt's Jeff Locke one-upped Harrell by tossing a 3 hitter. The Astros had no key for this Locke and they were shut out for the first time since May 5 when the Tigers beat them 9-0. The Astros come back to the dome tonight for a 3 game series against Kansas City.

[Guest eagle eye]

Houston hangs on to win the opening game of the series vs Kansas City 6-5 led by Matt Dominguez' glove and his bat. Playing his usual sparkling defense he also shined with his bat with a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 4th that provided the runs that gave Houston a come from behind victory. Dominguez' homer came a half an inning after KC's Miguel Tejada stroked a 3 run shot to give the Royals the lead. Dallas Kuechel pitched 6 2/3 innings and he got the win but it was a struggle. He gave up 4 runs all earned along with 9 hits and 4 walks but he did have 6 K's to help his own cause. He battled all night but it looked like the 3 run shot by Tejada might be his undoing until Dominguez came to the rescue in the bottom of the frame to give Houston the lead and provided Kuechel (1-1) with his first win of the 2013 season. I was looking at the box score and it struck me that besides Jose Altuve (.327) and Brandon Barnes (.317) there wasn't a single player in the Astros lineup hitting better than .250 (Trevor Crowe). Everyone else is hitting between .205 and .245 with the team batting average in last nights game at an anemic .245. Is it any wonder that Houston is 13-32 so far this season. You can't win if you don't score.