Houston Astros Regular Season Thread

[Guest eagle eye]

Way to keep me honest Big T! Chris Sale is the guy's name but I want to knit pick about the run. I said Bedard gave up one run and he did but I did neglect to say it was unearned.

 

The 7th inning saw the Pale Hose close the gap scoring 2 runs to tighten the score to 4-3. Lucas Harrell lost his mojo surrendering a lead off homer to Adam Dunn and several other hits around a couple of outs. The last straw came with Gordon Beckham on second Tyler Flowers hit a grounder up the middle for an infield single. If not for a spectacular play by Jose Altuve to keep the ball in the infield Beckham would have scored. Harrell was yanked and Paul Clemens just made Alejandro De Aza look bad striking him out on three pitches.

 

Houston's half saw a leadoff walk by Carlos Pena and pitching change. John Danks was replaced by Matt Lindstrom who immediately induced a double play ball from Ronnie Cedeno. Matt Dominguez came up and lined a double into center field. Lindstrom then caught Trevor Crowe looking at strike three to end the inning.

[Guest eagle eye]

The top of the 8th saw Clemens give up a leadoff double followed by a strikeout and his night was over. Wesley Wright came in and induced a ground out by Adam Dunn and after an intentional walk to Paul Konerko. Wright was done for the night and Hector Ambriz came in a got Jeff Keppinger to ground out to Ronnie Cedeno. The inning was saved by a marvelous stop by Jason Castro on a breaking ball in the dirt and Alexi Ramirez on 3rd.

[Guest eagle eye]

Bottom of the 8th new White Sox pitcher Nate Jones replacing Lindstrom. Jones has an easy inning retiring Brandon Barnes, Jose Altuve and Jason Castro on routine groundouts. On to the ninth and Jose Veras looking for save number (gulp) 13. Anyone superstitious?

[Guest eagle eye]

Top of 9th and Jose Veras can't do anything without drama. A lead off walk to Dayan Viciedo saw Veras overthrowing his fastball and not even getting close to the strike zone. White Sox starting pitcher John Danks brother Jordan came in to run for Viciedo. Veras switched to throwing curve balls to second batter Gordon Beckham and struck him out. During Beckham's at bat Danks stole second. Veras got the next hitter Tyler Flowers in a hole with his curve ball and he set him down with a 96 mph fast ball. With Alejandro De Aza at the plate Veras picked off Danks at second base to end the game. It was a good play and Danks was half asleep and caught completely by surprise. The replay showed that Danks was clearly out on the tag by Ronnie Cedeno. Veras has been scaring me and now the last couple of game he can't throw his fast ball for strikes. Oh well, a win is a win and I'll take it. Tonight's win guarantees the Astros a series win gives them a 3 game winning streak. Plays by Jose Altuve and Jason Castro save the win for the Astros tonight. Lucas Harrell (5-7) deserved the win and got it. He went 6-2/3 giving up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk and 7 K's. Tomorrow's game is a 1:10 PM start with Dallas Keuchel (3-3) squaring off against Hector Santiago (2-4).

[Big T]

Apparently from everything I've read, Appel is receiving a signing bonus of 6.35 million. The contract deal still has a few things to iron out but it should be finalized early this week maybe even tomorrow. I hope y'all realize how huge this is. the Astros now have an extra 1.5 million to distribute between HSP's German and Nicley. Both of whom have solid commitments to Universities and will take some extra money to get to sign. Things are looking good for the Stros and they may actually get all of their top ten to sign for a second consecutive year! Now I just hope that the 6.35 million is true.

[Big T]

If y'all haven't heard yet, the Astros have signed their second round pick RHP Andrew Thurman out of UC Irvine.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130617&content_id=50910398&notebook_id=50919952&vkey=notebook_hou&c_id=hou

 

They are also in "full talks" with Appel. Kent Emanuel is still in the CWS so I don't expect him to sign till after UNC is eliminated.

[Big T]

Astros get a 10-1 win tonight. They got a three run HR from Pena and a grand slam and five RBIs from Matt Dominguez. Oh BTW Jordan Lyles was lights out yet again!

[Big T]

Astros, Appel have reached an agreement and you can watch the press conference here live.

 

http://wapc.mlb.com/hou/play/?topic_id=16646766&c_id=HOU&content_id=28161513

[Guest eagle eye]

The Astros won another series. This time it was against the Milwaukee Brewers in the rubber game of a three game set to the Astros current home stand which they were very impressive going a combined 5-2 against the White Sox (3-1) and Brewers (2-1). Todays game according to Astros.com was a very sloppy game filled with errors and home runs. Lucas Harrell, who didn't deserve to be in a 3-0 hole early because of fielding errors was done in the sixth on a home run by Jonathan Lucroy that extended a 3-2 Brewers lead to 4-2. Harrell wasn't the only one done in. Trying to rob Lucroy of his homer Trevor Crowe smashed into the outfield was injuring himself. Injured so badly that Houston put Crowe on the 15 day DL with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. All was forgotten as the game went to the bottom of the 8th inning, C Carlos Corporan stroked a solo shot to tie the game at 4. Then came extra innings and in the bottom of the 10th with score still tied Jason Castro lead off with a strike out. Corporan followed with a K but a wild pitch by the Brewers Michael Gonzalez enabled Corporan to end up on 1st. JD Martinez followed with a double to right field and the Astros had runners at the corners with only one out. Bo Porter elected to substitute Corporan with P Josh Fields who pinch ran for Corporan. Next up was Carlos Pena who stroked a line drive over the drawn in outfield and right over the right field wall for a walk off 3 run homer. By all accounts it was Corporan's play that was the glue that kept Houston in the game. With timely hitting and stellar work behind the plate he was clearly the player of the game despite Pena's extra inning heroics. Now, it's on to Chicago to play the Cubs for a three game series after which they are home again to face St Louis and the Angels.

 

Anyone seen the poop-storm over Bud Norris' comments about being traded? At first glance, you think Norris is a major tool bag but at closer examination he was just answering a question. His answer was not politically correct but it wasn't boring or fake. He only said that in his 3-1/2 years in Houston he's seen competent players traded and he wonders why his number hasn't been called. He said it gives him chill bumps to think that he could conceivably go to his home town team the San Francisco Giants. Can't blame him there. That home town attraction is probably a big reason Houston was able to sign it's first round pick Mark Appel. The signing of Appel meant Norris' days as an Astro were numbered anyway, right? With Norris having his best year as an Astro his value couldn't be higher on the trading block. Houston is known to be shopping him so why not dream a little? If you look at it Norris is too old to be part of Houston's long range plans and they figure to be a lower tier team for another 3-4 years. It's not unreasonable to think Norris would like an opportunity to go to a contending team and what better team than the Giants. Dreaming again. Get draft picks, get upper tier minor league prospects, heck get cash and Norris can say goodbye to Houston having been a good soldier. Norris' 2013 season is better than the previous 2-1/2 years when he felt his golf game between starts was more important than his baseball health. He did suffer from blisters on his pitching hand a lot. This season Norris put away the golf clubs and focused on his pitching and it really has paid dividends. Maybe his agent whispered in his ear and said, "Hey dumbass nobody will trade for a pitcher who can't pitch. Lose the clubs and I'll get you a deal." To his credit, if that really happened, Norris appears to have listened. When all is said and done maybe Norris really is a tool bag. Doesn't matter. He's not in Houston's future and if we can get value for him I say, "So long Bud and don't let the door hit you in the ass.".

[KABrother88]

Haha...I think Norris should bring good value back to Houston if/when hes traded...only making 3 million this season and will be under team control until after the 2015 season...his Ks/9 has dropped to 6.2 this season compared to 8.8 for his career prior to 2013...that being said his ERA is down from 4.42 to 3.64 so to me it seems he turning into a pitcher

 

Speaking of trades the Astros traded Fernado Martinez (I know Big T liked him) to the Yankees for RHP Charles Basford...yawn...

 

In other news we have signed our 10th round pick Austin Nicely...have seen on Baseball America it was for 600,000 (slot value was just a little over 100,000)...now have 8 of our top 10 signed with the other 2 still in Omaha...should be no problem getting them signed with the 1.5 million discount from Appel

[Big T]

Unfortunately F-Mart never paned out like I was hoping he would. He didn't do it for the Mets, Astros, so now he going to try as a Yankee.

[Guest eagle eye]

Two years in a row signing their top ten picks. Not bad. It seems GM Jeff Luhnow knows a little about being a GM.

Fernando Martinez' trade is good for him and good for Houston because we get some more pitching. It wasn't an earth shattering trade but it worked for both clubs and both players involved although Basford is leaving a perennial contender for a rebuilding club he may find greener pastures in Houston.

Cubs win opener 3-1 because starter Dallas Kuechel gave up solo homers in 3 consecutive innings. The troubling thing here is the low run output Houston puts out day in and day out. That's why they are where they are. Too many strikeouts and too many missed opportunities and too few runs scored. Better days are ahead but in the last month the starters have the 2nd best ERA in the American League. Gotta be frustrating for them.

Despite all their failings the Astros are 13-10 over their last 23 games and that ain't bad.

One last thing, I'm tired of 'The Blitz' guys on ESPN radio bagging on the Astros. AJ Hoffman and Fred Faour have nothing good to say about them even though, as I mentioned above, they are playing above .500 ball and are competitive in every game they are in. I don't like the show anyway because they rarely talk sports and when they do they are rude to their callers. Most of their time is spent talking about TV shows and betting on stuff. Even then, they are boring and unfunny. I miss 'The Drive' with Dukes, Tepper and Takahashi.

[Guest Mahler]

One last thing, I'm tired of 'The Blitz' guys on ESPN radio bagging on the Astros. AJ Hoffman and Fred Faour have nothing good to say about them even though, as I mentioned above, they are playing above .500 ball and are competitive in every game they are in. I don't like the show anyway because they rarely talk sports and when they do they are rude to their callers. Most of their time is spent talking about TV shows and betting on stuff. Even then, they are boring and unfunny. I miss 'The Drive' with Dukes, Tepper and Takahashi.

 

Truer words have never been spoken!!! I've stopped listening to all local 97.5 shows. Very disappointing for a huge city such as Houston. Very vulgar and crass in topics, especially the noon-3 show. Bleh!!!!!

[Big T]

I to have stopped listening to 97.5. The Drive was the best show on there and now that it is gone the whole station has gone down hill. What really pissed me off was when they had Coach Bruder on and pretty much made fun of the Lamar program and her. That for me was it. They never have anything good to say about the Astros, they never even mention the Dynamo, and personally I don't think half of the things they talk about belong on the radio.

[KABrother88]

George Springer had been promoted to AAA OKC...was hitting .297 with 19 HRs, 55 RBI, 20 doubles and 23 SB...has a lot of swing and miss in his game (96 Ks in 273 ABs) but as you can see when he hits the ball he does damage...he'll be with the big team in September but I don't see them calling him up until around this time next year to keep his arbitration clock from starting...I feel like he's is very underrated in terms of his prospect ranking (#52 overall by MLB.com)...personally I think he is our top prospect...he's got 5 tools and should stick in CF for years to come...only thing I could see to change that is if Delino DeShields Jr. transitions from 2nd to CF and Springer shifts to RF

[Big T]

His K/BB ratio is too high to make him our number one prospect. Springer is not the only one to be called up however. They also called up Buchanan to AAA and promoted Buxton to A+. Singleton is also in AAA now.

 

Added on top of that, Carlos Correa has been on an absolute tear for the last month. Hitting .375 over that span and hitting close to .500 over the last ten games to raise his average from .292 to .321. Plus McCullers and Folty have both exceeded everyone's expectations. I can see all three of these players at some point in the next several weeks receiving promotions. I really want to see Correa in high A ball.

[KABrother88]

The reasons I have Springer at my #1 over Singleton is he is a better overall player in my opinion and does it at CF and not 1st. While I think Correa will be great as well Springer is closer so he gets the edge...he may not ever become a more patient hitter but he still has time to improve in that area. I love what Folty is doin to and he should get more attention than he does...needless to say the future is bright (I get made fun of at work for checking how our minor leaguers are doing every couple of days)...I understand not every prospect pans out and some of the pitchers will become relievers...but a rotation of Appel, McCullers, Cosart, and Folty would light up some radar guns!

[Guest eagle eye]

KABrother88 you are right about the upside to Springer in my opinion. If Jose Altuve can learn patience at the plate and turn his entire career around it's not unreasonable to think Springer can do the same. Plate discipline is important to learn to reach the next level and if Altuve can learn it in an off season as he did before last season then Springer truly will be a 5 tool player.

 

I can understand why you look at the minors because the Astros lack of pop in the current line up is frustrating. It's too bad that Jordan Lyles, after a month of phenomenal starts that he came up snake eyes yesterday. I don't understand why Bo Porter didn't pull him during or after that disastrous 3rd inning. It was obvious Lyles didn't have even his mediocre stuff. Even so, the defense didn't help matters by playing like crap. It sure seemed like they committed more than 2 errors.

 

Houston gets a much needed day off today. Before today they had only 2 days off in the past month.

[Big T]

If you new anything about Springer you would know that plate discipline is not the issue. His issue is that he does not have a two strike approach. All he does is grip it and rip it. When he gets two strikes on him he has the same swing as when he had a 0-0, 1-0, 2-0 count. If he can learn to cut back on his two strike swing and swing for contact and not for the fences with two strikes then I'll agree with y'all. Until then I have Appel, Singleton, Correa, Springer, and Cosart as my top five in that order.

[Guest eagle eye]

The two strike approach IS part of plate discipline. Biggio and Bagwell were two of the best for many years because they looked to make contact with 2 strikes and he didn't try to be dead pull hitters. In fact it's when they didn't use that approach is when they went into slumps. Excessive strike outs are also a part of plate discipline. That's why the current Astros are working to improve Chris Carter and Carlos Pena's approach at the plate. If you want Springer to be the next Chris Carter don't bother to teach him a more practical approach at the plate. If you don't mind the feast or famine approach and a 100+ K's a year because that's what will happen. The higher up in the system Springer goes the lower his batting average will go. In AA he hit .297 with 93 K's. If he doesn't change his approach he'll hit .279 with 110 K's. Nobody wants that.

[KABrother88]

Like I said Springer may not ever improve his approach at the plate but that has been the knock on him since he was at UCONN...yet he just keeps on producing...these are just AA numbers but if a guy is on pace (140 games) to hit .297 with 103 runs, 35 doubles, 35 HR, 101 RBI, and 42 SB and play .994 defense I can learn to live with the Ks...plus down the road if he's hitting in front of Singleton he'll see better pitches early in the count and his 2-strike approach won't be as much of a factor.

 

In other news, Marwin Gonzalez had been sent down to OKC and LHP Wade LeBlanc had been DFA...does this mean they may call up Jonathan Villar and Jared Cosart?

[Big T]

Springer proved he could hit a good fastball in AA. Now comes the test to see if he can hit the good breaking pitches in AAA. If he can hit there then he should be a very good MLB player.

[KABrother88]

Like I said Springer may not ever improve his approach at the plate but that has been the knock on him since he was at UCONN...yet he just keeps on producing...these are just AA numbers but if a guy is on pace (140 games) to hit .297 with 103 runs, 35 doubles, 35 HR, 101 RBI, and 42 SB and play .994 defense I can learn to live with the Ks...plus down the road if he's hitting in front of Singleton he'll see better pitches early in the count and his 2-strike approach won't be as much of a factor.

 

In other news, Marwin Gonzalez had been sent down to OKC and LHP Wade LeBlanc had been DFA...does this mean they may call up Jonathan Villar and Jared Cosart?

 

Nevermind they recalled Brett Wallace and Jake Elmore

[Guest eagle eye]

I hope Wallace does better this time around. He hits lights out in AAA but can't find his behind with both hands in the bigs. On the Astros web site they thought like KABrother88 that Jonathan Villar was on the way up so today's move is really a surprise.

 

As for Springer, a guy who hits .297 in AAA generally doesn't get better when the pitching gets better unless he learns how to be a hitter not a batter. I'm sure he's got instruction but it's hard to go against your nature but to be a better hitter you have to train yourself to be disciplined. As Springer moves up the ladder he's going to find out talent alone won't matter without some baseball acumen to go with it. Don't get me wrong. I am rooting for Springer but I still think he's got some learning to do and a little chat with Jose Altuve wouldn't hurt either. Don't believe me? Brett Wallace is a prime example. Talent has made Wallace a better than average minor leaguer but his talent doesn't mean much when he gets to the bigs. I want Springer to be better than Wallace. I know you are smirking saying he already is, but, you know what I'm talking about.

[Big T]

EE, sheck your post, he hit .297 in AA and just got promoted to AAA.