Woody knew it was do or die time. He’s an old pro, and he somehow managed to only give up 6 hits – 4 singles, a double and a triple, 1 BB, and 3 ER over 6 IP, lowering his ERA to 10.70. Woody managed to get 13 GB outs – amazing considering the suckage of Loretta at second, Tejada at short and Wiggy at third. Certainly a mediocre showing, but unfortunately Chris Sampson is not having the great spring he did last year, which is making Cooper’s decision difficult to say the least.
Anyway, Woody will start on Friday at the Box, and if he doesn’t look sharp, he’ll be gone, 6 mill or not. Wandy, trying to recover from an oblique strain, is also scheduled to pitch a few innings.
I hear tell that the Dodgers wanted to trade for Mark Loretta and we said no. I wonder
1 – what they were offering
2 – what on EARTH they have against Andy LaRoche
3 – why on EARTH Wade didn’t agree to swap Loretta for LaRoche, seing as how for some odd reason, LA doesn’t like him…
But I am eagerly awaiting Opening Day on Saturday afternoon. Yes, I know Y’ALL don’t think it is Opening Day, but the kids do, so off we’ll go.
Hope all yall had a Happy Easter (or Happy Passover or Happy Sunday.) All I know is that kids eat ENTIRELY too much candy…
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
What do you think of Jack Cassel? He keeps being mentioned as a rotation candidate but I never see what anyone thinks of him, or of his chances of winning a spot.
However, his numbers thus far are the best.
Kids most definitely eat too much candy, and if you include the Easter cupcakes, it’s positively nauseating. Kinda like watching Astros pitching these days.
I thought the same thing about LaRoche, but i found out he’s hurt right now- not that that would stop Colletti from replacing him w/ a washed up old guy.
The Astros are in love w/ Loretta based on what he did when he was good. Like Jason Kendall’s good years, it seems so long ago.
have fun!
michael,
cassel? well so far, he is CERTAINLY better than woody. absolutely NO question. He has given up 16 H (2 HR) in 13 IP but only 2 walks. I think his pitches have more life and movement than woody’s and he has 10 K/13 IP which, given the massive suckage of THIS infield defense, is really critical.
i think that if woody didn’t have that 6 mill hanging over him, he would have been long gone. actually, IF he does get released, i wouldn’t be real too surprised to see the cards pick him up.
steve,
yeh. but at least i made my kidz eat easter dinner BEFORE they went candy hunting.
kevin,
well if laroche is hurt i can give wade a break on that. but loretta is a good utility guy – and, by the way, believe it or not, even worse with the glove at third than he is at short.
one of these days i am gonna go add up all the errors committed in ST and see how many UER they led to – it isn’t a small number. wiggy ALONE has 7 E. runs are runs, earned OR unearned…
joel,
we will, thanks!!!
thing about taking kidz to a ball game to make it a success -
1 – afternoon games are best as long as the kids don’t need a nap
2 – if it is an evening game, be prepared to leave long before the game is over
3 – feed the kids, actually, stuff the kids as close to full as possible immediately BEFORE leaving for the game
4 – IF the roof is open, it wil be very HOT and you will have to spend a lot of money on water/soda because kids get dried out faster
5 – tell them BEFORE you leave then again BEFORE you get to the game that they are NOT gonna get any food there and they will get fed when we get back home and have stuff ready to give them the second you get back
6 – be prepared to get asked, i mean whined at, if they happen to see anyone with food come back to their seats. be prepared to ignore it without losing your cool. be prepared to say – cuz i said so and you know the rules – about a zillion times
7 – understand that it will be difficult/impossible to get scorebook filled out and just jot down notes.
8 – REALLY enjoy it when one of the kidz asks your brother a question and he says – ida know, ask your mami/auntie
Hi Lisa,
Just back from 4 days @ Kissimmee. Checking out the new Hooks and looking over the big boys.
Lisa, you are right about our gawd awful infield defense – bobbles and bad throws (Tejada nearly got Newhan killed on a routine DP toss us the line right into the runner), missed pop-ups (Wiggy and Loretta both missed pops to them in fair territory on the infield dirt – unreal), and we have no range up the middle It is downright ugly.
Sampson had a mediocre night against the Nats because he was always pitching behind in the count. Cassel was impressive, getting strikes and easy outs, albeit against the Nats’ scrubs.
I really like Wright. He seems to be in a good mind set, has a really good arm, and throws strikes. Looks like his cutter works well against righties. He is the most non-threatening figure you’ll ever see – must weight about 170 lbs and looks like a high school kid. But he sure sends ‘em back to the bench in a hurry.
Pence is still all adrenaline and really stings the ball hard. Good, good player. Didn’t see much outta Bourn at the plate – only hit was a swinging bunt – man, he’s fast.
Sampson threw a bullpen session Saturday morning under the scutiny of pitching coach Dewey Robinson. Half way through the workout Woody shows up, locates himself about 12 ft directly to the 3rd base side of the mound, stands quietly and watches Sampson throw. Woody then grabs a bat and stand in the batter’s box to simulate a live hitter, even tho plywood cutouts were available to do the same task. Gamemanship or just jood teamwork on Woody’s part?
Berkman is not yet in a groove and is taking lots of extra BP before and after games and practices. Just isn’t comfortable yet. Too much elevation from the left side and pulling the ball more than he wants.
Quintero sure gets lots of chances in practice and the games – still don’t see what management sees in a catcher who hits .225 – yeah, he’s got a strong arm, but so what? Towles is coming around and is a dead pull hitter – won’t take long for the oppostion to find out.
Cruz Jr was impressive at the plate over the 4 games I saw. Stings the ball hard and often as a switch hitter. Never saw any tough chances in the field for him.
I guess coaches aren’t allowed to actually instruct the major league players, at least not in public. I would arrive at 9 am and go straight to the practice fields. Players would stream out from the locker rooms and begin stretching and drills and such, but I never heard any of the coaches offer any type of instruction, just kept the team on schedule with certain drills and locations. Yeah, they are big-leaguers, but man, get with the program, especially the defensive side of things.
I do this trip once every three / four years. Its a blast and I’m still a die-hard Astro fan, even with the lack of pitching and fielding we’ve assembled. At least the AA picture is interesting – maybe we’ve got some undeveloped talent in the pipeline – hope so.
James