Yeah, I coulda mentioned that this is the second time in 3 starts that Brandon Backe has given up 11 ER. Or that he gave up TWO grand slams (why on EARTH did Coop leave him in at 119 pitches with bases loaded to face Young after he had just walked Drew????) Oh yeah – and 5 walks. I mean, Coop is the guy who pulls pitchers after 8 innings of 3 hit no run ball for absolutely NO reason whatsoever – no wonder the players don’t hide their contempt for him.
And all yall were complaining about Wandy yesterday – he just gave up 2 squiggly hits, no homers and a billion walks. And only 4 runs.
The game was just ugly – at least the relievers didn’t give up 8 runs today.
So let’s talk about Wiggy, who has a 14 game hitting streak goin on – started on Aug 3. Since then, he’s 23/47 with 5 HR, 1 triple, 5 double, 12 runs scored and 13 RBI; his average is now up to .302.
I guess I should mention that Lance also knocked in runs yesterday and today.
I also guess that I should mention how shocked SHOCKED I am that Matsui is back on the DL – this time with a back problem.
They called up J.R. House to use as a pinch hitter (he drove in a run today.) Milo was quite contemptuous of House, saying he was just a AAAA guy unable to hit ML pitching. He sure has had his chances all right – 58 ML AB over 30 games – yeah Milo – more than enough to judge his ability to hit in the majors. I’m TIRED of Milo. Very tired of Milo. To be nice about it…
And tomorrow, Roy faces Randy Johnson.
Roy has done very well against Arizona in the past – 6-1 in 8 GS with a 2.57 ERA.
The Unit, on the other hand, is 4-0 in 6 GS against us. He was quite shaky in his game against the Astros earlier this year – 6 ER/4 IP (one of†our bad bullpen games again) but has had 5 good starts in a row – 0 ER/7 IP vs the cubs; 0 ER/7 IP vs the Giants; 1 R/6 IP vs the Dodgers; 2 ER/7 IP vs the Bucs, then last start, 2 ER/6 IP vs the Rox.
Meanwhile, there is gonna be an hour long lovefest for Biggio tomorrow as he gets his number retired. A whole lot of people are gonna give speeches – the Box is gonna be packed.
Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, MLB
I don’t get Coop’s love for Blum. Blum is hitting .235/.271/.423 this year. He has no business batting cleanup. Wigginton is the third-best hitter on the team. With Carlos out, Wigginton should be batting 4th. This isn’t something difficult to understand – it’s basic baseball knowledge. Sometimes Coop’s lineup card is mind-bogglingly weird, and tonight’s was a great example.
And Tejada leads the Astros in grounding into double plays. It doesn’t help that he typically bats behind Carlos and Lance, who (if they’re on base) aren’t going to be able to avoid it, but Tejada doesn’t have the speed to get the fielder’s choice, either. And the real problem is that Tejada swings at everything he sees, and the result is a lost of infield ground balls.
And why is Bourn not playing regularly? Did he just have the night off? Because the last two games cemented the “no playoff chance” thing and we might as well get Bourn some more plate time.
coop’s lineups often make ZERO sense.
although i most definitely did like wiggy leading off before he got hot 2 weeks ago.
tejada has no business hitting 3rd any more. the only reason he hasn’t GIDP more is that many times, the hitting the ball right at the SS is the 1st or 3rd out
coop said he’s going with righty/lefty matchups – hello PHIL. and with “the hot hand” – which means that if michael bourn hit a homer last night he’d be in the lineup.
but he’s been sent in to face lincecum and seeing how he went ofer (like almost everyone else) and how he couldn’t hit a tough lefty or 2 tough lefty relievers in pinch hitting, he’s gonna be grabbing bench.
shrug
it’s the psychobilly cadillac…
I don’t really have a problem with going with the “hot” hand, but I’ve never been all that sold that you have to go with the righty-lefty thing. A good hitter can hit righties or lefties, just like a good pitcher can get hitters out from both sides of the plate. I guess I should still cut Cooper some slack because he’s still a rookie manager, but so far, I’m just not impressed. I have reminded a lot of people that he was given a team that no manager in baseball could win with.
I don’t know why they got Blum in the first place. Coming into this season, I heard Astros fans saying we had a killer’s row lineup and the deepest bench in the majors with Erstad, Blum and Loretta. Laughable. Erstad’s been a pleasant surprise, but other than that, they’re just old men who aren’t getting us any closer to a pennant.
And I’ll tell you what the problem is with the hot hand. Luke Scott in Baltimore. He’s getting regular playing time and not ALWAYS getting benched when they play lefties and not getting benched because of a slump, and he’s hit his stride. He’s putting up solid numbers as a low guy in the lineup. If Garner hadn’t gone with the hot hand, we might have three outfielders capable of putting up 20+ HR and 60+ RBI instead of an aging, lead-gloved shortstop who strikes out too much and grounds into too many double plays. That’s the problem with going with the hot hand. You miss a lot of good streaks with guys riding the pine.