Gee, is there anything more to say? Besides noting that Keppinger has the range of a cast-iron stove?
hahahaha
Well, yes, guess there IS more to say.
First, Lance Berkman definitely WAS safe at home. I’ve checked the replays and there is absolutely NO question. The ump missed it – it’s Lance’s patented slide and touch home with your hand. I’ve noticed over the years that the few times that Lance argues with umps, he is always right and they DID miss the call. I guess the umps have decided to go ahead and eject anyone who argues with them – Lance isn’t exactly violent and I seriously doubt he called an ump The Magic Word. On the other hand, he might could have offered to donate his Mama’s glasses to help the poor guy out a lil, seeing as how he had a lil bit of trouble…
But fact is that again, too many guys were left on base. Keppinger, all rusty from days and days of having his butt glued to the pine, struck out twice (and this is the guy who was touted as A Guy Who Puts The Ball In Play!!!)
And speaking of putting balls in play, I see that SOMEone decided to get rid of the terminally useless Jason Smith and call up Maysonet. All I can say is that boy best come up and hit .400 and drive in a whole lot of runs right away or he is gonna be declared A Failure on the basis of maybe 20 PA, IF he is lucky enough to get that many.
And speaking of failure.
I suppose I should say something about the bullpen. Again.
I actually don’t fault Ed Romero for pulling Roy after getting a K, then giving up a walk and a single in the 7th. Roy struggled basically all night, giving up ELEVEN hits and constantly battling his way with MOB, except for the 4th, in which he struck out the side. I know he was throwing in the mid 90s, but the movement was gone. Major Leaguers, even Jason Freaking Smith, can hit straight FB.
However, I actually DO fault him for not having any semblance of a plan, other than to use the entire freaking pen up, having each reliever face 1 guy. Unless Felipe Paulino pitches 8 innings, we’re in trouble again. It’s pretty silly to do the LOOGY/ROOGY thing, with very few exceptions.
And we have the heavily media hyped stupid Interleague thingy this weekend. At least we don’t have to watch the evil travesty that is the DH – which has ruined baseball FAR more than steroids.
I figure it’s Paulino’s last chance to prove himself, as Backe si doing quite well on his rehab in the minors, and at least he has a history of getting Major Leaguers out. Most of the time…
Tags: Houston Astros
Is it just me, or do players get thrown out when they’re right and the ump knows it?
BTW, taking my son to his first Astros game tonight.
That’s cool, Kevin. I hope y’all have a great time. I remember my first Astros game. They were playing the Braves in the Dome. My brother almost caught a foul ball that hit some poor old lady in the head. And the Astros lost. That was when the Braves were great and the Astros were…not so much.
And that’s at least the second time I’ve seen Berkman get thrown out in, what seemed to me to be, hasty fashion. The other time was when he got called out at first and threw his helmet. I know that throwing equipment is supposed to be an automatic ejection, but nobody gets tossed for that and they do it all the time. Magic word…I seriously doubt it. It’s Lance Berkman.
You could read his lips. He said, “NO WAY!”