Roy-0, he sure did stir it up with his caustic on the record remarks yesterday, saying that the team, uh, um, wasn’t, uh, playing with determination to WIN. Berkman held a players only meeting today and the guys, uh, talked it out a bit. Whatever it was, it sure nuff took it out of Berkman, because he didn’t reach base or drive in a run today. Matsui, Grit, Bourn each drove in 1 and Keppinger had the game winner, a solo homer juuuuuuust barely over the LF wall ( woulda been a double offn the scoreboard at home, but hey, the Crawford Boxes giveth and the Crawford Boxes taketh away…
Moehler pitched VERY well. The HP ump, for the second day in a row, did a very good job calling balls and strikes – the only 2 mistakes were on pitches made to Pujols – he called 3 low strikes over 2 AB as balls, but it didn’t cost the Astros. Not real too sure why Coop pulled him after only 75 pitches to have Maysonet bunt – hey, even Moehler can bunt, but that’s Coop fer ya. Moehler only gave up 1 hard hit ball and that was the double to Lugo on an inside FB at the knees. He IBBd Pujols, got a grounder, then gave up a single which scored both Lugo and Pujols. But he only threw 14 pitches and was very sharp.
I don’t see the point of pulling a pitcher to have someone else go up and do what a pitcher was gonna do anyway. Then he wastes 3 pitchers in the next inning – Gervacio, Byrdak and Fulchino, Byrdak and Fulchino pitching to just 1 hitter each.
I’m sorry, but that is just stupid. Byrdak is NOT a LOOGY, Fulchino is NOT a ROOGY and Gervacio can get leftys out. It’s like Cooper can’t believe that a team just might could actually NEED a pitcher in a few innings. Or even the next day, and we DON’T have a day off this time.
Valverde got a 2 out save. With the score tied, the reasoning behind NOT having Fulchino throw more than 3 pitches is, WHAT? If Holliday had managed to catch Keppinger’s homer, which he just missed, like WHO was gonna pitch the 10th?
Every time I hear people talking about how all the losing isn’t Coop’s fault, besides pointing to his walking Johsnons to pitch to Hanley Ramirez, using an obviously hurting, spent pitcher, I point to his doing stupid stsuff like burning through 3 pitchers in 1 inning when they are ALL sharp. And doing it 2 nights in a row.
good grief
Tomorrow, we go to the BOB and face the Dbax, who we just saw 10 days ago. It’s Yorman Bazardo vs Max Scherzer.
Oh yeah – both Hawkins and Valverde have been pulled back from waivers so no trades. Peachy. This way, Drayton can pretend this team is still in contention, which they are, for 3rd place in the Central. And we aren’t gonna call up any young players who aren’t on the 40 man, or even Bogusevic. Just great. Now we can all eagerly look forward to Aaron Boone, the Saviour Of The Team.
good grief
If Drayton wants fans to come to the ballpark, he’d best be giving us some sort of reason besides Aaron Freaking Boone and his lifetime ERA+ of 94. And it sure has amused me how many Astros fans are indignant that Roy-O had the NERVE to say what he did and he should be traded like Billy Wags. Who does he think he is, Biggio/Bagwell?????
Fire Coop and then see what happens. The first thing they need is a decent manager and Coop is not it.
couldn’t agree more
i didn’t think ANY manager could make me miss phil garner. i was wrong. coop is the classic example of out of the frying pan into the fire
They change front office and managerial staff so quickly that it’s hard to say what is whose fault anymore. All I know are these things:
1) They keep firing good pitching coaches for no apparent reason.
2) They keep firing bad hitting coaches and replacing them with more bad hitting coaches.
3) Drayton isn’t interested in a manager with any spine or talent at all. Guess they’d be a risk to his power. It’s a little thing we in Texas call Jerry Jones Syndrome.
4) SOMEONE (I’m guessing it’s Drayton since it’s been on-going throughout 4 managers and 3 GMs just this decade) is obsessed with low-cost, low-reward players. I understand taking a shot on a cheap player that could really produce. But taking a shot on cheap (or sometimes not even THAT cheap) players who haven’t done anything for years (I’m looking at you, Dwight Gooden, Dave Burba, Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, Pudge, Alan Zinter, and so on and so on) is just annoying and stupid.
I agree that a manager is a place to start. But I don’t know that this team is going to get any better until SOMEONE convinces Drayton that you don’t build championship teams on the cheap. Unless your the Marlins, but nobody in the Astros organization is that patient.
the low cost low reward guys?
i wonder if it isn’t the fact that they are mostly “proven” major leaguers. drayton seemed to prefer those kinds of guys instead of using his own young guys – like walt jocketty, he decided that young players are what you use to get major leaguers.
only real exceptions being a few guys who were picked up offn the waiver wire, but they were almost all relief pitchers
Lisa, do you think Fulchino has closer potential?
interesting question
i sure wouldn’t have any problem trying him out there. i would rather do that than pay 10 mill for valverde, or whatever he is gonna get