Jeff Bagwell isn’t the only guy off the roster.
Pitchers Ezequiel Astacio (yessssssssssss), Joe Valentine and Dave Borkowski, (so WHERE is Sparks and WHY hasn’t he been released???!!!) were sent to AAA along with Charlton Jimerson, Luke Scott (who was decent, but not on fire like last year), Danny Klassen (who is injured anyhow, and catcher Hector Gimenez. Josh Anderson should be at AA.
It looks to me like Taveras will make the 25 man and play center, with Preston Wilson in left, Jason Lane in right and Lance Berkman at first. Only question is, will Phil get his way and have Eric Munson as backup catcher – a guy who hasn’t caught since 1999 in college? You think that Roy or Andy is gonna agree to be caught by a guy who hasn’t caught in 6 years? So a guy who is the rookiest of rookies is gonna be catching the 4th and 5th guys, which is NOT good. I’d rather see either Quintero or Chavez – at least they know what they’re doing behind the plate, even if they don’t know what they’re doing in front of it. Besides, Phil can pinch hit for them if he has to.
As for pitchers – well, Russ Springer has a pulled muscle in his side and he has hardly pitched at all this ST – just 1 inning, and although he is supposed to pitch a few more times, if his side still hurts, he might could start the year on the DL. So along with the 5th guy, who I STILL hope will be Buchholz, we’ll need another reliever and I hope it will be Nieve. Carlos Hernandez has pitched mostly to minor leaguers and actually hasn’t pitched much at all and I think it’s best for him to start the year in AAA. If he cleans up down there, well then we can bring him back up. I hope I hope I hope Sparks goes back to Sugarland to play with his kids.
8 more days until Opening Day!!!!
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
Good thing that Spring Training stats don’t mean much…especially this year, when the WBC took away most of the talent and forced them to face each other right away in games.
That said, the numbers that stand out:
* Preston Wilson’s 15K’s in 32 AB’s.
* Lance Berkman’s meager 6 RBI’s in 14 games vs. Jason Lane’s 13 RBI’s in 18 games.
* Ensberg, Lamb, and Palmeiro all beneath the Mendoza line.
I think Clemens will come back IF the ‘Stros, on 5/01, are around .500, have a good attitude…and if he wants to play and can still pitch. The last 3 are easier than the first one, given how the ‘Stros always seem to start off slow.
saying the ‘stros start off slow is kinda like saying the market was down in 1929.
and this schedule is weird, too — they play a bunch of games early against the Giants and LA, two teams that they struggle against. They’ve also got games against the Marlins and Nationals, and those won’t be easy. And for some reason, they always seem to have trouble with Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. So it sure doesn’t look like a runaway start. Hanging around .500 would be nice…
Preston is a K machine. Ring him up. but your stats are off, or at least not what i have — i’ve got him at 17 Ks in 47 plate appearances (nine walks). that’s not quite as bad.
they didn’t get him to be a contasct hitter, though; they want him to be a “run producer”. But his OPS is .730, even though his OBP is a respectable .362. ST numbers don’t matter and aren’t representative of regular season performance (just ask Luke Scott), so let’s see what happens.
hi david!!!
- yeah, mo ensberg is NOT swinging well, but at least he’s not lunging at every single thing like he was last fall. but he still don’t look quite right to me. palmeiro is best as a PH – and he should warm up. lamb is streaky, but usually manages to hit better with MOB – but we’ll hafta see…
lane is a damn good player who had a may from hell when he couldn’t hit a basketball if my 3 year old tossed it to him.
and as for roger – well, i think there’s a VERY good possibility he’s gonna be REALLY itching to come back ESPECIALLY if we’re not doing real too well – that way he can be the hero. again. i think he’s gonna have a tough time sitting on dead ass on the sofa drinkin beer and watching the games on tv…
your brewers are gonna be very good this year (wanna trade bill hall? we’ll take him…) a LOT bettern the cubs who all the “experts say gonna be in second place after the cards…
hi steve!!!!
the stats are from mlb.com and they always seem to be a few days off.
-grinning
which is why i am not real too upset over us stinking in ST – especially with phil giving god knows who all these ABs when you KNOW they not gonna make the team. or all the IP for steve freaking sparks. sigh. i don’t pay ST no never mind – brad ausmus looks like tony gwynn in ST. and roger had like an 8 ERA last spring – remember?
yeah, preston wilson is a K machine – at least he’s not a GIDP machine. everyone all fooled about him because of his great year in coors when he was hitting behind todd helton. i’m not expecting real too much.
i was real impressed with luke scott’s plate discipline this spring – i’m hoping he gets called back up when wilson goes down with one of his regular DL times.
i KNOW we always seem to have trouble with pitt. grrrrrrrr. and it’s barry who kills us and heeeeeeeeees baaaaaaack. milwaukee’s gonna be better than a LOT of people think. it’s gonna be REAL hard to repeat. but seems the “experts” are pretty much all putting us with a losting record at 5th and the cubs at 2nd (hahahahahahahaha)
but it’s baseball and youneverknow…
lisa
Well, it looks as if you will get your way with Buchholz. With his last scoreless outing combined with the fact that Carlos Hernandez has been sent down to AAA and that Nieve has been put into more relief roles (and is a more likely relief pitcher than Taylor), it seems as if Buchholz will be getting the nod. At least, he will be on the 25 man opening day. There is an outside chance, according to Alyson Footer, that Hernandez peeks back in to pitch as the 5th starter on 4 days rest. But with Buchholz pitching so good, thats doubtful.
On the catcher part… I disagree. We need an offensive backup, as long as he isn’t BAD at catcher. And from the reports I have heard, Eric is solid now that he has shaken some rust off. We have a defensive catcher as our starter, why not an offensive one for backup?
As far as Andy or Roy-O accepting him as their personal catcher, though… I think it would be useful for Garner to inquire about it to them. At least to get what they think before making a final commitment.
The problem with having a backup catcher that can hit but is average on defense is the temptation to use him as a late-inning PH, usually in a tight game. Then either he stays in the game, under pressure conditions, exposing his defensive weakness, or we hope Brad doesn’t get nicked late in the game. Some of Phil’s decisions already make my brain hurt – this situation will surely add to the pain.
And why is Sparks taking up opportunity from other guys? He got tagged with a loss again today, giving up two in the last inning against the Indians. His ERA is 11+ and 0-3. Who needs this?