Wandy wasn’t great, again, but he was good enough to win, especially after Matt Downs (solo homer) and JD Martinez (grand slam) staked him to an early win. I’m not sure exactly what is different about him this year, but he’s striking out a LOT fewer guys, only 6/9 IP down from his career average of 8+ and his walks are way WAY down, to 2/9 IP from his usual 3.1/ 9 IP, and he’s giving up more hits, 9.5 up from his usual 8.5 – not sure why. Seems it started in his game against the Rangers, the best hitting team in baseball – he gave up 10 hits over 6 innings, but lost because the Astros didn’t hit for spit.
This game was not particularly impressive – not a single 1,2,3 inning.
Wandy The Average is here and Wandy the Ace hasn’t been seen for a month. But he’s had good luck at avoiding losses in which he gave up 7 and 9 runs because the opponent was just as bad. Ah well, he’d best pick it up if Luhnow is gonna get anything for him at the deadline.
Which reminds me – it will shock me, and I’m tough to shock – if Luhnow ADDS any salary, other than some guy earning minimum, to the roster. Crane still wants to dump the big 3 salaries, you know. The only guy on the ML roster I’ve heard they refuse to trade is Jason Castro. Don’t ask me why him.
Where was I?
I checked out the strike zone last night for Happ vs Cain – a good deal of Happ’s problem is that he couldn’t get any strikes on the outside corner called, and the ump had an Eric Gregg zone for Cain, especially as the game progressed. Yes, really. And this afternoon, Barry Zito ran into that same strike zone problem. He started by trying to get out Altuve by pitching up and away, hit the corner, couldn’t get strikes, so Altuve walks. It shook Zito enough that he couldn’t hit the outside corner AND he couldn’t get the knee high strike either, and he walked Bixler – of all people. Finally, he couldn’t get ANY pitch ANYWHERE near the strike zone with Lowrie, walked him on 4 pitches. So then he decides to try the high inside strike and he gets the call, so he tries again, but it catches too much of the plate and Julio Daniel, in yet another slump (not counting yesterday) hits it out.
And he’s 5 down, and Zito is MAD because very next strike is a called strike on the outside corner. Maxwell is a free swinger, and swings 2 pitches outside the zone for strikeout. Then CJ comes up and flails at 2 pitches, BOTH outside the zone. That’s called getting yourself out. Which put some life back into Zito and he breezed through the next 2 innings, giving up 2 infield singles and no more walks. Oh yeah – and getting the outside strike, too.
Wandy only got one strike on the black and none at the knees. Then again, he actually did throw way too many pitches out of the strike zone. He got 5 outs on pitches out of the zone though, which is good. Not sure what happened to his command he had earlier this year. I always suspect pain.
Tomorrow, it’s stupid interleague again, now at the Hotbox in Arlington. I hope they win, just to see Nolan Ryan’s sour expression. I hate that man beyond words for destroying my baseball team.
Jordan Lyles faces Yu Darvish, who seems to be Matsuzaka v2 – walks a LOT of guys even on low walk teams like Seattle and Oakland and hopefully, our swingin boyz will use some sense. Then again, Jordan is facing the best hitting team in the ML.
Saturday, Jordan Lyles faces a brand new callup from AA named Justin Grimm, a 23 year old righty who was the Rangers’ 5th rounder in 2010. You know how the Astros Organization keeps braggin on our suckage from AA they got in trade?
Check out Grimm’s line (and compare it to, say Oberholzer et al, at your own peril) 13 GS over 77 IP: 65 H, 3 HR, 14 BB, 67 K: 16 ER/20 R: 1.87 ERA/1.17 WHIP. Oh yeah.
Sunday afternoon? It’s Colby Lewis vs Bud Norris, macho man, who threw a bullpen today. Sprained knee? Sprained hip? Cmon, what could happen?
It was SWEET to see that slam by Martinez, he needed that in the WORSE way.
I just wanna grab him and say “don’t THINK….just SWING”!! Young kids like him
are gonna have growing pains, but he HAS the power……..just “thinks” too much.
Yeah, Wandy was far from being his “ace” self yesterday, and the Giants were
probably all hung over, so it was pretty good to get outta there with a win. The VERY MENTION of Nolan Ryan’s name sends me in third orbit. He was the
O N L Y owner who lobbied for the Astros to move leagues, and we know it.
Since Bud Selig HATED the Astros…….it was a “no brainer”. What *I* don’t get
is the constant ass kissing Drayton did for soooooo long, just to see “his” team
get screwed to the wall. All I can do is hope like hell, one day the Astros will cram this division down Nolan Ryan’s throat. I’ll probably be dead and gone before that happens. Have a good weekend with your family!! Becky
Becky,
I think some voodoo/hexing is in order for the Rangers for the next several season. Preferably till Nolan Ryan dies..so what happens if it works, the Rangers finish behind the Astros every single year.
Preferably in the cellar. It would be so fun to see his bald pated face turn apolopetic every time the Rangers finish last in the AL West while the Astros are waaay above them.
And taunt him about it at every opportunity.
I can dream can’t I ? *wistful expression*
One thing I’ve observed about the past two games is that the Astros have had early leads through the 4th quarter..and don’t handle adversity very well after that.
That botched rundown of the third base runner really unraveled things in the bottom of the 6th. It was pretty obvious that Harrell was thrown off kilter by that play. I just watched Snyder muff that catch in his glove and just put my head down in my hands and said “Here we go..again”
I just looked up Dallas Keuchel’s Triple AAA numbers.
5-4 record, 4.26 ERA (was 2-4, 5.37 in his last 10 yikes !) 80.1 IP, 86 hits, 44R/38ER, 5 HR, 15 walks, 46 K .278 BA (a Maalox inducing .307 over the last 10)
Not the prettiest numbers but he apparently doesn’t walk many people but that’s about the only positive I can draw from that.
Eric
Somebody needs to help me because, I’m going to K I L L every coach on this team………..INCLUDING this sorry ass manager. Mills has ALREADY pitched Lopez’s arm off………and ANYONE else in that pen, whose name is NOT Brett Myers……….should get DFA’D as soon as possible. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Keuchel pitched better than expected. The bullpen just was the gashouse gang tonight. Particularly Froddy – he was pretty liberal with the incendiaries.
Eric
becky
trouble is that we don’t HAVE any other relievers. and we don’t have ed wade any more and the only thing he was any good at was finding el cheapo relievers on the scrap heap. maybe we could pick up brad lidge, who has been DFAd
Ann,
maybe keuchel got pulled a lil too early. Froddy has been rode hard and put away wet and he sure did stumble.
sigh