Since the All Star Break, the Astros are 9-9 and in the midst of a difficult stretch of games. All things considered though, things could be much worse. Injuries to our best pitcher and best position player, a platoon at third base that isn't exactly tearing up the NL, and a 37 year old catcher who is playing way too much. All of this probably should lead to thoughts about 2010, not a playoff push.
One area where the Astros definitely do not excel in is drawing walks. The virtues of walking are many, and are most times directly correlated to runs scored. The top three teams at getting on via the free pass, the Rays, Yankees and Rockies are all top run scoring teams. Our Astros are on the other end of that spectrum and it's extremely unlikely that this leopard will be able to change it's spots this season. August is three games old, and there no Astros have drawn a walk.
Hunter Pence has shown a recent trend towards reversing his July non walking habit. Michael Bourn hasn't been the most patient hitter on the planet but he has improved since last year's disastrous performance. Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum/Jeff Keppinger don't walk much, nor do they strikeout frequently, so perhaps their inability to display a willingness to walk isn't as bad. Pudge Rodriguez has a 69/12 K/BB ratio...moving on!
A combination of low walks, low OBP and low extra base potential pretty much sums up the Astros offense. The schedule won't get any easier, and if the Astros want to remain relevant it looks like the pitching will have to get better because our veteran bats aren't going to change their AB strategies.
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What a difference four months makes. The April starting rotation of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton is no more. As of today, only three fifths of that group are scheduled to make their next start.
Felipe Paulino will be inserted into the rotation tonight in place of Roy Oswalt, and has mixed results in the majors. His time spent in Round Rock has resulted in a low ERA, but a troubling 19/17 K/BB ratio. Bud Norris out-dueled Adam Wainwright on Sunday, and nobody knows if his future lays in the rotation or as a reliever. Any mistep by Mike Hampton or Brian Moehler may result in Yorman Bazardo being moved to the Astros to join his former Round Rock compatriots.
This type of movement between levels is common for a lot of teams, but the Astros have in the past been hesitant to address challenges such as injury with internal solutions. Fortunately, there have been options on the farm and the big league team has taken advantage of them. Whether or not Norris and Paulino reward their club's confidence is another story.
0 recs | 9 comments
you have to be patient with young starting pitchers.
young starting pitchers will be very inconsistent. it’s very rare to see those who come up to the big leagues and exhibit consistency in their rookie year (Oswalt is an example of the exception who makes the rule). Just look at some of the big name, premium starting pitcher prospects….almost all have been inconsistent, whether their name is Hughes, Price, Buchholz, or Chamberlin. Look at Kershaw’s and Billingsley’s inconsistency when they first arrived in the majors.
What I’m getting around to is….don’t be disappointed in Paulino yet. He has pitched extraordinarily well at times and extraordinarily badly at times. That’s nothing new for a rookie pitcher. I have no idea which kind of performance we will see tonight, but even if it’s bad, you have to show patiences.
clack - August 4, 2009
Kershaw last night - I think he set a career mark for walks
Manny Parra – demoted to AAA and really bad in a bunch of starts earlier – pretty good. If his inherited runners hadn’t scored he would have gone 8 with 2 earned. Lots of fans want him to be dumped for being inconsistent.
ol Pete - August 4, 2009
Great point.
Young pitchers will definitely be inconsistent and it’s part of the maturation process. But at least young pitchers have a chance to improve over time. Ortiz was inconsistent and was not likely to improve at all. Hopefully the Astros are smart and stick with Norris and Paulino for the rest of the season.
jmike - August 4, 2009
Greg Lucas made an interesting point on twitter last night via the FSHouston twitter page
He basically said what’s wrong was Paulino could be fixed by experience.
Timothy De Block - August 5, 2009
Wandy thanked Quintero for helping win NL pitcher of the month for July
Pudge said a pitcher pitches best when he and the catcher are on the same page
Paulino shook off Quinteros’ calls often yesterday (says a lot)
Joe in Birmingham - August 5, 2009
Add GIDP to your offense summation
Also,
Astros have gone 30 innings without a walk: 3 games and four innings
Wandy is hurting and while he likely will make his next start, that’s not a given yet.
Back in April, who would have thought the Astros healthiest starters in the first week of August would be Mike Hampton and Brian Moehler (or that ther Astros most dependable relievers would be named Arias and Fulchino.)?
Joe in Birmingham - August 4, 2009
And..........
The ’Stros are only a few games out of 1st place with all of this mayhem.
Cactus Jack Sancho - August 4, 2009
Gotta love the NL Central.
Elephande - August 4, 2009
GIDP
While the Astros are not particularly adept at drawing walks, they have mastered the art of hitting into double plays.
Professional Assassin - August 6, 2009
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