SB Nation - Login for mobile commenting

The Crawfish Boxes

ST Game No. 14: Houston Astros at Detroit Tigers

Grapefruit League record (thought meaningless): 5-5

Today's starters:

Lineups will be posted as soon as we see them.

Listen to the game here. If you are in the Houston area, you can listen to the game on 790 KBME.

0 recs  |  120 comments

Comments

Arggh

Why is my MLB.TV always jumpy?

This one's on FSN Houston, by the way

For those of you (with cable) in the Houston area.

It's about time

I’m watching it on tv. It really gets the blood flowing.

Both the Astros and the Tigers go 1-2-3 in the first inning

Paulino gives up one hard hit ball, but right to Pence, and two groundouts. Misses some but doesn’t walk anybody.

Bases loaded

Astros – Go down 1,2,3
Tigers – walk, groundout (uncompleted double play), wild pitch, Strikeout, walk, walk.

Paulino having control issues today.

End of the second inning

Everett flyout

WhoooHooo!

First time I’ve seen Astros on High Def.

Feels good to watch baseball again.

Matsui fly out with men on first and second to end our side of the inning.

Paulino watching groundballs squirt through holes now

He’s pitching better this inning, but runners on second and third with no outs.

Two singles to lead off the inning against Paulino. First GB was a ball bounced in the hold past SS. Damon with the 2d GB, a bouncer between 1st baseman and 2d baseman.

correction, make that “hole” not “hold”

Now a K for first out.

Nice K

Paulino showing some mental toughness with runners on…

Sac fly to shallow CF scores a Tiger run. Borgeoise is playing CF, but didn’t have a chance with Austin Jackson as the runner.

Guillen with a hard hit double between CF and LF. Another run scores.

So-so outing for Paulino

Not terrible, certainly not great. He looked like he found his control a little more and was attacking batters in the third inning, but got bit by some groundballs squirting through holes and Pence deciding not to hit the cutoff man.

The second inning (when no runs scored) was when I thought he looked worst, with three walks and a wild pitch.

Pedro Feliz's error

I see Pedro Feliz was charged with an error for not catching a ball. Did that lead to a run scoring ?

Good point, the box score says both runs are earned though, maybe because of that double.

You can see why the radio guys keep joking about Arnsberg

Guy loves to talk.

Detroit TV Feed

Long interview with Astros Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. Very interesting .

Jim DeShaies doing commentary on the video feed

This is a step up from the normal broadcast

yes.

JD was interviewing Arnsberg. He said he doesn’t have a big problem with Paulino’s walks today. He said that all of the hard throwers, like Beckett and Burnett, he has coached go through the period of walking lots of batters. He said that high velocity arms and walks tend to go together. What he is concerned with is that hard throwers tend to rely too much on the fastball when they get in a bind. The implication seemed to be that he wants Paulino to throw more breaking pitches in those situations.

Arnsberg made some point like

hard throwers who fall back on fastball when ther back is against the wall tend to throw too many picthes to a batter who will foul them off and then walk about after 10-15 pitches.

He didn’t say but I guess his point was throw fewer pitches including a variety of pitches teh pitcher will either walk the guy fast or get him out. Either way fewer pitches per batter;and presumably per inning (and don’t worry – your supportive pitching coach will understand)

In a short period of time, he made a number of points about this issue. He also said that he had just talked with Paulino about this. It was hard to distinguish what he told Paulino and what he was telling the viewers. (I sort of get the impression that he tells Paulino “don’t worry about the walks,” and “use all your pitches,” but then tells us “of course, walks are bad and you don’t want to put runners on base without an error or hit, etc.”

I definitely see Arnseberg’s point about that last inning. When he got runners in scoring position, Paulino kept throwing heat. But Guillen probably is a great fastball hitter, and you aren’t going to get him out on high velocity FBs unless you also mix in some other pitches.

Chris Sampson pitching
Adam Everett with a looping single

has one more hit than the entire Astros lineup

Tigers don't score

JD going to broadcast booth (he was in the dugout area)

Sampson with a nice defensive play. Bouncing ball went to right of 1st baseman and his throw to a running Sampson was off line. Sampson used some nice footwork to tag runner before he got to 1st base.

Johnny Damon with a dandy diving catch to rob Feliz of a hit.

Jd

Talking about the chances of a platoon at catcher. I agree with him. I would love to see a good split between the two

Because one bats right handed and one bats left handed

me, too. But Levine’s article today said that Quintero is guaranteed the back up slot.

Yea but

I would like too believe that if bothyoung guys keep performing well, and Q doing his usual, that management would rather go with the platoon between Castro and Towels

I’d like to see them splitting catcher duties after the first half of the season. I’d hate to see Towles squeezed for at-bats because I think the tendency will be to run Castro out there more often, with him being the catcher of the future and all that.

What if they

Did a teraditional lefty righty split, but made sure Towels got at least 3 games a week regardless of the pitcher. I think it would provide both guys a chance to getin a good rythym. I would rather have that than 40 games from Q this year.

Lefty-righty platoons at catcher are harder to arrange because you would like to have bonds develop between catchers and pitchers, which is why the tendency is to assign catchers to pitchers. Last year, when Coste was here, he was assigned to one pitcher (Oswalt), meaning that he was catcher for Oswalt even if the opposing pitcher was a lefty. However, he also got assignments based on the opposing pitcher’s handedness. But the approach probably requires a tailored approach. (i.e., catchers assigned to pitchers, but assignments are tweaked when the opposing pitcher is a tough lefty or righty.

What if they

Did a traditional lefty righty split, but made sure Towels got at least 3 games a week regardless of the pitcher. I think it would provide both guys a chance to getin a good rythym. I would rather have that than 40 games from Q this year.

Srry about the double post
Manzella solo HR

Showing a little power

Opposite field home run into right-center. Tigers lead 2-1

Oposite field too.

Sullivan singles afterward

Manzella gets first hit today...and it's a HR to opposite field.

wind-aided according to JD.

Probably true, but that was hit pretty deep. Takes some power to get it out there even with the wind.

Jason Beorgeois walked

Runners on First and second
Detroit pitching change

Matsui walked

Bases loaded

Hunter Pence batting

2 outs

JD is so good

can’t wait for Astros TV to starts

3-2 count on Pence; bases loaded

foul
foul
struck out on a very high pitch

Swinging for the fences that whole at bat

He could’ve worked a walk on that last pitch. Too bad.

Lyon in to pitch

Gets behind the first batter 2-0

Walks Damon on 5 pitches.

Now gives up a double. Runners on the corners, nobody out. Control isn’t as advertised, but that’s to be expected at this point given his shoulder issue and missing much of the spring.

single not double

Yes, my mistake.

Gets a groundball DP, one run scores. 3-1 Tigers, two out with nobody on.

And he’s out of it. 1IP, 1H, 1BB, 1ER.

Double play

Run scored

Nice GDP ball. Runs scores but two outs now. Detroit broadcasters are confirming something Tigers fans have told us—-Lyon’s performance increased when he started using cutter more. When he came from D-Backs, he only used cutter on LHB. Tigers pitching coach persuaded Lyon to use cutter on RHBs, and he did so at mid-season, resulting in an excellent second half to season. Both JD and Tigers’ announcers say that Astros knew about that change and gave them confidence in offering Lyon 3 year contract.

Also Phil Garner and Leyland are very close. During Garner’s tenure, there was a lot of exchange of ideas between Leyland and Garner.

Above was a reply to post below. Sorry.
Didn't realize how many links there were between these two teams

Shelton, Everett, Lyon, Valverde…

Wild start to NCAA Big Dance

Old Dominion beat Notre Dame 51-50

Robert Morris and Villanova in OT

BYU Beats Florida in 2OT

Villanova won 73-70 in OT
Ron Washington situation.

(And, no, that’s not like the “Bonnie Situation,” if you remember Pulp Fiction.) Apparently, Rangers made public his cocaine incident because the team was being blackmailed. This is an interesting article which says that a terminated Rangers’ employee knew details of the incident and threatened to go to the press unless his demands were met. Rangers met some of the demands. But the team balked at giving the employee a “glowing recommendation” and another unknown demand. Employee was very unhappy but kept quiet until mid spring training. Washington received a call from Sports Illustrated asking questions, and knew that the blackmailer may have acted. Team decided to go public with a press conference.

"Zero Tolerance" on Washingotn says owner Hicks

No one expects Washington to use drugs again, but if he does he’s gone sayeth Hicks.

sounds like extortion to me

the reporter used the term “blackmail,” but that’s a good question whether it should be called extortion. The difference between the terms:

The terms “extortion” and “blackmail” are terms routinely used interchangeably, but they are distinct concepts. Extortion means forcing someone to do something, usually give up something valuable under threats of injury, death or other illegal harm. Blackmail means specifically obtaining something of value under the threat to disclose something shameful or disreputable about a person. This can be true even if it would not have been illegal to simply make the reputation-damaging information public.
Sullivan tripled to right center

2 outs

JD thinks Sullivan currenlty has edge

in making the team as the final outfielder

Seems like it. Not a great spring for Bourgeois, plus Sullivan is left-handed. I suspect Bourgeois will go and play a lot of second base at Round Rock with Vallejo down for probably most of the season.

Jason Bourgeois singled Sullivan home

3-2

Bourgeois also in the running for the final outfield spot

Levine said that the 5th outfielder competition is down to Maysonet, Bourgeois, and Sullivan. He thinks Sullivan has the edge. Maysonet will be taking a lot of flyballs in practice and may play in the outfield in future spring games.

Shouldn't Maysonet be readied to play shortstop

in case something happens to Manzella?

Maysonet has played quite a bit of shortstop so far this spring. I think this is just the reality that there is no opening on the roster for Maysonet unless the team keeps only 4 true outfielders. Wade said that Maysonet’s best chance of making the team is if he shows the versatility to play both outfield and shortstop. Of course, the benefit of keeping Maysonet in lieu of the 5th outfielder is that he provides a back up to Manzella. Maysonet has had a very good spring; so it makes sense that the Astros try to find a way to keep him.

Wirh Bourgeois on first as a threat to steal

2 pitchouts

Then Bourgeois stole second!

Payign attention to Bourgeious

leads to a 3-0 count on Matsui

who grounds out

More NCAA

Murray State leads Vanderbilt by 4 at the half.

Sam Houston State and Baylor tied with 6 minutes left in the half (sorry Drayton)

A SHSU win would be a shocker.

one of several I bet

Old Dominions beating Notre Dame and Robert Morris almost taking out Villanova are attention grabbers. too.

and ditto if that Murray State lead over Vandy holds up
Very early North Texas leads K-State

8-7

Wesley Wright pitching ; Cash catching

Runner on second
no outs

Linie drive off Wesley Wright's back or butt -

he runs it down and gets the runner at first

Drew Meyer ties game up with HR.

Although wind aided, the HR was a hard line drive.

Drew Meyer solid homerun to tie the game
Sam Houston State leads Baylor by 1 at the half

31-30

Gary Majewski pitching

Holding on by his fingertips – he cannot afford any more bad outings.

At 6’5" I bet he’s imposing

Majewski clocking at 92-94MPH with life

Hitting his spots too. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen on the few games I’ve gotten to watch where he’s pitched.

He has always been a groundball inducing pitcher in his career too.

His FIP has always been solid in the minors but so far it hasn’t translated to the next level.

Strikeout/throwout double play.

Majewsky was a good relief pitcher at one time in his career…a top late inning reliever. He was so good that the Nationals (Frank Robinson was manager at the time) overused him. He was a key player in a multi-player trade to the Reds (Nats got Felipe Lopez), and came down with arm problems. The Reds said that Bowden, the Nats GM, knew that the Nats had ruined Majewsky’s arm but didn’t tell them. The Reds filed a complaint against Bowden with the commissioner. Don’t know what became of it. But the story for Majewsky ends up with arm surgery. He is from Houston and would love to play here.

Irony that Majewski and Lopez now teammates in Houston

Felipe Lopez signed with the Cardinals.

oops - confused him with Pedro Feliz

I need food (and a better memory)

Majewski's inning

Ground out to Keppinger;
 single under Manzella’s glove;
I missed the second out (listening to JD)
Kevin Cash throwws out runner try ign to steal

It was a strikeout/throwout DP.

No wonder I missed the second out

Bewtween watching Cash throw out the runner by a mile
and listening to JD talk about eating at Luby’s
I did not pay attention to what happend at the plate

I miss Luby’s. I used to have a work at an office park which shared a parking lot with a Luby’s.

I haven’t had any lunch today, you guys are making me hungry.

same here

Four pieces of candy has kept me alive

I though of leaving a few innnigs back for a burger.

2-0ut single by Jason Bourgeois
Bourgeois steals second

no throw

Chapman continues to impress with the Reds.
If this report is correct, he may make the Reds true contenders:

His fastball touched 100. His slider was sharp. And he showed a new wrinkle.

"He had a nasty sinker, a two-seamer we didn’t even know he had," Baker said. "He’s slowly but surely adding to his repertoire of pitches. He’s feeling more confident."

Chapman wowed the scouts at Goodyear to see him.

"He’s their best pitcher," a National League scout said. "How can they think about starting him in the minors?"
Astros don't score

Tigers batting in the bottom of the ninth

I just saw an Astros shortstop

catch a grounder behind second and throw the runner out at first.

I really did.

Majewski still pitching

JD isn’t sure that the Astros brought any more pitchers with them.

Tigers win

6-5

Game over---with 2 outs, three straight hits to CF.
Consecutive tigers reach base after 2 outs

now a third hit just ended the game

5-4

Let's go get something to eat

I’m hungry.

mlb article about Paulino's outing.

Let me give credit to Anthony DiComo’s Astros.com article about Paulino’s outing today. How many times do you see mainstream news articles discussing BABIP?

Last season, Paulino struck out 93 men in 97 2/3 innings, an indication of his electric stuff. He also walked just 37 batters, an indication of his ability to control it.

The most startling statistic, however, and perhaps the most telling, was the fact that the opposition’s batting average on balls in play — in simple terms, a measure of how lucky or unlucky a pitcher is — clocked in at .368. No pitcher who qualified for the ERA title had a BABIP higher than .339, meaning Paulino ranked among the unluckiest players in all of baseball.

That is the statistical explanation for the fact that Paulino’s fine strikeout rate and fine walk rate translated into a 3-11 record and 6.27 ERA.

He goes on to discuss Arnsberg’s diagnosis.


The practical explanation is that Paulino became a different person pitching out of the stretch, his mechanics flying out of whack and his effectiveness suffering. To that end, Astros pitching coach Brad Arnsberg began working with Paulino this spring to fix the discrepancy.“He’s really in the process of making nice adjustments,” Arnsberg said Wednesday evening on the team’s “Astroline” radio show. “It’s going to be a little bit of a longer process, the cleanup of the delivery. It’s something that’s imperative to this kid.”

Until he reviews video and talks with Arnsberg, Paulino can’t be sure whether he was struggling through the same issues Thursday. It’s a genuine concern — because of the walks, he can’t chalk this one up to simple bad luck.

But even if his mechanics were faulty, Paulino now knows how to fix them. Arnsberg has given him a blueprint, which he intends to follow.

“That’s what I’m working on in Spring Training,” Paulino said.

I was actually going to mention this because I forgot. Was a surprisingly good article, thanks for sharing it!

You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of The Crawfish Boxes to post a comment.