Author Topic: Week 7/26 - 8/02: Ask And Ye Shall Maybe Receive vol. XX (Read 11851 times)

Jacksonian · « **on:** July 26, 2005, 04:09:16 pm »

New week. Hopefully I can keep up with the volume dates.

Duman · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2005, 04:13:21 pm »

(I posted this just before Jacksonian locked last week, so I thought I'd post it on this weeks)

When Ryan Reed went to Lexington, he took most of Greeneville's power with him. At the time, he had accounted for 7 of the 10 home runs hit.

This week Greenville has hit 6!

In the last two games, the G-stros have hit 4 homeruns (Clemens, Iorg, Flores & Garcia). All of these were hit in Johnson City which has a short lines (320) and a deep center field (420). It has a hill in right at the base of the wall and the wall is 12 to 15 feet tall. Add two more hit earlier this week (Flores & Florintino-inside the park)

Maybe this is what development look like.

Uncle Charlie · « **Reply #2 on:** July 26, 2005, 04:15:37 pm »

Quote:

New week. Hopefully I can keep up with the volume dates.

Jacksonian - do you have any info about Astacio (see the end of last weeks posting)?

VirtualBob · « **Reply #4 on:** July 26, 2005, 09:33:47 pm »

Pence started this evening in CF for Salem ... 0 for 2 so far.

Duman · « **Reply #5 on:** July 26, 2005, 11:28:50 pm »

The power surge continues. 3 more homers tonight - Iorg (Grand Slam), Graham, Florentino.

Duman · « **Reply #6 on:** July 26, 2005, 11:35:24 pm »

Lou Santagelo was activated off the dl but came out after the second inning any clue what's going on?

Natalie · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2005, 03:47:19 am »

Thanks for all the news on "The hunt man" lol okay sorry that's a nickname my dad always used when he was at our house. He's a good kid. I hope he stays as humble as he is even with the success he's been having since being drafted. My mom and I got a chance to drive to see him play in Aberdeen while he was on the Valleycats. He even gave my mom a game ball, it was one he caught to end the 8th inning of that game. I first met him in 1993 or 1994 when he become good friends with my brother. He's never changed. He's always been so polite. He always calls my parents Mr. and Mrs. I wish him so much success. Not long after he was drafted me, my brother, Hunter, and my best friend we all sitting at Bobby V's (Valentine) in Arlington, Tx talking about how much his signing bonus might be. Crazyness.

Again I really appreciate all the news on him.

Froback · « **Reply #10 on:** July 28, 2005, 01:11:05 pm »

I swear you look up and down the roster and you see tons of .300+ BAs, and .400+ OBP from both Greenville and Tri-City.

This includes Igor and Koby who are both over .400 BAs and just killing the ball!

Too bad our pitching on both those teams has been horrible as a whole!

If we can just get some of those pitchers to break through... they would be winning a ton of games!

Too bad those last two HS pitchers are not taking notice of this! If they would sign, they would get insane run support.

Jacksonian · « **Reply #12 on:** July 29, 2005, 11:21:46 am »

The CC Hooks were the victims of a perfect game last night. 3 Frisco pitchers combined to them shut down.

Duman · « **Reply #13 on:** July 30, 2005, 08:17:52 am »

Outfielder Mitch Einertson is set to return from his home in Oceanside, Calif., ending a three-week layoff.

Legends Manager Tim Bogar said Einertson's absence was because of "some family issues back home."

Reached Thursday night by phone, Einertson's mother, Nickie, said Mitch would "just as soon not" specify what those issues are, but that he plans to rejoin the team Monday.

The Link

Duman · « **Reply #14 on:** July 30, 2005, 08:20:14 am »

This was in the Lexington Paper today:

"After hitting a triple Wednesday, Drew Sutton was thrown out at the plate to end the eighth inning. He was then replaced because he violated an Astros organizational rule -- no head-first slides at the plate." The Link (mid way down the column)

I wasn't aware of this rule. Is this soley to prevent injury or is there anothe thought behind it?

Duman · « **Reply #15 on:** July 30, 2005, 08:24:41 am »

Troy Patton is doing well in Salem. Last night he went 4 innings and retired the first 11 batters! They have been keeping him on a pitch count since his promotion and since the tightness in his sholder. His line was 4 innings, 1 hit, no runs, no walks and 3 k's.

EasTexAstro · « **Reply #16 on:** July 30, 2005, 10:29:51 am »

It is to prevent injury. The Astros are paying these guys to work on their skills so they can help the Astros. Risks in the minors aren't worth it. He wasn't the first this year and probably won't be the last. I seem to recall someone did it sliding into 1st earlier this year, a big no-no, but I can't remember who it was.

Edit: BTW, thanks for doing all these posts every day. It is appreciated.

Duman · « **Reply #18 on:** July 31, 2005, 12:32:29 am »

Tonight, the Astros faced a tough college pitcher. Michael Wlodarczyk out of Boston College pitched a complete game shut out. Very few balls got out of the infield.

Brad James pitched well in the loss. He deserved a better fate. No run support and defense lapses.

Garate walked a tightrope all evening. He did not have a one two three inning. He allowed an inherited runner to score on a balk.

Josh Flores missed two infield singles by a half step. He was pulling the ball tonight as opposed to hitting it up the middle as is his norm. He made a nice catch in left on a tailing line drive.

Iorg and Clemens were both 0 for 3. Clemens had 2 k's and an error. He responded to the error and another ball that was hit sharply by him by showing frustration (picking up dirt and throwing it down.) We need to remember he is still 18 but he needs to learn to manage his emotions. I am sure Russ Nixon and Pete Rancot will discuss this with him.

Duman · « **Reply #21 on:** August 01, 2005, 12:49:52 am »

Greeneville started hot and then faded fast. Koby Clemens 3 run homer capped a 5 run first but the pitching and defence were not there to make it hold up. Some observations:

Iorg can fly- he had a triple and was in the pitcher's head when he was on base. The error was just as much the 2B fault. Iorg was calling for it and the 2B cut right in front and Iorg lost concentration. It still hit his glove and he should have had it.

Flores is still pulling the ball hard to left field. His double was just barely in side the line and the rest of his at bats where he put the ball in play were to the left side.

Clemens crushed his homer to deep left center field (approx 380 feet from home). He sent another one to the warning track. Made his second error in two nights. Both were playable balls.

Ralphie Henriquez earned his money tonight. There were 4 wild pitches. Two by Trinidad and two by Palanco. Chris Campos also threw a 50 foot curve ball. Ralphie had one put out at the plate on a great throw by Flores. He also took a hard hit and dropped the ball on another bang bang play

The only bright spot in the pitching was Chris Campos. Although he took the loss. He gave up 3 hits - an infield single, a solid single that Flores misplayed and a bloop single over a drawn in infield. I worked ahead a great deal of the time and struck out the final four batters of the game. That give him 9 k's in 4.2 innings to only 2 walks and six hits. This kid is a converted outfielder who was blowing guys away tonight. This was his 3rd outing. 1st was great, second stunk and this one a mixed bag.

I have to travel for work so I won't be at any games for the next week or so.

Duman · « **Reply #22 on:** August 01, 2005, 12:54:13 am »

They announced at the game tonight that Koby Clemens will be interviewed on Cold Pizza on ESPN2 around 9 Eastern tomorrow morning. Hope someone can catch it and see what he says.

He is doing a pretty good job of handling the pressure here in the small town of Greeneville. Every kid and most of the parents wants his autograph. There have be more press passes issued here since he arrived than ever before. Tonight, I saw a rep of "At The Yard" magazine walking around. Bet it was for a Koby story.

BTW: Greeneville's record my stink but we lead the league in attendance by a bunch. The ball park is great and the atmosphere is super.

jaklewein · « **Reply #23 on:** August 01, 2005, 10:38:00 am »

Great notes man. I enjoy reading them. Thanks.

JimR · « **Reply #24 on:** August 01, 2005, 01:15:56 pm »

he ain't all that. if we had gotten Moyer and Winn for Nieve and Burke, that would have been a trade worthy of the Hun.

Greg D · « **Reply #28 on:** August 02, 2005, 01:04:28 am »

for Luke Scott in Monday's game in RR against Salt Lake, giving him 13 longballs in his last 27 games.

The Okla. State-ex is mashing homers at a higher rate in AAA this season (23 in 78 games) than he did in AA/A combined last year (27 in 129 games at RR and Salem).

Greg D · « **Reply #29 on:** August 02, 2005, 08:36:50 am »

Baseball America gets a lotta crap in these parts (including from myself), but one feature I've always enjoyed is when they poll each of the managers in a particular league to come up with a best tools list. BA has just published said list for the South Atlantic League, and current and former Lex players pretty much dominate:

Best Batting Prospect: Hunter Pence
Best Power Prospect: Pence
Best Strike-Zone Judgment: Ben Zobrist
Best Pitching Prospect: Troy Patton
Best Breaking Pitch: Jimmy Barthmaier
Best Manager Prospect: Tim Bogar

And from what BA does good to what they do bad, this observation from the Daily Dish :

"After dominating the low Class A South Atlantic League, Astros outfielder Hunter Pence has struggled in his first taste of the Carolina League, collecting just two hits in his first 16 at-bats at Salem before a 2-for-4 performance Sunday. The righthanded-hitting Pence is still looking for his first hit against lefthanded pitching in nine high Class A at-bats. Even while he blistered Sally League pitching at a .338-25-60 clip prior to his promotion, Pence batted 46 points lower against southpaws and hit just five home runs against them."

Some quick observations on this nugget:

1) Pretty quick on the trigger aren't we, to judge a player in the first 5 games after moving to a higher level?
2) 9 ABs are too fucking small a sample size.
3) As far as hitting 5 HRs vs. lefties and 20 HRs vs. righties while at Lex, how much ya wanna bet that 20%/80% split mirrors pretty closely the number of LHPs and RHPs he faced in the SAL?
4) A 46-point differential in batting average ain't that huge, and at this relatively early stage of his career why worry about it? If the disparity were a lot greater and if it were righthanders he was struggling with, only (perhaps) then would it be worth commenting on.

Duman · « **Reply #30 on:** August 02, 2005, 09:49:42 am »

The Lexington Newspaper has a fun piece on which bats players prefer. Nice fluff for an off day.

The Link

Duman · « **Reply #31 on:** August 02, 2005, 09:54:51 am »

Avalanche shortstop Ben Zobrist returned to the starting lineup after missing 10 days with a sore right knee. After drawing a walk in the fifth inning, DeJesus replaced Zobrist with Fernando to pinch run.

"We have to be careful with him and see how he feels before the next game," said Avalanche manager Ivan DeJesus. "He's not at 100 percent. I was worried today with the wet grass, but he needs to go out and fight it off until the season is over."

The Link

all stros · « **Reply #32 on:** August 02, 2005, 11:10:27 am »

I was very pleased this morning when I read that Carlos Hernandez's velocity in his last start got up to 91 six to ten pitches in the game. The article can be found here...

The Link

The article also has a nice piece on Chris Sampson.

VirtualBob · « **Reply #34 on:** August 02, 2005, 03:50:12 pm »

Klassen (at RR) has fallen into a black hole for a week or more ... anybody have an idea what is going on? Is he hurt? Is he due back anytime soon??

Kent's Moustache · « **Reply #35 on:** August 02, 2005, 07:32:48 pm »

Elbow injury, from what I hear...

Duman · « **Reply #37 on:** August 02, 2005, 11:45:31 pm »

Beau went 5 for 5 tonight with 2 doubles and 3 RBI's. This guy has got to be getting some notice. He started the month of July batting .091. He ended July at .275. After his 5 for 5 tonight, he was at .301.

During the month of July he had a 16 game hitting streak. He hit 11 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers. He walks to strike out ratio stinks but that is the only part of his game at the plate that appears to be hurting now.

I thought a .210 increase in average over a month was worth some notice. x

juliogotay · « **Reply #39 on:** August 03, 2005, 02:02:31 am »

Tonight Carlos followed up with an even better outing. 5 IP, one run, 4 hits, 3ks, NO BBs. It appears the trip to see the surgeon and the subsequent program of rest and strengthening exercises may be helping. No report on his velocity tonight. They reportedly also found a mechanical flaw in his delivery that they have been working to correct which may cost him some zip.

InRoyWeTrust · « **Reply #40 on:** August 03, 2005, 04:48:03 am »

Don't look now, but Ben Zobrist and Johnny Ash are tearing the seams off the ball in Salem (Little Ben has a .571 OBP!!!).

Those two have pretty much held their own at every level - I hope we see them in Round Rock by the end of next year, and perhaps a callup in 2 years - especially Zobrist - that kid is just a pure, professional hitter.

Froback · « **Reply #41 on:** August 03, 2005, 11:29:15 am »

You forgot to mention Barthmaier.

He pitched 5 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 8 Ks... and an impressive 6-1 GB/FB ratio... So only 1 of the 15 outs he recorded, were fly balls and only 1 of the 19 batters he faced got a hit, which means at most only 2 of the 19 batters even hit the ball well.

He is really doing well this year, which might have been obscured by how well Patton was doing at Lex at the same time.

Froback · « **Reply #42 on:** August 03, 2005, 11:38:01 am »

Comment #1: Zobrist was back in the line-up last night, after being off the night before. I guess they are just bringing him back slowly or something. He was 1-4, and was lifted for a PR, again last night (like he was on the 31st).

Comment #2: Pence seems to be adjusting fine to High-A, batting .326 and still taking walks. My guess is he will be in AA at least next year.

Question #1: If Johnny Ash is good enough to be lead-off when Zobrist is not in the line-up and he is batting well over .300, why is he not batting #2 (atleast) when Zobrist is in the line-up? Him and Ben alternated at Lexington, but DeJesus always seems to move Ash down to around 7 or 8 when he is not leading off (batted 7th last night).

Question #2: What is the story with Davidson, the Salem Catcher... I know he was injured earlier this year, but he has always been on my radar, ever since he had that season (2002, I believe) when he had like a .500 OBP most of the year at SS. I was just curious what were the expectations of him? Is he just a roster filler till he desides to hang 'em up, or might he develop into at least a Greg Zaun type back-up catcher?

Author Topic: Week 7/26 - 8/02: Ask And Ye Shall Maybe Receive vol. XX (Read 11851 times)

No? in Austin