As I sit down to write, the Astros have just completed a piss-poor week. The 2-4 record on the road doesn’t really do justice to the frustration this trip has induced thus far. It started off well, with Biggio hitting for the cycle behind an effective Oswalt in the Astro-Graveyard one mile in the sky. Although things have gone better for this club in recent years in Coors, coming away with a split is nothing to be sniffed at.
However, the manner of the defeats in games #2 and #3 caused concern. Reynolds served up a 2-on meatball to scrub catcher Burnett, and blew a winnable game. Much mileage was made by the TV mediots of how one bad pitch can kill you in Coors. Really? I’m still trying to work out how one bad pitch managed to get runners at the corners in addition to the homer. Then, the much vaunted offense failed to capitalize on an unexpectedly solid performance from Super Dave Mlicki. Instead they scattered mostly singles, managing only one run which came on Doggie’s second solo ya-ya of the series.
Then on to St. Louis, where the offensive anemia continued. Whilst Marrero and Edmunds feasted on Astros pitching, the home bats remained largely silent. The dearth of timely hits, or extra base hits of any kind continued. I lost count how many times they loaded the bases only to burn an out with a K or pop-up. Big innings were something only the other team had. This was play-off baseball the way only the Astros seem to know how.
So what’s up? Bagwell has a fine average and sports an OBP over .500, but has only 3 extra base hits and no dingers to date. Ausmus has been a spark plug, with a fine BA and SLG%. Berkman hit the ball hard early on and has slowed a little, but still takes his walks. Ward has done it all (although he is harder to walk than 101 Dalmatians).
Here’s what’s up: Biggio boosted his numbers no end with his cycle, but still has a BA and OBP which are sub-par for a lead-off hitter. That means that they’re waaaay down for Craig. Berkman is batting only a smidge over .250. Doggie, despite a couple of long balls in Coors has sucked wind in the #5 spot – his BA, OBP and SLG are all pathetic. Ensberg and Everett have tried, but are both flirting with the Mendoza line.
Essentially, this is the sum of all fears for the Astros offense: a drop off by Biggio, a cooling off of Berkman, a continuation of Hidalgo’s 2001 trials at the plate, and three pitchers at the bottom of the order. Oh yeah, and how about someone, ANYONE, executing a frikkin’ bunt! I thought Jimy was all about teaching and fundamentals, well maybe the time teaching has passed and it’s time to start lobbing bats into the shower.
The positive spin? Half of the Astros games have been against a St. Louis team that has been running at 110%, and there may be a price for them to pay down the line for it. Half of the non-STL half of the schedule was at Coors field where the Astros traditionally suck. It’s still very early in the season and the Astros have yet to really get going. A shot at the soft underbelly of the National League may be just what the Doctor ordered.
The race in the Central is just beginning. The Cardinals’ start a 14-game road trip this week, which will take them through Arizona to start. Yes, they get to enjoy both Schilling and Johnson on this, their only visit to the desert in the regular season. A strong performance in Cincinnati will likely put the Astros back on STL’s heels and get the club tuned up for the Barry Bones walkathon this weekend. Meanwhile, the Cubs have yet to threaten and continue to struggle without Alou in their line up – something they should get used to, IMO.
The schedule settles down for about a month now. We see the Giants in Houston and ATL in Shitlanta with the Reds and Marlins in between. But look ahead to May 21! The Astros start a stretch where the have three-game series consecutively as follows: Cards, Cubs, Cards, Cubs, D-Backs, A’s, Cubs. Yikes. The race for the division could be won or lost right there. Clear your calendars, and start calling your satellite company. That’s going to be some fun watching.
No word yet on Wade Miller’s neck and dead arm. This type of thing concerns me because it’s a fairly non-specific kind of injury. Maybe a rub girl can fix it. I certainly hope so. Incredibly, with a question mark over Miller, patchy performances from Reynolds and Mlicki and a not what we’d hoped for from Hernandez, the Astros’ rotation is still in much better shape than the Cardinals’.
Fashion tip: This week, I shall be mostly wearing Miuccia Prada.
Well, the Six Nations Rugby is over. You may have noticed the radio silence in recent LT’s, which is entirely due to the fact that the damned French went on to win it all. Ireland graciously greased up and rolled over for them in the final weekend of the tournament, confirming the Froggies’ grand slam.
Next up in the Non-BB sporting world is the 2002 Soccer World Cup in June. It’s being held in Japan and Korea, which means that the games will take place in the wee hours. There’ll be less live TV coverage than for David Carr taking a wizz. I just hope they don’t go for that tape-delay crap. Argentinians have *already* starting hacking English players and may have eliminated our star midfielder, David Spice, from the competition. This could get very ugly. In fact, it already has.