Cooper said in his pregame interview on the radio that Valverde would not be available because he had done some extra work. Ortiz provides these details,
Jose Valverde was at Citizens Bank Park at around noon to watch video, talk with pitching coach Dewey Robinson and throw on the side to work on his pitching mechanics.
Because of a thumb problem that plagued him throughout parts of spring training, Valverde wasn’t able to work on his splitter as much as he normally would. And that split is a pitch the Astros would like for Valverde to make some adjustments on.
Link
Brian McTaggart does the “Chron thing” and succumbs to bullshit journalism
Of course he can excuse himself because it’s “only” his blog, yesterday
“I have seen enough of Valverde…Jose Valverde is ruining the Astros’ season. ….
If Valverde comes in a closing situation again, the Astros deserve to lose.
Today
Give Valverde a week to work through things in non-pressure situations and give him another shot. … Have you totally lost faith in Valverde? Or are you like me and believe he’ll rebound
Just to get readers. Pathetic.