Astros @ Baltimore “The Young and the Listless”

Astros (33-37) at Baltimore (34-34)

Tuesday, June 17, 6:05 p.m.   FSN

Wednesday, June 18, 6:05 p.m.  FSN

Thursday, June 19, 6:05 p.m.   FSN-HD

Listless. Uninspired. Mailing it in. Dare I say, jaking it? After watching this team give one crappy performance after another, one wonders exactly what will get them out of the funk they are in. Cecil Cooper has tried his brand of motivational speaking in a closed door meeting, however, this is nothing that these players haven’t heard before. Number 5 had the best inspiration information when he said, “Work hard, play hard, or go home.” Has this team forgotten his legacy so soon? Drayton would probably love to bring in Ziglar himself to jump start their attitude, but I say we just bring in Bobby Knight. He’d be much more entertaining than the fodder that has masqueraded as baseball the last few weeks.

You’re the meaning in my life

You’re the inspiration

You give meaning to my life

You’re the inspiration

In Memory of Wild Bill Hagy The Orioles had one unique source of inspiration–Wild Bill Hagy. He was loud and unmistakable, all 6 foot 2 inches of him, complete with a beer belly, sunglasses and straw cowboy hat, sitting in section 34. Bill and his “Roar from 34”, led the crowd in chants and cheers from the late 70’s to the early 80’s. What stopped him? In 1985, after being told he could not bring his own beer into Memorial stadium anymore, he tossed his beer cooler onto the field at the end of a game, and swore off going to another one. He did return to Camden Yards the night that Cal Ripken broke the consecutive games played record, and his last known O-R-I-O-L-E-S chant was delivered at Ripken’s Hall of Fame induction.

Hagy is credited with starting the tradition of yelling “O!” during the Star Spangled Banner, and his antics were mentioned in the song Oriole Magic. Wild Bill died last year, but will be remembered during this series on Tuesday night, with a T-shirt giveaway in his honor.

So what inspiration does this Astros team need? Heck, I don’t know. But they better figure it out quick, the season is almost halfway over.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Backe RHP (4-8, 5.00) vs. Olson LHP (5-2, 4.53)

Backe has started out June on a sour note. In ten innings he has given up 16 hits and 9 runs, resulting in a 8.10 ERA. In fact, he has not won a game since May 23. Contrary to popular belief, Backe has allowed the most HR on the staff this season, not Sparky.

Olson gave up five runs in the first inning of his last start, then settled down and gave up only one more in the next 4.1 innings. This may sound like an opportunity for our boys to score, but Olson is an Astros virgin, and we all know how poppin’ that cherry usually turns out for the hometown nine.

Moehler RHP (3-3, 4.76) vs. Guthrie RHP (3-7, 3.71)

Moehler’s last start vs Milwaukee was his shortest of the season since breaking into the starting rotation. He lasted only 4.2 innings, giving up 7 earned runs. His ERA increased by one entire point from 3.76 to 4.76 from that one piss poor showing. If Mora is able to be used as a pinch hitter during the series, watch out, because he is 6-6 with 2 doubles against him.

Guthrie’s ERA had been on a steady decline since May 7, until he ran into the buzz saw known as the Boston Red Sox. The Sox laced him for 7 hits and 5 earned runs, including a grand slam in his last start. Wigginton, Matsui and Lee are the only Astros to have collected hits off of Guthrie (4 hits in 10 AB).

Chacon RHP (2-2, 4.69) vs. Burres LHP (5-5, 5.28)

In his last start against the Yankees, Chacon reverted back to his no decision ways. He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up only 1 earned run. Chacon has faced Baltimore 4 times in his career and they are a combined 14 for 45 (.311) against him.

Burres has had a few rocky outings lately. In his last five starts, his ERA has climbed over 2 full points from 3.16 to 5.28. Ty Wigginton is the only Astro to ever have faced Burres, and he is 0-2.

Giveaways and Promotions

Tuesday– It’s Wild Bill Hagy T-Shirt Tuesday. The shirt will feature the number 34, which was the number of the section in the upper deck at Memorial Stadium from which Hagy led “O-R-I-O-L-E-S” cheers. Tuesday is also Bargain Night, which allows fans to buy reduced tickets. Apparently the Astros are not classified as a premium team (DUH), so instead of hiking their ticket prices like the Astros did for the Yankees series, they have to cut them just to get AIS.

Wednesday–Orioles Retro Logo Hat Night

Thursday–Nick Markakis Bobblehead Five o’clock shadow included at no charge.

Injuries

Baltimore–Are you kidding? Have you seen this list?

Explanation on Sarfate: His wife is due to give birth at any second, so he may be unavailable.

Updated	Player	Pos	Injury	Status	Expected Return
06/16/2008	Randor Bierd	RP	Shoulder	DL	15-day DL. Out until at least late July
06/16/2008	Melvin Mora	3B	Knee	Questionable	Limited to pinch hitting. Questionable for June 17-19 series vs. Houston
06/16/2008	Dennis Sarfate	RP	Personal	Questionable	Questionable for June 17-19 series vs. Houston
06/01/08	Fernando Cabrera	RP	Elbow	DL	15-day DL. On Triple-A rehab assignment
06/11/08	Adam Loewen	SP	Elbow	DL	15-day DL. On Class A rehab assignment
05/14/08	Jim Hoey	RP	Biceps	DL	15-day DL. Out for the season
05/23/08	Chris Ray	RP	Elbow	DL	15-day DL. Out until at least late August
03/29/08	Danys Baez	RP	Elbow	DL	15-day DL. Out for the season
03/29/08	Troy Patton	SP	Shoulder	DL	15-day DL. Out for the season

Astros–Nothing new here.

Paulino, Paulino

Boy where you been so long?

Paulino, Paulino

Boy where you been so long?

I been worrying about you baby

Baby please come home.

Interesting tidbits

Yeah, yeah, this will be Tejada’s first trip back since the trade. Expect a smattering of boos and Tejada to respond with an appropriate 4-4 night.

The Astros have yet to win a series which I wrote the preview for. Don’t expect it to change this time, either.

Astros Interleague Record: 88-85 overall, 1-5 in 2008—-Hey, we can get swept this series and still have a .500 interleague record!

If you got nothing better to do than join a bunch of lame Astros fans (thanks, HH) watching the game, visit the GameZone.