Bourn will likely play against the Reds, Cooper praises his replacement.
“(Erstad is) one of those guys that’s banged up, but still goes,” Cooper said. “He’s been scuffling through some stuff. He’s not 110 [percent], but he’s going. You appreciate a veteran guy like that — [someone who will] take the ball and go anyway”
Bourn commented gamely, “You might see me limping a little bit, but I can get through it now.”
Cooper had commented earlier that Bourn had not learned to play with pain, Link
Pitching
The Astros sent Minor League pitching coordinator Britt Burns and pro scout Gordy McKenzie to Miami to watch right-hander Freddy Garcia work out. …The Astros are also having discussions about right-hander Matt Clement, Link
Garcia began his workout with some stretching and long-tossing, threw 15 pitches, rested, then threw another 15 pitches. His representatives clocked him consistently at 86 mph on the radar gun.
All the clubs in attendance also received a physical therapist’s report detailing Garcia’s workout program over the last 11 months.
Garcia told one scout that he could be ready to pitch in the low minors by early next week, and would require 3-4 starts to work himself up to five innings in Triple-A ball.Link
Matt Clement was released Saturday. “At the end of the day, we didn’t feel like he was going to contribute to our major-league team,” Cardinals’ general manager John Mozeliak said after announcing the move. “So we didn’t want him to block our younger guys coming up.”
(St Louis Post reports, he) couldn’t get his velocity or results up to major-league ready. He shifted to the bullpen at Class AAA and had a 4.61 ERA over 13 2/3 innings in 12 appearances. … The Cardinals made the move partially because they needed a spot on the Class AAA staff and there’s benefit to having an opening on the 40-man roster. Link
The Astros have signed righthander Jack Tilghman (21) from the Texarkana Gunslingers of the independent Continental Baseball League.
“(scout Rusty Pendergrass) got word (Tilghman) was breaking 100 mph,” Astros scouting director Bobby Heck said. “We had an area scout go see him, and then Rusty saw him, and he was hitting 95 mph and 98 mph.”
“There’s been some off-field issues we’re aware of, but he’s going to get a second chance,” Heck said. Link
(in 2007) “His velocity has been between 90 and 94 mph every time,” Walters State (where he played in Jr College) assistant David Shelton said, “…His problem is he can’t locate his breaking ball; he can’t throw it for strikes. No matter how hard you throw, you’re going to get hit if you can’t throw a second pitch for strikes.”
Link