Astros 6
Twins 5
taggert’s recap
footer’s twitterings
There was plenty of good in this game. Some bad, too. But there was an overwhelming sense of ugliness to this one…
Ugly mainly because of the many, many less than attractive fans in MeMawsota. Some choosing to enhance the fug by wearing those hideous “cowboy hats” Saturday night. (seriously – those have got to be some of the most scrofulous fans in baseball)
But there were other aspects of the game that were U-G-L-Y. And by other aspects, I mean Cecil Cooper.
He ain’t got no alibi
I don’t want to beat a dead horse (sorry carlos), but COME ON! It’s as if Cooper isn’t watching the same games that the rest of us are. It’s hard to shake loose of the image of Pudge practically begging for help from his skipper after not getting the call on what appeared to be both a swing and foul tip by Gomez in the bottom of the 5th. Pudge saw it. We saw it. Hell, even Alkie heard it.
How did Coop choose support his player? He sat. And sat. And he continued to sit, while Pudge passionately tried to argue the call. Homeplate umpire Jerry Lane must have been as annoyed with Cooper’s lack of leadership as the rest of us, because (ostensibly before Blum could come out there and take charge of the situation) he ejected Coop from the bench**.
Of course once he was thrown out, Cooper found his legs actually were working and proceeded to agrue THAT call on the field for approximately 37 minutes. Meanwhile, Moehler waited…
And waited.
And waited.
The Astros seemed a little rattled after their “manager” left the game. Moehler ended up walking Gomez, who was then almost caught in a pick-off attempt, which resulted in a horribly executed rundown between 1st and 2nd, which gave the Twins a man on 2nd with one out.
They recovered, and got the next two outs to escape the inning.
That type of leadership is absolutely unacceptable unsatisfactory unbearable intolerable (thanks, andy). I’m finished trying to understandany logic behind Cooper and what he does/doesn’t do. He needs to go away. Soon.
The Good News
Moehler didn’t suck. Yes, he gave up three solo homeruns. Yes, he engaged in some sort of male machismo ritual with the Twins’ starting pitcher to see who would be the first to break their ankle on a comebacker. But otherwise, he looked pretty good through his 6 innings, and deserved to get the win (that Hawkins and Valverde tried to give away in the eight and ninth. residual ugliness).
The Puma caught a break and launched career HR #999 batting lefty in the top of the eighth. He looks much more solid at the plate, and is hopefully beginning to truly bust out of his season-long funk.
Kata had an amazing defensive game, and did great job at second base. Offensively, he was a little kaka.
Sampson pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Jason Michaels had a huge PH in the 7th, which tied the game, and kept the rally going for the Astros to add another 2 runs to take the lead.
He’s so 3000 and 8
The absolute best highlight of the game was young Michael Bourn. He continues to play like a freaking rock star, and was an integral part of the Astros 7th inning rally when he turned on an inside fastball and smashed one over the right field wall for his second homerun in 2 games. That took the Astros to a 5-3 lead, and set the stage for the win.
It’s great to be able to watch a player like him develop the way that he has, and enjoy the success that he is obviously working hard to achieve. Give Ed Wade a pat on the back the next time you see him. The only thing that could possibly be better than Bourn being the future of the Astros, is if Cooper were made a permanent part of the PAST.
Hopefully the Astros can continue to find ways to win series despite the best efforts of Coop to derail their chances of getting on track.
what you missed in the gamezone
**The best call made from behind the plate all evening