Sure Footer, Fallas, McTaggart and Levine provide plenty of Spring Training coverage from Kissimmee, but if you want to hear about the real happenings – SnS style – the buck stops with Chuck. Chuck is a long-time SnS’er and has been an Astros Spring Training season ticket holder for the past four years. This year we’ve conned and cajoled him into periodically writing about his Spring Training observations for us here at TRWD. Enjoy!
Chuck, Live from Kissimmee (pt 6)
Friday, March 19: TOR at HOU, W 2-0
Josh Banks got an emergency start filling in for a flu-struck Bud Norris Friday afternoon against the Blue Jays in from Dunedin. Banks infuriated the Jays with glacial change ups and slow breaking balls for three solid innings leading seven pitchers in a 2-0 shut out of the Jays. The Astros’ parade of pitchers was uniformly solid issuing two walks and scattering six hits.
Like the day before Bourgeois and Sullivan both had good days at the plate. J. R. Towles got the start behind the plate and was more active with the pitchers than I’ve seen so far. Keppinger played some shortstop. I noticed a couple of plays where he showed an arm strength that I’d never had a chance to see from him at second. I think he is a legitimate SS and will be an acceptable fill-in as long as Manzella’s sidelined.
Saturday, March 20: NYY at HOU, W 8-6
A record crowd of 7,020 packed Osceola County Stadium Saturday afternoon to witness the Astros prevail 8-6 in a topsy-turvy contest. Obnoxious and foul-mouthed, most of the crowd went home disappointed, drunk and hoarse. I can honestly say that I do not enjoy the spectacle that the Yankees bring to Central Florida each year. Anyway, Brett Myers got the start and again struggled with command. He has good velocity and his breaking ball routinely fools hitters when he gets it close to the zone but for five innings he struggled with location.
Houston sent only three pitchers to the mound today. Myers was followed by Casey Daigle, a big right hander and Shane Loux. You may recall my description of Loux’s main pitch as a sort of sidearm forkball. I had a chance to ask him about the pitch the other day and he told me he considers it a simple two-seam fastball except he throws it nearly sidearm and he turns his wrist over dramatically as he throws it. He demonstrated by rolling his right wrist basically as far as he can to the left. It is a weird pitch and I have no idea how he gets any velocity on it but it has plenty of velocity (I don’t know the exact speed he typically reaches, there’s no speed gun at the Astros’ park) and an alarming, tumbling rotation.