Lumber Slumbers; Win Streak Dies

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Orioles 4, Astros 1

W: Tillman (5-2)
L: Keuchel (6-3)
SV: Britton (4)

For the third game in a row, Houston was held to five hits and the lack of power doomed their win streak. Dallas Keuchel held them close and continued his unexpected success, but a series of walks in the fifth inning was too much to overcome. Three walks in a row, two with the bases loaded, gave Baltimore the edge it needed in support of a tightrope effort from Chris Tillman.

The walks were a tough pill to swallow, but they came as a result of Keuchel pitching a little too carefully to the meat of the Oriole order with runners on base. The damage was limited but the Astros could only run up a high pitch count, not deliver timely hits. A potential rally in the second inning, with the bases loaded and only one out, produced Houston’s only run.

Can I Get a Witness!

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Astros 2
Orioles 1

contributed by NeilT

This has been some week. Bud Selig was in town, and Bench reported that Revival Market sold out of sausage. Our ‘Stros are on a seven-game win streak, which was the first time they’ve won seven games in a row since 2010. It was also the first time in four years that I looked at the standings.

As it happens, I saw Miss Lola last week. I know you all keep up with City Hall, and like everybody else in Houston I went down to testify about the Mayor’s proposed equal rights ordinance. It’s an ordinance that requires me to bake cookies for gay couples’ weddings, but most importantly, it allows people who identify as a particular sex to use that sex’s bathroom, regardless of their actual equipment.

It was prescient, or maybe postscient, that Friday night was the Civil Rights Game, because this ordinance is all about my civil right to be discriminate. I was a bit nervous about testifying, but I knew council couldn’t make a good decision without my good counsel. Man, you can imagine how glad I was when I got to the council chamber and there was Miss Lola Laloush, all decked out in Republican red. She looked fantastic, and I made a beeline to sit beside her.

“Miss Lola,” says I, “I guess you are also here to testify against the ordinance.” Miss Lola looked at me closely, and my heart melted just a little. I stumbled on. “I’m here to protect the Astros, because a GLBTA player could ruin baseball as we know it. And by the way Miss Lola, what do you think of our team?”

There was somebody up testifying about how he was transgendered, and how she faced discrimination because of her sexual identity. Miss Lola did the wave, which I didn’t know happened at City Hall, but I followed along.

“Well NeilT, lately they’ve been great, haven’t they? Keuchel’s groundout rate is 66.5%, his ERA is 2.55—1.79 for May. He’s had two complete game shut outs and should have had a third. Springer is hitting over .500 for the last half of May, and has 10 HR. Altuve is leading the league in hits with 77 and stolen bases at 20, and you know who’s McWho. Fields, Sipp, Downs, Farnsworth, and Qualls, they look like a major league bullpen.” She was using that breathy, slightly husky Marilyn Monroe voice that just kills me, and it took her about 15 minutes to say bullpen. “Maybe how these young men appear is who they really are.”

That last bit sounded like nonsense to me, but Miss Lola surely looked sincere, and when a beautiful woman is sincere, you know exactly what she is.

On motion by Councilmember Pickles Dilltopfer of District P—“I stand for P! I stand for homourination!”—I got moved up the witness list. My Constitutional right to peeing privacy really is important to me, and when Dilltopfer speaks he is exactly right. Having peed on plenty of roadsides and in plenty of parking lots, I know you have to look both ways. I explained to the council that I had nothing whatsoever against GLBTAs, but that if this Ordinance passed, then our Astros might have to sign a transgendered third baseman just because she was a better player. “What do you think it would do to young men’s delicate psyches to have to go into a locker room with a player who had lady parts instead of man parts? What would it do to them to have go stand at a urinal by a lady with man parts? I will tell you what it could do,” I paused dramatically for emphasis, “Kris Karter and Marc Krauss could be hitting under .200.”

I pride myself in how well I read other people, and you could see from their faces that I had swayed council. Councilmember Cohen looked particularly disturbed, and it had to be about her prior position on this dangerous ordinance. She just hadn’t thought about what this so-called “equal rights” ordinance could do to baseball. I only had one question, from her honor the Mayor herself.

“NeilT, are you joking?” The Mayor clearly doesn’t know me. I never joke.

***
I followed Friday’s win from Dodger Stadium. I think my companions got tired of me randomly blurting out that they’d won seven in a row, but you know that the Astros haven’t had a winning month since September 2010? I was so happy that I cheered for the Dodgers. I even liked the Dodger Dog.

Oberholtzer got the win on a strong 7 innings with 4 hits, no walks, and one earned run. Only one K, but for that game he gets one get-out-a-gripe free card. Farnsworth gave up one walk, Sipp gave up a hit and was pulled, then Qualls closed things out on 1.1 innings with 2 Ks, no hits, and no BBs. Where were these guys for the first nine days of May when the bullpen was blowing games, the ‘Stros went 2 for 9, and the TZ was roiling?

And this game wasn’t the Altuve/Springer show either. Both runs came in the 7th, with Dominguez scoring on a Grossman double, followed by Grossman scoring on a Villar double.

I hope this lasts forever, or at least June. To quote Mr. Happy, I could get used to this.

A Six Shooter: I Could Get Used to This!

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Astros (23-32) 3, Orioles (26-26) 1

Contributed by Mr. Happy

The Astros combined the pop of King George’s bat with some nifty pitching to best the Birds of Baltimore last night. Springer hit his tenth home run of May, but all was not peaches and cream for the Good Guys from a hitter’s perspective. The Astros could muster but five knocks in the game, although when one of them leaves the yard with a man aboard, that helps. The situational hitting bug-a-boos continue to plague the Astros as they were a putrid 1-15 w/RISP, leaving nine LOBsters. The hitters also racked up nine K’s, versus four free passes.

The inconsistent Ubaldo Jimenez actually was pretty good last night, or at least much better than his last time out against the Tribe. I watched that game, and he ran up a high pitch count and imploded in the fifth frame. However, Brad Peacock matched him toe-to-toe, tossing six frames of one run baseball, striking out eight while issuing no free passes. The bully was excellent last night in securing the win, as FIELDS! went two frames for the win, and Chad sQualls picked up his fourth save. It is noteworthy that the Astros pitching staff issued zero free passes last night while striking out 12. It was an excellent performance out of the staff and lowered the staff ERA to a respectable 4.20.

The Astros are suddenly finding themselves back in respectable territory and are only nine games under .500. The team BA has climbed to .238. As the Good Guys prepare to don the throwback jerseys of the Houston Eagles in tonight’s civil rights game, it is a good time to reflect on the strides that society in the United States has made in this area. It has been quite significant in my lifetime. I still remember all-white restaurants and bathrooms. Brett Oberholtzer (1-6, 5.32) squares off against righty Miguel Gonzalez (3-3, 4.35). Come join us in the Game Zone.

Time of the Ball Game: 2:56.
Attendance: 22,884.
Roof: Open

Orioles @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Featured, Series Previews

submitted by austro

Time To Go Bird Hunting

Baltimore Orioles (26-24) @ Houston Astros (22-32)

The Astros are returning from a very encouraging 6-4 road trip, and riding a 5-game winning streak! I don’t know when they last had a streak that long (especially on the road), but I suspect it’s been a while.

I’ve just returned from a road trip of my own to the western slope of Colorado. Grand Junction, where I lived until I was in junior high, hosts the Junior College World Series every year (and they’ve been hosting it since the 50’s, I think). I don’t go out there every year, but I go when I can to take in a really great celebration of baseball. The community really supports the tournament, and it’s a big deal both to the locals and to the teams that win their regional tournaments to qualify to compete for the national championship. This year was especially meaningful on a personal level, as a close family friend – who is now in his 80s and was an instrumental part of the tournament during the 60s and 70s – made the trip over from Denver for the Friday night banquet and the Saturday opening. Tony LaRussa was the speaker for the banquet, and even though he’s still a derp, he had some amusing stories to tell. His man-crush on Pujols hasn’t dissipated at all.

The late, great mihoba also hailed from Grand Junction, although he was a bit younger than me and I don’t think we ever met as kids. I like to think that we may have bumped into one another at the tournament, chasing foul balls and just generally goofing around.

Thursday, May 29, 7:10 CDT

Jimenez (2-6, 4.98) vs Peacock (1-4, 5.20)

Four or five years ago Ubaldo Jimenez was pitching for the Rockies and striking out everybody he faced. Now he has trouble getting anybody out. Go figure. Most of the Astros are young enough that nobody has much of a history: as a team they’re 9-for-31 in 34 PAs. Altuve and Krauss have two hits apiece, and nobody else has more than one.

From all appearances, Peacock is pitching to retain his spot in the starting rotation. Exactly one active (and I use the term loosely) Oriole has faced Peacock: David Lough is 1-for-2 (with a single) against Peacock.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 1, Saturday, May 24

The first day of the tournament is always great. There are four games scheduled for the day, everybody is psyched, and the energy level is high. The weather was great (50s in the morning, high in the 70s, typical 15-20% humidity), and everybody was ready to go.

Iowa Western and Columbia State (TN) kicked things off at 9am on Saturday, and it was one of those games in which one of the teams (Columbia) seems comfortably in control, and then everything gets turned upside down. Columbia went out to an early 5-0 lead, and Iowa Western didn’t seem like much of a threat. But in the middle of the game they chipped away, and when they came to the 9^th they were only down by one. They wound up scoring two in the top of the 9^th to take the lead, but Columbia loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9^th, and extra innings seemed likely, if not an outright win for Columbia. Then the Columbia batter absolutely smoked a ball up the middle, but the pitcher made an improbable snag of the liner and doubled off the runner on first. And just like that, the game was over. Everybody was stunned.

The second game at noon featured Midland College (TX) against Johnson County (KS). Midland came out crushing the ball, and it seemed like every batter was a carbon copy of the preceding one: wide base, fast bat, level through zone, and lots of contact. They wound up hitting several homers, and although Johnson County eventually scored some runs, the game was never really in doubt, with Midland winning 10-5.

The third game of the day was Cochise College (AZ) against Blinn College (TX). I took a break from the sun for this one, so I missed the Blinn starter, Robbie Dickey, who is apparently one of the hot pitching prospects for this year’s draft. He had a so-so outing, going 5.1 innings with 3 ER, 6 BB, and 9 K. Blinn wound up winning 7-4.

The final game of the day kicked off at 7:30pm, featuring Chattahoochee (AL) against Delgado (LA). I think this was the #1-ranked team against the #3-ranked team, but I’m not sure. Whatever the rankings, these two team were very evenly matched, and the game went to the 8^th tied up 4-4. Delgado scored two in the top of the 8^th to take a 6-4 lead, but in the bottom of the 8^th they gave it back and then some, with Chattahoochee taking an 8-6 lead. Neither team scored in the 9^th, and Chattahoochee moved to the winner’s bracket, and Delgado found themselves in the unenviable loser’s bracket.

Friday, May 30, 7:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Oberholtzer (1-6, 5.32)

Here comes TBA again. Seems like we’ve faced this guy a lot this year, and his ERA doesn’t make me feel all fuzzy. But we’re hot, and it seems like a good time to give this guy a shit-stomping.

Oberholtzer may or may not be the anonymous source of the sour grapes about Luhnow’s numbers-driven approach to team assembly. If I were Obie, I’d make damn sure that the numbers were on my side, which means that he’s got a ways to go to straighten things out. In his favor, current Orioles are sporting a .176/.176/.176 line against him in 17 PAs, which is pretty fucking stout. On the other hand, that’s not a lot of plate appearances, and Chris Davis appears to be heating up, so watch out.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 2, Sunday, May 25

Sunday dawned cloudy (and early: Grand Junction is far enough north that the hotel window starts to get light around 5:30am, even when it’s cloudy). There were three games scheduled for Sunday, but the committe’s worst fears materialized when the weather went south in the afternoon.

One of the cruel aspects of the tournament is that two teams will be eliminated by Sunday afternoon (even before two of the ten teams have played their first game). The first elimination game featured the first two losers from Saturday: Columbia against Johnson County. Johnson County scored two in the top of the 2^nd, but Columbia came back and battered them with 9 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd, and after that the outcome wasn’t really in doubt. Columbia wound up winning by 10 after 5 innings (the tournament has a 10/5-8/7 rule to try to limit the effects of blowouts on pitching staffs).

The 2^nd game was also an elimination game, with Cochise playing Delgado. The game started under a drizzle and overcast, and the conditions were not very conducive to good baseball. Cochise got out to a 3-1 lead after 3 innings, and increased it to 7-2 after 6. There was a significant rain delay during the 6^th and we decided to repair to my mother’s home, and when they returned (without us) Cochise dispatched Delgado 9-5.

The Sunday evening game was supposed to feature Spartanburg (SC; being a Marshall Tucker Band fan, they were my sentimental favorite) vs Miami Dade (FL), but the rain was too intense, and the game was postponed until the following day. But that allowed us all to get together at my brother’s and do some cooking and conversing, which was nice.

Saturday, May 31, 3:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Keuchel (6-2, 2.55)

Son of a bitch: TBA is such a stud that he can come back with no rest. That gives them a big advantage in pinch hitters, since they don’t have to carry as many pitchers. (For all I know, TBA slugs 4.000, too.) That can’t be good.

To this point in the season, Keuchel is this year’s Astros’ All-Star. I was always impressed by his mental toughness (first witnessed in the CWS for Arkansas), and I’ve hoped that he would be able to make the leap in the bigs. It appears that this is the year that he does so, and I’m delighted. Current Orioles are 7-for-26 against Keuchel, but that’s skewed by ex-Ranger Nelson “Please don’t hit it at me” Cruz, who has a 4-for-9 record against Keuchel. Considering Cruz’s defensive “contributions”, that’s probably about break-even.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 3, Monday, May 26

Monday dawned bright and clear, with a brilliant view of the Colorado National Monument that was breathtaking.

The first game on the schedule was the Spartanburg-Miami game that had been postponed from the previous evening. Ordinarily, Monday would be a three-game day, but because of the rainout, they had to squeeze four games in. This game started at 9am, and Miami ran out to a 3-0 lead and was never really threatened, winning 8-3.

The second game was another loser’s bracket game, Cochise vs Columbia State. This was one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far. Columbia jumped out to a big lead, leading 7-2 after 5, and from there it was a dogfight. Columbia was ahead 8-7 after 6, Cochise went ahead 11-9 in the top of the 9^th, and Columbia tied it with 2 in the bottom of the 9^th. Nobody scored in the 10^th, and then a Columbia player fulfilled every kid’s ultimate dream, hitting a pinch-hit, walk-off homer to deep left-center to win the game in the bottom of the 11^th, eliminating Cochise.

The third game of the day was Blinn against Chattahoochee. The game was even at 2-2 through 5, but then Blinn pulled away with 2 in the 6^th and 6 (!) in the top of the 9^th to win 10-2 to eliminate Chatahoochee.

The final Saturday game featured two unbeaten teams: Midland vs Iowa Western. Based on what I had seem from their earlier games, I expected Midland to spank Iowa. However, Midland apparently never received their wake-up call, and Iowa Western beat the crap out of them 9-0. (I have to admit that I didn’t attend the game, since it was the traditional Memorial Day game that features fireworks after the game, and there are a million people trying to attend; I find it much more relaxing simply to listen to that game on the radio.)

Sunday, June 1, 1:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Feldman (3-2, 3.02)

You’re fucking kidding me: TBA three days in a row? Might as well write this one off now. How can we compete with somebody that can throw three games in a row?

Well, there’s no “small sample size” issue here. Current Orioles are .278/.293/.456 against Feldman in 90 ABs. That’s not a particularly bad line, but when you combine it with TBA’s 0.00 ERA, I’m not optimistic about this contest. Somehow TBA is still winless even though he hasn’t given up any earned runs. Sometimes baseball is a funny game.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 4, Tuesday, May 27

The first game of the day was Chatahoochee against Spartanburg, another elimination game. This was perhaps the most bizarre game of the tournament. It started out normally: Chatahoochee scored 2 runs in the top of the 1^st, but in the bottom of the 2^nd Spartanburg scored 9 unearned runs after the Chatahoochee CF dropped a routine fly ball with 2 outs. Things only got worse after that, and Sparteanburg wound up winning 18-3 (after 5 innnings because of the mercy rule).

In the second game of the day, Midland got out to an early lead against Columbia and held on to win 10-7. Midland remains as an interesting team, but they seem to lack a killer instinct.

The third game of the day featured undefeated Blinn against undefeated Miami. Miami totally outclassed Blinn 11-2, sending Blinn to an elimination game against Spartanburg on Wednesday. The highlight of the game was the Bull Durham-esque “we’ve got a natural disaster” delay that occurred when the infield sprinklers all came on at exactly 8:30.

That ended my baseball marathon, since I had to return to Austin on Wednesday. But Spartanburg eliminated Blinn 10-2 Wednesday afternoon, and Iowa Western mauled Miami Dade 10-0 in a game that ended after 5 innings. That leaves Iowa Western as the only undefeated team in the tournament, and with a pretty well-rested pitching staff to boot. Four teams are still standing: Spartanburg will play Miami Dade in an elimination game Thursday afternoon, and Iowa Western and Midland will face off again Thursday evening, and the two winners will play Friday evening. If Iowa Western wins Thursday, that Friday game will be for the championship; if not, two of the three remaining teams will play Friday, and the winner will advance to the championship game against the third team on Saturday evening. (I believe that the bye in that case goes to the team that has played the most games, but if they have all played the same number of games at that point, it comes down to a coin flip.) I have to think that Iowa Western is the favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Midland or Miami Dade take them down.

Injuries

Probably a bunch, but I’m too lazy to look them up.

Miscellaneous

If you are interested in the JUCO tournament, I encourage you to check out the jucogj.org site. The games are all being streamed live, and there are some good ball players there. And if you fnd yourself looking for something to do in late May some day, I encourage you to consider visiting Grand Junction and taking in the tournament; it’s really quite an undertaking, and a lot of fun to participate in. And even if you miss the tournament, consider Grand Junction as a vacation destination: the Grand Mesa and the Colorado National Monument are really spectacular.

Astros Burning With Optimism’s Flames

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Fifth victory in a row provides the Good Guys with a sweep of the Royals in Kansas City

WP: Jarred Cosart (4-4)
LP: Danny Duffy (2-5)

contributed by Sphinx Drummond

BOX

Chris Carter, that’s Carter with a “C” hit 2 home runs, his 7th and 8th, and George Springer added his 9th homer of the season to power the Astros past the Kansas City Royals in a 9 to 3 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Jarred Cosart didn’t have his best stuff but it didn’t matter, he didn’t need to pitch a shutout, only limit the damage and the poor Royals couldn’t do much damage with their woeful offense which is mired in last for home run production and slugging percentage.

Cosart worked five innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 BB with just one K. He allowed 2 runs to score, but only one was earned. Jerome Williams worked two innings in relief, giving up the third run in the 7th inning. Darin Downs worked a scoreless 8th inning and Kyle Farnsworth finished with a scoreless 9th.

Currently the Astros have the Cubs and Diamondbacks looking up at them in the MLB standings but while the Astros may be on the move up, they are still in last place in the AL, and it’s a long way from the outhouse to the penthouse. However, there are reasons for optimism. Chris Carter has his batting average up to an even .200. The first three batters in the lineup all have OBPs over .361. Wednesday the team walked more than it struck out. The starting pitching has been solid and seems to be gaining a level of consistency. They had a winning record on their road trip!

Thursday the Astros return home to face the Baltimore Orioles in a four game series. Brad Peacock will open the series facing Ubaldo Jimenez in a 7:10 start. I expect to start seeing larger crowds at the ballpark, it’s a by-product of winning. Now if they could work out a television deal, things would start falling back into place.

Attendance – 16220
Game Time – 3:21
Temperature – 88

It’s All Springer’s Fault

Posted on May 27, 2014 by BudGirl in Featured, Game Recaps

Astros 9, Royals 2
W:Feldman, L:Ventura

Gamezone
Post Game Reactions
MLB Recap

I have to admit every time I heard Ashby and Blum mention Ventura I automatically thought of Robin Ventura, it is not the same Ventura. Anyways, this game was all about Springer and no one else. No one else helped win this game for the Astros besides Springer, at least you would believe that if you believed the talking heads on the broadcast. I am excited the kid had a great night and encouraged that he is starting to do really well. But, let’s be reasonable, don’t most baseball players have streaks – both good and bad ones? Let’s hope this good one lasts for a while and remember that he is only human when he goes through a bad one again – all the greats had their moments. I wish I could find the video of his post-game interview. He must have talked to Biggio, he gave credit to everyone on the team for setting up the opportunity for RBIs, good pitching, etc. He did not really take any credit for himself. Seems like a nice young man. I wish I could get one of my nieces to date him, that would be awesome!

The Astros pitching did a pretty good job on the night only giving up 2 runs. The bullpen did a nice job – but they still make me nervous when brought in to pitch. The other hitters got 12 hits on the night. Overall, it was a great game by the Astros and hopefully there are more to follow.

Go Coogs!

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