Sunday, April 11, 2010

Phillies 2
Astros 1

W: Halladay (2-0) | L: Oswalt (0-2)

The season-opening skid continued on Sunday, as I expected. Not that I didn’t think Roy would pitch well, he pitched very well against a beefy Phillies line-up, but more like Roy Halladay was facing an epically impotent Astros line-up. This team has more question marks than a census survey and I’ve begun to ratchet down my expectations to Limey-level to avoid spewing any angry Facebook rants.

Out of the gate, things looked dim for Oswalt when Rollins turned on his 2nd pitch of the game and smoiked it into the RF seats in about a second and a half. But despite another Phillie run plated in the 2nd, Roy looked sharp against a monster order. In fact, the bullpen was able to keep them down as well for the last 3.

3-4-5 = .143

The first opportunity the Astros had to score was in the 6th. Bases juiced and the heart of th…I can’t. .143 coming up. A zesty 6-4-3 DP by Sullivan got a run over and a healthy infield popout by Lee ended the chance.

They threatened again in the 7th with back-to-back singles by Blum and Feliz. A very nice sac bunt by Kaz gave them 2nd and 3rd with one out. Towles weak grounder to the pitcher froze the runners and PH Michaels whiffed. Nada.

There were some bright spots on defense and it was great to see the Phillies held to just 2. But damn, this could be a very long season.

My trusty magnet schedule so graciously sent my way by BudGirl tells me it’s time to hit the road for 3 against the Jakes. The rare Monday day game and the even rarer mid-series off day is going to be just what the Astros need to get them off the schneid. Book it!

Phillies 9, Astros 6
W: Jamie Moyer, L: Brandon Lyon

Box Score
Astros Recap

The positive from this game is the Astros scored as many runs as they have in all four previous games. There was some offensive production on the night. The hits might start coming. The Astros also held the lead in the game for a couple innings. They are getting closer to that elusive first win of the season.

I thought Felipe Paulino did a pretty good job pitching with an umpire that may not have had his best day behind the plate calling pitches.

Perspective:

While watching this game, I was reflecting on this team. I do not believe they are as bad as the 0-5 start they have. Do not mistake that to mean I think they are a good team, just not as bad as they seem. They faced some pretty good pitching against the Giants. The Phillies line up is pretty good. Pretty good, hell they are damm good. The Phillies are going to win a lot of games with the line-up they have.

Also, the starting pitching was not that bad. The worst outing was Bud Norris’ Friday night. I really think things are going to start to get a little better and maybe going on the road after the Sunday afternoon win will help the team relax . (Yes, I think Roy beats Roy on Sunday.)

I am hoping that Brad Mills will be able to pull something out of this game to help the players start playing better baseball. We all know this team will not lose 162 games and they will beat teams besides the Nationals and Pirates. We just have to be patient and remember that it is our Astros team and we love them.

Observations:

Having Jeff Bagwell as an addition to Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies on the Saturday telecast is AWESOME, he adds a lot to Bill and JD, who I think are great already. I think he will only get better. It is just golden for watching this team right now.

I do not usually care about the uniforms, but I like the uniforms from tonight’s game.

Check out the Game Zone for in-game reactions.

For information on the Sunday game, do yourself a favor and read MRaup’s Series Preview.

BoxScore

Astros.com Recap

GameZone Ramblings

Game Highlights/Lowlights

I’ll focus on what manager Brad Mills chose to focus on–those plumbing problems.   Just kidding.  Defense.  It is the only thing going right for this team at the moment.  Bourn is making difficult catches look easy (in stark contrast to the Sexy Bitch who makes routine plays look like Golden Glove Girl moments) and  Manzella is playing shortstop the way it was meant to be played. 

Four players combined for the Astros 8 hits: Keppinger (3), Bourn and Manzella (2 each) and the Franchise gets his first of the year.  Unfortunately, the Good Guys were unable to string more than two of these together at a time and got shutdown for the second time this season.  Despite having completed 36 innings into the season, the Astros have yet to lead in any of them which seems to have contributed to another type of aforementioned plumbing problems. 

Anybody pressing?

This team is playing as constipated as Raymond without his MOM. You can see it on their faces and in their swings. Pence’s ineptitude in the 3 hole has hexed even Carlos Lee who is normally known for his self control at the plate.  He has resorted to flailing wildly at pitches nowhere near the strike zone.  Press your luck much more on this 3-hole experiment and you just may get slapped with a few Whammys!

Up Next:

Moyer vs Paulino at 6 p.m. Saturday

Read Mark’s Preview: Face(book) of the Franchise for a more indepth preview of tomorrow’s game.

Join the discussion in the GameZone.

If you are interested in writing recaps, please contact Budgirl.

Giants 10, Astros 4
W: Jeremy Affeldt, L: Sammy Gervacio

Box Score
Astros Recap

Game Highlights:

Pence got on base for the first time this season.

The Astros scored four runs, which doubled their runs from the first two games.

Game Analysis:

Bret Myers, just like Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, kept the game close but the rest of their team mates did little to help them get a win. The bats came a little bit alive but the bullpen was the culprit today giving up six runs in two innings.

I have to remember that I hope this team will end the season around .500. I can not let myself get too caught up in losses.

Observations:

Off day on Thursday, so everyone can get ready for the Phillies to come in for the weekend series. No preview yet, but there will be one you should read.

The weather is warming up so beach trips can be made.

Wildflowers, especially bluebonnets, are still in bloom, so you can enjoy a nice ride around parts of Texas.

Check out the Game Zone for in-game reactions.

If you are interested in writing a game recap, please let me know.

Giants 3, Astros 0
W: Barry Zito, L: Wandy Rodriguez, S: Brian Wilson

Box Score
Astros Recap

Game Highlights:

Jeff Keppinger pretty much provided all the offense for the astros. Two doubles, one of which was a homerun but the New York office decided it wasn’t, and a walk. Unfortunately, none of his teammates were able to plate him.

The bullpen pitched three scoreless innings. Fulchino, Lyon, and Lindstrom did a good job of keeping the Giants from scoring any runs.

The Astros did turn 3 double plays tonight, so there was some good defense on the field tonight.

Game Analysis:

The bats really need to get going. The pitching, which was good in this game, deserves some offense. I’m not expecting 8 runs a night, but I would like some production out of the middle of the lineup. Then again, Hunter Pence is in the middle of the lineup and when was the last time the #2 hitter was walked to get to the #3 hitter?

I will not blame only Hunter for the offensive woes of this team. They need, as a team, to hit good pitches and things will happen.

Wandy Rodriguez had one bad inning. The two walks to lead off the 6th inning pretty much set up the bad inning. Then the boys didn’t turn a double play.

Observations:

Tommy Manzella got hit hard by that pitch on his wrist. All I could think of at the time was Bagwell getting hit like that.

I wish Larry Dierker could stay in the booth with Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies. He added a lot to the broadcast.

Check out the gamezone for in-game reactions and Craig’s series preview for information on Wednesday’s day game.

If anyone is interested in writing game recaps, let me know.

Giants at Astros, 4/5/2010
Giants 5, Astros 2

W:Lincecum (1-0) L:Oswalt (0-1) S:Wilson (1)
HR: DeRosa (1)

And so, girded with the malted beverages of our choice, and perhaps slightly worse for an afternoon of celebratory barrio queso or MLB.tv multitasking, we head into another season of God’s sport. Read More