The Good & Bad Report: Lancaster May 2009
Lancaster comes crawling towards the end of May with a 13-33 record. It is the second worst in all of full season baseball. So you should see a fair amount of “bad” but there is also so “good” or at least some “not so bad” sprinkled in. Let’s take a look.
THE GOOD
The Hitters:
Eric Suttle joined the team in mid May from extended spring training. He has a hit in each of the six games he has started and is off to a .333 start in 8 total games. Jon Gaston has rebounded from a tough April (.232) to a strong May (.341). His power, which wasn’t bad in April, was even better in May. He went from 10 extra base hits in April to 17 in May. Jason Castro jumped his average from .278 in April to .292 in May. He knocked in 22 RBI in 25 games in May.
As a team, the JetHawks are supposed to have one of the most hitter friendly home fields in all of pro baseball. Maybe they just need more hitters for the park to be friendly towards. They have hit 101 doubles, good for 2nd most and they have only been caught stealing 18 times which is tied for 2nd fewest. (Of course you do have to be on base to be caught stealing). Just about every other category is in he bottom 4 in the league.
Individually, Jon Gaston’s 34 runs ties him for 6th in the league. His 4 triples tie him for 7th most. His 11 homers are good for 2nd most in the league. His 32 RBI place him at #10 in the league. Jon’s 100 total bases is the 4th most and his 27 walks ties him for 4th most. His slugging percentage of .625 places him in 4th place and contributes to his 1.021 OPS which is also in 4th place.
Jack Shuck’s 57 hits tie him for 5th most in the league. His 4 triples also tie him for 7th most. His 11 swiped bases is tied for 5th most.
Jason Castro has hit 16 doubles, good for 3rd most. His 34 RBI puts him in a tie for 7th most.
David Flores has hit 14 doubles, which ties him or 9th most.
Craig Corrado has stolen 10 bases which ties him for 7th most.
The Pitchers:
C. J. Lo got promoted to Corpus Christi after showing he was a man amoung boys. He struck out 12 in his 10 2/3 IP before heading for Texas and the DL. Jack Tilghman came up when Lo went to CC. He has appeared in 3 games thus far and has put up some positive numbers. He has struck out 12 in 8 IP. He doesn’t have the reputation of a strike out pitcher, so this is a bit of a surprise. Leandro Cespedes came of the DL and appeared in 4 games with 2 starts in May. In 17 IP, he produced an ERA of 1.59. He took the loss in both starts but both would qualify as quality starts.
The best thing that can be said about the Lancaster pitchers is they go out their every day and throw the ball to be hit. They have only walked 140 batters, good for 4th best and only hit 26, which is 6th fewest.
C. J. Lo had 5 holds before his promotion which is the 3rd most.
THE BAD
The Batters:
After a .356 April, Marcus Cabral has returned to earth with a .221 May. Christopher Jackson saw his average drop below the Mendoza line as he is wrapping up May with a .186 average. Craig Corrado also had a sub .200 May, he hit .189 and just broke a slump that gives him a .028 average in his last 10 games.
As a team, average (.260) and strike outs (357) are both the 4th worst in the league. I am not a statastician enought to know what the park adjusted average would I suspect it would be but it would be much worse.
Individually, Jon Gaston has accounted for 44 of those strike outs and that puts him as having K’d the 10th most in the league. Craig Corrado has been caught stealing bases 5 times and that ties him for 10th most times nabbed.
The Pitchers:
It’s bad. Really, really bad. Almost as bad as reading the the Talk Zone that Pravata is not going to be the king ferrett around SnS anymore. The JetHawks pitching staff is last in ERA, Runs, Earned Runs, Hits, Strike Outs and WHIP. They have given up amost 100 more hits, 47 more runs and 49 more earned runs than the second worst team. And this is just the end of May! This looks like a job for the young arms of Lexington.
David Duncan has taken the loss every time he has taken the mound. His 8 losses are the most in the league. He has also given up the 2nd most hits, the most runs, the most earned runs, and tied for the 9th most home runs surrended.
Christopher Hicks has given up 61 hits (t- 3rd most).
Jose Duran has given up 8 long balls (t-2nd most) and 31 earned runs (t-6th most)
Shane Wolf has give up the 9th most earned runs (29).
Et tu, Cooper?
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. In watching the ongoing melt-down that is the career of one Cecil Cooper as manager of the Houston Astros, there are a lot of parallels that come to mind. It’s starting to feel reminiscent of President Richard Nixon’s last days in office or perhaps General George Custer’s final planning meetings with his lieutenants (although we’d probably need to ask Jim R to be sure). Baseball-wise, Cooper is facing adversity both on the field and in the clubhouse. His starting pitching has been sub-par, his offense has been non-existent and his bullpen, supposedly the rock for him to rely on, has been decimated by injury. As a result of all those things (but not only those things), his charges, the Astros are 18-27, in last place in the division and currently in possession of the 3rd worst record in all of baseball. In response, Cooper is traveling down an unfortunate but familiar path for failed managers: fighting battles through the media, particularly with your players.
This issue isn’t unique to Cooper. Lots of managers have, when faced with problems, traveled down this road. Cooper’s latest targets were Roy Oswalt and Tim Byrdak. Larry Dierker and Craig Biggio had some heated exchanges in the last days of that regime through the ink of eagerly waiting reporters. Terry Collins tried the same thing with Darryl Kile and Jeff Bagwell. Which brings me back to other historical figures…
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him;
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar.
For those that haven’t been paying attention, and judging by the attendance you haven’t (thanks Harry Doyle), Wednesday night, after the 6thof 7 consecutive losses Cecil Cooper sort of let loose in his post-game presser. I have a problem with a post-game press conference in baseball, but that’s another issue for another day. The game situation was this: bottom 5th inning, tight game, Oswalt in whatever passes for command for him this season, fields a ball from Joey Votto and may or may not have injured his hand in the process. After testing it out and throwing a few in the tunnel behind the dugout, Oswalt returned to pitch the bottom of the 6th inning, and proceeded to have one of his all too familiar meltdowns, leading to another loss for the Astros.
Cooper’s response was to seemingly abdicate any responsibility for Oswalt or pitching coach Dewey Robinson to the media, claiming not to know that Oswalt may have been hurt.
The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it …
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
(For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all; all honourable men)
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it …
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
(For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all; all honourable men)
To Cooper, clearly the inning and the eventual loss was all on Oswalt, and reliever Tim Byrdak who gave up the game winning blast in the 7th inning. Oswalt’s “ambition” was failing to properly notify Cooper that his hand was hurting or that his fingertips were numb. Even though he likely notified Robinson of such when Robinson took a trip out to the mound after Oswalt hit a batter and walked another to load the bases, clearly struggling with his control. Cooper claimed after saying this, “With your ace on the mound, you figure if you don’t have it, you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting it. We let two leads slip away there. We just need him to step up and be who he’s supposed to be”, Cooper claimed not to know about any sort of injury or pain that Oswalt may have been dealing with.
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral;
He was my friend, faithful and just to me.
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man…
He was my friend, faithful and just to me.
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man…
So one of a few things happened…either Oswalt lied (or lied by omission), Robinson lied or failed to tell Cooper, or Cooper failed to ask how his ace pitcher was feeling both when Oswalt returned to the dugout after the 5th or when Robinson returned to the dugout after his visit to the mound or he’s lying about not knowing about the injury. Even if Oswalt was hiding the pain, and lying about an injury, if you’re the manager of a Major League Baseball team, and you notice your highest paid pitcher take a ball off his throwing hand, and test it in the tunnel, don’t you ask the question, and then trust your own eyes for the answer? Aren’t you even a little bit inquisitive about his status when your ace’s control flies out the window?
But because of Oswalt’s ambition, he failed the situation and failed Cooper (or at least it feels that way), and Cooper proceeded to throw Oswalt and Byrdak under the bus.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill;
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill;
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
To me, Oswalt is an ongoing issue. He is not the pitcher he once was. Whether the problem is age, concentration, health, ability or the heartbreak of psoriasis has yet to be determined. Having said that, he’s still, with apologies to Wandy Rodriguez, the ace of this staff. He may not have that designation for much longer, but in the meantime…he is a player who has maximized his physical ability, takes the ball at every opportunity, and gives his all at every opportunity. He should go down as one of this team’s all-timers.
Whether he’s truly towards the end of a good career, needs a change of scenery, or some thing else, I have no reason to question Oswalt’s intent. This is with the VERY common knowledge that pitchers are big fat liars. He has pulled himself from games before, and also pitched through injuries to get bit outs for this franchise. Oswalt is an on-going issue, but he’s not the problem.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse; was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse; was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
Cooper chose to challenge Oswaltthough the media after Wednesday’s loss. It’s a move that could probably be categorized as the desperate act of a dying man. Instead of trying to keep the team together, Cooper is acting in a way designed to tear the clubhouse apart. Except designed is the wrong word because I don’t think he gives anything relating to this team that much thought. It’s all overreaction and hair-pulling at this point. If there was a communication breakdown (and Robert Plant wasn’t in the room, which would be awesome), the correct actonwould have been to meet with Oswalt and Robinson, figure out what happened, and figure out a way to fix it…before you talk to the bloodsucking media.
Instead, Cooper not only undermined Robinson and pissed off Oswalt and Byrdak, but made himself look like an idiot. How does Cooper not know his pitcher was hurting? How does Cooper not know what his pitching coach said to Oswalt? It’s Cecil Cooper’s job to know. So either he’s lying about what he knew, or he’s failed at his job, miserably.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
Simply put, despite his inordinate amount of whining about run support and growing up on the mean streets of Weir, the other players are going to circle the wagons around Oswalt. Mainly because it seems like they know Cooper’s just as likely to throw them under the bus. It’s because of things like this that have led many to believe Cooper has lost the clubhouse. Something to consider about that. Usually, when a team goes through an extended period of bad play, you hear certain cliches from athletes. Things like, “It’s on us to win.” or “The coaches are doing their jobs, we’re the guys out on the field.” That we’re hearing none of that is pretty damning in and of itself.
O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
The team is sailing, rudderless through this part of the schedule. With a chance to get back in the division race, the Astros lost 8 of 10 and 7 in a row. Rather than attempting to manage things like effort and focus, Cooper has resorted to managing results. The results have been predictable. The talk has been of roster shuffles, fire sales, draft picks and coaching changes, not the topics we’ve come to expect from the Astros, and especially not as early as May 28th.
These are dark times in Houston for the local nine, and a leader needs to emerge. It doesn’t appear that number 15 is the guy for that job.
Turd
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Astros 1
Redlegs 6
W: Arroyo (7-3) | L: Paulino (1-4)
HR: Bruce, repeatedly. Some other asshole, too.
Footer Recap
MLB Video Recap
AP! Recap! On Yahoo!
GameZone
What a pile of crap that was. This game had a little bit of everything – defensive blunders, mediocre pitching, thoroughly anemic offense – the only thing missing was excitement of any kind. Arroyo and Bruce absolutely killed the Good Guys. The best I can say is that it was over with quickly.
If you need more detail than that, feel free to click the links above. Enjoy your masochism, you fucking weirdo. You know, actually, let me save you some time – the highlight is a sac fly in the 1st. You’re welcome.
The Good & Bad Report: Lexington – May 2009
May in Kentucky means more than the Kentucky Derby. As we reach the end of May, Lexington finds itself just of the pace. They are 23-22 and 2 games back of Southern Division leading Charleston. Let’s see how the Legends stack up at the end of May.
THE GOOD
The Hitters
Before we see who is ranked in the top 10 in the South Atlantic League, let’s highlight some guys who made progress during the month.
Marques Williams was called up in mid May. In the 10 games he has played in since then, he is hitting .379.
Jay Austin appears to be getting some traction. After a .191 April, he has improved with a .256 May.
Now on the the rankings:
They are hitting the ball with some power. The Legends are second in the league with 29 homer runs. That is all that is good about the offense right now.
Ebert Rosario’s .324 average places him 9th best in the league and his .500 slugging ties him for 10th best.
The Pitchers:
The pitchers are the reason for the teams success to this point in time. Here are some highlight performances from May.
Jordan Lyles went 1-2 with a 1.76 ERA in 30 2/3 IP. He fanned 36 in the month.
Although the starters are getting a great deal of press. There are some solid bullpen arms that are helping hold those leads. Here are 3 solid May performers:
Henry Villar – 19 IP, 1.76 ERA, 18 K, 1 save
Patrick Urckfitz 11 1/3 IP, 0.79 ERA, 12 K, 4 saves
Austin Mowdy 12 1/3 IP, 0.73 ERA, 1 save
Here is how the Legends stack up against the league leaders:
Although they have no pitcher in the t0p 10 for ERA, they have the best team ERA at 2.84. They have recorded the second most saves (17). Legend’s pitchers have allowed the 3rd fewest runs (154) and the second fewest earned runs (122). They have only walked 113 batters in 387 innings which is the 3rd lowest total walks. They have the second lowest WHIP (1.18) and the second most holds (15).
Individually, here is how they rank:
Robert Bono is tied for 4th most wins with 5
Ross Seaton is tied for 4th most wins with 5
Daniel Meszaros is still in 2nd for saves with 9 despite being called up to Corpus Christi.
Jordan Lyles has the 4th most strike outs with 56.
Kyle Greenwalt is tied for 10th best WHIP with 1.06
Henry Villar is tied for the league lead in holds with 5.
Patrick Urckfitz is tied for 5th most holds with 4.
THE BAD
The Hitters:
Here are those who struggled in May:
Russell Dixon hit .065 in 13 games before being shipped out to extended spring training.
Phil Disher continues to struggle. He raised his batting average 6 points from April to .159 for May.
Frederico Hernadez saw his average slip from .264 in April to .231 in May but the bigger slide was his power numbers. His slugging dropped from .509 for April down to .295 in May.
This is where the Legends are stinking it up. They are last in hits (322), average (.227), stolen bases (27) and tied for last in triples (7) and on base percentage (.291). The Legends have the 2nd lowest OPS (.618). They have the 3rd fewest walks (111), the 3rd lowest slugging percentage (.324) and are tied for the 3rd most times caught stealing (27).
Those who have the shame of being listed among the leaders of the negative stats are:
Phil Disher has fanned 51 times which is the 2nd most in the league.
Jay Austin has been caught stealing 8 times which ties him for the most in the league.
Brandon Barnes has been caught stealing 5 times which ties him for 6th most in the league.
The Pitchers:
Brian Wabick’s ERA actual went down from 10. 61 in April to 6.52 for May. He had two outings in May where he gave up 3 or more runs in one inning of work.
Arcenio Leon saw his number jump in May. He went from a 2. 38 ERA in April to a 6.43 ERA in May. Opponents were hitting him at a .333 clip in May compared to a 0.081 in April.
Nothing too bad to report on the team as a whole. The Legends’ pitchers have only fanned 316 batters which is the second fewest in the league.
As for individuals:
Kyle Greenwalt, Ross Seaton & Jordan Lyles have all be listed as the losing pitcher 4 times. That ties them for 6th.
Greenewalt has also hit 6 batters which ties him for 5th most.
Seaton & Lyles have hit 5 batters which ties time for 10th most.
This Day in History
1521 – Martin Luther was banned by the Edict of Worms because of his religious beliefs and writings.
1805 – Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.
1836 – The U.S. House of Representatives adopted what has been called the Gag Rule.
1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson was acquitted, by one vote, of all charges in his impeachment trial.
1896 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared for the first time in the “Wall Street Journal.”
1908 – In Persia, the first oil strike was made in the Middle East.
1938 – The House Committee on Un-American Activities began its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
1940 – The evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.
1946 – A patent was filed in the United States for an H-bomb.
1959 – The word “Frisbee” became a registered trademark of Wham-O.
1973 – Kathy Schmidt set an American women’s javelin record with a throw of 207 feet, 10 inches.
1975 – American stuntman Evel Knievel suffered severe spinal injuries in Britain when he crashed while attempting to jump 13 buses in his car.
1978 – The first legal casino in the Eastern U.S. opened in Atlantic City, NJ.
1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island was mainly in New Jersey, not New York.
1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers in high-speed chases are liable for bystander injuries only if their “actions shock the conscience.”
2009 – The Houston Astros lost their 6th straight.
Astros 4, Red 6
W: Nick Masset, L: Tim Byrdak, S: Francisco Cordero
Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap
Box Score
This team is just bad. I thought about writing something good about each player but decided I did not want to spend the whole night trying to come up with something for each player.
The theories as to why they are bad do not really matter. At this point, they are bad. Managing, starting pitching, hitting, relief pitching and fielding have all had their moments in the Astros suckitude this season.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago, when leaving an Astros game I was not as upset as I have been in the past after a loss. It took me a day or so to realize it is because I do not expect this team to win. My expectations for them as a team are probably higher for them than what they have for themselves.
But enough about my feelings. There are players that seem to have improved this season and they do make the games worth watching (besides it being baseball). Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence. Both of them have made improvements in their play. I’m happy for them, but it only seems to be upping their trade value at this time.
Astro highlights from the game:
Rodriguez’s double in the third to score two. I have to admit, I thought the Astros weren’t going to score at all.
Bourn’s catch in the bottom of the fourth inning was outstanding. Bourn’s catch at the wall.
Keppinger’s homerun.
Edwin Maysonet’s first RBI.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Bench Tidbits:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are waiting to play the Detroit Redwings (not yet time for the Chicago Blackhawks) in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.
Read the GameZone for some game time reactions.
Check out JaneDoe’s series preview to see who Felipe Paulino is starting against.
“Astros need to step up and do a better job of it.” – Cecil Cooper