The good news for the Astros is the 2000 season is over. The bad news is some of the problems that plagued them, the lack of quality pitching in particular, might not be behind them. On that note, the following are some numbers that give a glimpse into what the 2001 season possibly holds.
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Hitting a baseball: this skill is a path to fame and fortune if one does it well and is a certain ticket to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame if one does it exceptionally well. No less an expert than Ted Williams, however, once said that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult act to accomplish in all of sports. Because Teddy Ballgame was the greatest pure hitter of all time, perhaps folks should listen to him. How does one use a round bat to hit a round ball squarely? Surprisingly, the mechanics of hitting are relatively easy to learn, but because of the superior eye-hand coordination required, few can hit a baseball well enough to make just four successes out of ten tries commonplace. If averaging only three successes out of ten tries over a career can put a professional hitter into the Hall of Fame, the actual doing must be far more difficult than the “knowing how to do.” Basic hitting mechanics follow and can be practiced alone, in the batting cage, or against live pitching.Read More
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Position players scornfully deride pitchers as being “non-athletes.” Most pitchers cannot hit or run, and few field the position well. Yet a team cannot have too much pitching, and a team cannot win championships without solid pitching. There is no truer axiom in baseball than “good pitching beats good hitting.” The purpose of this article is to describe the mechanics of pitching, but, unfortunately, instructional techniques cannot create 90+ mph velocity. That ability cannot be taught, but good mechanics can increase the velocity that a pitcher has and can improve his control. Although this discussion examines pitching mechanics step by step, the pitching motion and delivery are, or should be, fluid and seamless. All examples of what the pitch will, or may do, are of a RH pitcher throwing to a RH hitter and of a LH pitcher throwing to a LH hitter.Read More
By Breedlove
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on March 27, 2001.
Train Wreck 2000 – The Astros’ pathetic inaugural display at Enron Field at Union Station.
While many in the Astros organization spent the last six months trying to wake up from that nightmare, Gerry Hunsicker had to relive it over and over to decide what had to be done to keep it from happening again. Much of his work goes on in the offseason, and it was his responsibility to use that time to ensure the Astros do not suffer a similar fate in 2001: A Baseball Odyssey. Here Brushback begins to openly wonder what hath Gerry wrought. Read More
Astros fans worried about their team’s lackluster spring-training performance probably shouldn’t be. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about this team: the starting pitching is shaky, half the bullpen is recovering from injury, the defense isn’t exactly solid. But, as the axiom goes, spring wins and losses don’t matter.
Astros fans spent all winter hoping for a spring turnaround from Jose Lima. Adopting Hideo Nomo’s tornado wind-up isn’t likely what they had in mind. Lima fell from 21-10 in 1999 to 7-16 with a league-worst 6.65 ERA and 48 home runs allowed in 2000. Even his teammates think Lima is a yo-yo. Does that mean he can bounce back from his hideous performance?
