Da Fuggin? Jakes Series Preview
The Basics
What: Astros/Jakes 3 Game series
When: Friday, April 22nd at 7:10, FSSW
Saturday, April 23rd at 1:15, KNWS/MLB.TV
Sunday, April 24th at 1:15, FSSW
Where: Busch Stadium. The only place where you can find a gathering of 40,000 baseball fans who think both: (a) Big Mac didn?t take the roids and (b) LaRussa isn?t a douche bag.
The Pitching Matchups
Game 1 Brandon Duckworthless versus Jason ?Mercury Grand? Marquis
Game 2 Roger ?My kingdom for run support? Clemens versus Mark ?Fox? Mulder
Game 3 Brandon ?toe? Backe versus Matt ?please say Lamb has the flu? Morris
Wish we could have had Pettitte going this series, I like a lefty versus Edmonds/Walker.
Jakes Update
Da Jakes just split a pair with the Cubs, beating Dempster while CZambrano treated them like a lab with a leaky ass treats the living room carpet.
Offensively the Jakes have yet to hit their stride. Rolen, with a bum knee that some think will eventually need surgery (miss maybe a month), is hitting 228/267/456. Walker, aiding in kicking my fantasy team to nothing but last place in the hitting categories, is hitting 217/308/391.
On the plus side, Yadier Molina is having an awesome year hitting .329. Oh wait, that?s his OPS not his AVG. Grudz and Eckstein have also been worse than their 2004 counterparts, though Eckstein does have a fine .429 OBP (with only 3 runs scored hitting in front of Walker, Poo Holes, and Anaheim Jimmy).
Pitching wise, the Cards support a fine 3.31 ERA. Jason Marquis has allowed just 3 earnies in 20 innings. Suppan also is pitching well, Morris looked good in his only start but that was against Shittsburgh, which is about as difficult to accomplish as getting Jim Rome to talk about himself. Mulder has been hit pretty hard, 4.74 ERA, and the entire teams WHIP is a pedestrian 1.34.
LaRussa is the subject of a new book by the guy that penned Friday Night Lights. I refuse to read the book because: (a) nothing he?ll ever write again will be as good as FNL (and I am afraid of being disappointed), and (b) LaRussa is a tool.
Astros Update
Nothing like kicking the shit outta the Brew Crew to make yourself feel a whole lot better. After losing 6 of 8, the Astros have responded with 3 straight W?s pulling back over .500 with an 8-7 record.
Right now Lane is the club leader in AVG, HR, R, RBI, and SB. Has a player ever done that for his team? Maybe A-Rod or Bonds?
Last week going into the Reds series, Ensberg/Tavares/Scott were all hitting over .300. Now, none are. Scott has been in a horrible slump, 0 for his last 18. Someone needs to let the rook know about slump busting.
Taveras has a higher slugging percentage than Ensberg does.
Pitching has been outstanding so far this year. Clemens ERA has been lower than all but Brother Bluto?s GPA, Oswalt has been working down his ERA which Edmonds? HR in the opener shot skyward (currently at 3.41). Pettitte and Backe are both under 4.00 ERA and the Astros as a team check in at 2.85 with a 1.09 WHIP.
Joe Sheehan had a nice article the other day, looking at the K/BB ratio for every team in the league. Apparently the all time record for a team is something like 3.25. Well, the Twins are destroying that mark with a ratio currently over 6.00. Second on that list? The Astros at 3.66.
Sheehan looked at the top 10 result of all time and the worst any of those team finished up was 88 and 74.
What?s on Foggy?s mind?
New feature this week, as I just brain dump various thoughts/questions/ideas that I?ve been chewing on for a week or so. Some baseball related, some Astros related, some related to nothing at all.
First, my fantasy league team is killing me. We had to announce keepers by mid-February so I kept Bonds, who at the time, wasn?t supposed to miss any time. I also kept Nomar. I drafted Andruw Jones, Larry Walker, Bagwell, Berkman, and Piazza. I am last in all the hitting categories but near the lead in all the pitching categories (Beckett, Sheets, Oswalt, FrCordero, Greinke, Brazoban, and Wickman). Anyone got any suggestions?
$1 hot dog night is a scam. The dogs are the left over dogs from the previous series, the buns are hard and crushed, and they are never served warm. Fuck dollar hot dog night. Double fuck it.
The wife and I will get to enjoy a night out this weekend as my parents babysit the little one, and the odds are high we?ll see a movie. Bad news: its her pick which means there is an 85% chance I?m going to see Fever Pitch, as I?ve been dragged to every Drew Barrymore movie since The Wedding Singer. As long as it is better than Riding in Cars with Boys (worst movie ever) there won?t be an incident.
Tavares needs to lead off, AE to hit 7th, drop Ausmus to 8. Astros need to find a 3B for next year?Ensberg isn?t the long term answer. Qualls/Wheeler are doing a bang up job. Bully is certainly pulling its weight. Franco?s WHIP is 3.60, his ERA in 0.00.
If John Daly holds on to win the Shell, you just know his victory party at one of the local titty bars is going to be legendary. Or has he found Jesus?
First 10 picks in the NFL draft in order?Aaron Rogers, Alex Smith, Braylon Edwards, Ronnie Brown, Ced Benson, Mike Williams, Derrek Johnson, Cadallac Williams, Troy Williamson, and Pac Man Jones. No idea who will take whom as I forsee about 3 or 4 trades going down.
What to look for this weekend
1) Which pitcher with the microscopic ERA (Clemens or Marquis) gets hammered?
2) Lamb to start versus Morris, but will it be at 3B or LF? Me, I try to go with a nearly all lefty lineup?Tavares (CF), Viz (2B), Bagwell (1B), Lamb (3B), Scott (LF), Palmeiro (RF), Everett (SS), Ausmus (C).
3) Battle of the bullpens?Lidge/Wheeler/Qualls versus Izzy/King/Tavarez. This battle will decide one of the games.
4) Its easy to spot the fucksticks at Busch, just look for someone wearing red.
5) Mulder is a guy we need to pound. He?s not the same Mulder of the past few years. Work the count, and pound his fastball once he falls behind.
1 Topic for TZ Discussion
I like this feature, so I?m a-keepin? it. Cover songs. Your top 5 favorite cover songs that are better than the original. Mine in no particular order:
Ring of Fire?Social Distortion covering Johnny Cash
Superstition?SRV covering Stevie Wonder
Please Mr. Postman?Beatles covering the Marvalettes (is that who did it originally?)
Take Me Home, Country Roads?Jason and the Scorchers covering John Denver
Sympathy?Jane?s Addiction covering the Stones? Sympathy for the Devil
