Why Can’t They Do This All The Time?

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Astros 2, Mariners 0

W: Oberholtzer (4-1)
L: Furbush (2-5)

In an unexpected turn of events Sunday at MMPUS, Warren Spahn was resurrected and snuck onto the mound to stymie the befuddled Mariners. Wearing Brett Oberholtzer’s uni, the Hall of Famer attacked the strike zone early and displayed great command, especially for a pitcher ten years in the grave.

“I’ll never forgive them for WWII,” Spahn said of Hisashi Iwakuma, who held the Astros scoreless through seven. “I’d have beaned the little bastard, but they don’t let the pitchers hit in this sissy league.”

Warren Spahn commented after the game

Furbush came in to the deadlocked tilt and quickly surrendered back-to-back doubles to Altuve and Castro, all the runs Houston would need to secure the win. Barnes followed with the rare double squeeze play, fouling off the first attempt and succeeding on the second to drive in Castro.

“Their guy was really good today,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. “He looked really old and frail, not much more than bones and a uniform but he was a strike thrower, he had good stuff, used all of his pitches. I felt like he could throw anything at any time. I was impressed.”

“With his fastball at 90 mph, it’s not the typical 90,” said Mariners second baseman Nick Franklin. “It’s a little sneaky, with all that boney clacking going on to distract you.”

Clemens will be suiting up for today’s holiday opener against the Twinkies. Not yet dead, the Rajah should provide a good test for the fellow cellar-dwellers. Follow along in the Game Zone.

Yet Another Loss…44-91

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Seafarers 3 Astros 1

contributed by Mr. Happy

I have to admit that I didn’t watch this whole game, but I did hang in there long enough to see all four runs score before switching over to ESPN for the LSU-TCU game. Keuchel was victimized in the first frame by a very tight strike zone, three seeing-eye singles and an atrocious throw by Marwin Gonzalez on a ball that should have been an inning ending twin killing. Unbelievably, that throw was not called an error, as the official scorer obviously was watching something else at the time. All three of the Mariners’ runs scored in that frame.

The Astros had lots of traffic off of classic soft-tossing Joe Saunders but were zippo-for-eight with RISP. The Home Nine plated their only run in the fourth inning, ironically on an errant catch of an attempted caught stealing that scored Brandon Barnes from 3B. Keuchel shut the hated fucking Mariners down on one hit over his final six frames, but our bats were moribund after the fourth inning.

The Mariners’ bully shut the Astros down on two hits in its 3.2 innings of work. Since the ball game was not on the line, Erik Bedard tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Keuchel.

College football started in earnest this weekend, and I have to admit that I wasn’t ready for it. LSU overcame some errors to dominate a scrappy and opportunistic TCU Hornfrogs ball club. Most teams had a traditional hope opening spanking of a patsy in town for a big payday, but not my Tigers, who travelled to Jerry World to play its opener.

We had our SNS fantasy football draft this week too, and I caught shit for drafting Colin Kapernick with my first pick. I also got Drew Brees in the second round just in case Kapernick was just a flash in the pan. However, if I am right about him, he’ll big a big double scoring threat and could be a real sleeper. We could only find eight guys to play this season; I guess that everyone else has busy lives this year.

It was really gratifying to read OSF’s personal account of his struggles with depression and to see that others here on SnS were helpful to him as he got back on his feet. He seems to be doing great, and I’m really glad about that. It takes a brave soul to step up and expose a part of himself like he did. However, what I know and what he probably knows too is that we are not alone and that there are others here who may be suffering too.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder back in 2005, which probably explains a lifetime of erratic behavior and drug use, as bipolar patients are far more likely to try to self-medicate. Heavily medicated for your protection as I am wont to say, I am one of the lucky ones whose medicines work and keep me feeling “normal,” or how I perceive normal to be since I’m not really sure about what feeling normal actually is, since I’ve never been normal.

When I would go into a depression, it was like I was walking in quicksand; everything, and I mean everything, was a struggle. Little things would go undone as I simply lacked the will or ability to do them. For a while, the big things still got done, but in the end, those things got put off too by the darkness, and that’s when the Louisiana Supreme Court saw fit to suspend me from the bar, which actually saved my life.

Depression sucks. However, I don’t know what’s worse: depression or a manic episode, of which I had plenty. That explained my racing thoughts, uncontrolled chasing after highs, fits of rage and acting out on the road, at work and in ball parks and gymnasiums. I used to explain it by saying that I was “high strung.” Yeah, right. It also explained my penchant for spending money that I didn’t have at the time—have credit card-will travel. In a manic phase, I remember feeling a burning sensation in my chest as the anger roared to the surface and simply seemed to just took over. Finally, once properly medicated and coming to the realization that anger, like every other emotion, is a choice, my anger problems disappeared overnight and haven’t returned.

My tether to a normal existence is fragile and tenuous and depends upon my medications, so I take them religiously. Many bipolar patients stop taking them when they start feeling normal, but this is a huge mistake. When I volunteer with fellow bipolar patients who aren’t as fortunate as I’ve been to get my meds right, I always tell them that they’re feeling good because of the medications. Sometimes they believe me; sometimes they don’t.

Rhymes with Nantucket

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Astros 1
Our Natural Rivals 7

contributed by NeilT

As Bench has pointed out, this is the series of the season, the series when Our Natural Rivals, the hated Mariners, are on home-ground for four games. There are so many names on the Mariners that I loathe: Miller, Franklin, Seager, Ibanez, Smoak . . . Smoak!!! I hate fucking Smoak!!!

Meanwhile, I am in Nantucket. You may not know Nantucket, but it is full of rich people, all of whom got rich in the limerick trade. It’s actually the limerick harvest season here, and as you drive around the island, you constantly see roadside stalls where limerick fishers are selling limericks fresh from the sea. I couldn’t afford any of the expensive limericks from the downtown shops, but in honor of the Mariners’ series, I stopped at a roadside stall and bought a half-dozen cheap limericks about the Astros. I was surprised they had any at all, but they were actually pretty well stocked. There was one about the ‘Stros general condition:

There once was a fan in Nantucket,
Whose team kept its wins in a bucket,
A girl name of Nan
Said just use a small pan
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

There was one about current events:

The Astros are richer than Croesus,
Says Forbes, and now no one believes us,
When we say they are poor
Perched on poverty’s door
‘Cause they spent all their money to please us.

Like I said, they weren’t the highest quality limericks. I did get this one about the Mariners, and I thought it was pretty good:

When the ‘Stros play Our Natural Rivals,
My gorge burns with vomity bile.
There’s nothing I hate
More than scurvy fishbait
And the gobs who define all that’s vile.

Unfortunately, it was not a good night for the ‘Stros.

There once was a pitcher named Brad,
Whose night was incredibly bad,
He gave up five runs
By the fifth he was done
For the Swabs he was there to be had.

But not every problem was starting pitching, there were problems hitting too. The Mariners pitched Taijuan Walker, who made his major league debut, and next year will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Walker allowed two hits and one unearned run in five innings.

There once was an offense from Houston
Who would swing with the greatest of gusto.
With one walk and four clouts
The rest were all outs
When asked to sit down they would do so.

If there was a bright spot last night, it was the bullpen. Humber came in for the last out of the fifth, and pitched three more innings of two-hit, one-earned run innings. Zeid pitched the ninth, giving up one more earned run.

There once was a bullpen from Houston
From which Porter was pickin’ and choosin’.
Regardless of names
The relievers lost games
They were less good at winnin’ than losin’.

So I guess the good news was that they didn’t blow the save, but I liked that Humber went long innings.

The guy at the limerick stand was really nice. “Call me Ishmael,” he said. He felt pretty bad for me after last night’s game, and as I was leaving he threw one more limerick into the bag. “I know how it feels to float around in a coffin. And don’t worry,” he said, “this limerick isn’t finished.”

There once was a fan in Nantucket
Whose team’s win-loss record sure sucked it.
He longed for a win
But they lost once again
And the fan was left crying “well. . .”

Sorry. Like I said, these were cheap limericks, and this one wasn’t finished. I couldn’t come up with an end rhyme. I thought of a bunch: Muck it, truck it, duck it, luck it . . . None of them seemed to be quite the thing. If you’ve read this far, you probably know how to end it anyway.

Better Late Than Never? You Decide…

Posted on August 30, 2013 by OregonStrosFan in Featured, Series Previews

Houston Astros (44-89) vs. Seattle Mariners (60-73)

Minute Maid Park, August 29 – September 1, 2013

Prologue: Yes, I’m running a tad behind (or in this case substantially behind)…. As usual… I wish I could say this is simply an OWA-related issue… But… It isn’t… In fact as writing goes, its par for the course… And to be perfectly honest with you, it drives me bat-shit crazy! [Note: not in the ‘bat-shit crazy’ vein that some have may have accused me of being/known me to be in the past, rather more in the ‘annoys the heck out of me’ bat-shit crazy vein…]. Nevertheless, here I am, and here we are, so let’s make the best of this, shall we?!? [Or at a minimum, at least please accept my apology for being any unreliable piece of crap when it comes to the timely posting of OWA Series Previews…].

Anyway… here goes it… your (1+ day late) Astros vs. Mariners Series Preview.

I’m a Texan, born and bred. Grew up a Texan. Will die a Texan. And though my heart is and will always be that of a Texan, I live in the Pacific Northwest – been here since ’94 and will likely be here until the day I die (an event which I am somewhat certain will be related to a person snapping and killing me because of yet another last-second writing project completion…). And for the most part, at least as far as (non-bandwagoneering) baseball fan affiliations go, the Northwest is Mariners country. And over the years, to the extent that I ‘had’ to choose a favorite American League team, I guess the Mariners were it. That changed this year of course, but I’ve no desire to re-visit that ‘issue’ other than to say FYB!!!

Though the change to the AL has been nothing less than a monumentally sucktacular happening from my vantage as an NL Astros fan, I’ve nevertheless sucked it up, put on my ‘happy face’, and continued to follow the team. I tried not to, believe me I tried, but at the end of the day I just can’t quit [them]. One of the reasons seems to stem from my status as a ‘displaced Texan’ (and Houstonian). Even though I’m 2,000+ miles away from (what I will always consider to be) home, something about watching and rooting for the Astros gives me a sense of connection with the place my heart will always call home. Additionally, through my association with The Bus Ride, I’ve been watching many of these kids (the Future Astros) for so long, it proved impossible for me simply to ‘turn my back on them.’ Further, and though it may seem a tad trite, I simply didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. After all, my Astros ‘fandom’ is commonly known amongst not only my friends, but also most everybody that I practice against. And now that the Astros are an AL West team, my buddies (opposing counsel, general acquaintances, etc.) feel the need to talk shit about the Astros to someone, that someone is me. And it was going to be me whether I remained an Astros fan, or had renounced my fandom thereof, so I might as well stay the course. That said… as much as they’d looked forward to talking shit about the Astros to me is as disappointed as they’ve been now that they’ve had the opportunity… As a general matter, I’ve got a high-tolerance for listening to trash-talk as it is. And as far as the Astros go after two (going on three) 100+ loss seasons almost completely immune to Astros-suck related ramblings.

“I know everything he’s got to say against me,
I am white,
I am a fuckin bum,
I do live in a trailer with my mom,
My boy Future is an Uncle Tom.
I do got a dumb friend named Cheddar Bomb who shoots himself in his leg with his own gun,
I did get jumped by all 6 of you chumps ***
I’m still standin here screamin “FUCK THE FREE WORLD!”
-Eminem, 8 Mile (his words, not mine)

Call it “The Eminem Theorum of Shut the Heck Up” I guess… but… acknowledgement of the issues (mainly, yes, the Astros: are about to finish their third straight season as shittiest team in all of Major League Baseball; they strike out more at the plate than I do at last call; their current payroll is less than my monthly Kodiac and Diet Coke budget; etc., etc., etc.) has pretty much left them in stunned silence, unable to come up with anything of substance in retort. Moreover, I am able to (honestly) say with a straight face that while it is true that the Astros have sucked mightily for a while now, this soon shall pass… And try as they might to defeat my claims of the ‘Transient Nature of the Suckitude of Astros Baseball’, they’ve been unable to as I’ve got a shit-load* [*legal term of art] of evidence (albeit circumstantial) that I am right (as is usually the case when dealing with opposing counsel – or at least the way I choose to remember it), and they are wrong (which is also usually the case when dealing with opposing counsel – or at least the way I choose to remember it). But we’ll get to that evidence in a bit…

**********

Tonight marks the second game of a 7-game home stand (4 vs. SEA) for the Astros. Over their previous two series the Astros have gone 2-1 (series win vs. Toronto) and 1-2 (series loss vs. ChiSox) making them a .500 team over the past week or so (or in other words, a hell of a lot better than they have for most of the season). Things have not been so ‘rosy’ for the Mariners, however, as they came into town riding a 7-game losing streak (broken last night). My Mariners buddies remain unfazed, however, as they’ve already penned the next 4 games as wins for SEA, and have not yet given up hopes of finishing near the top of the AL West by seasons end. [Note: Dumbasses, each and every one of them].

Probable Match-ups:

8/29 (Game 1 of 4): RHP Jordan Lyles (6-6, 5.17) vs. RHP Erasmo Ramirez (4-1, 5.44)
Giveaways: Evidently, a win…

Per brief perusal of Ramirez career stats, it doesn’t appear that he’d faced any of the current Astros in MLB play prior to last night’s game. Nevertheless, it is probably safe to presume that he will set (or tie) his career single-game strikeout record.

As for Lyles, the current Mariners were 12-39 off of him prior to the game, with 1 HR and 4 BBs. Ackley (2-2), Franklin (3-6), and Morales (2-3) had hit Lyles well in limited plate appearances, but Ibanez (1-6), Chavez (1-6), Ryan (0-3), and Morse (2-7) had not faired as well.

Game 1 Postscript: HOU lost, 3-2. I was otherwise occupied last night (Hillsboro Hops 2nd to last game of their inaugural season, among other things…) so I didn’t see the game. Per my understanding around the office this morning, however, SEA loves Hoes. And Franklin and Guitierrez love hitting off Lyles… As for Ramirez, it appears I was wrong on my strikeout record prediction…he only tied his second-best single game strikeout performance.

8/30 (Game 2 of 4): RHP Brad Peacock (3-4. 5.67 ERA) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (NR)
Promotions and Giveaways: Friday Night Fireworks; $1 Dog Night; American League Baseball (first 10,000 fans get a permanent reminder that W. Huber Selig is a waste of oxygen…); Cat Osterman Appreciation Night (seriously, what’s not to appreciate about Cat Osterman )

Friday night is slated to be Taijuan Walker’s Major League Debut. For those of you that aren’t familiar with him, Taijuan is “the shit”… Don’t know exactly how the rook will ultimately do in his MLB debut… but… I can absolutely guarantee that he will set and break his personal single game strikeout record when he faces the Astros.

As for Peacock, the kid throws a knuckle-curve so you gotta like that… Otherwise… The current Mariners are 11-37 off of him, with 4 of those 11 hits being home runs and 3 of the remaining 7 hits being doubles. Mariners have struck out three times against Peacock, and have walked twice. Only Brendan Ryan and Michael Morse have had their butts handed to them by Peacock.

8/31 (Game 3 of 4): LHP Dallas Keuchel (5-7, 4.82) vs. LHP Joel Saunders (10-13, 5.09)
Giveaways: Batting Practice Replica Jersey (Via Houston Methodist to the first 10,000 fans. This I wouldn’t actually mind having…)

Keuchel has faced the Mariners twice in his career, and is 0-1 with a hold. Keuchel’s loss against the Mariners came in a start in which he allowed 1 earned run (2 runs total) over 6.0 innings. Overall, the Mariners have hit .250 against Keuchel (7-28), with a home run and a walk to 7 strikeouts. Endy Chavez and Micheal Morse have had multiple hits (2 each) off Keuchel, and Michael Morse and Bredan Ryan both sport 0-fers (0-4) against him.

Saunders is 2-1 against the Astros this season, though they have hit him well (line: 5.94 ERA, 16.2 IP, 26 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 6 BB, 13 SO, .371 AVG). Among Astros knocking the tar off Saunders’ balls are Altuve (4-12, BB, SO), Barnes (4-6, 3B, HR, BB, SO), Jason Castro (3-6, 2B, 2 SO), and Matt Dominguez (3-8, BB, SO). For the love of all that is holy, let’s hope that Saunders does not set a career high single game strikeout record against the Astros. Dude sucks… that’d be annoying…

9/1 (Game 4 of 4): LHP Brett Oberholtzer (3-1, 2.91) vs. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (12-6, 3.03)
Giveaways: You’ll get nothing and like it.

Oberholtzer has never faced the Mariners. Iwakuma is 2-1 against the Astros over 3 starts (line: 1.89 ERA, 19.0 IP, 17 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 26 SO, .239). Here is how the current Astros have faired against Iwakuma. Iwakuma set his single-game career-high strikeout mark against the Astros in April (11), so let’s hope he doesn’t do so again…

**********

Anyway… back to “this too shall pass”…

Now everybody from the [713]
Put your mutha[friggin’] hands up and follow me

[Note: To clarify, nope, I am not an Eminem fan (or for that matter a Rap fan). Just trying to follow the OWA Series Preview Playbook here (mention some music that the masses may recognize in some form or fashion)… Or just finishing a thought… Either way, need you to bear with me just a little bit longer…]

Don’t fret, help is on the way!!! [Astros Affiliates (by the numbers, or however else I feel like asserting it at that particular moment)].

Astros MiLB Organizational Stats (via MLBFarm)
Win Percentage: 57.07% (second only to the Giants who are at 57.1%)
Wins: 464 (second only to the Mets who have 466 overall wins)
Home Runs: 595 (second only to the Mariners who have 604)

Astros MiLB Affiliates Standings:
Oklahoma City RedHawks (Triple-A): 80-60, clinched playoff berth (tied with Las Vegas 51s for best record in the 16-team Pacific Coast League)
Corpus Christi Hooks: 81-55, clinched playoff berth (best record in the 8-team Texas League).
Lancaster JetHawks: 80-56, clinched playoff berth (tied with San Jose Giants for best record in the 10-team California League)
Quad Cities River Bandits: 78-56, clinched playoff berth (third best record in the 16-team Midwest League)
Tri-City ValleyCats: 41-29, 1.5 games ahead of Lowell in the hunt for a playoff berth (best record in NYPL Stedler Division, third best record overall in the New York-Penn League)
Greeneville Astros: 38-29, clinched playoff berth (fourth best record in the 10-team Appalachian League)
Gulf Coast League Astros: 27-33, eliminated from playoff berth contention (tied for eleventh in 16-team Gulf Coast League, only Astros affiliate with a sub .500 record)
Dominican Summer League: 39-31, eliminated from playoff berth contention (third overall in 8-team DSL Bocha Chica Northwest division, twelfth overall in the 38-team Dominican Summer League)

Astros Prospects (including some second half promotions to HOU):

Astros are the top team in terms of “Prospect Points” of all MLB teams per MLB’s Mayo.

George Springer: 37/43, ‘nough said* (though if you want more, how about ‘6-tool’ player. [* actually, I’m not sure that that is ‘nough said… In the history of MLB and MiLB, there have only been 8 verified 40/40 seasons. Ever. And George Springer has 3 more games to have the ninth. And ‘oh by the way’… the 37 home runs to date DO NOT INCLUDE the two home runs he hit in the Texas League All Star Game).
Carlos Correa: Stud.
Jonathan Singleton: true, he ain’t smokin’ ‘em like we might have expected him to do… but… he’ll get there)
DeLino DeShields, Jr.
Rio Ruiz
Domingo Santana
Nolan Fontana
Preston Tucker
Mike Foltynewicz: 103 MPH
Lance McCullers: 100 MPH pre-draft
Mark Appel: (legitimate) 1.1
Kyle Smith: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 9 SO
Luis Cruz: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER/R, BB, 14 SO
Asher Wojciechowski
Vincent Velasquez
Josh Hader
Nick Tropeano
And lest we forget second half MLB call-ups (among others): Jarred Cosart, Max Stassi, Jonathan Villar, etc., etc., etc.

In any event, I think you get the picture I’m trying to paint here… Sure, the 2013 Astros suck (as did the 2012 Astros and the 2011 Astros), but that won’t be the case too much longer… The Astros will be good (very good in fact) in the not-so-distant future, and it will be a beautiful thing to behold.
**********

Postscript: For what it’s worth, though this is ultimately the Series Preview that I posted, it is in no way, shape, or form the Series Preview that I intended to write. Believe it or not, I’ve spent a shit-load* [* reminder: legal term of art] of time writing, and re-writing, and re-writing an Astros vs. Mariners OWA Series Preview. Unfortunately, the preview posted is not remotely related to those that I’ve put forth legitimate effort on… (Not that I didn’t put forth ‘some’ effort on this, proofreading and editing notwithstanding (which I’ll get around to tomorrow), but still…).

I’ve been promising for a long time now that I’d write on ‘The Fall, and Subsequent Rise, of OSF’ (i.e. my personal battles with depression, and the war ultimately won (as long as I remain diligent that is, which I am)). And I tried, but (for the moment) was unsuccessful (not for any reason other than there is simply a lot that I wanted (and tried to) write on the subject, but could never really put words together enough to want to hit ‘post’ on). That post is probably better left to a ‘From Left Field’ submission in any event… And yes, I will eventually get around to submitting one on the subject… But until then, it’s been almost three years now that I feel like (and have had) my feet firmly planted beneath me. But this was far from my reality in January through June of 2009, which was the time that I *officially* met many of you.

To say that I was ‘beyond broken’ in February/March 2009 is a monumental understatement. Honestly, at that time, I was all but certain that “all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.” Ultimately I would be proven wrong, but at the time I had no clue that it even “could be” possible to put together the broken pieces – much less that it “would be” that I would ultimately prove able to do so (and make the whole stronger to boot). And it is for that “would be” that I wanted to take an opportunity to say thanks to some of you who for what you meant to my life, and recovery, at the time. While some of you were privy to what was going on in my life at the time, most of you were not. Yet knowingly or not, you provided support to me at a time when I needed it so very much. So with that, let me simply say thank you Chuck, Budgirl, Mr. Happy, Jane Doe, Coach, Gleech, Homer, Bench, Limey, and so many others of you. Know it or not, you provided me with a ‘hand up’ when I needed it so very desperately.

And a note to those of you who may currently be fighting (and by your estimation losing) a battle with depression, please know that the war is not lost and in fact can be won. I’m living proof.

“The fog has finally cleared to see,
The beautiful life You’ve given me.
***
Every next step is an extraordinary scene
I know that I’ve been given more than beyond measure
I come alive when I see beyond my fears
I know that I’ve been given more than earthly treasures
I come alive when I’ve broken down and given You control.”
-Jeremy Camp, Beyond Measure

I Miss Jim Deshaies

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Mariners 3 Astros 2

contributed by Mr. Happy

Ask me for the world
It doesn’t seem much
Ask me for the moon, dear
And I’ll reach out and touch

Anything for you, for you, dear, only
But please don’t ask me to be lonely

Finally, last night, I had all that I could take of Alan Ashby during the game, muted the television and turned on my iPod. The above song (“Please Don’t Ask Me to be Lonely”) by the Dubs, a wistful doo wop song, came on. I thought to myself “Happy, what’s the problem here?” I indeed was lonely.

And the problem was not that the Astros stink. They do. On ice. It’s not that the club was forced to move to the softball league, although that sucks too. Double FYB. The problem last night was that I was jonesing for a witty Jimmy D quip, and there was none to be had.

In my opinion, a lot of the angst and ennui that has been expressed here on SnS would have been assuaged by the chuckles that Deshaies brought to the booth each and every night. Such would have brought palliative aid and succor to the suffering throng of Astros fans. Of course, given that many of us can’t even watch the games, courtesy of a negotiations clusterfuck, it may have been worse to have still had Deshaies and simply not been able to watch him work.

This brings me to the real purpose of this piece, i.e., to report on last night’s ball game, which the hated, fucking, cock-sucking Seafarers won 3-2. Jordan Lyles still gets behind too many hitters and then magnifies that error by throwing something in the Happy Zone, which two Mariners’ hitters deposited in the seats for all of their runs. Lyles lasted six frames and didn’t have a bad line, fanning four and only issuing two free passes and four hits. The problem was that two of those hits left the yard.

There were some positive signs last night. Castro continues to show that he’s blossomed as a big league hitter. Brett Wallace hit another tater, his 12th, a pull shot, which I think that is a possible sign that he’s getting the hang of hitting inside pitches. I’ve always believed that Wallace should hit in the show. I think that he’s got a lot of good baseball left in him. I wouldn’t discount him in ST next year and assume that the club is simply going to hand the first sack job to Singleton. Finally, the beleaguered bully tossed three innings of shutout baseball, surrendering two hits and fanning four. Chapman continues to impress.

All in all, it wasn’t a poor effort by the Home Nine. However, it still wasn’t enough to beat those hated fucking Mariners. Sigh.

White Sox defeat Astros

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Ron Brand in Featured, Game Recaps

Winners score more often than losers

WP: Chris Sale (10-12)
LP: Lucas Harrell (6-15)

contributed by Sphinx Drummond

Chris Sale, along with nearly every other starting pitcher in MLB, has the Astros number. He didn’t pitch a shut out this time, but before a sparse Chi-Town crowd he did strike out 12 Astro hitters over the course of his eight innings of work. He allowed 4 hits, 1 run (a solo shot by Chris Carter-his 26th), while only walking 2 before giving way for ex-Astro Matt Lindstrom to finish the game.

Chris Carter got 2 of the 5 hits allowed by the White Sox, raising his average to .218, his OBP is .317. Matt Dominguez, who is hitting .240 has an OBP of .278. Jose Altuve is batting .269 with a .305 OBP. I have to commend Carter on his OBP, he may seem a feast or famine type of hitter but other than Castro, Villar, and Grossman, he is getting on base more often than everyone else on this team.

After a shaky start, Jarred Cosart pitched well again allowing only a single run in the first inning, but he had to settle for a no-decision. Cosart spread seven hits and five walks with 4 strikeouts over 113 pitches and six innings, gaining credit for a quality start. Over his 7 starts Cosart has a stellar ERA at 1.59.

After the Astros tied it up in the top of the 7th inning, Lucas Harrell came in to allow the White Sox to score the go-ahead runs and make sure the Astros weren’t victorious. Harrell took the loss and I believe leads the league in losses.

The Astros record is now 44 wins and 88 losses with 30 games to play, which puts them on a pace to finish at 54 wins with 108 losses. I’m too lazy to confirm but that is probably going to make the worst three year run in the modern baseball era. But of course this team will get better with time. Of course.

Wednesday’s record has fallen to 12 and 9, still good. The Astros return home Thursday to host the hideous Seattle Mariners in a 4 game series with Erasmo Ramirez (4-1, 5.44 ERA) facing off against Jordan Lyles (6-6, 5.15 ERA)

Attendance – 15,961
Game Time – 2:44
Temperature – 71

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