Holy Hell, Dave Mlicki

[Major]

Mlicki: 8 innings, near-complete game shutout, 1 hit, no walks. 1 total baserunner. Soooo close to a perfect game (except for the 1 inning he wasn't allowed to pitch for some dumbass reason). :(

I don't know if it's a good thing that Mlicki is the best pitcher on this team, but WOW.

In 4 starts, he has given up a total of 7 runs and now has an ERA of 2.36. I'm glad we gave him the job over Redding. Sadly, we might not get the win because Wagner comes up in the 9th.

[bobrek]

It really disappoints me that Williams decided to yank Mlicki for a pinch hitter in the 8th (especially with a 4 run lead). At the very least he should have let Mlicki bat and try a squeeze. Not only is Mlicki pitching well, he is doing it with little effort. He pitched very well his previous two games as well so it's not like this was unusual (at least for this year). Thus far Williams pitching moves have been questionable. (e.g Oswalt on Thursday).

[haven]

Holy crap. A 2 hitter against one of the better hitting teams in the league? Amazing.

I'll wait until July to become a Mlicki convert... but damn, dave... thanks for the fantastic start.

Bobrek: You're absolutely right. He'd only thrown 92 pitches. I was worried that Williams would ruin our starters: I should have been worried about our bullpen!

[Major]

Maybe even more impressive:

Barry Bonds: 0-3, NO WALKS, 1 Strikeout

[bobrek]

It is always impressive when Bonds doesn't walk considering the strike zone he gets.

[finalsbound]

I hope Mlicki can keep up the phenominal pitching thru out the season. This guy is looking like an ace as of now.

[Wakko67]

Originally posted by bobrek
It is always impressive when Bonds doesn't walk considering the strike zone he gets.

I totally agree.

Props to The Milkman. ;) He's not just pitching well this year. He's been doing good ever since coming to Houston. Who remembers last year's post-season showing when he only allowed 1 run against the braves? I know we lost, but it wasn't because of him.

[Rocket Fan]

i havne't paid attention to lima at all since we traded him for dave.. how's he been pitching..?

[BigM]

lima gave up 8 runs in the first inning of their game today but he did get the tigers first win of the season. i do know we've gotten the better of the deal so far.

[Raven Lunatic]

That Lima trade is looking pretty sweet.

[Drewdog]

All of you who bashed Miliki and said he was sh!t need a gut check. The guy was reliable last year, and thus far has proven to be a serviceable starter.

[Puedlfor]

Dangerous Dave struck out Barry Bonds on high heat . . . . that couldn't have been faster than 88mph or so - that is insane.

But I'll take it.

[Major]

From the Chronicle:

Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 and failed to reach base, ending a streak of 58 games dating to Aug. 15, 2001.

The record is something like 62 games or so.

[Raven Lunatic]

Incidentally, Jose Lima pitched today for Detroit....
What's that you say? What was his stat line? Well, I'll tell you....


2/3 of an inning, 5 hits allows, 2 walks, 8 ER allowed. Nice job, Lima.

That trade was a freaking steal for us.

[MadMax]

Mlicki rocks!! I freaking love that guy...mostly because he has been at least of SOME value instead of the none we were getting with his trade counterpart, Lima Time!! BELIEVE IT!!! (what a dork!)

Don't forget...Mlicki was nails down the stretch last year and pitched a great game in the playoffs. He is a good starting pitcher.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by Major
From the Chronicle:

Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 and failed to reach base, ending a streak of 58 games dating to Aug. 15, 2001.

The record is something like 62 games or so.

Big Mac had a 62 or 64 game streak in '95 I think, this was longest since then. Don't know about all-time though.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by bobrek
It really disappoints me that Williams decided to yank Mlicki for a pinch hitter in the 8th (especially with a 4 run lead). At the very least he should have let Mlicki bat and try a squeeze. Not only is Mlicki pitching well, he is doing it with little effort. He pitched very well his previous two games as well so it's not like this was unusual (at least for this year). Thus far Williams pitching moves have been questionable. (e.g Oswalt on Thursday).

From the Chron:

"It was the right move. If I could swing a bat or get a bunt down maybe, I would have stayed out there. We had to win, so you had to give the ball to Billy. If we had a couple more runs I'm sure I would have gone back out there."

Williams refused to second-guess the decision and became agitated when queried by reporters after the game.

"It was an easy decision," said Williams who added he wanted to get some Wagner some work. "He had thrown (92) pitches, he had done his job. Bonds was the fifth hitter in the next inning, so I would have taken him out if anyone got on base anyway."

[Major]

"It was the right move. If I could swing a bat or get a bunt down maybe, I would have stayed out there. We had to win, so you had to give the ball to Billy. If we had a couple more runs I'm sure I would have gone back out there."


I still disagree with the move. He looked pissed when they took him out. The "if we had a couple more runs" thing is odd, given that we had a 4-0 lead. I could understand if it was 1-0 or 2-0. Seems to me like a generic "company line' type of answer.

"It was an easy decision," said Williams who added he wanted to get some Wagner some work. "He had thrown (92) pitches, he had done his job. Bonds was the fifth hitter in the next inning, so I would have taken him out if anyone got on base anyway."

This is another move I'd have disagreed with, given that Mlicki is the one pitcher in the world who held Bonds to 0-3. Even if people had gotten on base, I'd have left him in unless Mlicki was just falling apart.

Oh well, guess that (along with my lack of baseball experience and numerous other reasons) is why I'm not a manager. :)

[haven]

Don't forget...Mlicki was nails down the stretch last year and pitched a great game in the playoffs. He is a good starting pitcher

Eh? Mlicki was the worst starting pitcher in MLB last year who qualified. I'm more convinced that he's a good back-end starter... but I have trouble believing that he's a "good" starting pitcher. Yesterday was a gem... but I'll always have trouble trusting a pitcher without a single pitch that could truly be called "good."

"It was the right move. If I could swing a bat or get a bunt down maybe, I would have stayed out there. We had to win, so you had to give the ball to Billy. If we had a couple more runs I'm sure I would have gone back out there."

[quote]"He had thrown (92) pitches, he had done his job. Bonds was the fifth hitter in the next inning, so I would have taken him out if anyone got on base anyway."

This makes no sense. In Boston, Williams didn't hesitate to throw the arms off of pitchers. Now, in Houston, he's terrified of pitching them a "normal" amount? What the hell has happened?

Here's a couple of half-assed guesses: perhaps Gerry Hunsicker told him, very strictly, to pay attention to pitch counts. And Jimy's become overzealous. Or, maybe, he's so terrified of damaging another pitcher like Pedro, that he's gone too far the other way.

Incidentally... how the hell could he have more faith in a completely ****ty bullpen, than in a guy who'd just put Bonds at 0/3?

PS. Jimy! We were winning 3-0! We didn't need to score more runs, just stop the Giants from doing so!

[Rocketman95]

Overreact much?

If he'd have left Mlicki in, and he'd given up 5 runs, you'd all be bitching about Williams not taking him out.

[Major]

If he'd have left Mlicki in, and he'd given up 5 runs, you'd all be bitching about Williams not taking him out.

Well, yeah, because you probably don't leave Mlicki in if he gives up 4 or 5 more hits in the 9th inning... It is possible to take people out in the middle of an inning.

[Rocketman95]

At that point, the bullpen is more likely to give up 1 or 2 runs than it is 4...point is, you'd still be bitching if Williams kept him in and we lost.

I liked the move because it was a good chance to put in our bullpen at a time when they were most likely to get out with a win, thus improving their shaken confidence.

[haven]

With most of the bullpen, the problem isn't confidence, but the fact that they totally suck. With Billy Wagner, the problem seems to be that he's lost movement on his fastball. No amount of confidence is going to put his K/BB ratio back where it was. Just a good pitching coach, hopefully...

[Major]

At that point, the bullpen is more likely to give up 1 or 2 runs than it is 4...point is, you'd still be bitching if Williams kept him in and we lost.

Not really, because I would have agreed with the move. Notice that I posted this post BEFORE the 9th inning ever started. Decisions don't always work out, but generally, there's always one that I prefer. With the way Williams is using our bullpen (by choice, not by force), all their arms are going to fall off in August or September. Anytime we have a chance to keep a SP in there, we need to do it as long as reasonably possible.

I liked the move because it was a good chance to put in our bullpen at a time when they were most likely to get out with a win, thus improving their shaken confidence.

Do you think the fact that "hey, we didn't blow a 4 run 9th inning lead" is really a confidence-builder? That's like saying, hey, I was able to run a 30-minute mile! :)

[MadMax]

Originally posted by haven


Eh? Mlicki was the worst starting pitcher in MLB last year who qualified. I'm more convinced that he's a good back-end starter... but I have trouble believing that he's a "good" starting pitcher. Yesterday was a gem... but I'll always have trouble trusting a pitcher without a single pitch that could truly be called "good."


Do I have selective memory?? I seem to remember him pitching well in some big games down the stretch. I KNOW he pitched well in the playoffs...in fact, I think he pitched better than any other Astro in the playoffs last year. I was actually at that game.

[Rocketman95]

If I hadn't have been able to run a 30 minute mile, and finally did, I'd be very happy about it. Baby steps.

I didn't notice when you posted this because I wasn't watching the game. I simply think that y'all are overreacting. In the long or short run, it doesn't really matter if Mlicki gets a complete game or not, I'm just happy he pitched well and that the bullpen pitched well.

[Major]

I didn't notice when you posted this because I wasn't watching the game. I simply think that y'all are overreacting. In the long or short run, it doesn't really matter if Mlicki gets a complete game or not, I'm just happy he pitched well and that the bullpen pitched well.

I agree that it worked out well, but if a person continually makes bad decisions (which I consider this to be), it will eventually catch up to you. I call it the Chris Simms syndrome. :)

This particular move had separate issues because it would have been a great personal achievement for Mlicki, but outside of that, I don't like the tendency to yank starters earlier than (I feel) they should be yanked. It seems to be a disturbing pattern so far. Hopefully, its just an early-season thing, though.

[Band Geek Mobster]

I wonder if Mlicki's trade value is up after this game...

Hunsicker needs to talk to the dumbass Dodgers and try to sell Mlicki as a "Barry Bonds" stopper, and see what he could get in return.

[Major]

Hunsicker needs to talk to the dumbass Dodgers and try to sell Mlicki as a "Barry Bonds" stopper, and see what he could get in return.

Unfortunately, we have a massive lack of starting pitching right now. Redding sucks already as our #5 starter, and there's really no minor-leaguers who are major-league ready right now.

[Raven Lunatic]

haven, you continue to say that William's tendency in Boston was to overpitch his starters, but I have still yet to see or hear any evidence of that (with the exception of maybe Pedro Martinez, and who can blame him for wanting to keep THAT guy out there as long as possible). Everything I heard about Jimy coming out of Boston was that he had a quick hook. He seems to be demonstrating that now.

And regarding Wagner and his confidence. He does seem to have lost movement on his fastball, and granted confidence can't really improve that, but one of his other problems is that his control has been poor, walking more batters than he normally would. I think THAT is a symptom of low confidence (as well as other things).

[Rocketman95]

As long as we don't have any attempted steals of third with two outs in the 9th, down by one, I'll be happy.

[The Cat]

Originally posted by MadMax


Do I have selective memory?? I seem to remember him pitching well in some big games down the stretch. I KNOW he pitched well in the playoffs...in fact, I think he pitched better than any other Astro in the playoffs last year. I was actually at that game.

Max: I've had this debate before, with haven. Haven's counting Mlicki's stats while pitching in Detroit to make that claim. If you count his numbers for the Astros alone, his numbers jump significantly. Personally, I think factors like playing in the National League, having a chance to contend, playing in a better clubhouse, and other intangibles can affect a player's performance, and that's a large part of why Dave's improved in Houston, imo. I think you, I, and a number of other posters value intangibles such as those more than haven. I suppose there's no way to prove either side as being correct, so it'll just remain personal preferance.

[deepellumrocket]

I wonder if maybe something clicked between Dave and our pitching coach. Maybe Hooten spotted something in his delivery, or maybe Hooten has come up with a better strategy for Dave to use. I don't know. I think that might explain the dramatic improvement over Dave's performance with Detroit.

[Buck Turgidson]

He gave a lot of credit to Ausmus for getting him to be more aggressive & not nibble on the corners so much.

[gr8-1]

Mlicki surprised me last year as well. No, he doesn't have one "good pitch," but he spots them well enough to allow his fielders to help him. He's had quite a few quality starts since joining the Stros. I don't give a darn about his #'s in Detroit. Meaningless, imo. It's Detroit.

[Behad]

Ausmus was quoted as saying he talked Mlicki into picking up the pace of his pitching. Seems he was taking too long to deliver and thinking about the pitch too much. Ausmus had him stop thinking and just throw the pitch. He's done much better ever since.

[Raven Lunatic]

Don't think, Meat. Just throw.

You gotta love that movie.