And this is part of why Jimy Williams terrifies me as a manager...

I agree, he needs to be gentle with our outstanding kids-ie hernandez,oswalt,redding,miller and any others.

However, don't think kerrigan in boston is innocent either. The man pitched an unhealthy pedro when his team was out of the playoff chase last year. That was incredibly stupid.

We dont need no Jim Leyland's being pulled around here.

 

well sorry if it was off topic-i just wanted to get that off my chest somewhere.

I think the astros have a good track record with young pitchers and I think hunsicker will give jimy some explicit orders about this.

Plus, I prefer to think optimistically about this issue.

You are right, I don't want a livan hernandez situation here at all.

Also, on a sidenote, why will dave mlicki start the season in the rotation provided carlos is healthy-imho him and redding should both start.

 

After the way Mlicki finished last season, he deserves a chance in the starting rotation. He was actually one of our best pitchers toward the end of the season. No, it's not a given that he sustains it, but he at least has earned a chance IMO to prove himself as a starting pitcher. If he has a subpar month or two, then Jimy should think about making the switch. However, after his finish last year, he's got to get a chance, even if on a short leash.

 

The "worst pitcher in the NL" managed a 5.09 ERA with a 7-3 record at the most hitter friendly park in the majors. I'd be willing to bet there were pitchers much, much worse in starting rotations.

And no, I'm not that concerned with his perceived level of talent. I want results. In the most hitter friendly ballpark around, he had a decent ERA for the season and elevated his game when it counted. That, to me, earns him a chance.

 

Last year, we kept losing Oswalt and we lost Hernandez. Was Redding hurt too?

Anyway, the Astros didn't do a great job of managing the pitch count.

 

Dangerous Dave Mlicki's best pitch is a 90mph fastball(yikes!). That's verbatim from ESPN's scouting report - pitchers at his age don't get better, they get worse.

As haven has already stated, Dangerous Dave had the worst ERA of any qualifying pitcher in the National League.

That he's going to start for the Astros scares the beejeesus out of me.

Just Say No to Dangerous Dave.

 

<B>If you want to contend, you can't carry the Single Worst Qualifying Starting Pitcher in the NL because they just happened to have an ok game at a good time.</b>

We seemed to contend just fine with him as a starting pitcher last year.

Seriously, though, he did perform better with the Astros than with Detroit. Why? Who knows, but if repeats his Astros performance (4.64 ERA post All-Star Break), he'll be a servicable #5 pitcher.

Besides that, I think there's a more practical reason for him being in the rotation. He's on the team -- $5MM from McLane guarantees that. Him being a starter and Redding a reliever is a more useful combination than Redding a starter (where he struggled) and Mlicki as a relierver (where he also struggled).

 

Carlos hurt his shoulder on the basepaths and Oswalt had a groin injury in like the second inning of a ball game. I think we should just limit Dave Mlicki's pitch count.

 

<B>Last year, we kept losing Oswalt and we lost Hernandez. Was Redding hurt too?

Anyway, the Astros didn't do a great job of managing the pitch count.</b>

Just FYI, none of these guys had arm problems from pitching. Oswalt had a groin injury, and Hernandez hurt himself running the bases.

EDIT: damn you, Timing!

 

Mlicki is too off and on. Moreover, when he does have a good game, he can't pitch more than 6 innings, which kills our bullpen.

As you can see, there is a fine line between keeping the bullpen and starting rotation fresh.

Ideally, you'd like to have an innings eater, who you don't have to worry about, if he goes 7+ innings.

Shane and Miller (might be questionable) are really the only innings eaters we have.

I would have really liked to see Astacio here this year. He pitched well in those 3 games or whatever that he pitched for us.

Oh ya, it wouldn't be too bad to have the Big Unit and Darryl Kile back.

Thanks a lot Drayton.

 

That is a fact. Your wishful thinking cannot alter it.

Are you sure? Cause going by this list, Mlicki would be in the top 40.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/statistics?stat=era&league=nl&season=2&year=2001

I think you're using statistics from both his Houston and pre-Houston days, which isn't really fair to judge him by. I could care less if someone is the biggest scrub in the world, if he comes in and plays well for 3/4 of a season with the Astros I'd at least give him a shot at duplicating his success. By ERA statistics, he was equal to Pedro Astacio. I don't even like Mlicki that much, but I just think it's silly not to give him a shot. If he sucks, just pull him after 3 or 4 starts. Don't think that's going to lose the season.

 

The point about Oswalt is that he kept RE-AGGREVATING an injury.

I will say the Hernandez injury has very little relevance to pitching.

However, didn't a lot of our pitchers last year complain of soreness?

Last year seems SOOOOO long ago, that I can barely remember it.

 

oswalt was a groin-im not sure how pitch count played into it

hernandez was not pitching-related, he does not deserve to be included-he was injured by sliding headfirst into 2b

 

Of course you knew this would happen. C.J. Nitkowski has probably the best web site of any player in any sport. He does everything on the website himself. When he played for the Tigers he updated it frequently during the season. He would write about players, managers, things that happened in the hotel, on the bus, all kinds of stuff major leaguers go through on a day to day basis.

Now that he has joined the Astros he will not be spending much time on his website. I was looking forward to reading about things you would otherwise not hear about.

Here is his site:

http://www.cjbaseball.com/

 

I want no part of dave mlicki starting-he is not good-that was prob his best year. Give me hernandez and redding anyday

Anyways, sorry I derailed your thread haven.