He's not the only one. In addition, a number of the ESPN staff picked Berkman for MVP. http://msn.espn.go.com/mlb/s/2002/0328/1359784.html
He could do it. He's the best pitcher I've seen in a long time. Dwight Gooden good. Enron will hurt him tho. One mistake and he's down 3-0. No room for error.
I'm so sick of hearing about enron this, enron that It's a hitters park, but it's not coors field people. Great pitchers will kick ass wherever they pitch. If you really shy away from miller, oswalt, hernandez and even redding-he needs more seasoning, because of this park, I feel sorry for you. It is a hitters park but you know why it is considered so bad. Because two years ago we had jose i can only pitch in the astrodome lima, among other worthless starters, plus our offense still is and was awesome-thus you saw a lot of 10-9 games. Enron has an effect I wont deny that, but worrying about it is foolish.. Would you worry about schilling, or maddux pitching at the Ballpark in Arlington-its a hitters park too? I bet you say no. Enron got an overly unfair rap because the first couple of years we didnt have the outstanding pitching we have now with our still powerful offense, thus making the scores a lot higher then they normally would be. Bottom line: It's a favorable park to hitters but it is not a severe determent to great pitchers. Thus, do NOT worry about miller, oswalt, hernandez and redding's assuming he learns some seasoning, longterm success in the park. They will be fine.
ah, but in this statement you forget one of Roy's strengths. He hardly ever walks people, thus severly limiting baserunners. So if he makes a mistake, he'll probably only give up a solo shot, because of his exquisite command of the strike zone.
I am really surprised that some of those sportswriters are predicting the Astros to win it all after our lack of success in the postseason the last 4-5 years. I am pleasantly surprised.
Maybe he pitched one game at Coors. That doesn't tell me anything. Especially over half a season. The kid is headed into his sophmore season and everything changes. If you can't see that Enron is a hitter's park you've got to be blind. Oswalt's stats will be impacted.
Is that all his pitching? Or just starts? I seem to remember Oswalt had a bad outing or two in relief at Coors, and that might have really effected his road ERA. But as I recall, once he became a starter, he rarely got hammered.
Phi, I never said he was perfect, but a mistake at Enron is just as likely to leave the yard as most mistakes in mlb. I know a lot is made of the Crawford Boxes and it is inviting I'll admit, but my point is outstanding pitching happens quite frequently at enron. Good pitchers will pitch well in Enron, thats my point. Your 1st post is one mistake in enron hes down 3-0. That is stretching it a bit. It is a hitters park I openly admitted that. But it is not coors field in the sense that great pitchers have trouble ever resembling their dominance when they pitch there. I wasn't debating it isn't a hitters park because it is. I was saying 95% of the hrs at Enron would go out at most parks. The only ones that wouldnt are like the fluke homer Damian Jackson hit off Miller where he broke his bat. My point is especially in fantasy circles I hear all these guys talking about Roy, Wade, Carlos and some Tim and saying I would take them but they pitch in Enron, as if Enron is a death trap for pitchers similar to Coors. It is not nearly as bad. We made it look that way early on because we had our powerful offense but a joke of a pitching staff in 2000. The Rangers park is the same way-I mean the ball travels well there because of the hot texas weather, but with the Rangers abomination of a pitching staff and their offense, you cannot tell me it doesn't skew things a bit. As far as a sophomore slump. I don't see it in Roy, because his control is so special. As far as carlos and wade, they have nasty stuff and solid command and that will take them far. They could hypothetically experience a sophomore slump, but wade already is beyond that point, and so far this spring all 3 have given no indication to expect that. I understand I am biased as an Astros fan, but the experience of Shane and Mlicki will help these young guys progress and reach their full potential. In my objective opinion, there is no reason the astros can't win the NL with their current team. Ensberg is an upgrade to Castilla, Ward is a slight downgrade to Alou, Everett will save us runs defensively which is very important in the middle infield. Hidalgo will rebound I believe and while it may not happen bidge can steal many more bases this yr. The young pitching staff is outstanding-one of the NL's best and we have a very solid bullpen when healthy. Plus, we have a very nice bench in lugo, viscaino,blum,merced,zaun-something we've lacked in the past.
i'm loving alot of those predictions especially the one that has the astros over the a's. i'd love to take out the yankees but an a's v astros championship would be really exciting with the two pitching staffs.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?statsId=6646 The only places he was hammered as a starter was in Atlanta, Chicago and Arlington.
I think this may be because new leaders are emerging on the Astros. They no longer have to rely totally on Bagwell and Biggio to carry them in the playoffs. Guys like Berkman, Miller, Oswalt, and hopefully this year Ward and Hernandez will help carry this team to postseason success. This years team has a lot more talent than any of the recent division winning teams have had.
Enron is undoubtedly a hitter's park...but it's not deserving of the Homerun Field moniker it earned in 2000. We saw a LOT of very good pitching performances last year by Oswalt, Miller, Hernandez and Mlicki. Hell, Game 2 of the Braves series finished 1-0...with Mlicki pitching a gem. Coors problem is the expansive gaps...there's simply too much room to cover out there...Enron's problem is a short left field...but keep in mind, the other 2/3 of the stadium are quite pitcher friendly. That is the deepest CF in all of baseball after all! To win in Enron, you simply keep the ball down and stay ahead of the hitters...you can do that in Coors and you still may get shelled! I agree with the sentiment that more is made of the offense at Enron than should be.
One reason fantasy players shouldn't shy away from pitchers at Astros Field as much as pitchers at Coor's Field is strikeouts. Don't most fantasy leagues award points or whatever on strikeouts. At Coor's, the thin air makes it hard for pitchers to get good snap on their breaking stuff. This is not so at Astro's Field. Oswalt will not lose any Ks because of his ballpark.
