That really sucks about 790, sheesh just when it seems the media relations for the Astros are getting better, we can't even get AM radio live....sheesh
Hinch lining up seven-man bullpen Manager looking to add long reliever, lefty with five spots already secured By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com | @brianmctaggart | March 3, 2015 KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday it's likely the club will open the season with a seven-man bullpen, which is not a surprise. It's possible they'll use one of those spots on a long reliever, which means Alex White, Samuel Deduno, Jake Buchanan, Dan Straily, Brad Peacock and Asher Wojciechowski will be considered for the bullpen as well as the fifth spot in the rotation. Whoever doesn't make the club could potentially be stretched out for the Triple-A rotation. Five spots in the bullpen already appear to be locked up, with Chad Qualls, Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek, Josh Fields and lefty Tony Sipp. If the Astros carry a second lefty -- Kevin Chapman, Darin Downs or Joe Thatcher -- they'll have one bullpen spot remaining. "We're preaching multiple innings," Hinch said. "It's important when you have a seven-man bullpen, you have guys who can get four, five or six outs if needed and be a bridge to the rest of the bullpen. We're going to try to get all of those guys a four-out outing at some point during the spring." The Astros have mapped out their pitching schedules for the start of Grapefruit League action. Collin McHugh has been named the starter for Thursday's game against the Phillies, and Mark Appel will follow. Thatcher, Wojciechowski, Brady Rodgers, Jordan Jankowski and Jake Buchanan are also scheduled to pitch, with James Hoyt and Jason Stoffel as backups. On Friday against the Cardinals, Brett Oberholtzer will start and be followed by Deduno, White, Will Harris, Downs, Chapman and Stoffel. The relievers with spots secure -- Gregerson, Qualls, Fields and Sipp -- won't throw until Saturday against the Yankees. "You want to try to get a look at everybody in the first week of games," Hinch said. "It's not that hard to do. We invited a smaller number of pitchers [28], and there's plenty of opportunity. Certainly, the guys that are competing for jobs, we're going to get out here early and often. Some of the more established guys are going to have a couple of days off before they pitch. … We want to get that first outing out of the way, and we're always continuing to evaluate how often we want to get these guys off the mound."
Drellich has said Wojciechowski has been impressing people early this year. I could see the Astros giving him a long look at relief if they give up on him as a starter. Had injury issues last season. Joe Thatcher is my guess as the 2nd lefty.
Based on his improvement after he was promoted to AA, I'll be very curious to see how Appel does in a situation where he's really pitching with something at stake (at least, as much as stake as he's seen so far in the Astros system). If he really shows something in spring training he may very well get on the team this year.
Hopefully he responds like the last time he pitched with something at stake (after he passed up millions to return to school... where he then performed even better and made more money for himself). I would be slightly discouraged if he didn't find his way on the team at some point this year in some capacity, and it was solely because he wasn't "ready".
MLB AtBat for $20/year works great for me. I still don't agree with paying for it, since MLB makes money in so many other ways for those feeds (they're like, quadruple-dipping)--but I caved a few years ago and have enjoyed it ever since.
I think you have to be an MLB.TV premium member for that $129.99/year. I've done it the last 2 years, but last year I waited until the price dropped during the season.
Do you know around what time during the season the price drops? I got it for full price last year, but might wait if it isn't too late into the season before the price drops.
Price drops happen throughout the season. I paid $57.49 on May 10th. I think they did like $99.99 in mid-April. Father's day always marks a price special as well, but that is in June
Colin McHugh has a super strong start. Valbuena dings a homer. I is excited. Really want to see Gattis.
Just to clarify, is anyone actually getting video of the game? I have mlb.tv and there is no video, just audio, and it doesn't look like any of the games are scheduled for mlb.tv video anytime soon. Also another note, if you're thinking about getting mlb.tv and you live in Texas or Louisiana, you won't get the games unless you use a VPN and spoof location services on your device (I have an iphone and iPad, and I had to jailbreak so I could spoof my location just to watch).
All of this is correct. No video, just audio for RIGHT NOW, and in the future, you'll need VPN or proxy to gain access to live video if you are in the Astros market. Otherwise, you have to wait 3 hours after games are over.
