All series talk goes in here. DO NOT GIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY! If you need PBP try Yahoo, ESPN, or Sportsline. 6-12 Joe Kennedy, LHP (2-4, 3.23) vs. Roy Oswalt, RHP (6-4, 3.38) 7:05 on FSN 6-13 Joe Blanton, RHP (5-4, 3.60) vs. Chris Sampson, RHP (6-5, 3.36) 7:05 on FSN 6-14 Chad Gaudin, RHP (6-1, 2.43) vs. Jason Jennings, RHP (0-1, 2.70) 1:05 on FSN
The Astros have a decent shot to win any series where two of these three pitch. The fact that all 3 are pitching gives them a more than decent shot. Woody-Wandy are a serviceable #4 and #5... but they are just that. Nobody should confuse either of them as being better than they are. And that means overall, the team is very fortunate to have Sampson blossom as a reliable/dependable starter that can very much be a #3 guy in this league.
Too bad their 3 are pitching better so far this season. I'm very afraid. Good Pitching + Bad Offense = No Hitter? That being said I'll just count on us winning games 1-0. WWL
Wow, their worst guy has a 3.6 ERA? We managed to avoid Haren and his absurd 1.6 ERA and would-be-a-cy-young-contender-if-he-could-stay-healthy Rich Harden, and still end up facing 3 fantastic pitchers. That rotation is ridiculous.
I'm really interested in seeing the A's play this year. They rarely show them on national TV, so I always feel like I know so little about them.
Also, thankfully he's not pitching for the Cardinals... while Mark Mulder remains injured following shoulder surgery, with an arm that may never fully recover.
I'm not sure if the A's are really good at scouting pitchers, or if they just have awesome pitching coaches. Either way, it seems more than a coincidence that they succeed with great starting pitching even after letting their "big 3" go. Moneyball is great and all, but pitching makes them go.
WWL...I think we bounce back (I've been saying it all year, so why stop now) and win another series... Go Stros!!!
But its the "moneyball" philosophy that says they likely got the maxium possible value out of Mulder/Zito/Hudson, and that signing all of them (or just one of them) to big deals would result in them getting significantly lower value for the amount they'd then be paying these guys. Its not hard to target good "qualtiy" young pitching if you know that you have no other resources to get otherwise. That doesn't mean you get the "great" young pitching like they had in Mulder/Zito/Hudson, or what the Braves had in the early 90's, but you tend to do more of your homework when there is less margin for error, and you have no other resort to build a competitive team. The A's make no secret about it... they plan on working their young pitchers long/hard while they have them, because a.) The first 6 years of their career will likely be the most productive, b.) It is very rare to have a pitcher stay injury-free after they get past 6 years of big-league pitching, and c.) The first 6 years are the time they're most affordable, and since they're not going to re-sign them after their arb. eligible years are over, might as well use them as much as possible while you have them. Its not suprising that Mulder/Hudson have had some injury problems since leaving Oakland... and that Zito (the one they held on to the longest) hasn't fared as well away from the bay area. Likewise, for the Astros, its unlikely they get as much production from Oswalt over the next 5 years (where he's getting paid big money) that they got for his first 5 years (but for the Astros, its not a "mistake" since they have the resources to keep their own free agents).
I was going to say WWW. But with the Chan Ho Park signing, it is LLL. Talk about taking wind out of the Astros' sails with a desperate maneuver by the GM.
