I read that he was assigned to AA Corpus. I guess the fact he only pitched 22 innings there in '07 had something to do with it, even though he had a 1.99 ERA. I imagine he'll move to RR pretty fast, but with the recent success of young talent jumping straight to the bigs, I thought Gervacio had the make-up to do the same. Add that to the fact he's probably better than most of the guys in the pen and I thought they'd add him to the ml roster for sure. Oh well .
Yeah, good catch. The classification he was demoted to is pretty much a technicality at this time, they won't set the minor league rosters until much later in camp. Even if he starts at AA, like you said he should move up quickly. Paul Estrada dominated, just dominated, AA hitters 2 years ago. His splitter was pretty much unhittable, and I thought he was someone who could maybe help the Stros at some point in '07. Then he completely imploded in AAA. Sometimes you never know.
Backe dealing today. If he & Wandy can be merely above league average & log around 200 innings, this team can be very good.
I hope you realize that that is a tall order. I think you have a better chance of getting 200 between the two of them. I hope I'm wrong. On another note, is Jack Cassel the 5th starter at this point?
I actually see it from Backe. I was a little worried when he came back so quick last season. However, it will probably turn out to be a fantastic idea. He got a few games under his belt so he wasn't starting from scratch this spring. Also, I still say that there is no way Wandy's road/home splits are as crazy as last season. He might be a little more likely than Backe to get to 200 IP, but he's got to be more consistent this year. I can envision about 380 IP between the 2, which would be pretty good if you ask me.
It's nice to see some potential gap power from Michael Bourn... hit a home run today off Aaron Harang. Wright had another strong outing as well.
Wind was blowing out, fly balls ain't his bag. I think the Stros would be thrilled if Bourn never got another ball more than 15 feet off the ground. I think Wright sticks. If they go 3 catchers & 11 pitchers, though, he could be the odd man out. Bully as I see it now: Valverde, Brocail, Villareal, Geary,Bork are pretty much locks. Sampson/Wright/Houston fighting for the final 1-2 spots.
Pinched nerve, no structural damage shown on the MRI. Will not throw for a month. Given the alternatives, this is very good.
1 of 2 things happens I'd guess: Woody retires or gets cut in a couple of weeks; or he starts the season on an extremely short leash with Sampson in the RR rotation to keep his arm stretched out.
The latter is my guess. No way he makes it to May 1 in the rotation...at least not the one in Houston.
Today was the first time this year I tuned into an Astros game. Within 3 minutes "please release Woody" thoughts interrupted my new-season optimism.
Woody gave up 8 ER in 3 innings. His ST ERA is over 15. If this guy makes the rotation out of ST, it's a complete joke.
I think they better reconsider Gervacio and assure Wright a place in the pen as well. Better to have young guys with good stuff and live arms than these mop arm has-beens the Astros are trying to call a pitching staff. The more I look at it...the more likely it seems that this could be the worst staff in the league. They need miracle seasons out of Wandy and Backe and Chacon, too. Sampson has got to be the 5th starter. As of now, Valverde is the only serviceable arm in the pen. Maybe Villarreal. Brocail has been almost as bad as Woody and the rest of them are all AAA material.
Chacon looked great for 2 innings but was severely rocked in the 3rd today. It was really ugly. He gave up 5 runs, but even that doesn't convey how bad he looked. Just about every batter in that inning was facing a 3-0 or 3-1 count at one point.
Moehler a candidate to join rotation Lefty McLemore out of starting mix Veteran moved to 'pen; Moehler a candidate to join rotation By Alyson Footer / MLB.com KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Astros recently eliminated one rotation candidate but added another, leaving them with nine pitchers vying for five starting spots. Mark McLemore is no longer in the starting mix. The left-hander will instead compete for a spot in the bullpen, along with southpaws Stephen Randolph and Rule 5 Draft pick Wesley Wright. "I'm just happy I'm in the running for something," McLemore said. "The last few years, I'd go [to the manager's office] and they'd tell me I'm going to Minor League camp, out of the running completely. So, I'm OK with it." McLemore has had problems with control this spring. He's issued a team-high 11 walks and has allowed seven runs over seven innings. His mediocre performance has allowed other rotation candidates to pull ahead of him. "There are other people stepping ahead that could be of service in that role," manager Cecil Cooper said. McLemore has been working diligently with pitching coach Dewey Robinson, who has encouraged the left-hander to stop thinking so much and just throw the ball. "Basically, turn it loose," Robinson said. "Get mad and turn it loose. In my opinion, he's trying to be too fine. Just get it to a particular spot, and I think he's better off just rearing back and letting it go. Stop thinking about things and just go out there and throw like he knows he can." McLemore is out of options on his contract, so if he doesn't make the 25-man roster out of Spring Training, the club will have to pass him through waivers before it can send him to the Minor Leagues. In other words, this may be a last-chance scenario for McLemore this spring with the Astros. "He needs to throw strikes," Cooper said. "I know that much. Options or no options, he has to make our club." McLemore is the third starting candidate to be eliminated from the running. Fernando Nieve was sent to Minor League camp on Monday, and Felipe Paulino was recently shut down after being diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his upper right arm. However, a new starting candidate has emerged -- right-hander Brian Moehler. The veteran entered camp this year as a non-roster invitee, a situation he's been in before. He wasn't one of the 11 starting candidates when Spring Training began, but as injuries and inconsistency become more of an issue with the staff this year, Cooper and his coaches will look at Moehler as a starting option. General manager Ed Wade and Cooper plan to meet on Friday to discuss the matter. "Brian's done a nice job down here," Wade said. "It doesn't hurt us in any fashion to [consider him for the rotation]. There's plenty of pitching opportunities left between now and the season to potentially let that happen." Moehler was a starting candidate as a non-roster invitee last Spring Training but made the team as a reliever. This year, he was tabbed as a bullpen candidate but could break camp as a starter. Cooper lauded Moehler's work ethic and versatility, and coupled with good spring numbers, that might be enough to win a spot on the team. "Last year, he served just a gamut of roles for us," Cooper said. "He was the 12th guy, sometimes he was the 11th guy, he was the mop-up guy. He did a little bit of everything last year, really a trooper. He took to it and did it. He's a guy that can go a number of ways. He's a lot like [Chris] Sampson in a number of ways. He can start, he can pitch in the middle, a long kind of guy. Give him credit. He's come in here maybe with some odds stacked against him and he's pitched well." Moehler is used to pressure and a little bit of turmoil this time of year, but the soft-spoken veteran makes sure not to let uncertainty affect his focus. "What do I have to lose?" Moehler said. "Just go out there and pitch well. My whole thing is, I don't worry about what other guys are doing. I worry about what I'm doing. That's all I can control. I'm not a guy who picks up the paper to see what guys have done. I couldn't care less. I'm trying to make this team. That's my goal." The nine pitchers either considered locks for the rotation or candidates for a spot are Roy Oswalt, Brandon Backe, Wandy Rodriguez, Woody Williams, Sampson, Shawn Chacon, Runelvys Hernandez, Jack Cassel and Moehler. Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
He looked completely gassed. NoWorries, here's Moehler's ERA breakdown last season: 5 days of rest or fewer: 2.72 6 days or more: 7.56 I was rooting for him last year, and thought he did an admirable job in a tough role. I'd rather see him than Woody at this point.
