i said that in the pirates game thread the other day. so, at least we know what the problem is, now is it fixable is the question, and as you and i probably both believe, no it is not, we don't have high OBP guys on the roster, for the most part. I totally agree with you about the base running, its infuriating to watch the team get thrown out being stupidly/wrecklessly aggressive on the basepaths.
Physically, Roy is very much still capable of putting together a sub 3 ERA season. However, its hard to maintain that mental edge consistently on this team... and sometimes he makes some stupid decisions on pitches. Often overlooked is the effect Ausmus had on him and helping him stay focused. I've already seen a smattering of disagreements between Roy and I-Rod. Could be simply Roy being stubborn, or just natural growing pains that should work itself out.
Another walk for Pence and he ends up scoring. What more is there to say about Hunter Pence this year other than we hope he keeps it up? He's walking more, striking out less, hitting over .340 despite being moved around in the lineup, has 4 outfield assists to go with 0 errors and always brings the Biggio-like hustle.
Nice post. I agree about the bad decision-making. That is definitely one factor. I think he's also missing his spots more than usual this season, sort of like early last season. I don't think it has anything to do with him losing his stuff. He still throws the ball plenty hard. I think Roy is so talented that any lack of chemistry between he and Pudge will work itself out over time.
This inning has "stupid decision" written all over it. Roy had to throw a lot of pitches last inning, now has allowed a bouncing ball single due to Tejada's inability to charge the ball... and its now the heart of the order.
I was about to post the same thing. Tejada must be the worst defensive SS in baseball. If not the worst, awfully close. Not only did he fail to charge the ball, he has no arm whatsoever to make up for it. Berkman is reaching in the dirt 9 out of 10 times.
Hunter lays off a few pitches pitches, gets to a 3-1 count, forces the pitcher to make a pitch then hits a single. He's making it look easy and has now walked as many times as he's struck out after nearly 50 games. I think most of us figured he would improve from last season but I for one never expected this kind of improvement. And with the Berkman sac fly, he's now scored both runs tonight.
Roy needs to get it in his head that he can't afford to make mistakes with his fastball up in the zone. If he puts that at the knees, or up high out of the zone, hitters can't do much with those pitches (assuming he has the good fastball). Once he uses that, the hitters are set up perfectly for his breaking stuff... which isn't really good because of the break, but more because of a change-up factor.
We're seeing two ends of the spectrum in SS defense tonight. Tulowitzki is showing his range and arm and preventing baserunners in the process. Tejada is showing his lack of range, his bad decision-making and his poor arm, giving the Rockies extra baserunners. Hah... as I say that, Tulowitzki bobbles a ball and Roy is safe. He is a very good SS though.
I was willing to trade Hunter as a piece in a deal to bring back a young starting pitcher. Right now, with Hunter morphing into the Astros #3 hitter for the next 5-10 years, I wouldn't trade him for anything. Bourn, man, is he feast or famine right now, he is still hitting around .290, but if he doesn't get a base hit he is as likely to strike out as do anything else. If he would just make contact 15%-20% of the time he strikes out he would give himself a much better opportunity to get on via the infield hit, which would push his average and OBP significantly higher. I guess he can't make every adjustment to start his second season as the full time CF/leadoff guy, hopefully his growth will continue and with that, his strike out rate will start to fall.
Totally agree on both points. I was pointing out Bourn's strikeout rate in the last game thread but didn't want to sound like I was hating on him. He's made real progress at the plate this season combined with stellar defense. He still looks like he's guessing too much, a problem we saw last season, and is getting beaten badly too often on inside pitches. He's now struck out 41 times with only 19 walks. The walk total is decent and an improvement but he's striking out just as much as last season. That amount of walks isn't enough to compensate for the strikeouts if he wants to be a legit leadoff hitter. He's struggled quite a bit since being promoted to leadoff.
He's my guy in the leadoff spot though, the only way I would move him is if he goes into a 2 month slump at this point. I want him to succeed and fail in the leadoff spot so he can learn from it and improve with the experience. I really like Bourn, he could be a spectacular leadoff man with his speed, ability to steal bases, and his defense in CF.
Big knock by Carlos there. I would have settled for the sac fly... but he took care of the rest. Frankly, Carlos Lee may be the best hitter in baseball when somebody is on 3rd base with less than 2 outs. Kinda wish he could take that approach every other time he comes up to bat (he's aggressive, but doesn't overswing...)
best 2 strike hitter on the team, he knows how to swing to the situation. last year he would have put up huge numbers in the RBI department if he didn't get hurt.
I agree. He earned it with how he started this season. It's not like we have many other options anyways. Matsui has been awful this season
My GF has 2 shows being recorded on the DVR so I can't watch it. And MLB gameday now makes you pay to watch the video highlights? WTF?! Go Astros. Looks like a fun game.
I hate that. You can't see a bunch of other data either without paying for it (pitch speed, best pitch/worst pitch, etc...). They tease you at the beginning of the season, giving that stuff to you for free, only to hide the features later.
