Found our new catcher! SI_JonHeyman #astros sign robinson cancel to minor league deal (via agent burton rocks)
Robinson Cancel is going to minor league camp so doubt he's their answer. Saying that, I think they want Towles to win the job BADLY...I mean BADLY.
Really? I think they are going to giving it to Q and maybe give Towles to the 4 or 5th starter as a personal catcher.
I think that may end up happening but I think they want to know, once and for all, what they have in Towles, hoping its a realiable backstop that could backup Castro when he returns. This is probably his last chance so If he can't beat out Q then I'd imagine he's history.
Ha I was kidding. Footer said what R934life said, he's going to minor league camp so he isnt an option to replace Castro. [rQUOTEr] The Astros signed C Robinson Cancel to minor lgue contract. This is to add catching depth to minors.He is not a candidate to replace Castro. [/rQUOTEr] Her responding to someone I assume asking about Molina: [rquoter]sounds like Molina's asking price is quite high. Q, Towles front runners right now[/rquoter] and [rquoter]if Towles is going to be on club then that leaves a hole in minor leagues.[/rquoter] [rquoter]this is a very minor signing[/rquoter] Now starting for your Corpus Christi Hoo errr Houston Astros, J.R. Towles! Remember this story last year? [rquoter]Driving home from the Astros game on Tuesday night I had Matt Thomas and the KTRH post game show on my car radio. The news that the team had sent J.R. Towles to Round Rock and brought in Kevin Cash was one of the big topics. It should have been. But everyone missed the point why the move was made. <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O></O> Callers complained that Cash has never shown to be a hitter and that Towles has never been really given the job long enough to prove if he is a hitter or not. <O></O> That point may have validity, but it had very little to do with why the Astros made the move. They made it due to CATCHING skills. Towles has not shown to be a solid backstop. His throwing is erratic. But like his hitting or lack of it that is not really why he is headed to <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">Corpus Christi</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY>. <O></O> J.R. Towles is no longer an Astro because pitchers don’t like working with him. It has not been a secret within the Astro clubhouse that at least two starters—one with significant prominence—have had problems communicating with J.R. Everything from pace of the game, to targets offered, to being on the same page contributed to the split. <O></O> Despite manager Brad Mills saying there was no reason why Humberto Quintero caught Roy Oswalt on Tuesday instead of Towles except to try a new look, there was. <O></O> The Astros new catcher, Kevin Cash, has no track record of hitting in the major leagues either. He has had short stints with <ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">Toronto</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY>, <ST1LACE w:st="on"><ST1LACENAME w:st="on">Tampa</ST1LACENAME> <ST1LACETYPE w:st="on">Bay</ST1LACETYPE></ST1LACE>, <ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">Boston</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> and the New York Yankees. However, he is a well regarded backstop. He impressed Astro brass and pitchers with his work during spring training. <O></O> Had J.R. Towles proven to be a good hitter he would still be here despite his lack of skills working with pitchers. Hitting—like scoring in basketball—overcomes all other ills. But he didn’t hit and didn’t work well behind the plate either. So J.R. Towles is a Corpus Christi Hook. He will probably hit there as he did at Round Rock last season. He may hang around professional baseball for several more seasons. Whether he ever gets another shot at being a major league starting catcher? That is a real question. <O></O> Why is the call for Cash instead of heralded draft pick, Jason Castro, who was also playing at Round Rock as the number one catcher? Very simple on that. Castro is not ready either defensively or offensively. Hit batting average was last seen in the .230s—and that was a high mark. His power matched that of the Astros—meaning there has been none. He has walked a lot and had a decent on base percentage. Defensively, reports I have heard are that he is still a work in progress. His arm is strong enough, but not accurate. The Astros do not want to bring him to <ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">Houston</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> until he is ready to succeed. They already have an example one that came up too soon—J.R. Towles. As a result his major league future is in jeopardy. <O></O> The bottom line on all this is that Cash for Towles does nothing to improve the offense. Humberto Quintero will likely be catching up to five games per week now as the #1. It will make the pitchers happier. Right now you need to keep them happy as possible since the Astro hitters aren’t.[/rquoter]
[rquoter]The Houston Astros have as many as seven arms fighting for the final three spots in the starting rotation, with Bud Norris a likely candidate to win one of them. Norris may deserve to be included in the sure-things with Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers, but the other six are battling on. Gustavo Chacin and prospect Jordan Lyles may have the tougher hill to climb, as neither are members of the club's 40-man roster. But Ryan Rowland-Smith continues to struggle, so much that the mediocre outings of J.A. Happ and Aneury Rodriguez have overshadowed him this spring. Nelson Figueroa has fared the best thus far, allowing an earned run in five frames, but may ultimately fit best in the bullpen, which is where Rowland-Smith and Rodriguez are likely to end up,as well. If the season ended today, Lyles, Happ and Figueroa have the statistical advantage, but the true tests may come as the spring moves along and each pitcher is asked to cover 5-plus innings per start. Lyles is just 20 and may need more minor league seasoning.[/rquoter]
I am fairly certain that, barring injury, Happ is a lock as well as Norris. The only open slot is the 5th spot.
It sucks that Keppinger got hurt, Phillies are looking for someone to take Utley's spot until he gets healthy. Not sure what to expect in return for Kepp but a nice AA pitcher with upside wouldn't be half bad.
even better idea: why don't we trade them barmes or bill hall since keppinger is better than both of them anyway?
yes, indeed! 'cause they'll still send us a good package for one of those guys, even though Kepp is better.
Link [rquoter]The Astros are a major league worst 3-10, and have been outscored 82-47 in these meaningless games known as spring training. Now many of you are probably saying to me what I say to my barber once a month: “How do you make this less ugly.” There’s not all that much to say other than that these games don’t count for anything and that spring training performance has been in the past a poor predictor of regular season success. But if you do believe that spring at least sets the tone for the regular season or gives some indicator of individual readiness, there is one thing for you. Most of that run differential has come in the minor league portion of the game. A composite box score from the Astros’ first 13 spring training games: <TABLE style="WIDTH: 375px; HEIGHT: 75px"><TBODY><TR><TD>Team</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>Total</TD></TR><TR><TD>Astros</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>47</TD></TR><TR><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>14</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>82</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> The Astros have been outscored 18-14 in the first two innings of the game, the innings that the starters have pitched since the beginning. (Starting pitchers progress from two innings in their first outings, to three, to four…) They have been outscored 43-17 after the fifth inning, when the hockey-style line change often takes place and starting position players load up the bus home. And that includes 26-7 in the eighth and ninth innings as the team tends to fall apart as the minor leaguers try to close it out. That’s a way to make it less ugly. It still isn’t pretty. How much are you reading into the 3-10 start?[/rquoter] I look forward to more of the same from Astros baseball!
Good thing spring training games are completely useless for evaluating for the regular season. Particularly in baseball. For example Oswalts been getting lit up this spring, but we all know he'll be fine come the regular season. There is just no comparison between ST and the Reg season
I don't really put any stock in ST record at all As for Towles, I always assumed Oswalt didn't like him and basically cost him his job. Which was incredibly selfish of Roy considering he requested a trade and was gone months later. As for Towles' skills as a backstop--it must be his handling of pitchers they didn't like, because he's thrown out an excellent 41% of basestealers in his MLB career and his fielding percentage is .995, so he's not allowing a ton of passed balls or anything of that sort.
Especially when it comes to evaluating pitching. Spring training is often the time where pitchers will tinker with their 3rd, 4th, 5th, newly learned, etc. type pitches to build experience/test them against major league level hitters where the outcome doesn't matter. I remember hearing stuff in the past where a pitcher would throw a change up 8 times in a row or something like that because they just added it to their repetoire in the offseason.
Exactly, its all out getting your mechanics worked out and tuning of pitches. Like you said during ST nothing is even CLOSE to the regular season.
