if clemens comes back we will be fine. astacio in the rotation scares the crap out of me.... SP oswalt, pettite, backe, clemens/astacio, rodriguez taveras cf biggio 2nd berkman 1st ensberg 3rd wilson lf lane rf ausmus c everett ss and with our bullpen, (qualls, wheeler, miller, lidge) this time is capable of challenging the cardinals....as long as clemens returns.
where's the talent? i haven't seen it.....he gets hit hard everytime he goes out there.....he could improve, but he's not ready for the big leagues yet....
Astacio on occasion can throw some really good stuff. There were times when his splitfinger fastball was virtually unhittable. Then there were other times where it looked like he was throwing a middle of the road fast ball right down the middle of the plate and then proceeded to give up a home run. He has plenty of room for improvement but he has enough potential to meet those expectations. Whether that will pan out is another story. But the point is that the potential is there. Wandy on the other hand, seems to have hit his limit in terms of ability. He's a run of the mill pitcher who really just doesn't have the talent to be a lights out pitcher. If he pitches well in a game, it always seems like he's barely getting by. A great defensive play here and there always seems to be enough to make him look good but his pitching in and of itself hasn't proven to be enough to demonstrate that he will improve substantially from what he is now.
With confidence Astacio can be right down dominating. He was shell shocked the first time he came up to the league. He'd pitch a game and excel. Everyone would be so high on him, then the next time up he'd get tagged for 10 runs. Astacio is a good pitcher, he settled down in the Minor leagues. As the previous poster said, in his second stint he had an ERA under 4. That's definatly good for a 4th or 5th starter.
Wandy looked damn impressive in the world series game when he had to relieve Clemens due to his injury. The guy stepped up big in that game when we needed him. On the other hand. When we brought in Astacio in that 14 inning game, I expected him to blow it for us and he did just that.
small. sample. size. Also, we're discussing the two as starters, which is an entirely different role than Wandy and Zeke were in during the situations you referenced. That said, for what it's worth, Wandy didn't look "damn impressive" to me. He looked like a poor pitcher who ended up being the luckiest man in the world. He allowed 9 baserunners in 3.1 innings... do that on a regular basis, and you'll get crushed.
Between Jason Hirsch, Nieve, and Troy Patton... at least one of them will end up being a 3rd starter (or better)... so I don't think we'll have to worry too much if either Wandy or Zeke doesn't pan out.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9185622 CBS Sportsline winners and losers of the offseason. Astros= winners Houston Astros: Fiscal sanity is underrated. Parting ways with the aforementioned Mr. Clemens (likely only until May 1) and Jeff Bagwell (using a rusty weed wacker) might not play well in the tabloids ... but Houston doesn't really have any tabloids, does it? For one of the nation's largest cities -- both by the numbers and on the scales -- Houston sure feels like a minor-league joint from time to time. Anyway, the team'll survive the departures and maybe even score a few runs, assuming Preston Wilson brings his A bat and C-minus knees.
If healthy, there's a reason why Hunsicker/Pupurra were excited about getting him in the first place, while giving up their all-time saves leader. I know he has a plus curve-ball... and in the limited amount I've seen him pitch, his stuff reminds me a lot of Chris Carpenter (which would not be terrible at all). Either way, the point is clear... the farm is stocked with plenty of young/live arms.
Andy Pettite says he doesn't want to explore a contract extension with the Astros at this time. I wonder what this is about. It doesn't seem like good news to me. The ESPN insider has a little blurb about Petitte finishing in pinstripes, but I'm guessing that that's just speculation at this point. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...t_id=1304534&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
carpenter is one of the top 5-10 pitchers in the league. His success is based in large part on his ability to keep the ball on the ground and limit the hrs he gives up. Buchholz has always had severe problems giving up long-balls and i think that will limit his productively if he ever is healthy enought to pitcher for the astros. He is much better suited to pitch in park like petco or dodger stadium than a place like minute maid.
Interseting... from his quotes (and really, quotes from players aren't worth a lot): "I don't know what I'm going to do," Pettitte said. "When the Astros talk about an extension, I can't commit to that right now. I'm going to play this year out, evaluate how my body feels and how I feel mentally. "I've accomplished more than I ever could have imagined, and to get to the World Series with the Astros this year, I don't think anybody would have dreamed that we could do it as quickly as we were able to do it. There's not a whole lot of motivation to keep me going other than to try to get a championship with the Astros." It seems that he's considering retiring after this year, rather than just not wanting to play for the Astros. (of course, if that were true, you could just sign the extension and retire anyway)
When he signed with Houston, there was talk of this being his final contract. I could see him pitching another year or 2, could see him retiring, can't really see him going somewhere else. ESPN rumormill linking a(ny) prominent player with the Yanks/RedSox? Color me shocked. That people take 99% of their crap seriously (and pay for it!) boggles my mind.
yeah, no kidding. on ESPN, every all-star caliber player is rumored to end up with the Yanks or Sox. no matter what the situation. i love Baseball Tonight, though it stretches my patience sometimes....but the rumors and reports they pull out are just beyond me.
Man, I would hate to see Pettitte retire (or worse, go to another team) after this season. He's still an elite pitcher and we really need him. I hope he resigns after this year.
This is probably posted somewhere and I missed it, but on ESPNNews today they said that Andy Pettitte said he would be very surprised if Roger Clemens were not pitching for the Astros this season. This is very good news to me since Andy is so close to Roger. The key is going to be starting this season out well making it attractive for Roger to come back.
