Pitching Matchups: 8-3 -- Russ Ortiz (12-6, 3.19) vs. Roger Clemens (12-3, 2.77) 7:05 on FSSW 8-4 -- John Thomson (8-7, 4.56) vs. Tim Redding (4-7, 5.60) 7:05 on FSSW 8-5 -- Mike Hampton (7-8, 4.71) vs. Pete Munro (2-2, 3.72) 7:05 on FSSW
http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74346&perpage=30&pagenumber=3 Looks like MadMax is starting sweat things out. I do recall someone saying that Atlanta will be competitive as always and shouldn't be counted out as division contenders.
gulp honestly, i can't believe how poorly the marlins and phillies have performed to date. very disappointing. at the beginning of the season, everyone was talking astros, phillies and cubs. all have disappointed.
Tim Redding? Is there no other scrub out there that is clubless that we can plug in for a few starts? Tim Redding? I wish him the best but Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Oh well..... WWW
Garner said he's going to go one more start... and if he falters, that's probably it. Gerry re-iterated those sentiments also. Redding actually didn't pitch THAT badly after the 1st inning D'backs game... but his lack of mental toughness will always prevent him from having success. That game was a perfect example: Not mentally tough to start the game, so he starts walking everybody. Then... gets some confidence and settles into a nice groove. Then... after the Everett error in the 6th with 2 outs, gives up a huge homerun that put the game out of reach. Its those mental blowups that makes me not care about his plus fastball, and decent curveball. He can have the most live arm in the league... but if he doesn't have half a brain, give me an average pitcher who's got confidence every night of the week. Also, for those who are concerned, Carlos bounced back with a good start last night... 7 innings, no runs, 7 K's. That's now 3 out of the last 4 games where he's gone at least 7, and not allowed a run.
Cmon Astros ... PLEASE win 2 out of 3 With 2 series against Montreal coming up, we could be back to within a couple games of the wild card in another week and a half. I don't know what we do then since we start playing good teams again, but it would be nice to have some games that really feel meaningful and have some hope.
Redding reminds me of Kile, they both struggled mightily but had above average stuff. Kile did not take off until his father passed away, and he matured mentally. Redding's problems are all above the shoulders, and until he gets mentally tougher he will struggle. He could become great, but he has to be tougher for it to happen. He has Oswalt like stuff. WWW DD
stuff... yes. Control, no. If you're saying "stuff" as merely talking about the ability to throw a baseball 95mph, and have a breaking ball that starts on one plane, and dives to another... then there are many many many MLB pitchers who have "Oswalt like stuff." But... if you're talking control as the ability to throw the heat at a location that no batter could ever catch up with (and still have it be a borderline strike), or to have a curveball that starts in the mid-to-bottom part of the zone, and dives straight to the dirt... then we're talking about rare company here. Combine stuff and control... then the list gets even shorter. Redding doesn't have control... he occasionally gets a border-line call, but more often than not, his strikes end up being over the meaty part of the plate. Meanwhile, Oswalt is always around the plate... but rarely right over it. (actually, I kinda wish he was sometimes less around the plate... he'd avoid some big innings like he did on Sunday... and with his track record, the batters don't expect him to be wild).
WLL. Braves lose the first one and roll over the Stros in the next two. Furcal and Giles are gonna give the Astros fits in this series. ATL Machine keeps on rolling.
Nick, I agree, but most good young pitchers fit into this category. Daryl Kile certainly did. I still have hope for him. DD
Hmmm.... Uhhh.... Yeah, someone hacked into my account and posted on my name, yeah that's what happened... If you read that thread, I was also concerned about the Astros bullpen this year, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!
Ron Kulpa is the reason why this game is only 1-0. Nobody knows where the K zone is... not the pitchers, not the hitters, and probably not the umpire.
This is old-school baseball tonight... low scoring, pitchers pitching deep into the game. Hell... its so old-school that nobody seems to be on the net right now. I'll stop as well. 2-1 'Stros, but Braves threatening in the 8th. Clemens just walked the first two batters, nobody out, Miceli is probably coming in.
