OH for sure, Roy did work his butt off. But that Valverde fellow..... i just kinda felt that coming........ lol
you and i both.. there are so few of us that feel that way about our "top-tier" closer.. but shouldn't allow his shortcomings in this game detract from the true effort given by Roy.. we should have won this game.. and we most certaintly would have deserved it..
2 hits through 8 innings tho........ That is not that deserving in my opinion. Now were the more deserving,.. not really. Bad offensive game all around. That is why we are in last place in offense. Roy deserved to win, but not the Astros.
Roy battled hard. Going to the game today, I hope the bats can wake up. Harang is pitching well this year though.
It's hilarious to watch the media (one in particular) fall all over themselves trying to make excuses for Valverde. "He said his back hurt a little bit!!!" No, he just gave up a home run. It's part of the game. What's really funny is that these same guys watched Brad Lidge effectively walk around on one leg two summers ago, and none of them mentioned it even once as even a possibility to explain his performance downturn that August and September. http://blogs.chron.com/baseballblog/archives/2009/04/valverdes_heart_1.html Really, Jesus? You nag a guy enough and he'll tell you what you want to hear? Wow, what a concept. Every professional athlete has a "little bit" of pain somewhere, for starters. Actually, they do, Jesus. Valverde gave up 10 homers in 72 innings last year -- average of one every seven innings or so. And he's a very good closer. It really bothers me when the media makes every blown save by a closer into some huge collapse or major deal, to the point in which there must be some explanation. No closer, to my knowledge, has ever had a 0.00 ERA, so they're going to give up runs. And by the nature of their jobs, they're going to usually be in very close games. Sorry for the rant, I just hate all the drama so many media members put into situations like this. Like every pitcher in baseball history, closers give up runs at times, and considering the roles they're put in, they're sometimes going to lose games. That is not an earth-shattering story or something terribly wrong.
I just had a feeling Valverde was going to blow it. I couldn't muster the will to watch but, when I flipped back at some point, there it was...the lead was toast. It feels like a repeat of last season near the beginning. And, just like last season, these are the games you look back at wishing we were able to close them out if we come up short. But, that's baseball and that is what helps make the difference between good, average, and bad teams. I also don't understand why we didn't pinch hit for Jason Smith. He was only 0-9 when he came up with a great opportunity. His career stats are also not much to write home about. Oh...but he's a veteran...only he hits like Brad Ausmus.
Jason Smith is just crap straight up, he is a never has been. He is a career .217 hitter. Its not like we have top tier guys in the minors to replace him but there has to be someone better than this guy. Its not his fault we lost but I would like to have someone other than a guy that makes Adam Everett look like an All-Star.
jason smith sounds like the equivalent of corey patterson, who we had to put up with for a whole season last year. it got to the point where everyone thought he must have some dirt or is dating dusty bakers daughter to get that much playing time.
The Indians are beating the Yanks 22-4 in NY. They drubbed them in the 1st game in the new stadium as well. I remember several years ago the Indians handed the Yanks their worst home defeat in team history. It was someting like 22-0. Edit: I just notice the Indians put up 14 runs in the 2nd inning alone, 8 of them off Wang. For what it's worth, a lot of people picked the Indians to win their division and they started out 3-8. They also had a closed door meeting less than 10 games into the season. Of course, the Indians do have a better overall team so their chances of turning things around are probably greater than in the Astros' case.
Wandy's looking amazing out there tonight.. he really seems to be coming into his own.. and i can't believe that just came out of my mouth....
He's been schooling hitters with his curveball today. We've seen stretches like this before though. I hope he keeps it up.
Smith is just looking plain bad at the plate. He swings at everything. All he needed to do there was put the ball in play and he strikes out on a pitch 2 feet above the zone. 0-13 on the season 0-7 as a starter 5 SO 0 BB I understand he can play all the infield positions but his plate discipline makes Tejada look like Pujols.
i don't know.. never seen him be in such complete control of a game before through 7 innings.. he's looking like a legit number 2 out there tonight..
