HORRIBLE call When you miss obvious plays that are 1 foot right in front of you, that's a sign that they need extensive instant replay.
And that is exactly why baseball needs replays for more than just home run calls. Hell, basketball too, why these sports haven't found a way to better integrate a replay system into the game is vexing. Purists be damned.
I think purists would only be against it if it truly slowed the game down, or coaches tried to use it as a competitive advantage (challenge an obvious play just to ice the pitcher/hitter). As it is now, baseball replays are pretty conclusive after one or two viewings... unlike football or basketball where you're dealing with feet on the sidelines, or clock issues, or fumbles/turnovers. I would think the hardest baseball replay to analyze is bang-bang plays at the plate/base, diving catches in the outfield, and balls near the foul line. Everything else is definitely straightforward.
Pence has left FIVE runners on base today, & Blum has left on an astounding SIX! Sickening. 1-run game ... not very good mojo in our favor. Congrats to Paulino though.
just like that - no win for Paulino and the stros are in serious jeopardy of dropping another game to the Reds. Puke.
A supposed strength of the team, our bullpen, has really let us down. I'd love to see a split of the starters' ERA vs. the pen because our bully has been a huge downer. Losing games like Roy pitched the other day and Paulino today is very dissapointing.
We didn't. Byrdak came in to face the lefty Nix who was replaced with righty Hairston. After Byrdak walked Hairston, the righty Hernandez was up so we brought in Geary. The next batter, Gonzalez, was also a righty. There was nothing wrong with the pitching changes. Geary was just awful today.
For me, this was an absolutely great game. I don't even care that they lost. The transitory downer of the 'L' was more than offset by Paulino throwing such a great game and launching the 96-98 MPH heaters for the first couple of innings. He looked great, and he also looks like he could get a lot better with more polish. His development as a prospect on this team which is otherwise loaded with guys who are at their peak or trending downward is something tangible to look forward to.
He was mixing his pitches up well today. We knew he had great stuff. If he can maintain command like he did for the most part today and continue to mix things up, he may push Moehler/Backe out of the rotation.
first game i went to this year... sucks that we lost but it was beautiful out there. paulino could be a bright spot, i think we were hoping for this from him last season before he was hurt.
If Paulino does manage to steal the 5th spot and Hampton and Ortiz continue to pitch well, we may have a pleasantly surprising starting rotation. We'll be able to go RLRLR without too much drop off at the end.
Did we lead the MLB last year in leaving batters on base and missed run opportunities? Seems it's an Astros trait.
