Probable Pitchers 9/19 Oswalt vs Morris ***7:10pm ESPN , KNWS Ch.51 9/20 Redding vs Tomko***1:10pm KNWS Ch.51 9/21 Robertson vs Hitchcock ***1:10pm KNWS Ch.51 The Astros are 14-32 all time against the Rockies but on thursday night they completed a series win against the Rockies with a rare Coor's Field shutout. The astros won 6-0. Jeff Bagwell came back from his short slump to get 3 hits which included a 2 run bomb. He now has 36 Home Runs this season. Astros took back .5 of their lead over the Cubs since the baby bears were taking a break today. So the lead is now back up to 1 game. Last weekend the Astros swept the Cardinals in a 3 game weekend series in Houston. Now the Astros go for another in Cardinal country. Opening up the series in the National Spotlight on ESPN, Roy Oswalt is going for his 9th victory taking on Matt Morris who is looking for his 11th. Roy is going to try to prove he is still healthy and will get the job done for the Astros. Also, today on BASEBALL TONIGHT on ESPN2 the Astros were the recipient of a lot of LOVE. The guys were talking about how good the bullpen is, with all the young guys, AND how much they would love to see the Astros in the playoffs winning, specifically to see the Bagwell/Biggio combo. WWW!
Despite the Astros sweep of the Cards at home, I'm seriously worried about this series. The Cards will be tough especially with their backs against the wall at home. The Astros absolutely need to win this series especially with the Astros playing the Giants next. I hate to sound pessimistic, but I think the Cubs should be favorite to win the Central now because they have a joke of a schedule in this stretch. Regardless, a thing to pay attention to is the wild card race. The Astros are only a game behind the Marlins for the wildcard race. Anyway, anything short of a series win against the Cards would prove to be detrimental to the Astros' post-season endeavors. So, GO STROS!!!
Pitching Matchups this weekend Houston (83-69) 38-40 on the road (we could finish .500 or better on the road, amazing as that sounds) St. Louis (79-75) 46-32 at home Chicago (82-70) 40-34 on the road Pittsburgh (71-81) 37-40 at home 9/19 Zambrano (13-10, 2.77) vs Fogg (10-8, 4.71) (Game 1) Cruz (2-5, 5.56) vs Torres (5-5, 4.94) (Game 2) 9/20 Clement (13-11, 4.01) vs Vogelsong (1-1, 7.24) 9/21 Prior (16-6, 2.47) at Perez (4-9, 5.40) We owe Hitchcock a big-time payback for 1998!! He beat the Unit in game 4 Astros WWW Cubs WLWW
I could care less about what the ESPN baseball tonight crew says - Harold and Coach have clearly stated that they want The Cubs to win because "they deserve to win in". This was when we still had the 2 game lead. Watch us increase the lead to 2.5 by this weekend. Cubs and Cards will watch the playoffs comfortably in the offseason homes.
This is what my starting lineup for tonight will look like if I am Jimy. 1. Craig Biggio (CF) 2. Jeff Blum (3B) 3. Jeff Bagwell (1B) 4. Jeff Kent (2B) 5. Lance Berkman (LF) 6. Richard Hidalgo (RF) 7. Brad Ausmus (C) 8. Jose Viscaino (SS) 9. Roy "The Wizard" Oswalt (P) Methinks Roy will pitch 7 shot-out innings (deja v) and will exit with a 4-run lead.
Why would you start Vizcaino over Everett? Everett is hitting .326 for the month (.251 for the year) and has been playing solid defense.
Viz would be a solid start, but the fact that he's sooo much more valuable as a pinch hitter cannot be overlooked. Also, Evertt's defense is superb... he might not get many hits tonight (esp. since he looked overmatched last week against Morris), but he DOMINATED last week's game with his glove. Even the Cardinals announcers were damn impressed with him (they're the ultimate 'homers' btw). In case you forgot, he made the play deep in the hole against Renteria to save a run... and then he made several slick double plays throughout the series. Let Everett start the game... and if we're behind late, NOBODY BEATS THE VIZ!!!
Vizcaino is hitting an anemic .225 as a pinch hitter with an abysmal .525 OPS. That being said, he is probably the Astros best option as a pinch hitter. As a team they are horrendous in pinch hitting situations.
So true. Viz & Merced have been serious disappointments this year...hindsight is what it is, but the 'Stros could have done just as well, probably better, with a couple of youngsters & spent the couple of mil on pitching.
First off, Geoff Blum. He ruined the chances of us having three "Jeffs" in the middle of our line-up. Second, I agree with DD that Mo is the better player, but watching him play third in Colorado the other night was just painful. It seemed like I was screaming at the TV every ball hit his way. Anyway, I was supposed to be in Virginia today, but due to Isabel, I'm still at home until Sunday, so I can catch a couple of the games before I leave. I'll have to miss Sunday (Texans and Astros ) Go get 'em Astros.
Adam in 11 ABs is batting only .091 against Maatt Morris. On the Other hand Jose is batting a respectable .261 against Matt. It is not much of a Batting average in Jose's case but Matt is very tough against Righties so that is why I made the "percentages" call to start Jose. Lefties are batting 8 points higher than righties against Matt for the season. I just have a hunch Adam and Morgan will struggle against Matt. But if they end up starting I hope they kick a**.
Its shaping up to be a wild one. 5-4 Cubs top of third. Clutch homer by Ramirez, he's really starting to piss me off.
whats the rbi record for a single game? i hate josh fogg. he always shuts us down and never is a big help against our competition
