cardinals are rocking ishii in the first inning...the lead will probably stay at 2 games after tonite
A question for someone who saw the game: In the box score, Wagner is charged with a wild pitch. He had no walks, no hits, no one got on via error, and no one was on base when he came in. How does he get a wild pitch with no runners? Edit: He faced four batters. Was one of the strike outs a wild pitch to allow a runner on?
Behad, the only guy who got on was Jose Guillen on cbssportsline's in game update it said it was a strikeout, advance by wild pitch. So, you are correct.
Kent not in the lineup. And apparently, he's not needed. Biggio single, Bagwell HBP. Berkman 3 run bomb. Hidalgo solo. Ensberg solo. 5-0!!!!! Back-to-back-to-back! Astros deciding to give Villone some runs to work with.
I got scared there for a minute. I turn it on in the top of the 8th, and look what happens. Glad we pulled it out, we own the Reds. Somebody needs to tell the Fox announcers that the 'Stros are the Cardiac Kids.
All ends well. Dotel K's 2 for the final outs. Astros win 9-8. I'm not too concerned about the final score being that close... the three-run HR by Larue was a product of that wacky wind current they have over there. (then again... so was Berkman's). I am concerned about having to use Dotel, but at least Jimy didn't get Wagner warmed up after the HR cut it to one. It was Dotel's game to win or lose. A sweep is now possible...
It was probably a product of "not expecting" to go into the game, and he didn't fully get loose. Also, I'd mention that his fastball was 94-97 last week, before the all-star break, when he was having his hamstring problems. Come to think of it... Dotel's velocity is always down at the beginning of the year, and its down again after the ASG. Maybe he's a guy who needs that constant work to keep that motor fresh.
Actually, I saw his fastball hit 96 at least once. There were a couple of times when it hit 91 too. Maybe that was a slider that didn't slide? I think the gun was just off because his fastball looked fairly good to me.
Dotel has the type of fastball that, even when its only 91-92 mph, it still looks electric because of its movement. Compare that to, say, Tim Redding's fastball... where it can get around 93-94 mph, but doesn't look all that imposing because its basically straight. Major leaugers can hit a 99 mph fastball that's comin in straight. They cannot hit a 94 mph fastball coming in w/ the wicked movement provided by Dotel. Overall... velocity isn't everything.
Many people seem to believe that the Houston gun is a couple of mph fast. Members of the media claim that all the time.
Yes, I know that. It's called a 2-seam fastball. Though Dotel's fastball is probably more of a 4-seamer with a little movement. I was simply responding to DD's claim that Dotel's fastball didn't eclipse 91.
i've only heard that once. it was when tony gwynn said something about wagner's fastball not really as hard as the gun says and that it was just entertainment for the fans. i questioned it after that too, but many times i've seen the gun on the road clock his ball in at triple digits so i'm thinking it's legit. btw he's topped out at 97 at home games also just not often.
