Gerry still lives with us from afar... Robertson - Wagner for Luke Scott/Willy Taveras - Zeke Astacio/Taylor Buchholz
I know, I wasn't arguing. I agree he was overrated, I was just pointing out we got a pretty good return for him.
FYI: our current GM, as one of his principle duties while he was Hun's assistant GM, led the scouting group that evaluated & recommended other teams' minor leaguers.
Quick question How does this look to you guys? I basically have Roy O/Pettitte on as constant as possible of a schedule, then Backe semi-constant, and fill in the rest however possible. April - 3 - Roy O - 4 - Pettitte - 5 - Backe - 6 - OFF DAY - 7 - 4th starter - 8 - Roy O - 9 - Pettitte -10 - Backe -11 - 4th starter -12 - 5th starter -13 - Roy O -14 - Pettitte -15 - Backe -16 - 4th starter -17 - 5th starter -18 - Roy O -19 - Pettitte -20 - OFF DAY -21 - Backe -22 - 4th starter -23 - Roy O -24 - Pettitte -25 - 5th starter -26 - Backe -27 - OFF DAY -28 - Roy O -29 - Pettitte -30 - 4th starter May - 1 - Backe - 2 - 5th starter - 3 - Roy O - 4 - Pettitte - 5 - 4th starter - 6 - Backe - 7 - 5th starter - 8 - OFF DAY - 9 - Roy O -10 - Pettitte -11 - Backe -12 - 4th starter -13 - 5th starter -14 - Roy O -15 - Pettitte -16 - Backe -17 - 4th starter -18 - OFF DAY -19 - Roy O -20 - Pettitte -21 - Backe -22 - 4th starter -23 - 5th starter -24 - Roy O -25 - Pettitte -26 - Backe -27 - 4th starter -28 - 5th starter -29 - Roy O -30 - Pettitte -31 - Backe (I'm trying to find out who would pitch against the Dodgers May 9th-11th, as I'll be in LA for the 10th and 11th.)
(I'm trying to find out who would pitch against the Dodgers May 9th-11th, as I'll be in LA for the 10th and 11th.)[/QUOTE] Roger Clemens
May - 1 - Backe - 2 - 5th starter - 3 - Clemens (home vs Cards first game of the series) - 4 - Roy O - 5 - Pettitte - 6 - Backe - 7 - 5th starter - 8 - OFF DAY - 9 - Clemens -10 - Roy O -11 - Pettitte -12 - Backe -13 - 5th starter -14 - Clemens -15 - Roy O -16 - Pettitte -17 - Backe -18 - OFF DAY -19 - Clemens -20 - Roy O -21 - Pettitte -22 - Backe -23 - 5th starter -24 - Clemens -25 - Roy O -26 - Pettitte -27 - Backe -28 - 5th starter -29 - Clemens -30 - Roy O -31 - Pettitte
IF Roger comes back and signs on May 1, he'd most likey go to Lexington or where ever Koby is playing to get ready for a couple of weeks. I don't think we'd see him in an Astros uni until late May or early June.
Looks like the 25 man roster is down to one or two personnel moves ... Buchholz has 5th starter spot all but locked up; reserve catcher still up in the air By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle KISSIMMEE, FLA. - Manager Phil Garner and the Astros headed to Houston on Thursday evening with most of their questions answered — even if they haven't made the announcements yet. Taylor Buchholz will be the fifth starter unless he is traded or hurt in the final exhibition game Saturday night at Minute Maid Park against the Kansas City Royals. The main question will be settled by the competitors for the backup catcher's spot: Raul Chavez and Eric Munson. There's the remote possibility that Chavez and Munson will both make the opening day 25-man roster, meaning rookie righthander Fernando Nieve will start the season at Class AAA Round Rock instead of the bullpen. That scenario means Garner would start the season with 11 pitchers and 14 position players, but he would rather start with a 12-pitcher staff. "We need to announce or figure out who our fifth starter is going to be," Garner said. "Although the picture is clear, we're probably not going to make an announcement until probably Sunday, maybe Saturday." Buchholz has been one of the Astros' best starters this spring. He's 1-2 with a 1.96 ERA in six outings (four starts). He's given up eight runs (five earned) and 21 hits in 23 innings. "That's been my goal since I was drafted, actually before that," Buchholz said of reaching the majors. "I just got one more start to get through at Minute Maid Park. Since I've been traded over here (November 2003), that's been a dream of mine. I'll just try to have some fun and see what happens." With the 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, the Astros finished 16th in the 18-team Grapefruit League with a 10-18 record. Few health concerns Nonetheless, Garner is pleased with the relative health of the defending National League champions. Only injured first baseman Jeff Bagwell, who arrived in camp trying to see if he could still play, is on the disabled list with bone spurs in his arthritic right shoulder. "As far as conditioning, I thought everybody worked hard," Garner said. "We're ready to play the season in terms of our conditioning is concerned. What's got me a little concerned is we haven't hit the ball particularly well this spring. That's basically it. There's nothing else. All our pitchers have gotten through without any setbacks." The offense definitely wasn't very impressive in Florida as the Astros hit .257 with 201 strikeouts. "Everybody is ready to go," Garner said. "I would have liked to see us do a better job of driving in runs in the spring. We didn't do that. And with men in scoring position, we haven't done a very good job of getting the ball in play. We struck out too many times in spring training." Although it's clear Buchholz will take the fifth spot in the rotation, the competition for the spot has given general manager Tim Purpura some options if Buchholz, No. 4 starter Wandy Rodriguez or No. 3 starter Brandon Backe stumble early. Pitchers look promising Lefthander Carlos Hernandez, who was told he was still in the hunt for the fifth spot when he was reassigned to minor-league camp this week, gave the Astros reason to believe he has rebounded from his shoulder problems. Righthander Ezequiel Astacio was 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in camp before he was demoted to Round Rock. "In some regards, I'm very pleased with regard to our options for our fifth spot," Purpura said. "I think we're starting to get some answers as far as the capability of Nieve, Buchholz and Hernandez. Hernandez was a huge, huge question mark coming into spring training. "What we've seen so far is very good. More than anything, there's some hope." jesus.ortiz@chron.com
I read that article above about keeping both Chavez and Munson. How quickly things change. Chavez was apparently cut and picked up by another team already. It doesn't bother me in the least. His hitting was not up to par.
Adios, Chamo O's claim Raul Chavez from Astros Houston's Munson likely to make roster as backup catcher By Alyson Footer / MLB.com HOUSTON -- Catcher Raul Chavez was claimed on outright waivers by the Baltimore Orioles, the Astros announced on Friday. It appears that Eric Munson will make the team as the backup catcher, completing the 25-man roster three days before Opening Day. Munson, a non-roster invitee, hit .380 (19-for-50) in 25 games during the Florida portion of Spring Training. It seems that he made a case strong enough for the Astros, offensively starved last year, to start the season with a backup catcher who has played one Major League game behind the plate. Munson, 28, has played mostly third base throughout his Major League career, which includes 256 games over parts of six seasons. Chavez, 33, hit .200 this spring, logging six hits in 30 at-bats over 17 games. In 154 career Major League games, Chavez has hit .215 (81-for-377) with four home runs and 40 RBIs. The Astros' 40-man roster now stands at 37 players. Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. With the extra room on the 40-man, they can add Carlos Hernandez without a problem and still have room for Roger when he's ready.
I haven't read anything about Lidge having problems this spring so I wouldn't read too much into what he or anyone else does in Spring Training. Ensberg's batting what .208 and nobody's concerned w/ that. Fact is all are key players are having a quiet spring...and a quiet spring is a good thing. Only thing I'm somewhat concerned about right now is Backe but he's due to pick it up another notch when the regular season begins. Only a few more days..... can not freakin wait!
