Yes!! Dude, you and Refman and the little guy mark April 11th on the calendar...Stros v. Cards at MMP!!! I promise not to yell too many obscenities at the umps!
I very, very afraid that you are right. relying heavily on a pitcher coming "back" from surgery of any kind is not the most promising way to start a season. p.s. I'll be watching Yao-Shaq II at Humperdink's on Belt Line tuesday.
Humperdink's??? We normally have a Tuesday night get together with RM95's Girl and her friends, but since the game's late, I may not do that...if not, I'll come up there to watch. Side note: Do you like coffee? Go to Rhinos in the same strip center as The Reservoir. Tell the guys Blake sent you in and you'll get a discount on some kickass coffee. It's a cool place and I'm gonna be hanging up that way much more often now.
This is, sadly and regrettably, going to be a long baseball season for us 'stros fans. Move Redding into Gordon's 7th inning role. Open the roof on days Miller/Oswalt aren't pitching and the rain is falling.
what starting pitcher did we have last year that we don't have this year that you view is going to make such a difference?
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1781812 Starters last year, Munro, Saarloos tabbed for bullpen KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Long before Billy Wagner gingerly walked around with blisters on his feet after the Astros' first workout for pitchers and catchers on Sunday, manager Jimy Williams whittled down the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation and began settling the bullpen questions. Injuries, as usual, could change the situation, but Williams made it clear that for now Pete Munro and Kirk Saarloos, who both started last season, are battling for bullpen spots. The top four spots in the rotation are set with righthanders Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller, Shane Reynolds and Brian Moehler. Reynolds, who underwent season-ending back surgery last June, went through his first workout without a complaint at Osceola County Stadium. Reynolds' status is one of the Astros' most important concerns this spring. His 20-minute bullpen session was watched closely by Williams, his entire coaching staff and most other Astros officials. The contestants for the fifth spot also will be observed closely, which is why Williams and general manager Gerry Hunsicker pared the field of candidates to four Sunday. Righthander Tim Redding and knuckleballer Jared Fernandez will compete with lefthanders Jeriome Robertson and Jesus Sanchez for the fifth spot. "We just try to let them know early," Williams said. "We have to do something here from the standpoint that you can't have eight guys vying for that fifth spot. We have to make a decision. I talked to Fernandez, to Sanchez, Robertson and Tim Redding. Those four will probably vie for that fifth spot." Last season, Munro proved he can start by going 5-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 14 starts. Equally important, he allowed only one run in 10 1/3 innings as a reliever. "Munro's resilient," Hunsicker said. "He throws strikes. He's not intimidated, and he can start or relieve for you. That makes him a more valuable guy for you. "Guys like Munro give you a chance to have a guy in the bullpen who can give you two or three innings and give your bullpen a rest and get you to your setup man. We went through out most of last year without having that. He's going to be the (versatile) Billy Spiers of the pitching staff." As a rookie last season, Saarloos was 6-7 with a 6.01 ERA in 17 starts, but he was a reliever during his first professional season in 2001 at Class A Lexington and his first three seasons at Cal State Fullerton. The Astros still aren't certain if they'll carry 11 or 12 pitchers when the season starts, so there could be three or four bullpen spots open after closer Billy Wagner, setup man Octavio Dotel and Ricky Stone. Munro, Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Brandon Puffer, Scott Linebrink, Anthony Telford and the losers for the fifth spot are the main competitors to fill out the bullpen. "Jimy wants to see me in the sixth inning," Munro said. "He said that's the best way to help the team win. That's going to be my role this year." Munro, 27, worked on his curveball this winter to complement his low-90s fastball and the cutter he uses with exceptional command. Munro made it clear Williams didn't promise him a job, but he didn't plan on taking anything for granted anyway. "You never know what to believe when you read stuff," Munro said. "But when I went to talk to Jimy, he said, `I won't say you have a job set, but I'm counting on you. You can take that for what it's worth.' I'm going to go out there and compete. "Somebody is always working hard behind you, so I'm going to work hard. I'm going to have to lose it. Somebody is going to have to take it from me." After telling pitchers and catchers where they stood, Williams got to work under a cloudy sky that provided some relief from the Florida heat and humidity. After jointly going through stretching exercises, the Astros broke up into groups to participate in pitchers' fielding practice, bunting drills, baserunning drills, pickoff drills or bullpen sessions. "My face looks like a stop sign," Stone said of the humidity. "The only good thing was that we had a breeze." I'm not sure I agree with putting Saarloos in the bullpen so soon. The guy was stellar in the AA minors as a starter, and I think he can be stellar in the majors as a starter. Having a good starting pitcher is MUCH more valuable than good relief guy. I say let Saarloos battle with Fernandez, Redding and the bunch for the 5th spot.
Lima was released by the Tigers and not picked up. His ERA was 7.77 last year in one of the friendliest parks to pitchers in the majors. Mlicki was adequate for the Astros and had his share of good games especially late in 2001 including his one run performance in the 2001 playoffs.
Yes, it will a long season, but a fun one. I think they will put up a good fight for the Cards this year. I'm confident that Biggio is going to do fine in CF, and I think Hidalgo will pull out of the 2-year slump he has been in. I saw him out at Fan Day at Minute Maid, and he looks a loooot leaner. More like the Doggy from the 2000 season when he went nuts. If his bat speed & flexibility come back, look out! I like the starters so far with O, Wade, Shane, Moehler, and probably Redding or Robertson. The 5th starter may go to Robertson since he will be the only lefty, but it looks like the managers are pretty high on Redding this year. Hopefully he has his head straight this year, because his stuff is flat out nasty. Combine all of that with Dotel/Wagner, and the best 3-4-5 lineup in the NL, and it will hopefully add up to a good/great season!
i could not disagree more...lima absolutely sucked at Enron Field...he was worthless...Mlicki pitched the best game of any astros pitcher in the 2001 playoffs...Lima wouldn't have even been in the starting rotation at that point if he had been on the team. Mlicki was no all-star...but we got the better end of that deal.
Funny you should mention this- I saw him (bleached hair and all), his wife, and his kid at the Rockets game Friday night. Saarloos usually ran into trouble the 2nd/3rd time through the lineup, but was pretty tough the first time through. I'm hoping for Tim Redding to show the ability that his stuff says he has, and form a trio with Roy/Wade, and maybe even a quartet if Carlos can ever get healthy.
