Trachsel doesn't blow it by anybody, but he's been a solid MLB pitcher throughout his entire career... and he's very effective. Roy probably had his best stuff of the year in the first two innings, throwing has hard as 97... but it doesn't matter where you throw it if you can't keep your offspeed stuff low and away, and you're not changing speeds effectively.
Nick, Trachsel is a mediocre pitcher througout his career. Unfortunately for us, most of our team are pull hitters, so his stuff fools them and as usual, we don't adapt. Frustrating. Bottom line is, coming of that Marlins series, with your ace pitching (allegedly), you have to win this game. Seems opposing hitters now better how to use our park to their advantage than we do. The astros hitters should take a que from the Mets hitters.
We're just in a rut right now... and it all probably stemmed from last Saturday in Atlanta. Its okay, though... because getting off to a good start for the season means you can afford to have a few ruts every now and then, and still have a good record. Also, codell... I know Trachsel is mediocre, but he's had a long/effective career, which is more than most hot-stuff prosepects currently in the minors will experience. Plus, I totally agree with why his type of pitcher will always stifle our lineup... maybe that's why I think he's better than he really is. I think we all need to cool off a little and not get too ahead of this team when they win, and not get too negative when they lose... at least not until August...
The Astros' offense is collectively sucking arse right now. I hope they get it together soon cause this is no fun to watch at all. Amen.
BTW..........has anyone noticed that the umps strike zone seems to be alot more favorable to Trachsel than Oswalt??? Perhaps the umpire is trying to prove a point to Roy ................................................nah, we all know umpires aren't spiteful like that.
Is Biggio leading the team in HR's? It really seems like it. Isn't that his 8th? Edit: I just checked on ASTROS.com. That is Biggio's 8th HR. Kent has 6, Bags and Berkman have 5.
Great at bat by Doggy! Come on. Get something out of this! You can do it!!! EDIT: Crap. Well, he stayed up there for a long time. Too bad didn't get anything. Come on Ensberg! Morgan has been hot lately, he is 2-2 today. Come on Morgan! You have scored 2 times today. 4-5 against this pitcher. 2 men on 2 outs. OH MY GOD!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENSBERG WAS ROBBED!!!!! That guy got there so fast!!!! so much for this post....blah blah blah.
Jesus, you're harsh. Ensberg did everything he was supposed to do. He hit a line-drive fly ball very well with power. The Mets had a great CF who managed to make a good play. Tough. That's not "choking" though.
Ensberg hit the ball well. Most centerfielder's couldn't get to that ball. Unfortunately, Hidalgo had a good at bat, but couldn't finish it off.
As I said last night, it's the same Astros that we've seen for the last 10 or so years. They just have never been able to come up with clutch hits with any type of consistency.
Yeah, saying they "choked" is harsh, but I am PO's cause we can't seem to get a clutch hit lately. But as Bidge says "Thats baseball" *sigh* Thats the problem. Our guys seem to want to "drive" everything on the fly instead of shortening their swings and getting just a hit. Ensberg's swing was long and you can tell he was going for the fences. All we needed was a hit and it was a one run game.
I think you're completely wrong. If everyone on your team swings for singles... you'll have a long, losing season. Was he swinging for the fences? Who the hell knows. But if it had been a few feet left or right... that's a double, and two runs scored. You're essentially allocating blame for bad luck, in that case. If he'd struck out... and you're really all that opposed to swinging for homers... well, ok, maybe under your philosophy, that's blameworthy. But guess what? He didn't miss the ball. He hit it very well. So there's no blame there. If he'd been swinging for a single, maybe something else fails. Maybe it's a grounder to ss. Who the hell knows? Fine if you're pissed off... but you're being irrational.
It's called situational hitting. When you are down by 2 runs, and a runner is on 2nd with less then 2 outs, then you don't have to drive the ball. You change your swing. You shorten it and get that run home. in that situation, we didn't need Ensberg to hit a gapper (although it would have been nice), or to hit a HR. We needed a hit, period. It wasn't. It was a fly ball out to one of the deepest parts of the park. Which is the point I am making. Ensberg hit the ball well. He hit it solid. If he had shortened his swing a lil, and hit it with the same authority, then its a line drive single that scores a run. I am allocating blame on this team's hitting habits, whether it encompasses bad luck or not. Thats fair to say. All I am saying is, this team does not have great situational hitting because our hitters aren't great adjustment type of hitters (hit the ball where its pitches, taking an outside pitch the opposite way, etc.). Maybe, but Id feel better about a line drive out, IN THAT SITUATION, than a hit to short then I am with a fly ball out to the deepest part of the park. Situational hitting is something this team needs to get better at.
