Remember, no PBP in these threads and keep the chatter on topic (if it is about something other than this series, talk about it in another thread). 4-10 Mike Hampton, LHP (0-0, -.--) vs. Joel Pineiro, RHP (0-0, -.--) 7:15 on FSN 4-11 Roy Oswalt, RHP (0-1, 3.86) vs. Adam Wainwright, RHP (0-0, 3.38) 3:10 on FOX 4-12 Wandy Rodriguez, LHP (0-0, 1.50) vs. Kyle Lohse, RHP (1-0, 2.57) 1:15 on My20
WWW hampton will shut down the Cardinals Oswalt/Wainwright will both have quality starts Wandy starts towards having good starts at home AND on the road this year go stros!
Go Stros! If Pujols tries to take out Pudge sliding home, unleash Backe from the bullpen. Even if he's not pitching, he still has other value.
LWL I think Hampy and Wandy will struggly, but Oswalt will bring it. Oh, and our guys still won't get on base enough.
WWW Astros win a slugfest tonight. Oswalt stifles Cardinal bats tomorrow. Wandy fools Cardinal hitters/pulls a rabbit out of his hat on Easter Sunday.
So he makes it out of the 6th inning without getting pale and sweaty? I'm kidding but Wandy does often seem to hit that point in the middle of games where he loses confidence rapidly. I'd like to see a lot less of that this season.
Oddly enough, Wandy was statistically the opposite last year. Pitches 1-30, he had an ERA of about 5 (40 innings) Pitches 31-60, he had an ERA of about 3.1 (48 innings) Pitches 61-90, he had an ERA of about 3 (40 innings) Pitches 91+, he had an ERA of about 2 (9 innings)
Interesting numbers. Like I said, I was mostly kidding. At the same time, I have undoubtedly noticed Wandy getting rattled a lot over the years, not necessarily last season. He is a pretty good pitcher when he puts it all together.
Yeah - I agree. That always seemed to be a problem for him. Same issue with him being great at home but mediocre on the road. It seems if he could ever get the mental side down, he has the potential to be a legit #2 type starter. I think we all would have laughed at that idea just a year or two ago.
That is exactly it with Wandy: Key word "mental." On a positive note, the Cubs blew a game they dominated today. The Cubs outhit the Brewers 9-4 and Harden pitched extremely well. Gregg blew the save and took the loss.
Hampton had to work pretty hard in the 1st but I thought he looked pretty good. The ump has a tight zone.
Hampy came back with a nice easy inning in the second. I like it when he just induces ground ball after ground ball. Hampton circa 1999-2000 just used to pound hitters with his hard stuff inside and at the knees. Before his injuries he was just a pure stud.
I really like seeing Pence in the 2 hole. However, I have to admit I think it is utterly useless having a guy like Bourne bat 8. What good is his speed if we have no one to drive him in. Ideally he needs to be at the top of the order. However, I understand the rationale. Brooks, this is a pretty good night to be a Houston sports fan. Astros and Rockets both playing on the same night. I love the double dip
Both pitchers are inducing ground balls effectively. Pence has gotta learn to lay off those pitches low and away.
Pujols even schools us with his baserunning. Caught Hampton and Berkman there. Mostly Hampton though. He didn't look Pujols back long enough.
