Keep in mind that while fans here insisted that they knew better than the Astros and that he should be called up, the Astros tried to avoid that as long as they could - until they really had no better options and needed a miracle. They knew he needed more time in AAA ideally. Something to think about the next time fans demand some random guy be called up simply because his numbers look good in AAA.
i was one of those fans (though i was also screaming for luke scott back in june... ben zobrist, too - not sure what that makes me). if hirsh has a problem of some kind - immaturity, whatever - then i think it's on purpura to do a better job communicating that to us; or i need to do a better job paying attention if he did. but i DID think about this after hearing justice rip the guy. btw, hasn't hirsh had a history of struggling after a demotion before turning it on?
Honestly, I have no idea - I don't know enough about the minors. My point was more that numbers don't necessarily translate well. Luke Scott's AAA numbers this year and last were pretty similar I think - but he's a much better major league hitter because he seems to have adjusted what he can fit (or at least, people said last year he couldn't hit breaking stuff). So two guys who have similar numbers may progress at very different rates based on the types of skills they have or don't have. I guess this is kind of like the Redding situation - great minor league numbers, but what made him a good minor leaguer wasn't translatable to the majors (lots of power, no control). With Hirsh - I really don't know what is good/bad about him. It may just be a learning curve - the Lirianos and Oswalts of the world are rare and most players get hit when they first some up - but I have no idea.
Hirsch is ready for the major leagues, he just needs the confidence and support to pitch at the big league level like he did at RR. His control is the key, just let him get comfortable, and everyone will see. DD
I agree with DD...don't panic over Hirsh. He pitched pretty well against a good hitting Milwaukee team, and improved on a lot of control issues from his first start. The last start, everything snowballed. He looked like he kinda panicked once things started going south (as he did against the Padres)... this is NORMAL for any young pitcher who is starting to get a feel of a league that's the epitome of one's professional goals. I'm going on record in comparing him to Wade Miller in 2000... he had a few starts late in the year which were so-so, but it allowed him to get comfortable. By the time 2001 came around, he was the National League pitcher of the month for April... started that season off like he already had been there (because techincally, he already had).
