Results tagged ‘ Houston Astros ’
The Odd Blog Week In Review (Week ?)
I don’t know what week it is. It’s summer, why should I be keeping track of dates? There is one date that I’m counting to, next Friday my second cousins visit, with five kids aged 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Suggestions, please!?
Now to baseball, where the Royals are playing the Pirates, and I am ashamed to say that we have a worse record than Pittsburgh. Yipe! That means, with respect to the Pirates, that the Royals are worse than I thought they were. Let’s see how we do in this series.
There is one Royal who is doing good as of recently, and that’s Luke Hochevar. According to MLB.com’s player search, there are four of him (seriously, try it!) and as long as the one that has shown up in the last few starts keeps the other three away, I’m fine with that. Imagine all four showing up to start a game or something. That would be odd. Anyway… he’s had some great starts recently, pitching an 80 pitch complete game against the Reds last week and getting a pretty good start in this week against Houston, despite having a no-decision thanks to our imploding bullpen. So, the start in the series finale against Pittsburgh, assuming I have the schedule right, is the one where he can either prove himself ready for the majors and possibly be a Zack Greinke in the future, or falls down like he did early in the season and have to be sent to the minors… again.
Next, (M/B)anny Ramirez. What was he doing playing minor-league ball? You would think that they wouldn’t allow to play any baseball, but apparently there’s a loophole or something. So I’m offering (of course) my take on what the rules should be:
“When a player is suspended for any amount of time by the league, that player will not be allowed to play baseball with the MLB or any of its affiliates, but should be allowed to participate in practices with the team, so long as he is not in the dugout, clubhouse etc. during a game. They will not be allowed on road trips, unless they are suspended for more than 15 games and will be reinstated during a said road trip, etc. etc. etc.”
I had more, but I have a feeling that was getting a little boring.
Finally, a topic that, as a Buffalo Sabres fan, I unfortunately know way too much about. Injuries! Coco Crisp is gone for the season after getting shoulder surgery, and that is a big blow to our chances. Coupled with other injuries that have plagued our team, including those to Alex Gordon at the beginning of the season and Kyle Farnsworth now, that’s not good. AND… breaking news from three hours ago (that’s what they call late-breaking) Sidney Ponson tests positive!?! Yipe! But what for? Read the article, but apparently it’s for a banned stimulant. He’s banned from international play for two years, but of course the WBC and the Olympics (which no longer have baseball) aren’t for three years. Nice going, IBAF.
Turning The Corner
I never got that phrase. What corner? Who’s to say it doesn’t lead to even worse circumstances? But I’m still going to use it. The Royals are 6-3 in the last 9 games after going 5-20 in the last 25, so it seems that they are turning a corner and headed in the right direction. However, the Royals have been a bit streaky, so if we start to lose games, we’ll probably head back down to the basement.
One thing that hasn’t been bad this year is the triples. When you think of teams that can hit a lot of triples, the Royals probably don’t come to mind, considering that they don’t really hit at all. But the Royals are on top of the league right now in triples, with 23, 7 more than the Houston Astros. This is equal to the amount of triples hit by the Dodgers and Tigers combined, two teams which are both in first place. It is also equal to the combined number of home runs hit so far this season by David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and Bobby Abreu, but I doubt that that arguement will fool anyone. Coco Crisp and David DeJesus lead the league in triples, with 5 each. The Oakland A’s have hit 5 as a team. And then there’s this game where John Buck, our catcher, legged out two triples against the then-first place Toronto Blue Jays. He has three on the year. So we’re really good at hitting triples, just not at bringing them in. I’m not even going to tell you where the Royals are in RBIs.
Finally, Zack Greinke is pitching tonight. He’s done terrible by his standards his last few outings, but he still leads the league in ERA with a .172, is fourth in strikeouts, and with a win will get up to second in wins. He’s still good enough to strike fear into the hearts of opposing hitters. Or at least get them out.
The Odd Blog Week In Review (Week 5)
First of all, Happy Mother’s Day. (Or day before Mother’s Day). It would be nice of the Royals could win tonight. That’s the difference from this year and last year. Last year, I would be saying “It would be nice if the Royals didn’t lose tonight.”
Zack Greinke: First six-game winner in the majors
It’s nice that Greinke’s been getting so much publicity, but there are other pitchers who deserve some of the spotlight too. Johan Santana has been absolutely amazing this year; his ERA is under 1.00 as well, and he 54 Ks, three off the league lead. Roy Halladay also has six wins, but you don’t see too much about him, either. I’m wondering where this “Greinkemania” has come from. Yes, he pitched a number of shutout innings, but that streak ended a while back. He is a really good pitcher, but he’s gotten a lot of run support, too.
Okay. That was too odd, me saying stuff against the Royals. I’m done with that.
Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for using an illegal substance
That’s what happens when I put someone on my fantasy team. The MLB should get with this. I don’t know all the details, but I’m betting that they knew before. I think they were just waiting for an opportune moment to keep the media on baseball. Or something like that. This year has been bombshell after bombshell. Memo to MLB: We’ve had enough bombshells. A-Roid, pitch tipping, Banny Ramirez (that’s my new name for him). Let’s get with the program. How about some good baseball. A few inside the park home runs, a triple play or two, someone hitting for the cycle with a grand slam… oh, wait, we’ve already had all those. I’ve just forgotten due to the negative vibes that all these cheaters are giving off.
Enough of that. Anyone notice the number of goose eggs on the scoreboard last night. There were quite a few. Justin Verlander had a shutout. (though Curtis Granderson could be credited with an assist) CC Sabathia had a shutout. Matt Harrison (Texas) had a shutout. And Minnesota and Houston didn’t allow a run either. And incidentally, some guy named Eric Stults had a shutout today for the Dodgers. Is it just me, or are there more shutouts lately?
And one more thing. What was A-Roid doing out on the field yesterday? Doesn’t he have a few more days to go on the DL?
NL Central Preview
The biggest division gets center stage, but first, a haiku I wrote about today’s weather:
Raindrops fall and freeze
On roads, trees, and my back porch
I’m staying inside.
There is freezing rain pounding the area, so what better to do than blog?
NL Central Preview
- Chicago Cubs
- Houston Astros
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Cincinnati Reds
- Pittsburgh Pirates
In my opinion, the Astros and Brewers could be switched…
I got my fantasy draft done just under the wire (on Yahoo!) and got a lot of first basemen. Suggestions, anyone?
C) Russell Martin (Dodgers)
1B) Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
1B) Ryan Howard (Phillies)
1B) Lance Berkman (Astros)
1B/3B) Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox)
2B) Ian Kinsler (Rangers)
3B) The infamous Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
2B/3B) Mark DeRosa (Cubs)
SS) Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
OF) BJ Upton (Rays)
OF) Alfonso Soriano (Cubs)
OF) Alexei Ramirez (White Sox)
OF) Ryan Braun (Brewers)
Util) Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
____________________________
SP) Johan Santana (Mets)
SP) Cliff Lee (Indians)
SP) Brandon Webb (D-Backs)
SP) Cole Hamels (Phillies)
RP) Joakim Soria (Royals)
RP) Jonathan Papelbon (Red Sox)
RP) Joe Nathan (Twins)
I seem to have a lot of “Jo” pitchers…
Bargain Basement
Here’s something shocking. I may be in a league of four players, but you’d think that somebody would draft these players before I did: (The draft was done automatically, so no one was there)
Pujols was the last pick in round 5
Rodriguez was the last pick in round 7
Ramirez was the last pick in round 11. 11! He was the top ranked overall in Yahoo!
Hamels was the last pick in round 13
Howard was the last pick in round 17
If the rest of the season is like the draft, it should be very easy to win.
Now that I’ve bored you with my fantasy team, I’m leaving. The next preview will be the NL East, and then… the complete preview, likely just before opening day.
I will now go watch the freezing rain come down.
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