April 2009

Summary Update on the 2009 Astros

W-L = 6-9; 147 Games to be Played

With a 2nd win over the LA Dodgers on Wednesday, 4/22/2009, three notable trends are emerging:

1)  The Astros offense is waking from its slumber.  All but Matsui and Berkman are playing below their potential.  This is good news if the slope of the curve continues to move upward.

2)  Roy Oswalt is struggling.  It’s difficult to hear your ace pitcher, when evaluating his performance use words like “I could care less” and “…so it doesn’t matter what I do.”  Agreed these words are taken out of context, but it illustrates my point that Oswalt is not in a good place mentally and certainly with respect to his performance on the field.  To be fair, here’s the complete quote from Oswalt and a link for the full context:  “The team battled and we won, so it doesn’t matter what I do. I could care less about my stats, as long as the team wins.”

3)  The bullpen performance is firming, but still not solid.  More solid than Jello.  Maybe more like wet concrete before it sets.  Hawkins did a great job filling in for the bruised Valverde.  Let’s hope the chemical bond in the bullpen binds quickly.

Here’s the box score from the win against the Dodgers on 4/22/2009.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_04_22_lanmlb_houmlb_1

Go Astros!!
MDD

Predictions for Astros 2009 Season

I know that I am a day late.  I’ve been working on my 2009 W-L predictions for the ‘Stros for about a week now.  Just put some finishing touches on it.  The detailed table is below.  Here’s some highlights:

  • Cubs will have my home team’s number in both the best and worst case scenarios, and the Astros have one less chance to win 6 or 7 since their opening day loss to the Cubs last night.
  • The Eastern division will be the toughest for the Astros in the best case scenario.
  • Their home division (Central) will be their bane in the worst case outlook.
  • To win >85 games, the Astros will have to clean up against the weak West and during inter-league play.
  • If everything doesn’t go just right for Houston, we will be drafting high on the list next year.

2009 Predictions for Astros.JPG

2009 Preseason Coverage of the Astros

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I I haven’t published an entry in a while.  There has been a lot of personal stuff going
on at home and work.  However, it is difficult to let the regular 2009 season dawn this weekend and on Monday, April 6 for the 2009 Astros without some entry on my review of the spring
training season.  Hopefully, I can keep the Astros conversation more frequent in the coming weeks and months.

 

Jose de Jesus Ortiz.JPG

There
has been enough written about the spring training Astros stats and what those numbers mean for the coming year, so I decided to offer a more personal, maybe even psychological, view on the preseason banter that has been in the media and blog community.  Take a look at a part of my entry just posted on Jose de Jesus Ortiz’s Houston Chronicle blog.
http://blogs.chron.com/baseballblog/archives/2009/04/moehler_magic.html

 

“But let me offer an opinion
about the coverage and comment on the Astros 2009 spring season.  The predominant preseason prognostications for the 2009 Astros have come from one of two lines of thought:  1) lowering expectations to soften any disappointment at a less than fruitful season, or 2) building a platform of
self-promotion from which one can declare postmortem, “I told you so.”

 

Neither is attractive to
me.  I appreciate your realistic AND positive perspective in your reporting and blogging.  Your outlook helps me to enjoy the game for the true competition that exists on the field and to remember fondly the joys of sitting behind the plate with my dad in the yellow seats of the Astrodome watching a Sunday home game.”


Astrodome from above.JPG

Do
you have any opinion about the shrill

Astrodome Seating Chart.JPG

and caustic content that sometimes sours
your enjoyment of the game of professional baseball?

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