Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

One of baseball’s classic sayings is “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”  For those of you too lazy to look it up, it refers to the 1947 Boston Braves and the deficit they had in starting pitching. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with some catchy saying to include Wade Miller and Scott Elarton, but they all pretty much sucked.  But with Shane Reynolds being about as effective in his two starts as the XFL was in getting anyone with 22 chromosome pairs to watch, Octavio Dotel being a base on balls machine (in the bad way) and El Burro Lima being… well a steaming pile of feces, something needs to be done. (more…)

The basepaths have treated the Astros unkindly so far this season. Through Sunday’s win against St. Louis the Astros had stolen seven bases in 14 attempts. Only time will tell whether they continue their lead-footedness, but last year indicated that the Astros no longer possessed the fleetness of past seasons.

(more…)

By Breedlove
Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 23, 2001.

Clearly Astros pitching has improved tremendously. Right now the staff sits at 9-6 with a smooth 4.03 ERA. That falls in the middle of the NL pack - excellent coupled with the team’s potent offense and a half-run better than the next best team. In 2000, their ERA of 5.41 was dead last in the National League, and the biggest culprit in the rotation was Jose Lima. So why is El Loco still a Stro when given Brad Ausmus, winter-ball, and time for an attitude adjustment he has shown no improvement? (more…)

By Breedlove
Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 20, 2001.

The Astros started the season with a 4-2 homestand, then followed that up with a 4-4 showing on about as long a road trip as they will have all season. That puts them at 8-6, good for second place in the NL Central. An 8-6 record doesn’t sound very special, but if they were to go 8-6 every 14 games all season, the Astros would end with over 90 wins. (more…)

You’d think having a surplus sweet-swinging outfielder would be a blessing, not a blight. Nonetheless, rightfielder Moises Alou’s return from the disabled list has raised discussion of how to solve the Astros’ “problem” of having too many corner outfielders of major-league caliber.

(more…)

Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

So far the road is a good place to be… well at least 66.7% of the time… for the Stagnant Stars. Going 4 of 6 on the road is an important piece of most road trips. Never mind that half those wins were against the Brewers, still the Talking Heads favorite baseball team (please choose between “Same as they ever were,” or “This is not our beautiful house”.) (more…)

To the disappointment of many Astros fans, for a second consecutive season shortstop Adam Everett departed spring training headed for AAA New Orleans. His .130 batting average in exhibition games likely didn’t impress Astros management.

(more…)

Pitchers who can throw a fastball 90 mph or better are a dime a dozen in professional baseball. In addition, it is not unusual to find strong high school baseball programs with several pitchers whose fastballs register 85-90 mph on the radar gun. Accomplished hitters, from high school through the major leagues, can hit the fastball, and it is rare for a pitcher in professional baseball to overpower good hitters repeatedly with mere velocity. A great fastball is not enough for a pitcher to win consistently at the professional level. So, what sets the consistent winners apart from the other pitchers who have the talent to play major league baseball but lack that extra something that vaults them into the ranks of the elite? What is that “extra something?” With very few exceptions, the extra something is an additional pitch or pitches that complement the fastball and that, more often than not, certain pitchers throw better or more effectively than most other pitchers throw the same pitch. The purpose of this article is to examine the extra something that specific pitches can add which will help set a pitcher apart from his peers. (more…)

By Carnac
Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 5, 2001.

Season home run data for major league ballparks are generally reported as a total number of home runs hit, or alternatively on a home runs per game basis. Frequently, these data are also split between the homers hit by the home club and those hit by the road club. (more…)

By Michael N

Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 4, 2001.
(more…)

The good news for the Astros is the 2000 season is over. The bad news is some of the problems that plagued them, the lack of quality pitching in particular, might not be behind them. On that note, the following are some numbers that give a glimpse into what the 2001 season possibly holds.

(more…)

Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Hitting a baseball: this skill is a path to fame and fortune if one does it well and is a certain ticket to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame if one does it exceptionally well. No less an expert than Ted Williams, however, once said that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult act to accomplish in all of sports. Because Teddy Ballgame was the greatest pure hitter of all time, perhaps folks should listen to him. How does one use a round bat to hit a round ball squarely? Surprisingly, the mechanics of hitting are relatively easy to learn, but because of the superior eye-hand coordination required, few can hit a baseball well enough to make just four successes out of ten tries commonplace. If averaging only three successes out of ten tries over a career can put a professional hitter into the Hall of Fame, the actual doing must be far more difficult than the “knowing how to do.” Basic hitting mechanics follow and can be practiced alone, in the batting cage, or against live pitching. (more…)

Editor’s note - This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Position players scornfully deride pitchers as being “non-athletes.” Most pitchers cannot hit or run, and few field the position well. Yet a team cannot have too much pitching, and a team cannot win championships without solid pitching. There is no truer axiom in baseball than “good pitching beats good hitting.” The purpose of this article is to describe the mechanics of pitching, but, unfortunately, instructional techniques cannot create 90+ mph velocity. That ability cannot be taught, but good mechanics can increase the velocity that a pitcher has and can improve his control. Although this discussion examines pitching mechanics step by step, the pitching motion and delivery are, or should be, fluid and seamless. All examples of what the pitch will, or may do, are of a RH pitcher throwing to a RH hitter and of a LH pitcher throwing to a LH hitter. (more…)