Who Needs Rookies?

The rookies aren’t hitting, and this apparently has Jimah spooked. During spring training, new manager Jimy Williams declared rookie Morgan Ensberg his starting third baseman, but Ensberg stumbled out of the gate. Ensberg is batting .250 with just two extra-base hits in 40 at-bats, although he has half as many walks as hits, giving him a .348 OBP. Given that it’s just three weeks of performance, those numbers don’t mean much. Nonetheless, in the last 10 days, Williams has started career utility player Geoff Blum four times and Ensberg five times at third base.

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As I sit down to write, the Astros have just completed a piss-poor week. The 2-4 record on the road doesn’t really do justice to the frustration this trip has induced thus far. It started off well, with Biggio hitting for the cycle behind an effective Oswalt in the Astro-Graveyard one mile in the sky. Although things have gone better for this club in recent years in Coors, coming away with a split is nothing to be sniffed at.

However, the manner of the defeats in games #2 and #3 caused concern. Reynolds served up a 2-on meatball to scrub catcher Burnett, and blew a winnable game. Much mileage was made by the TV mediots of how one bad pitch can kill you in Coors. Really? I’m still trying to work out how one bad pitch managed to get runners at the corners in addition to the homer. Then, the much vaunted offense failed to capitalize on an unexpectedly solid performance from Super Dave Mlicki. Instead they scattered mostly singles, managing only one run which came on Doggie’s second solo ya-ya of the series. Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Baseball traditionalists, who may be a dying breed, would much rather watch a game dominated by pitching and defense than watch today’s home run derby contests that are represented to be major league baseball games.  A well-played defensive game consists of beautiful choreography; the players move to the ball and to other positions relative to the ball according to rules that are well-defined and much-practiced.  The movements that implement the rules must be practiced so often that the defenders recognize situations and move to their respective places without thinking.  If the rules are executed properly, all of the defenders will be in motion when the ball is put into play, and no player, including the pitcher, will be a mere spectator, no matter where the ball is hit.  This article examines the rules used for various defensive situations. Read the rest of this entry »

After an opening day aberration that raised some eyebrows and had frontrunners grabbing their ankles and running for the latrines (not an easy feat, you should try it sometime), the Astros settled into what’s hopefully a routine for the year. Pounding on the also-rans. It appears that, aside from Ben Sheets, the Brew Crew have little or no pitching. They have (so far) cut down on the strikeouts but still make outs anyway which is a very Chip Carey / Alan Ashby kind of improvement.

The ship was righted very quickly and with some style in the remaining games to record an acceptable home series win. I still don’t think that the Brewers have given us an adequate read on the 2002 Astros, but that will come this weekend and next weekend against the Cardinals. One thing I like from next week’s schedule is that, after an arm-sapping, bull-pen draining trip to the Rocky Mountains, the Astros have an off day before they roll into St. Louis. That’s a nice bonus for the good guys.

Yoinks and Away!

I was at the Game #2 romp. Here are some observations:- Read the rest of this entry »

By Gene Elston
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 2, 2002.

The heist by Ruben Rivera of Derek Jeter’s bat and glove pulled off recently in the Yankees clubhouse during spring training, not surprisingly elicited the legend of Leo Durocher’s theft of Babe Ruth’s watch in 1929.

However, while searching for information on the subject I have ALMOST drawn a complete blank. The almost is what I found in Robert W. Creamer’s book, BABE – THE LEGEND COMES TO LIFE. “And here is a legend, seldom printed but often talked about in baseball circles, that says Leo Durocher stole Babe Ruth’s watch, which is not true. What is true is that Ruth did not like Durocher.” Read the rest of this entry »