Cooper surmised that Valverde might have been “pumped up” a little bit — maybe too much. Valverde, however, said he simply didn’t have good control of his fastball. … Asked what he learned from Valverde’s performance, Cooper answered, “I’m going to go to Valverde every time in the ninth inning, if he’s available. That’s why he’s here — he’s our closer. No ifs, ands or buts. I’ll run him out every time. If he’s available, he’s our closer in the ninth inning.” Link

Flashback, April 3, 2007  Will Lidge get the ball in the next save situation? ”

Yes,” answered manager Phil Garner.

Why? “Because he’s my closer,” Garner replied. Link

The Guy “I think Miggy is way better than the guy we thought we were getting,” Cooper said. “I think that. You saw him tonight several times go the mound to talk to Valverde. He’s always the guy it seems like. ” Link

Too many homeruns Carlos Lee said he would like to see the Astros not rely on the home run as much. The Astros have won three games and in two of those games they’ve hit four home runs. “It seems like pretty much in all eight games every run we’ve scored has been by a home run,” Lee said. “I think we have to do a better job hitting with people in scoring position. Sometimes you’ve got to play with tough pitching and you have to play small ball, too.” Link