The minor league opening day is getting closer and news is starting to get out about rosters. It looks like Round Rock is going to have one very fast outfield. Brian Bogusevic and Yordany Ramirez are both fleet enough to patrol center with ease. Now we learn from News 8 in Austin that Eli Iorg is “practically a shoe in” for the roster in Round Rock. They will be exciting on the bases if Ramirez can improve on his .254 OBP, Iorg can improve on his .268 average at AA and Bogusevic can continue hitting the baseball as he has since converting from a pitcher late last year.
Express On The Bus, CC Loses HR Derby, Salem Loses Late, Legends Continue To Struggle
On April - 11 - 2008
Round Rock:
The Express got rained out and their flight got canceled. They were like many other travelers impacted by American Airlines wiring inspections. So, the AAA boys got reminded of life at the lower levels with an 830 mile bus ride from Omaha.
We had to make a decision to just get on the bus,” said Express chief executive Reid Ryan.
The Austin Paper this morning has a story about Lance Niekro and growing up in the Astros’ clubhouse.
Reid Ryan recalled that Niekro, who had a surprisingly deep voice for a 6-year-old, once hunted down his father in the clubhouse. The young Niekro was on a mission to warn his dad to eat the clubhouse spread because mom was cooking meatloaf at home.
“Every time I look at Lance, I get a smile on my face,” Ryan said. “I think it would be a real neat story if he made it back to the big leagues.”
CC Hooks Go To 5-0, Lex & RR Lose
On April - 8 - 2008
Corpus Christi
Hooks go to 5-0 with a 8-7 12 inning win over Arkansas. Rob Crosby hit a solo homer in the 9th to tie the game and Eli Iorg had the game winning hit in the 12th.
“We’ve just got a great bunch of great guys who like to play baseball hard and don’t like to lose,” Iorg said. “When that’s the feeling in the clubhouse and the dugout, you win games.”
The bullpen held the game in check for the late inning heroics. Brian Gordon, Ryan McKeller, Evan Englebrook and Chris Blazek combined for 8 innings of one run ball.
“I’ve got to give credit to the bullpen — they did a great job today,” manager Luis Pujols said. “That’s a hell of a job.
“We got some good pitching out of the bullpen and the hitters did a great job — they never gave up.”
11 Innings for both Lex and CC with different outcomes
On April - 4 - 2008
Round Rock was rained out of their opener and Salem opens their season tonight. So the only two teams playing last night were Lexington and Corpus Christi. They both went to 11 innings with the Legends losing and the Hooks pulling out a win.
Lexington
Asheville beat the Legends 5-4 in 11 last night. Astros pitchers did well with one exception. Leandro Cespedes struck out 6 and walked 3 during his 4 innings of work, allowing only one run and two hits. Abad, Robinson and Kelly combined for 5 innings of shutout ball with Kelly tallying four k’s along the way. Pacella took the loss without an earned run. The exception of the night was Mike Koons who allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk in 1 inning. He and Max Sapp allowed 3 stolen bases in that inning. Overall Asheville runners were 5 out of 6 against Sapp. This is a trend we will be watching. Read the rest of this entry »
Manzella told to stay ready, Iorg looking good
On February - 28 - 2008
Astros.com gives a minor league update on Manzella, Iorg, Delome and others.
Read the rest of this entry »
