Astros County: Your Neighborhood Astros Blog & Grill

Scouting Reports of the Day: Jeff Bagwell

2013-05-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

A while ago we brought you the first of what will likely be an off-day tradition, using the Diamond Mines exhibit at the Hall of Fame to highlight a former Astro's scouting reports. Previously, we looked at Craig Biggio's scouting reports. Up next: Jeff Bagwell.

Padres scout Donald Labossiere on April 21, 1989:
All his coaches including High School have nothing but nice things to say about him and his work ethic...Does not impress you immediately, has to be seen a couple of times. Below ave. runner and range...Is the best everyday player in New England. He told me he wants to sign a Pro contract, and begin his career.

Labossiere, June and July 1989:
Defensively he is an adequate 3B with a good arm when he needs it...Will be Best everyday prospect in New England next year...Should be taken between the 7-10 Rounds next year. Higher if he improves his defense.

Angels scout Jon Niederer, April 1989:
Value: $25,000...Not a holler guy, but comes to play - hard nosed and a hustler...This fellow is the best looking hitter on the East Coast and I think he's got a chance to hit .300 with power in any league, right up to the majors. Reminds me of Al Oliver - everything he hits is hard. His defense would bother me more if we were an astroturf club, but I don't think he's hopeless at third. Has no fear and his work habits are good.

White Sox scout Cal Emery, October 1990:
Really like bat!!! However, lack of speed will hurt chances severely. Good hands at 3rd, arm accurate with quick release. BAt very good. Hits ball foul line to foul line, but very slow.
(Help White Sox Now? No. White Sox acquire? No.)

The Astros won't really take Colin Moran, will they?

2013-05-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

I just saw that the Crawfish Boxes have put up a post on the rumors regarding the Astros taking North Carolina's Colin Moran with the 1.1 pick in the upcoming draft. Please note that I have not read their post (but I will as soon as I finish this one.)

Someone asked if the Astros would really do such a thing - passing on Appel, Gray, Bryant, Meadows, and Frazier to take Colin Moran. The short answer is, "Yeah, they probably would." Anyone who tries to forecast what the Astros will do in the draft is just spinning their wheels. Kevin Goldstein said this in his fantastic interview with TCB from Sunday evening. The Astros didn't decide on taking Correa until about half an hour before the draft started.

Anyhow, so. This Colin Moran. Keith Law said last week to keep an eye on the possibility of the Astros drafting Moran. Kiley McDaniel said the same thing. Something to keep in mind is that, IF they draft Colin Moran it sounds like it's couched in terms of "If they draft Moran, it's because Appel and Gray wanted the Astros to wreck their spending plan."

Maybe the Astros are floating Moran as a way to "communicate" with Boras and whomever is Gray's advisor not to get all testy.

But about this 6'3" 209lb Colin Moran. First off, he's B.J. Surhoff's nephew. Second, he led UNC in his freshman year with a .335/.442/.540 line, getting Baseball America Freshman of the Year/First Team All-American. He led the Cape Cod League with 42RBI in 2012, hitting .314. Hit .365/.435/.494 in his sophomore year. He was just named the ACC Player of the Year, hitting .369/.496/.612.

Minor League Ball wrote, back in November 2012:
The bat is good enough to be a starter anywhere he plays but it would be easier to project him at 3B. He is one of the safer picks in the draft and I would have a hard time seeing him not reach the majors and be a useful major leaguer.

Would the Astros take him? Sure they would, if it meant they could game it and essentially get three 1st Round picks like they did last year.

Never Eat Yellow Sno (cones)

2013-05-23T09:10:00.001-05:00

By now you've likely seen the video of the Aramark employee at Minute Maid Park taking his unsold tray of snocones to the loo with him, right? If you haven't you HAVE to see the video. The employee was fired, and rightfully so. You can't just take your snocones with you to the little girl's room.

It's just so...ew. If there was ever an argument to get up out of your seat to buy food at Minute Maid Park - that's it. It's not as if the lines are long or the park is crowded. Grabbing a bite to eat at the concessions has never been easier.

If I'm the Astros right now I'm closing my eyes, pulling up the covers, rolling over and going back to sleep. This team cannot catch a PR break to save its life. For every step forward it's three steps back. Houston needs no other reason for the baseball world to point and laugh...and yet they just keep coming.

Astros Morning Drive: Episode 1.1

2013-05-23T08:18:00.002-05:00

Short version of what this is: Each morning, during the week, I'll record the podcast as I drive to work. 10-15 minutes, Monday-Friday (save for sick days, vacation, etc.). I'll upload each episode here for your listening pleasure. Next episode: Tuesday, May 28.

Here it is. The inaugural episode of the Astros Morning Drive:

Podcast Powered By Podbean

PreStros Morning Report: May 22

2013-05-23T06:25:00.001-05:00

Oklahoma City (27-18), 3.5 up

Ross Seaton got his first Triple-A win and lowered his ERA to 8.21 as OKC won 7-3 at Fresno. Seaton threw 6IP, 6H/3R (2ER), 3K:3BB, 54 of his 88 pitches for strikes. Jason Stoffel allowed 1H/0ER, 3K:0BB in 2IP; Eric Berger struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Jake Elmore hit his 3rd homer of the year and added another RBI for a 2x5, 2RBI day; Brett Wallace was 2x3 with 2BB and an RBI. Fernando Martinez hit a three-run homer.

Man of the Match: Jake Elmore

Corpus (26-19) 2.0 up

A four-run Hooks 5th inning sealed an 8-2 win over NW Arkansas, and a Frisco loss to Springfield puts Corpus two games up on the minoRangers. Jake Buchanan. Freakin' Slow Clap. Another 5IP, 7H/1R (0ER), 3K:1BB, and he only needed 57 pitches to get through his five innings. That's 27.2IP, 23H/0ER, 19K:2BB in his last six appearances. Josh Fields continued his summer of rehab discontent with 2IP, 3H/1ER, 2K:0BB; Carlos Quevedo allowed 2H/0ER, 2K:0BB in 2IP.

Erik Castro got his 3rd straight three-hit game, pushing his May batting average to .411. Max Stassi (2B, RBI, BB) and Michael Burgess (HR, 2RBI) had two hits each. Domingo Santana was 1x3 with a double, two walks, two RBI, and a stolen base. George Springer was 1x3 with two walks and two runs scored.

Man of the Match: Jake Buchanan

Lancaster

Off.

Quad Cities (23-21), 7GB

Quad Cities were down 5-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th. Then they got two in the bottom of the 6th, then two more in the bottom of the 8th, then the tying run against Wisconsin in the bottom of the 9th. And then it all went to hell when Wisconsin scored seven runs in the top of the 11th for a weird 12-5 win over the River Bandits.

Jordan Jankowski allowed 5H/2ER, 4K:1BB in 6IP; Mitchell Lambson allowed 1H/1ER, 0K:1BB in 1IP; Brian Holmes allowed two unearned runs on his own error in 3IP on 2H, 2K:2BB; John Neely threw two wild pitches and allowed 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 2IP for the loss; Richard Rodriguez allowed one of Neely's runs and three of his own in a 5H/4ER, 0K:1BB, 0.2IP outing; Brian Blasik got the final out.

Carlos Correa (RBI), Miles Hamblin, Austin Elkins (2B, HR, RBI, BB), and Jordan Scott (2B, RBI, BB) had two hits each; Rio Ruiz had a hit and walk on his birthday.

Man of the Match: Austin Elkins

From the Office of the County Clerk: G47 - Astros v. Royals

2013-05-23T00:17:00.001-05:00

James Shields (2-4, 2.45) vs Jordan Lyles (1-1, 6.63)

Holy crap, it's another Astros series win. J.D. Martinez went deep in the 1st, Jordan Lyles was all kinds of great for six innings, and the bullpen faced the minimum over the final three. It all added up to a 3-1 Houston victory, for their fourth series win of the season. The win makes this the Astros' most successful seven-game stretch of the season (4-3), and the club heads into tomorrow's offday at 14-33 overall.

On the Mound:

*Whatever bad juju Jordan Lyles suffered from in Spring Training, he seems to have buried in the back yard now. Excepting that ugly Texas start, he's now got a 3.00 ERA in his other four, including tonight's 6 IP / 6 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 1 BB / 3 K line.

*Travis Blackley and Hector Ambriz each pitched a scoreless inning, allowing only a lone walk (by Blackley) between them, and that erased on a pickoff.

*Not to jinx it, but Jose Veras has now had three straight perfect outings, notching another 1-2-3 9th tonight for his 8th save.

At the Plate:

*J.D. Martinez put the Astros up early and gave them all they would need, jacking a two-run HR in the 1st and finishing 2 for 4.

*Jason Castro was also big with the bat, going 3 for 4 with a RBI double and a run scored.

*Jose Altuve was held hitless for the fourth straight game - twice his previous longest streak this season - but he did walk, steal a base, and score a run.

*Carlos Pena had a double and went 1 for 3 with a K.

*Robbie Grossman (1 for 4, K) and Chris Carter (1 for 4, 3 K) also had hits for Houston.

Turning Point:

After the first two Astros made outs in the 1st, Jason Castro singled, then J.D. Martinez homered to right. That gave Houston an early lead that, for once, they would never surrender.

Man of the Match:

Jordan Lyles. Kid is still only 22 years old, and showing signs of putting it together.

Goat of the Game:

No goat, as we get to bask in not losing again until at least Friday.

Some dips**t vendor took a tray of snow cones into the bathroom stall with him

2013-05-22T23:25:00.002-05:00

This was first brought to our attention by Hardball Talk (click for video. Or don't.) On Monday - Reid Ryan's first day on the job - some numbut Aramark vendor thought he'd drop a deuce with his tray of snow cones on the floor of the bathroom while he did his dirty deeds.

Reid Ryan - and Aramark - had to release a statement about the gastro-intestinally challenged employee, which you can read here. Idiot.

Draft Update

2013-05-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

While we wait to see if the Astros can take the series from the Royals, Brian Smith is providing some good details on the Astros' thought process heading into the June Draft. He tweets:

*The Astros are looking at six players: Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, Kris Bryant, Colin Moran, Clint Frazier, and Austin Meadows.
*Though it's really between Appel and Gray, Frazier and Meadows are darkhorses.
*The Astros won't let themselves get played on salary demands by Mark Appel (and by "Mark Appel," we really mean, "Scott Boras.") If Appel AND Gray get wild with their demands, the Astros will go in a different direction.
*Apparently Jonathan Gray's "side" has ties to Houston and might allow the Astros to sign easily and keep flexibility for later rounds.
*But the Astros won't decide on a 1.1 pick until the front office and scouts meet in Houston.

Kiley McDaniel tweets that Kris Bryant is being advised by Boras, as well. And if Appel and Gray don't give Houston a discount, then UNC's Colin Moran would be the target, should Luhnow try to replicate the 2012 draft strategy.

If the Astros are going to avoid Boras guys completely (which is doubtful), then you can cross these names off the list (captip to Twins Daily): Appel, Bryant, Meadows, and Moran.

PreStros Morning Report: May 21

2013-05-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

Oklahoma City (26-18) 2.5 up

A 5-run 1st inning is fun. A 10-run 8th inning is even more fun. Combine those two and you get an ultra-fun 15-2 win at Fresno! Brett Oberholtzer threw 102 pitches over 7IP, allowing just 3H/0ER, 9K:1BB; Josh Zeid threw a scoreless 8th, and Jose Valdez allowed two runs (one earned) in the 9th.

This is going to take a while. Brett Wallace hit a grand slam and added an RBI double to finish the day 2x6 with 5RBI and three strikeouts. Brandon Laird was 3x6 with a double, stolen base, and an RBI; Jake Elmore (RBI, BB), Austin Wates (2RBI, BB) had two hits each. Marc Krauss hit a two-run homer, as well.

Man of the Match: Brett Oberholtzer

Corpus

Off.

Lancaster (25-20), 1GB

Nutso game out in Lancaster today. Rancho Cucamonga took a 5-0 lead after the top of the 1st, and Lancaster answered with four in the bottom half, one in the 2nd, and one in the 4th for a 6-5 lead. Rancho Cucamonga answered with three in the top of the 6th for an 8-6 lead, Lancaster came back with four in the bottom half for a 10-8 lead. Rancho Cucamonga (easily my favorite city in minor-league baseball to type) got three more in the 7th and one in the 8th for a 12-10 lead over Lancaster heading into the bottom of the 8th. Lancaster got two in the 8th and a walk-off hit from Preston Tucker for a 13-12 Lancaster win.

Kyle Hallock allowed all those first inning runs (four earned), and settled down for a more-respectable 7H/5R (4ER), 2K:2BB 5IP outing. Luis Cruz allowed 3H/5ER, 2K:3BB in 1.1IP; Jonas Dufek gave up 3H/2ER, 2K:0BB in 1.2IP; Travis Ballew got the win with a perfect 9th inning, striking out two.

Preston Tucker was 4x6 with a triple and two RBI, including the aforementioned walkoff. Joe Sclafani (2B, BB), Carlos Perdomo (2RBI), and Andrew Aplin (two doubles, homer, 4RBI) had three hits each. Chris Epps (two doubles, 3RBI) and Ryan McCurdy had two hits each. Matt Duffy was 1x3 with a walk.

Man of the Match: Preston Tucker.

Quad Cities

Off.

From the Office of the County Clerk: G46 - Astros v. Royals

2013-05-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

Wade Davis (3-3, 5.98) vs Bud Norris (4-4, 4.32)

Bud Norris' back was the story tonight. His back pushed his scheduled Sunday start back to Tuesday, then he seemed fine through six scoreless innings. But an extended dugout stint in the 6th allowed his back to tighten up again, forcing him (reluctantly) from the game, and once Houston's bullpen came in, it was all Royals the rest of the way. The Astros spoil a sterling BudChuck effort and fall 7-3, snapping their win streak at one and dropping to 13-33 overall.

On the Mound:

*Studly Cuddly Budly deserved better from his bullpen. For his part, at least, he did everything he could to help his team win, with a 6 IP / 5 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 2 BB / 2 K line.

*Travis Blackley started the bullpen's March of Futility, allowing back-to-back singles to start the 7th, then recording two outs before giving way to Paul Clemens.

*(Not Roger) surrendered another pair of back-to-back singles, allowing both of Blackley's runners to score, then got a K to end the 7th, but left after allowing a walk and another single starting the 8th.

*Wesley Wright followed Clemens and gave up a single to the only batter he faced.

*Jose Cisnero next came into a bases-loaded, no-out situation and generously let everyone's runners score, including one more of his own, to flip a 3-2 lead into a 6-3 hole before finishing the 8th. He allowed another run on a wild pitch in the 9th for good measure.

At the Plate:

*Jimmy Paredes was the story on offense, going 3 for 3 with a walk and a 3-run HR that accounted for all of Houston's runs.

*J.D. Martinez had a double and scored a run, going 2 for 3 with a BB and a K.

*Carlos Pena singled and scored the other run, finishing 1 for 4.

*Matt Dominguez notched a pair of singles to go 2 for 4.

*Robbie Grossman keeps getting on base, going 1 for 4 with a BB and a K.

*Marwin Gonzalez had Houston's remaining hit and finished 1 for 3 with a BB and a K.

Turning Point:

That furshlugginer 8th inning. Paul Clemens started with a walk and a single, Wesley Wright loaded the bases with another single, then Jose Cisnero let it all go to pot. A strikeout gave a glimmer of hope, but then a Mike Moustakas single tied the game at 3-3 and kept the bases loaded. A walk to George Kottaras handed the lead away, then two more scored on a fielder's choice and a Marwin Gonzalez error.

Man of the Match:

Co-stars to Bud Norris and Jimmy Paredes. Not your fault, fellas.

Goat of the Game:

Paul Clemens. Cisnero was bad, but (Not Roger) was worse, allowing three hits and a walk in one third of an inning, resulting directly or indirectly in four of Kansas City's seven runs.

Dierker's back!

2013-05-21T14:31:00.003-05:00

2nd day on the job, and Reid Ryan has mended the fence with Larry Dierker. The Astros announced today that Dierker will be a Special Assistant to the President, serving as a goodwill ambassador and advising Reid Ryan.

PreStros Morning Report: May 20

2013-05-21T05:49:00.002-05:00

Oklahoma City (25-18), 2.5 up

It was 5-0 Fresno before OKC got their first run. And then it was 8-1 Fresno before they got their 2nd. Fresno wins 10-3. Asher Wojciechowski got smoked, allowing 10H/8R (7ER), 4K:0BB, 3HR. Six of the eight runs scored during Wojciechowski's five innings came off the long ball. Phil Humber allowed 2H/2ER, 1K:1BB, 1HR, HBP in 2IP; Alex Sogard allowed a hit and a walk in 1IP.

Fernando Martinez was 3x4 with 2RBI and a homer; Brandon Laird was 2x4 with a doube; Che-Hsuan Lin was 1x3 with a double and a stolen base.

Man of the Match: Fernando Martinez

Corpus (25-19), 1.0 up

Now this game was just stupid. Here were the leads Corpus had: 4-1, 7-2, 9-6, and it was 11-10 Hooks heading into the bottom of the 8th at Midland. But Midland scored nine runs in the bottom of the 8th for a 19-11 win over Corpus. Four errors didn't help. Ruben Alaniz allowed 6H/6R (2ER), 4K:2BB in 4IP; Jorge De Leon allowed 3H/4ER, 0K:1BB in 0.1IP; Pat Urckfitz allowed 3H/0ER, 1K:3BB in 2.2IP; Andrew Robinson allowed 2H/3ER, 0K:1BB without recording an out; Our Boy Kenny Long has had a rough go of Double-A, allowing 2H/5R (4ER), 0K:2BB in 0.1IP; and Matt Heidenreich allowed an unearned run in the final 0.2IP.

Erik Castro was 3x4 with a two-run homer and 3RBI total; Jonathan Meyer (2B, BB) and Michael Burgess (3-run HR) had two hits each. Jio Mier and George Springer had a hit and a walk.

Man of the Match: Erik Castro

Lancaster (24-20), 1.5 GB

It was 7-0 Rancho Cucamonga after two innings, and the Quakes cruised to a 10-6 win over Lancaster. Tyson Perez allowed 6H/7ER, 2K:2BB in 2IP; T.J. Geith allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:1BB in 2IP; David Rollins gave up 3H/2R (1ER), 4K:2BB in 3IP and Michael Dimock allowed a run on a walk in 2IP.

The offense was 2x13 w/RISP and left 12 LOBsters. Preston Tucker was 3x3 with a walk and an RBI; Joe Sclafani was 2x3 with an RBI and a walk; Telvin Nash was 2x5 with a 2-run homer and 3RBI total; Chris Epps was 2x3 with two doubles and two walks. Delino DeShields was hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning and was replaced by Jean Batista.

Man of the Match: Telvin Nash?

Quad Cities (23-20), 7GB

Quad Cities struck first, but Beloit scored the final four runs of the game for a 4-1 win over the River Bandits. Mike Hauschild held Beloit hitless over his 5IP, striking out five and waking two; Colton Cain allowed 3H/1ER, 2K:2BB; Mitchell Lambson allowed 2H/1ER, 0K:1BB in 0.2IP; Cameron Lamb allowed 2H/2R (1ER), 2K:1BB in 1.1IP.

Teoscar Hernandez got the only River Bandits hit of the game, stole a base, and Rio Ruiz sac'ed him home. Ruiz and Jordan Scott also drew walks. Carlos Correa's ten-game hitting streak is now over.

Man of the Match: Mike Hauschild.

From the Office of the County Clerk: G45 - Astros v. Royals

2013-05-20T23:02:00.004-05:00

Jeremy Guthrie (5-1, 2.82) vs Dallas Keuchel (0-1, 4.82)

After a very rough first quarter of the season, things are looking up for Houston a bit more in the last week. They had won two of their last four coming into tonight, and the two losses to Pittsburgh were both well within striking distance. Tonight they returned home to Houston and continued the improved play. Astros beat the Royals 6-5, and move to 13-32 overall.

On the Mound:

*Dallas Keuchel made his third start of 2013, and it was his longest outing of the season so far. He fell one out shy of 7 innings complete, with a 6.2 IP / 9 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 4 BB / 6 K line.

*Paul Clemens faced & retired Billy Butler to end the 7th.

*Wesley Wright got an out to start the 8th, but left after allowing a double to Eric Hosmer.

*Hector Ambriz officially finished the 8th without giving up a run, but a RBI double by Jeff Francoeur charged a run to Wesley's ledger.

*Jose Veras then turned in his second straight perfect outing, fanning two in the 9th for his 7th save.

At the Plate:

*Matty D! Swinging the big stick again. Matt Dominguez led the offense with his fourth HR of the season - all in the last 10 days - on a three-run blast in the 4th, finishing 2 for 4.

*Jason Castro also went deep for the fourth time this season, on a solo shot in the 3rd to finish 1 for 3 with a walk and a K.

*Jimmy Paredes didn't run over anyone in RF tonight, and he went 2 for 4 with a R and a RBI.

*Jose Altuve was 0 for 3, but had Houston's other RBI on a 3rd-inning sac fly.

*Carlos Pena doubled to go 1 for 2 with a R and 2 BB.

*Chris Carter was 1 for 3 with a R, a BB, and 2 K.

*Marwin Gonzalez scored a run and went 1 for 4.

*Robbie Grossman just gets on base, man. He went 1 for 3 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt.

Turning Point:

The Astros took a 3-1 lead into the 4th, but a three-run HR by some Miguel Tejada guy put Kansas City up 4-3. In the bottom of the frame, Chris Carter started with a strikeout, but Carlos Pena walked and Jimmy Paredes singled to put two on with one out. Matt Dominguez followed and worked a 3-1 count, then planted the next pitch in the Crawford Boxes to negate Tejada's home run and give the lead back to Houston for good.

Man of the Match:

Matty D, with the Ankiel-like .176 average but four home runs over the last 9 games.

Goat of the Game:

J.D. Martinez. The only Astro not to contribue on offense, going 0 for 4.

Monday Morning Link Dump

2013-05-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

Articles from the last 24 hours that I don't have time upon which to post them separately:

*Awful Announcing on the CSN Houston deal. Takeaway: CSN Houston is asking for more per subscriber than the YES Network.

*The Daily Telegraph (in Australia) has a fun story on Travis Blackley. From the story, we find that Blackley is:

More than happy to move into the rotation.
Liking it in Houston.
Would like a long-term deal.
Writing off the playoffs, but they have apparently set a goal of .500.
Reminded of the Kansas City Royals when he looks at the Astros

*Bo Porter is keeping a list of Missed Wins.

*Jon Singleton will begin his comeback next week in Quad Cities and will end up in OKC. He could be in line for a late-season call-up.

PreStros Morning Report: May 19

2013-05-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

Oklahoma City (25-17)

OKC earned the road split with Sacramento with a 9-3 win on a Sunday afternoon in which the RedHawks never trailed. Brad Peacock got his first win with OKC after throwing 5IP, 4H/2R (1ER), 5K:4BB; Jason Stoffel walked one and hit one batter in his inning of work; Kevin Chapman allowed 1H/1ER, 0K:2BB, and Rhiner Cruz walked two batters but gave up no runs in the final 2IP.

Every RedHawk hitter got a hit, with Fernando Martinez (2B, 2RBI, BB) and Che-Hsuan Lin (SB) leading the way with two hits each. Brandon Laird, Raoul Torrez (RBI) and Jason Jaramillo (2B, 2RBI) had a hit and a walk each.

Man of the Match: Brad Peacock.

Corpus (25-18)

Corpus overcame a 2-0 1st inning deficit by scoring the next five runs in a 5-3 win over Midland. David Martinez threw 5IP, allowing 2H/2ER, 6K:1BB, and 40 of his 62 pitches for strikes. Josh Fields continued his rehab with 1H/0ER in 1IP and Mike Foltynewicz finished off the final 3IP with 3H/1R (0ER) 3K:2BB, and 64 pitches. Foltynewicz's ERA at Corpus now stands at 1.13.

Erik Castro was 3x3 with a 2-run homer and a walk; Rene Garcia was 1x4 with a double and 2RBI. Enrique Hernandez was 2x4 with a double and Ben Orloff was 1x3 with a walk. George Springer was 0x3 with two walks, but stole four bases on the day (2nd base three times, and 3rd base once).

Man of the Match: Tough one. How about Erik Castro?

Lancaster (24-19)

Despite hitting four home runs and out-hitting Rancho Cucamonga 13-11, the JetHawks lost 11-7. Brady Rodgers allowed 4H/3ER, 4K:1BB in 5IP; Chris Devenski gave up 4H/4ER, 4K:1BB in 3IP. Travis Ballew allowed four unearned runs with three hits and a walk. Jonas Dufek got the final out.

Matt Duffy committed the error that led to said four unearned runs, but went 3x5 with a solo homer; Delino DeShields hit his first homer of the season on his way to a 3RBI game; Joe Sclafani was 2x3 with two walks and two stolen bases; Tyner Heineman was 2x3 with a homer and two walks; and Chris Epps was 2x3 with a walk. Telvin Nash hit his sixth homer of the season.

Man of the Match: Again, a tough one. DeShields?

Quad Cities (23-19)

Quad Cities dropped their third straight to Beloit, losing 3-2 after the game was knotted at 1-1 heading into the 9th. Daniel Minor threw 4IP, 5H/1ER, 2K:1BB; Richard Rodriguez allowed a hit in 1IP, and Lance McCullers gave up 2R (1ER) on 2H, 5K:3BB in 4IP while making two errors.

The River Bandits left 10 LOBsters, going 1x9 w/RISP. Carlos Correa extended his hitting streak to ten games, going 2x4 with a walk and an RBI. Jesse Wierzbicki and Austin Elkins (2BB) also had two hits on the day. Teoscar Hernandez got the lone RBI while Rio Ruiz went 1x3 with a walk.

Man of the Match: Austin Elkins.

From the Office of the County Clerk: G44 - Astros @ Pirates

2013-05-19T16:30:00.001-05:00

Lucas Harrell (3-4, 5.11) vs Jeff Locke (3-1, 3.15)

Welcome back to National League baseball. After spending the majority of their history in the offense-unfriendly Astrodome, Houston fans are well familiar with the pitcher's duel. The Astros spent the last three days back in the league of their birth, and split two tightly contested matches to start the series. Today was no different, but unfortunately on this day, they came up just shy. Astros lose the game and the series by a 1-0 score, and they return home 12-32 overall.

On the Mound:

*Lucas Harrell has not seemed himself in two of his last three outings, but today he was on top of his game. Unfortunately, one bad pitch to Pedro Alvarez ended up just beyond the left field wall, and that was all it took to sink Harrell's ship today. His line: 7 IP / 4 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 1 BB / 3 K.

*Hector Ambriz handled the 8th and pitched a perfect inning with 2 K.

At the Plate:

*Only three singles and two walks for the Astros on offense today, which makes it hard to win any game. Chris Carter was the only Astro to reach twice, going 1 for 2 with a BB and a K.

*Carlos Corporan was 1 for 3 with a K.

*Lucas Harrell took up this odd phenomenon of pitchers getting to hit, and he went 1 for 2 with a K before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the 8th.

*Brandon Barnes was 0 for 1 with a walk and a sac bunt, but his best contribution was gunning down Travis Snider at home from CF to end the 6th.

Turning Point:

With one out in the bottom of the 5th in a scoreless game, Pedro Alvarez dunked the first pitch he saw from Lucas Harrell over the shortest part of the left field fence, just inside the foul pole. Neither team would score again, so that was the game.

Man of the Match:

Lucas Harrell. Unquestionably deserved a better fate today.

Goat of the Game:

Pick-a-hitter, but we'll go Jimmy Paredes. 0 for 3 with 3 LOBsters, so he's now hitting .176 in 12 games, with two second basemen trampled.

Reese Ryan takes over as CEO of Round Rock

2013-05-19T08:24:00.001-05:00

Answering one of the talking points of What Happens To Round Rock in the wake of the Reid Ryan hiring, the Express named Ryan's younger brother Reese as President/CEO of the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate. Reese Ryan was the team's Chief Financial Officer.

Reese Ryan, on his brother:
He's the visionary. He's a big thinker. I've always been more of the operations, details side. He set out a vision and I look forward to executing the game plan we've set forth here. We're going to try to continue to earn [Express fans'] trust and treat them right.

The PDC between Round Rock and the Rangers runs through the 2018 season.

PreStros Morning Report: May 18

2013-05-19T08:12:00.000-05:00

Oklahoma City (24-17)

Sacramento got six runs in the 5th inning and Jarred Cosart suffered his first loss of the season - and his first since July 27, 2012 in a 6-3 Sacramento win. Cosart allowed 4H/3ER, 4K:3BB in 4.1IP to raise his ERA to 2.49. Josh Zeid allowed the next three runs on two hits and two walks in 0.2IP. Alex Sogard pitched in his second Triple-A game of the season and threw a perfect IP; Eric Berger and Jose Valdez each threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout.

Brett Wallace was 2x4 with a double, a homer (his 6th of the season), and 3RBI; Fernando Martinez was 2x4. Jonathan Villar was 0x5 with 4K.

Man of the Match: Brett WallAAAAce

Corpus (24-18)

It was 2-0 Midland in the 1st. Then it was 5-0 Midland in the 3rd. Corpus got one back in the top of the 4th but Midland responded with four runs in the bottom half of the 4th and skated it out for a 12-4 win over the Hooks. Nick Tropeano had a rare bad start, allowing 7H/7ER, 3K:3BB in 3.2IP; Bobby Doran allowed 3H/4ER, 3K:1BB in 2IP and Our Boy Kenny Long allowed 3H/1ER, 1K:1BB in 2.1IP. (Midland's Anthony Aliotti was 4x5 with a double, 3HR, and 8RBI).

Enrique Hernandez (2B, RBI) and Domingo Santana (2B, 2RBI, outfield assist) had three hits each. Jio Mier, Ben Orloff, and Max Stassi (2B) had your other hits.

Man of the Match: Domingo Santana

Lancaster (24-18)

Lancaster had a 4-2 lead over Visalia heading into the bottom of the 6th, but then the, um, Visalias scored the next six runs to beat Lancaster (who committed three errors) 8-4. Tommy Shirley struck out nine batters, allowing 5H/2ER and 2BB in 4IP; Jonas Dufek allowed two baseunners in 1IP; Blair Walters gave up 3H/3R (1ER), 0K:2BB in 0.1IP and Theron Geith allowed 3H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 2.2IP.

Brandon Meredith was 1x2 with a three-run homer and 4RBI total. MP Cokinos was 1x2 with a double and two walks. Delino DeShields had a double and a walk. Telvin Nash was 0x4 with two errors.

Man of the Match: Tommy Shirley.

Quad Cities (23-18)

And Beloit completed the 0-for-4 day for the affiliates, scoring five runs in the last two innings of a 5-3 win over the River Bandits. Vincent Velasquez allowed 3H/0ER, 5K:2BB in 5IP; Jamaine Cotton gave up two unearned runs on 2H/1BB in 2IP; Mitchell Lambson allowed a hit and a walk in 0.2IP and John Neely got the BS/L with 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB in the final 1.1IP.

Carlos Correa extended his hitting streak to nine games (hitting .400/.462/.429 in those nine games) but has had one extra-base hit since his 2HR game on April 21. Teoscar Hernandez got an RBI triple - his 4th triple of the season; Miles Hamblin, Jordan Scott and Ariel Ovando had a hit and a walk each; Jesse Wierzbicki and Austin Elkins had two walks and a stolen base each.

Man of the Match: Vincent Velasquez

From the Office of the County Clerk: G43 - Astros @ Pirates

2013-05-19T00:51:00.000-05:00

Erik Bedard (0-2, 6.67) vs A.J. Burnett (3-4, 2.73)

Day 2 of the Astros' honeymoon back in the National League, and tonight's results were much better. It took the 2012 Astros an 0-11 record, until August 11, to pull off an extra-inning win. The 2013 edition knocked that out in their second try. Houston beats Pittsburgh 4-2 in 11, moving to 12-31 overall and falling a game behind Miami in the 2014 draft standings.

On the Mound:

*Erik Bedard returned to his 2012 home park, and for the second straight start, he actually pitched pretty well. A 6 IP / 7 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 0 BB / 3 K line marks his longest outing of the season, and also his first official "quality start."

*Edgar Gonzalez retired his only hitter, Wesley Wright hit the only batter he faced, then Jose Cisnero turned in 3.2 innings of 2-hit, no-run ball to take the Astros through the 10th.

*Jose Veras then got his 8th save opportunity, and recorded his 6th save of 2013 with a perfect 11th. He's officially now exceeded this season his total career saves from the previous seven years combined.

At the Plate:

*Jose Altuve returned from the bereavement list and didn't seem to miss a beat, going 3 for 5 with a RBI.

*Chris Carter was the second of three Astros with a multi-hit game tonight, going 2 for 5 with 2 K, and a huge game-tying RBI in the 8th.

*Jason Castro was likewise 2 for 5 with 2 K, but he doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the 11th.

*Matt Dominguez was 0 for 5 with a K, but he earned the GWRBI on a fielder's choice and later scored.

*J.D. Martinez pinch-hit for Cisnero in the 11th and drove in Matty D on a single.

*Trevor Crowe was 1 for 3 with a R, 2 BB, and K.

*Marwin Gonzalez went 1 for 5 and also scored a run.

*Carlos Pena and Robbie Grossman were each 0 for 3, but with 2 BB apiece.

Turning Point:

Jason Castro led off the 11th with a double to CF that narrowly missed going over the fence, then Chris Carter popped up and Carlos Pena was intentionally walked. A wild pitch by Bryan Morris allowed both runners to move up, then Matt Dominguez whacked a grounder to second off the end of the bat. Castro broke for home and slid in safely just inches ahead of Russell Martin's tag, giving the Astros a 3-2 lead.

Man of the Match:

Jose Cisnero. Wins for relief pitchers are usually random, but he earned this one with almost 4 innings of shutout work.

Goat of the Game:

No one deserves it, so no goat tonight. Astros win!

PreStros Morning Report: May 17

2013-05-18T06:23:00.002-05:00

Oklahoma City (24-16)

Sacramento never trailed in this one, and though the RedHawks did close a 4th inning deficit to 2-1, Sacramento won 4-2. Ross Seaton continued his quest for a 9.00-level ERA with 6H/4ER, 3K:1BB, 2HR in 4IP; Kevin Chapman walked three in 2IP, and Jason Stoffel allowed three baserunners - but no runs - in 2IP.

Andy Simunic continued his tear with a 2x4, 2B, RBI day and Che-Hsuan Lin added two hits, an RBI and a walk.

Man of the Match: Che-Hsuan Lin

Corpus (24-17)

I think I saw on Twitter last night that the Hooks had never before won a 1-0 road game. But that's exactly what they did in Midland last night. Jake Buchanan - who should find his way to OKC soon - threw 5IP, 5H/0ER, 5K:1BB to lower his ERA to 0.93. Josh Fields threw a scoreless 6th; Carlos Quevedo allowed 1H and 2K in 1.2IP; Our Boy Kenny Long walked a batter for the second straight game, but Pat Urckfitz shut down the final four outs.

George Springer had two hits and just one strikeout, Max Stassi was 2x3 with a double and the lone RBI.

Man of the Match: Jake Buchanan, who has allowed 18H/1ER, 20K:2BB in 36.1IP - his last eight appearances.

Lancaster (24-17)

Despite a Visalia four-run 7th inning, the JetHawks scored all they needed for a 6-4 win. Luis Cruz allowed 2H/0ER, 5K:2BB in 5IP; Kyle Hallock allowed 5H/4ER, 2K:1BB in 3IP; and Travis Ballew threw a perfect 9th for his 7th save.

The JetHawks got two-hit games out of four players: Delino DeShields (2RBI, 2BB, 2SB), Preston Tucker, Telvin Nash (RBI), and MP Cokinos (HR, 2RBI).

Man of the Match: Delino DeShields

Quad Cities (23-17)

The RiverBandits struck with a run in the first, but that was the only run they could muster, despite out-hitting Beloit 9-7. Beloit won, 3-1. Brian Holmes gave up two solo homers on four hits in 4IP; Jordan Jankowski allowed 3H/1ER but struck out seven in 4IP; Richard Rodriguez struck out one in 1IP.

Teoscar Hernandez was 3x4 with a double and a stolen base, Carlos Correa was 2x4 with an RBI and Jesse Wierzbicki was 2x4 with a stolen base, as well. Rio Ruiz was 1x4 with a stolen base.

Man of the Match: Jordan Jankowski

From the Office of the County Clerk: G42 - Astros @ Pirates

2013-05-17T23:34:00.002-05:00

Jordan Lyles (1-1, 8.36) vs Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 2.28)

These are your LOLstros. For much of the last two decades, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been synonymous with baseball incompetence. They've shown strong signs of starting to turn that around in the last two years, and they're looking even stronger so far this year. The Astros, meanwhile... well, you know. In stark contrast to Wednesday's leaping, crashing, game-ending catch by Brandon Barnes, Houston gift-wrapped a victory for the Pirates tonight, letting in the winning run on a walk-off outfield collision. Astros fall 5-4 in humiliating fashion, and they're now 11-31 as they start the season's second quarter.

On the Mound:

*Coming back off an ugly start against Texas, Jordan Lyles did pretty okay today. He allowed a pair of runs, but pitched into the 6th, finishing with a 5 IP / 4 H / 2 R / 1 ER / 2 BB / 4 K line.

*Travis Blackley (0.2 IP), Paul Clemens (1 IP), and Wesley Wright (0.1 IP) got the Astros through the 7th with a 4-2 lead still intact, but Wright allowed a leadoff single in the 8th.

*Hector Ambriz then got charged with a blown save, for allowing a gargantuan 2-run homer to Pedro Alvarez that ended up in the Allegheny River.

*Edgar Gonzalez should not be the losing pitcher tonight. At least not for what he did in the 9th. He gave up two hits, and made a fielding error of his own that loaded the bases. But he also got two outs, and induced a pop-up that should have ended the inning. Oh, LOLstros.

At the Plate:

*Houston collected 7 hits tonight, though no more than one apiece to any Astros hitter. Matt Dominguez had the single biggest swing, knocking his third HR of the season to go 1 for 4 with a RBI and 2 K.

*Robbie Grossman got the chance tonight to play against the team that traded him away, and he scored on them twice, going 1 for 4 with a double, a walk, and a K.

*Jake Elmore had a RBI single and finished 1 for 3, before featuring in the game-ending fiasco... more on that in a minute.

*Trevor Crowe had a hit and a walk in two PA.

*Marwin Gonzalez singled and scored a run to go 1 for 4.

*Jason Castro was 0 for 2 with a walk, but he earned a RBI on a sac fly.

*Chris Carter (1 for 3, BB, K) and Carlos Pena (1 for 3, BB) also had hits for Houston.

Turning Point:

The Astros carried a 4-2 lead into the 8th, and a 4-4 tie into the 9th, when Edgar Gonzalez came in to pitch. He sandwiched a groundout between a pair of singles for out #1, then made a fielding error on Brandon Inge that loaded the bases. After fanning Neil Walker for out #2, Russell Martin stepped to the plate and worked a 3-2 count. Gonzalez' next pitch was a changeup that Martin popped up into short right field, which should have been an easy play for out #3. But as Jake Elmore went out to catch it, Jimmy Paredes came in, and the pair collided when both tried to catch the ball. Travis Snider had walked home while the ball was in the air, so all he had to do was step on home plate when the ball hit the grass, and the Pirates had themselves a 5-4 win.

Man of the Match:

Matt Dominguez. All three of his home runs this season have come in the last week.

Goat of the Game:

The LOLstros defense. Jimmy Paredes was charged with the game-losing error, but Edgar Gonzalez's own error also contributed, and Chris Carter had an earlier error that also cost Houston a run.

Humber on his way to OKC

2013-05-17T14:25:00.002-05:00

According to Brian McTaggart, Phil Humber has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment. He has accepted his assignment to Oklahoma City and will join the team today in Sacramento.

Astros Stats

2013-05-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

I have very mixed feelings about the DFA's of Ankiel and Humber. One the one hand, they very clearly were not getting the job done, and it was becoming painfully obvious that they had no future on this team. On the other hand, their absence will make finding fodder for Astros Stats much more difficult. Yes, they were awful, but they were very interestingly awful, and now they are gone. I will have to make due.

I am going to try to be very optimistic with this week's Astros Stats. So, I'm going to mostly stay in the minor leagues.

- Excluding the Mexican Leagues, George Springer is tied with Justin Upton for the home run lead in all of professional baseball with 13. To go along with the home runs, he also has 10 doubles, good for a ..655 slugging percentage and an ISO of .355. According to Fangraphs, anything above .250 is considered "excellent power." To go along with that, he also has 10 stolen bases against only 2 caught stealing. He is proving himself to be the power/speed combo we were hoping for. The major red flag, on the other hand, continues to be the strikeouts. He is currently at a 30.2% rate. Right now he is making enough contact, and walking enough, to keep his batting average over .300 and his OBP near .400. If, however, Springer becomes a Chris Carter type, but with excellent speed and defense in centerfield, will you be satisfied?

- I think its fair to say that, in some order, Cosart, Foltynewicz, McCullers, Wojciechowski and Tropeano rate as the Astros top 5 pitching prospects. Besides having a ton of consonants between them, they are also all putting up remarkable numbers. Here are their respective current ERA's: 2.08, 1.38, 1.65, 1.15, 2.23. Some of this is luck, as each of them as a FIP that ranges from a half a run (Cosart) to over two full runs (Wojciechowski, at least in AAA) higher. However, they are all posting well above average k-rates, with decent walk rates as well. (Woj has struggled in this department so far in AAA, hence the relatively high FIP of 3.33) Some of them, especially McCullers, are quite a bit away from the majors. However, with the state of the Astros major league pitching staff, its nice to see that there are potential reinforcements on their way in the minors.

- Checking in on the major league team, but still with an optimistic eye, requires looking at Altuve. His April was slightly down from last year's April numbers. He ended the month last year with a wRC of 158, by far the best month of his career. However, in May, it dropped to 103 and dropped below 100 for the remainder of the season. So far at least, he has been more consistent with a 121 wRC in April and a 120 in May. I don't think we will ever see Altuve slug .547 again, which produced that high wRC last April, as that is not really his game. However, if he can maintain this level of production all year, particularly if the defensive improvement he has shown continues, he will far exceed the 1.4 fWAR he produced last season, and could be a 4+ win player at the age of 23. That is something this team can build around.

FYI, I stupidly posted this in the middle of the Ryan press conference, and then pulled it back. So if you saw it earlier, you aren't going crazy. Well, you still might be, but that does not provide any evidence for it.

Notes from the Reid Ryan Press Conference

2013-05-17T13:13:00.004-05:00

A few things to takeaway from this Reid Ryan Press Conference:

*Ryan:
If we take care of the fans, the fans will take care of us.

*Ryan:
Baseball is Jeff's department. I'm here to support him. If Jeff wants my advice, I'll give it.

*Jim Crane is meeting with Larry Dierker on Monday.

*Crane on Ryan:
He'll be holding most of the press conferences, not me, and I'm very happy about that.

Reid Ryan has signed a three-year contract with Jim Crane and the Astros. Crane:
It's just a standard deal. Gives him some security. Lets family get focused in the community. We'll certainly work beyond that. I've seen him in action. I've seen how good he is and that's why I wanted him.

The Astros are buying the Hooks

2013-05-17T13:03:00.003-05:00

Fox26's Mark Berman just tweeted that Jim Crane has announced Reid Ryan as the new Team President of Business Operations.

The 2nd half of his tweet was much more interesting:

Astros owner Jim Crane announces Reid Ryan as team pres. of business ops. & Crane says Astros buying C.C. Hooks & team will stay in Corpus.

Now this is interesting, as it locks up the Astros in Corpus until the earth crashes into the sun. I don't know that there was ever a fear that Ryan-Sanders Baseball would ever move the Hooks, not with that stadium, and not with the Rangers' Double-A team in Frisco. But it does start a trend that Crane has said before that he'd like to continue: owning the minor-league affiliates. That's part of the allure of the potential Woodlands Triple-A team.

We've mentioned before that the Astros don't own the Oklahoma City RedHawks - Mandalay Baseball Properties does. This is something Crane wants to change, and the change is happening, beginning with Corpus.

This March 2013 article in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times quotes Reid Ryan specifically as saying that the franchise was not for sale. Ryan:
As far as selling the club, I’ve not been approached in any capacity of, ‘Hey, we want to buy Corpus Christi.’ We’ve not had any offers come across our table in the entire time we’ve owned the Hooks.
Our philosophy is that this is a long-term, family owned business. We not only have a lot of money in, but we have a lot of sweat equity in it and a lot of years. So we’re not looking to move anything. That’s really all I can say at this time. We’re holders not sellers.

Update: Greg Rajan picks up the story on the Hooks' end.

Hooks President Ken Schrom says that Reid Ryan has made sure that the Hooks will be an Astros affiliate "until a meteor hits the earth," and that the sale will be finalized in the fall. The Astros will take control of the team following the 2013 season. Hooks personnel will report to Ryan, and the team name/logo will not change.