Injuries, The Astros Have Injuries...
by David Coleman on Feb 9, 2010 7:55 PM CST
in News
2 comments
From the AP wire:
Astros RHP Lyon recovering from shoulder surgery
HOUSTON (AP) — Astros reliever Brandon Lyon had surgery to drain a small cyst in his pitching shoulder but is expected to be ready for spring training.
The team said in a statement Tuesday that Lyon had the cyst drained two weeks ago and has been throwing without discomfort since. The right-hander is expected to begin workouts with his new club Feb. 20, when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Kissimmee, Fla.
He might be about 10 days behind in his throwing program, the Astros said. Houston signed Lyon as a free agent in December to a $15 million, three-year contract.
"Brandon was experiencing some weakness and discomfort in his shoulder, and we brought him in a couple of weeks ago to be seen," general manager Ed Wade said. "At the time of his pre-signing physical, his right shoulder MRI showed a very small cyst, and when the MRI was repeated recently, it showed that the cyst had enlarged and was pressing on some nerves.
"Since having it drained, Brandon reports no problems, but he will be making up for a little bit of lost time when he gets to Kissimmee."
Lyon was 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA and three saves in 65 relief appearances for Detroit last year.
In other news, minor league second baseman Jose Vallejo will undergo right hand surgery Wednesday and miss most of the 2010 season.
The 23-year-old Vallejo cut tendons in two fingers while preparing a meal at his home in the Dominican Republic during the Christmas holidays. His hand slid over the blade of a knife that he was using to cut meat, the team said.
Houston acquired Vallejo last August from Texas as part of the Ivan Rodriguez trade.
I'm going to try and be positive about this. My dad always told me I was too negative about the team. That I should be more positive, especially at the start of the season. I'm sure this is really a small procedure and not foretelling something worse for Lyon. Why the team waited two weeks to break the news shouldn't be disturbing to me. Surely, they weren't waiting to see if the injury was more severe than the initial surgery indicated. No, I'm going to let this story roll off my back and forget about it. Lyon will be healthy for spring training and ready to earn that closer's role.
Of course, the story about Vallejo is worse. I had hopes for him solidifying the top tier of minor league second basemen this season and providing a little depth in case there were injuries in Houston. Now, he'll probably come back in July or August and the team will need to find someone to fill his spot until then. I wouldn't be surprised if they went and got a veteran to play there, maybe even someone like Drew Meyer, who they are already familiar with.
In case you missed Farmstros post yesterday, another Astros minor leaguer will be missing the 2010 season. Right-hander Juri Perez hurt his arm this winter and is having surgery on it. Perez was an up-and-coming prospect who did well in limited time at short-season Tri-City in 2009. John Sickels had him as a Grade C guy with a chance to improve with a good showing at Lexington.
That's really all I have. I mean, I could make this post sadder by putting a picture of a puppy getting kicked or something, but I'm all out of bad news (besides the Taveras thing).
[Update: We have a great pitching mechanics correspondant in baggs, but we also have one of the best breaking news correspondants around in EveryHoustonTeamRox!. I can't believe how many times he scoops me with stuff that I post on a couple hours later. And, of course, I see the story and write the post before checking the FanPosts first. Touche, Rox, touche. You've won another round and are duly credited.]
2 comments | 0 recs |
Astros Express Interest in Willy Taveras
Uh, oh. I think the Astros didn't read Dave's arguments here at TCB. After Taveras clears waivers, he will only cost the league minimum, with the A's paying the rest of his salary. Wade says that Taveras would be considered if he is willing to accept a non-roster invite. If you want to review our previous discussion of this issue, you can look at the comments on David's article.
about 9 hours ago
clack
1 comment
0 recs
BP comes up with new pitching statistic
I can hear some people saying, "oh, another pitching statistic; that's all we need." However, Baseball Prospectus has come up with a new stat which it claims to be superior to ERA, FIP, and x-FIP, called "Sierra," The formula: SIERA = 6.262 – 18.055*(SO/PA) + 11.292*(BB/PA) – 1.721*((GB-FB-PU)/PA) +10.169*((SO/PA)^2) – 7.069*(((GB-FB-PU)/PA)^2) + 9.561*(SO/PA)*((GB-FB-PU)/PA) – 4.027*(BB/PA)*((GB-FB-PU)/PA) The description of some of the factors which the formula accounts for (like GB pitchers being hurt less by walks due to the GIDP possibility) is intriguing. BP hasn't shown us how pitchers stack up on this stat...yet. I'm sure we will hear more in the future.
about 12 hours ago
clack
4 comments
0 recs
Richard Justice's Sign and Bud Norris' Health
by HighLeveragePerformer on Feb 9, 2010 1:00 PM CST
in News
9 comments
The first chance Richard Justice had after the NFL season officially ended, Richard Justice jumped all over the Road to Spring Traning motif. Can't say I blame him on the one hand: baseball, despite the cold weather, fills the void that the NFL has created, and does so ably.
What I can blame Richard for is his ability to jump back and forth between deconstructing everything the Astros' organization has ever done wrong, to praising players like Chris Johnson and Tommy Manzella like they're the next Mike Schmidt and...whoever played shortstop for the Phillies with Jack Schmidt. It's tiresome. Dickie does well with the whole, "home spun, aw-shucks, West Texas galoot" bit, but it's almost compulsive how he can't make up his mind about the Astros. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, until I had an epiphany of sorts.
I know one thing about astrology: Geminis are hot and cold, can't make up their minds sorta people. Richard Justice has to be a Gemini. Just has to be!
Unfortunately, I couldn't find his birthday anywhere on the internet. Not on the Chronicle's website, not on Wikipedia, nowhere.
So I ask you, readers of The Crawfish Boxes, go forth and find the birthday of our good friend Richard Justice. Is he in fact a Gemini? First person to find his birthday wins the esteem of his or her fellow reader. If RJ sees this post today, don't hesitate to comment with your DOB, we're nice people here. Despite the fact that we all live in our mom's basements or something.
Forget going to this place for predicting what the future holds. If it's accuracy in predictions and projections that you want, it's all about one of the old standards: The Sporting News. The Book Blog reviewed the accuracy of 2009 projections from the various sources out there (ZIPS, CHONE, Marcel, etc), and determined that Marcel topped the more new school projections, but The Sporting News fared quite well. Wouldn't have expected that, but ya learn something new every day.
At least one Astro should be happy to hear this news...On the whole, Brett Myers, Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino aren't expected by Marcel to throw that many innings for the Astros in 2010. What's more- since none of those three have a solid amount of big league innings under the belts the past three seasons, Marcel isn't confident in their projections either- with reliability scores below .71 for the trio (.71 on a scale of "1" being absolute, sure thing, permanent ink these stats in for 2010, and "0" being we have no clue).
I'd like to touch on a couple of articles/trains of thought that we've had going on here the past few days. On Sunday, both baggs and I wrote about pitching mechanics (baggs much more ably than I). With pitcher abuse points and innings limits discussed with great regularity in both the mainstream baseball media and in bloggerdom, it was especially cool for baggs to sort of clue us in to the detail and minutae that is pitching mechanics.
One player that caught my eye in his article was Bud Norris. He is a new, fresh face for the Astros and a lot of our optimism is pinned on his right arm. That being said, it was alarming to me to see one specific comment when I went back and re-read a post on Norris that John Sickles did over at Minorleagueball. That comment in full reads:
Not sure what you’re seeing when you watch him, John. But when I watch him, he reminds me so much of Jeremy Bonderman . . .same size, same sort of build, very similar repertoires and pitch selection. He does struggle with commanding the fastball just as Bonderman does as well, though, and unless/until he finds a happy medium, he’s probably doomed to the same erratic track record.
I do like him an awful lot, the fastball/slider combination is certainly impressive. And obviously if he matches Bonderman, that means some pretty decent years along the way. As a reliever, he’d be top notch.
His point that Norris may be better left to the bullpen notwithstanding, I got worried when Bonderman's name came up because he is one the worst abusers of the "Inverted W" pitching motion that Chris O'Leary and baggs both decry. Having similar builds and repertoires makes the comparison even more haunting. Hopefully the good pitching coach Brad Arnsberg brought out in other pitchers can follow him to Houston.
Last, Nike's geographical representation of the various MLB's fan bases. Can we really lay claim to all of Louisiana? Also- can the Rangers' honestly boast that broad a fan base?
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Evan (HLP) is interviewed on Hotstove.com...awesomeness ensues.
Do you want to sponsor a beat reporter?
The world of baseball coverage is changing. Newspapers are doing less and less due to budgetary constraints. Teams like the Nationals don't even have anyone covering Spring Training right now. So, this intrepid former reporter is raising money to go cover his team. I'd have asked you guys for the same thing, but was afraid I'd only get 25 cents.
Know Your Astros Relievers: Alberto Arias
by David Coleman on Feb 9, 2010 6:00 AM CST
4 comments
We've reviewed the relief prospects you might see in 2010. Now, let's get into the real bullpen nitty gritty. How about we look at some of the current Astros relievers with PItch FX data. First up is Alberto Arias.
For those of you unfamiliar with him, No. 50 is listed as 5-foot-11, 155 pounds. The 26-year old was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Colorado Rockies in 2000. Arias made his big league debut on May 1st, 2007, pitching 3 2/3 innings in a 7-4 victory over San Francisco. Arias allowed one hit and no earned runs, striking out one and walking another to earn his first big-league victory. Unfortunately, it would be his only decision in six appearances that season.
In 2008, Arias threw 13 2/3 innings in 12 appearances for Colorado before being placed on waivers. Ed Wade and the Astros claimed him on July 31st but Arias spent his first month with Round Rock, where he pitched 23 2/3 innings over eight appearances and three starts. Arias was effective enough with the Express (5.7 K/9, 8.0 H/9, 3.0 K/BB) that the Astros called him up on September 8th once rosters expanded.
Arias did throw eight innings for the Astros in 2008, starting two games and throwing in relief in a third. His 6.75 ERA didn't impress anyone, but his eight strikeouts in those eight innings certainly turned some heads. He allowed a ton of hits, but his BABiP was a ridiculous .458, meaning he was EXTREMELY unlucky.
In 2009, Arias didn't break camp with the Astros, but only pitched 16 1/3 innings with the Express over four appearances and three starts. On May 6th, Arias was called up and stuck with the big league team until August 24th, when he was placed on the disabled list with soreness in his right knee. Team medical director Dr. David Lintner performed a successful arthroscopic surgery to remove a small fragment of bone from the back of his knee.
So, what did Arias look like when he did pitch in 2009? Let's go to the Pitch FX data, courtesy of TexasLeaguers.com.
4 comments | 0 recs
TCB Community Projection #1: Roy Oswalt & Lance Berkman
by David Coleman on Feb 8, 2010 1:00 PM CST
in Stat Geeky
12 comments
You have already heard from HLP about his projections on the Astros win total for 2010 using WAR. Over the next few weeks, you'll be hearing from DQ and clack on what they came up with. Since I'm pretty horrible with predictions, I thought it'd be more fun to come up with something a little different.
In the spirit of FanGraph's community projections, how about we band together here and predict what each member of the 25-man roster will do this season? You can be as scientific or as spontaneous as you like. Feel free to add whatever numbers or forecasts you'd like. So we have something to compare, for hitters let's include total plate appearances, a slash line, stolen bases and SB percentage and extra-base hits. For pitchers, let's go with total innings, ERA/FIP (whichever you'd prefer), strikeouts, walks and home runs allowed. Outside of that, you can put in whatever you'd like.
To get this done before the start of the season, let's go with a hitter and a pitcher each time with posts going up Mondays and Wednesdays. I'll keep track of what everyone projects and post the results each Friday. Sound like a plan? Good deal. Let's get to projecting!
First up, Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman...
12 comments | 0 recs |
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
91 | 71 | .561 | 0 | Lost 6 |
|
Chicago
|
83 | 78 | .515 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
80 | 82 | .493 | 11 | Won 3 |
|
Cincinnati
|
78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | Won 2 |
|
Houston
|
74 | 88 | .456 | 17 | Lost 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
62 | 99 | .385 | 28.5 | Lost 2 |
(updated 2.9.2010 at 11:43 PM CST)
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
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